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Holiday Inn Keeps Us Coming Back For More Of Those £20 Hotel Rooms

Apparently, everyone was such a fan of Holiday Inn's promotional £20.12-per-night rooms last year that the brand has decided to make another go of it. Next Tuesday, simply log onto their website anytime between midnight and 11:59pm to book stays in any of the 160 participating properties at a special rate of £20.12. Just like last year as well, the promotional period lasts from Dec 26 to Jan 31.

In case you've forgotten, Holiday Inn was named the official hotel of the 2012 Olympics, for which London has been frantically preparing over the past few years. Now with the date looming ever closer, Holiday Inn is eager to keep its name fresh in people's minds.

For anyone who happens to be visiting family over the holidays, this promotion could be a major leg up. Deals like this mean you'll find yourself relying less and less on those dreaded bare-faced lies.

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Bed Bugs / Holiday Inns / Arizona Hotels / Pet-Friendly Hotels / Hotel News / → All Tags

Not Even Your Cats Are Safe From Bed Bugs

We've all had that moment of fear when we've checked out of a hotel and felt a little itchy. Uhoh, did we just spend the night with bed bugs? Now imagine if not only you were itching and scratching but your cat was too!

That's what a woman is claiming happened to her and her pet after they both spent a few nights at a Holiday Inn in Glendale, Ariz. The woman, who is only going by the name Elena, says she developed red itchy bumps on her neck after checking out the hotel. A doctor determined she had bed bug bites but her cat ended up in worse condition. ABC15 local news reports:

"I noticed she was starting to pull her hair and itching," Elena said. "I said let's see in a couple of weeks if it gets any better. Within that time, it had gotten much worse. There were bald spots throughout the cat's body and (pus)."

Elena took her cat to Apollo North Animal Hospital in Glendale. Dr. Patricia Bennett treated the cat. Bennett tells me the cat had "damage due to scratching an itch." Bennett said there were "scabs, bumps, and lesions" from "head to toe."

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Snapshot / Hotel Breakfast / Holiday Inns / Holiday Inn Express / Pancake Machines / → All Tags

There's Always The Pancake Machine at The Holiday Inn Express

Nothing says fresh breakfast like a pancake machine?

UPDATE: This picture from a tipster was actually taken at a Holiday Inn EXPRESS which will not be getting the new social hubs. Long story short, the pancake machine lives! Thanks @Expresser24 for pointing this out.

Holiday Inns are gearing up to launch their new social hubs with made-to-order chef stations next month but over at the Holiday Inn Express, you'll have to make do with their Pancake Machines.

Pancakes slide out on a conveyor belt off to the side "in about a minute." It's not exactly homemade but if you have a hankering for pancakes on the road, we guess it will do.

As for the new Holiday Inn breakfast offerings, the first place to get it will be the Holiday Inn Gwinnett Center in Atlanta. After this, the rest of Holiday Inn's 3,000+ hotels worldwide will start to roll out their new social hubs which aside from better food will include a tech concierge, a 24/7 Grab 'n Go market, a video gaming area, a bar, a modern dining area and in some cases, firepits with cabanas. Pancake machines not allowed.

Photo Gallery / Holiday Inns / Holiday Inn Social Hubs / Holiday Inn 2.0 / IHG Hotels / Hotel Restaurants / → All Tags

Is It Okay to Drool Over Holiday Inn's New Food? Too Late.

When was the last time you ate at a Holiday Inn? Wait...wait, we mean besides a breakfast of generic omelet. Chances are, you can't remember the last time you went to a Holiday Inn to eat, let alone hang out, but Holiday Inn is hoping to change that fact...and fast.

Please welcome the concept of the Holiday Inn "Social Hub." Following their rebranding, Holiday Inn is now gearing up to tear up their 3,000+ hotels around the world to introduce a more modern and welcoming public area, where guests (and non-guests!) can feel free to chill out, grab some food, some drinks and maybe futz around on their iPads or laptops without having to be confined to their hotel rooms. Oh, there will be modern seating, there will be free WiFi and outlets aplenty, and there will be food you drool for.

