America aces Hotel.com Loved by Guests Awards 2018

NEARLY 1,500 hotels in the U.S. have battled it out all year to be crowned the 'Most Wanted' properties worldwide in the Hotels.com -  Loved by Guests Awards 2018, where the judges are the guests themselves.

Hotels.com believes that the way to find the 'Most Wanted' properties is to ask the customers themselves… so they did just that. Knowing that reviews are becoming even more influential than the official star ratings, Hotels.com looked at over 25 million Hotels.com guest reviews on the website to pick the winners.

- Nearly 1,500 U.S. hotels received the 'Most Wanted' prize in Hotels.com Loved by Guests Awards 2018

- The top cities with Most Wanted properties in the U.S. are New York, Chicago, Houston, Washington D.C. and Austin, Texas

- American hotels named best for boutique, business, beach, family, spa, ski, luxury, newcomer and LGBT

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End term-time holiday ban, say MPs

BRITISH MPs have called for a review of the policy that outlaws school term-time absences other than in “exceptional” circumstances. 

The ban on term-time holidays, which has led to thousands of parents being fined, is ‘blatantly unfair; and is undermining the importance of family life, MPs claimed in a House of Commons debate.

The debate also highlighted the ban’s negative impact on the UK tourist industry, which has lost business during term time. MPs heard that the Cornish economy had lost an estimated £44 million in 2014 as a result of the policy.

Leading the debate, Steve Double, Conservative MP for St Austell and Newquay, said: ‘Education is clearly vitally important. But it is not the only important thing in a child’s upbringing. While I support the aim of getting children to attend school regularly, I fundamentally disagree that telling parents when they can and cannot take their children on holiday is the job of the state. Every child is unique, and it should be for parents to decide what is right and best.’

He said the restrictions meant people who work in tourist areas were unable to take family holidays, as were lower- and even middle-income families who could not afford to go on holiday during peak periods.

The debate was triggered by a petition on the issue that attracted more than 120,000 signatures in a month.

Before the rules were introduced in 2013, head teachers had discretion to grant up to two weeks’ term-time leave to pupils with good attendance records. Now, if a parent takes a child out of school without the authority of the head teacher, they can be fined £60 per child by the local authority, rising to £120 if unpaid after three weeks.

The Local Government Association, representing 370 councils and boroughs across the country, has also called for changes.

A Department for Education spokesman said it was a myth that missing school even for a short time was harmless to a child’s education. ‘Our evidence shows that missing the equivalent of just one week a year from school can mean a child is significantly less likely to achieve good GCSE grades, having a lasting effect on their life chances. Heads and teachers are now firmly back in charge of their classrooms, and most recent figures show we have made real progress – with 200,000 fewer pupils regularly missing school compared with five years ago.’

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Banksy's Dismaland generates £20m in visitor revenue

AN ESTIMATED £20 million in extra revenue has been generated for Weston-Super-Mare and the surrounding area in Somerset in the five week run of Banksy's anti-capitalist show Dismaland has been open.

More than 150,000 people visited the anti-theme park theme park in a derelict seafront lido.

The temporary art show in Weston-super-Mare sold 4,000 tickets a day online, plus 500 more to people willing to queue for hours, often in the rain.

Dismaland described itself as offering "entry-level anarchism", and satirizes the tourism and theme park industries.

Visit Somerset says the town's tourism businesses have benefited by as much as £20 million, more than three times its original forecast. The biggest boost was for hotels and B&Bs, many of which would normally be half-full in September.

The local hoteliers association estimates an additional 50,000 nights were sold.





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Picture Credit: David Kernek

Which are world’s best airlines?

According to Skytrax, which asked airline passengers to vote in a global poll, the answers are disappointing for American, British, and European carriers, none of whom make the top 10 list. 

There’s no US airline in the top 20 list, into which British Airways slithers at No 20 behind Lufthansa, Austrian, Swiss International Air Lines, and Air France.

Here’s the full Top 20 Skytrax list:

1. Qatar Airways 
2. Singapore Airlines 
3. Cathay Pacific Airways 
4. Turkish Airlines 
5. Emirates 
6. Etihad Airways 
7. ANA All Nippon Airways 
8. Garuda Indonesia 
9. EVA Air 
10. Qantas Airways 
11. Asiana Airlines 
12. Lufthansa 
13. Austrian 
14. Swiss Int'l Air Lines 
15. Air France 
16. Virgin Australia 
17. Air New Zealand 
18. Dragonair
19. Thai Airways 
20. British Airways 

Skytrax is a UK-based consultancy, which runs an airline and airport review and ranking website. 

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