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When You're Drunk And Hungry, There's Always The Renaissance

Where: 1551 Thoreau Dr N [map], SCHAUMBURG, IL, United States, 60173

It was 4:58am this past Saturday morning—late Friday night, whatever you want to call it—and a Mundelein, IL, local was hungry. So he did what every other red-blooded, stumbling-drunk opportunist would do at five in the morning: break into a nearby Renaissance banquet hall and raid the kitchen.

While we've never done anything like this (well, at least not at a Renaissance—this is New York, after all, so inevitably there's always better grub to chase), we can see how the allure of an empty banquet hall kitchen's refrigerator, on a hot summer night, would be a literal beacon in the night. What is unclear is how the suspect, Michael Young, actually ended up inside the Renaissance Schaumburg Hotel And Convention Center, a forty-five minute drive from his hometown.

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Convention Hotels / Marriott Hotes / Austin Hotels / Hotel News / → All Tags

Can Marriott Win Austin's Heart?

Where: Congress Avenue [map], Austin, TX, United States, 78701

This week, voters in Austin, Texas get to decide if the Marriott is worthy of a $4.3 million break in building fees for a prospective 1,000-room-hotel they're planning to open on Congress Avenue and East 2nd Street.

The huge scale of the property would make it a Marriott Marquis, putting it on the same level as the giant Times Square tower. The Austin Marquis would have between 27 and 30 floors, and create around 300 new jobs for the city (at a time when unemployment is rearing its ugly head in almost every corner of the country)—maybe this is reason enough to condone the multi-million dollar allowance?

News of the development comes exactly one year after a report showed Austin suffered a six-year low in hotel occupancy. Though those figures still stand, it seems the mayor is counting on Austin strengthening its foothold in the competitive tourism market:

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Westin / Boston Hotels / Convention Hotels / Hotel Technology / → All Tags

The Westin Boston Waterfront Tracks Your Flights

Where: 425 Summer St. [map], Boston, MA, United States, 02210

Boston has its share of geeky hotels, so it shouldn't surprise us that the Westin Boston Waterfront has installed a cool new gizmo: A flight departures tracking board. Guests at the hotel can check the status of flights out of Logan International Airport, which should come in particularly handy as fall turns to winter and the airport gets socked with bad weather.

The system is called FlyteBoard, and aside from the name it seems like a great innovation. The real-time info comes directly from the airport, meaning it gets some updates that you may not find by simply checking your flight status online.

It's too bad you can't check in for your flight at the hotel, too, but this is a good start. We'd definitely rather work in a comfy hotel lobby than in Logan's terminals.

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Hotel Video Tours / Westin / Boston Hotel Reviews / Convention Hotels / → All Tags

Hotel Video Tours: Scaring Valets At The Westin Waterfront

Where: 425 Summer Street [map], Boston, ma, United States, 02210

Recently, we decided to check out what was up at one of Boston's newest "conventioner" hotels, the Westin Boston Waterfront.

Flat panel televisions in every room, a pleasantly lingering new hotel smell, a big, wide open lobby, and that earthy tone decor that gets everyone at Westin so excited these days.

Want the downside? It is in Southie, so South Station is walkable, but kind of far and on-site parking is $36.00 a night--convention suckers. However, if you know the area--D Street cough--you can find a good meal at a reasonably priced restaurant within a couple blocks of the hotel.

Want to know what it is like to walk into this hotel? Well we attempt to show in in the hotel video above. And the answer is no, we did not take that valet's wallet, even though he gives us a look like we are about to pick his pocket.

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· Hotel Video Tours [HotelChatter]
· The Weston Waterfront Comments [TripAdvisor]