Macaroni & cheese waffle sandwich, anyone?

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Snapshot / Hotel Amenities / Holiday Inns / Barstow Hotels / Road Trip Hotels / → All Tags

Somewhere Around Barstow On The Edge Of The Desert... Lies Free Popcorn

Where: 2700 Lenwood Road [map], Barstow, CA, United States, 92311

How’s this for a check in amenity: along with two bottles of free water, a big bag of popcorn ready to be brewed in your in room microwave?

Also at this hotel, where we stayed last week, we had free WiFi, free breakfast and 24 hour access to tea, coffee, cookies and fruit. Amazing.

Sadly, it was nothing sexier than a Holiday Inn. Even more sadly, it wasn’t located anywhere we’ll likely be paying a return visit – Barstow, California (yes, we broke down driving to Vegas on a Sunday night and had to wait till the next day to get a new tire). There are two Holiday Inn Express(es) in the town but Hotwire selected the one by the outlet center - on the edge of the desert, if you will - for just $53.

The room could have done with a little airing, but we didn’t really care, since it was full of loving little touches such as the tissues folded into a little bow in the bathroom, that popcorn and the 24 hour access to the food, drink and heated pool outside. Also, the staff were phenomenally nice, even going so far as to ask us at check in whether we had a floor or view preference for our room.

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Hotel Sales / Hotel Deals / Sage Hotels / Holiday Inns / Marriott Hotels / → All Tags

Catch Half Price Rooms at 39 Sage Properties While You Can (Starting Tomorrow Morning)

The Oxford, Denver

There’s nothing like a hotel sale, especially when it’s not only valid for one particular day at one particular property. So we love the sound of this: 48 hours to book one of 39 Sage properties at half off.

Starting tomorrow at 9am (we're waiting to find out which timezone, but we assume it's EST) and ending Friday at 5pm, the sale will take half off the best available rates for stays between May 26 and September 5. The brands are listed here, including Courtyard By Marriott, Hilton Garden Inn, Fairfield Inn & Suites, Holiday Inn, Marriott, Renaissance, Residence Inn and TownePlace Suites – but there are other hotels in the sale that aren’t included in that list, such as the Hilton San Diego Del Mar.

In addition, posher hotels are included such as the Oxford in Denver (the favorite hotel of our favorite gossip hound, Norm Clarke of the Las Vegas Review Journal) and The Glenn Hotel in Atlanta.

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Hotel Construction / Holiday Inns / Sam Chang / Downtown New York Hotels / Tribeca Hotels / New York Hotels / → All Tags

Looks Like Another Budget Hotel Is Coming To Tribeca

New York budget hotel mastermind Sam Chang is back to work on his stalled Tribeca property at 99 Washington Street, the last rumors of which we heard in 2007. Seems work on the 44-story project will finally recommence, at least according to a tipster who sent us a report in The Tribeca Trib, which says that Chang and his partners will present the latest plans at a March 2 community board meeting. The report also says it's slated to become a Holiday Inn.

According to previously disclosed details, the hotel is meant to have 350 rooms. Gene Kaufman Architects, of the Tri-Pack Hotel and Hotel 373 among others, will handle the design. (They're aiming for 400 rooms in the $50 million project.) Along with ground-floor retail, there will be an eight-floor "street wall" before the tower footprint shrinks as it rises, which would open up a potential outdoor terrace. This would all compliment Chang's development nearby at 50 Trinity Place, slated to be a 35-story hotel—but also currently stalled.

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Stonebridge Suites / Holiday Inns / London Hotel Openings / Hotel News / London Hotels / → All Tags

And Now Come The Budget Hotel Brands to London...

What’s this yet more hotels for London? It sure is! This time it’s the budget brands Holiday Inn and the Staybridge Suites who will be opening up in the Westfield Stratford City complex, which just so happens to be adjacent to the Olympic Park.

The four-star Holiday Inn will have 188 rooms and the hotel will set the benchmark for future Holiday Inns. Staybridge Suites currently have two other UK properties located in Liverpool and Newcastle but this will be their first in London. The Staybridge Suites London-Stratford City will have 162 suites all with their own living rooms and kitchens. Both hotels will open in Spring 2012 in time for the Olympics.

Just make sure you request a room with a view over the Olympic Park and remember to bring your binoculars - who needs a ticket now?

[Photos:Hubpages]

Miami Hotel Mambo / Days Inn Hotels / Holiday Inns / Budget Hotels / Beach Hotels / → All Tags

More Mid-Beach Miami Hotel Mambo: Doing The Inn Thing

Who's ready for some more Mid-Beach Miami action? It's snowing outside our window in NYC, so we sure as hell are. Following on from yesterday's look at the Four Points By Sheraton, here are some more snaps of affordable options right on the boardwalk to ogle...

Above we have the Holiday Inn Miami Beach Oceanfront. As you can see, it has a huge pool area (for Miami), and what they call a 'Hammock Oasis', where you can snooze away a couple of hours between the palm trees. Rates for the weekend of Jan 21-23 start at $233 a night.

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Hotel Deals / Holiday Inns / London Hotels / Hotel News / → All Tags

Celebrate London 2012 For £20.12 With Holiday Inn

Holiday Inn Bloomsbury: yours for £20.12

If you’re living in London, we’re going to take a wild guess and venture that you’re not over-excited about the Olympics coming. But they are good for something – to celebrate being the official hotel provider for the games, today, and for today only, the UK branch of Holiday Inn is releasing rooms for £20.12.

Why today? This had us stumped, too, but it’s because it’s the 20th day of the 12th month. All about marketing, see?

There are 150 hotels across the UK taking part in the deal, and you can book for stays from 26 December till 9 January, although New Year’s Eve is blacked out.

It may be tight on time, but the savings are real – you can stay on 26 December at the HI Bloomsbury, in central London, for £20.12 when without the deal, it’ll cost £130. So if you fancy a quick trip to London, or elsewhere in the UK, now’s the time.

To book, click here or call 0871 942 9223. The deal lasts until 23.59 tonight.

Loyalty Program News / TopGuest / Foursquare / HHonors / Intercontinental Hotels / Kimpton Hotels / Holiday Inns / Social Media / Standard Hotels / Grand Guest / Viceroy Hotels / → All Tags

To TopGuest or Not To TopGuest? That Is The Hotel Loyalty Question

How awesome would it be to get loyalty program points just for visiting a hotel—like dining at its restaurant, grabbing a beer at the bar or just meeting in its lobby—instead of only for the time you actually sleep there?

Put very simply, that's the concept behind the social media loyalty program TopGuest, which tracks your Foursquare and Facebook Places check-ins and awards you points when you stop by hotels under their program. It's an excellent, novel idea, but is it worth paying attention to?

TopGuest launched exclusively with Standard Hotels over the summer, and they quickly picked up further partnerships with the Soho Grand/Tribeca Grand Hotels, Viceroy Hotels and many others, even Holiday Inn. Check out the current full list in the image above (with a bonus of Virgin America and Avis thrown in). Now, we feel like we have a pretty well-rounded social life, and yet we haven't yet earned any rewards. What's up with that?

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Holiday Inns / Hotel Bars / Holiday Inn Social Hubs / Hotel News / → All Tags

Let's Meet for Drinks...at The Holiday Inn

During a recent stay at Holiday Inn in Denver, one of our contributors was rather blown away by the "fierce lobby area" particularly with that flashy white piano worthy of an Elton John singalong night.

We actually thought it as just an anomaly. Perhaps the owner of this particular Holiday Inn really wanted to set up a party scene. But according to this WSJ article, Holiday Inn as a brand is making a conscious move to give guests a social scene on property, introducing what they call a "social hub."

The social hub would tailor Holiday Inn's lunch and dinner menus to bar fare that can be shared, such as gourmet meatballs, sesame chicken wings, hamburgers and a few significant entrees, such as steaks and salmon club sandwiches.

Those changes would allow for more food to be served by the bar staff, which in turn would allow Holiday Inn's franchisees to limit their labor costs by reducing restaurant staff, especially at slow times of the day.

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