Monday, August 9, 2010

Moscow Has Most Expensive Hotel Rates in World, Report Shows

Moscow retained its ranking as the city with the most expensive average hotel room rate in the world, a survey by business travel agency Hogg Robinson Group Plc showed. The average rate in the city in the first half was 256.83 pounds ($407), Hogg Robinson said in a report on its website today. Geneva followed as the second-most expensive city at 199.11 pounds and Hong Kong at 197.61 pounds.

The hotel market in Europe and the U.S. “appears to be stabilizing,” with cities including Amsterdam, Stockholm and Zurich showing increases in average room rates, according to the report.

Hotels are recovering after struggling to attract business over the past two years as the recession deterred holidaymakers and forced companies to cut budgets.

“Globally, the hotel industry has shown signs of recovery in the first half of 2010,” Hogg Robinson spokeswoman Margaret Bowler said in the report. “Moscow yet again retains its place as the city with the highest average room rate for the sixth year, despite a fall of 12 percent when measured in local currency.”

Average room rates advanced 13 percent in Stockholm, 7 percent in Zurich and 5 percent in Geneva during the six months, Hogg Robinson said.

Room rates in Abu Dhabi showed the highest average rate reduction, falling 25 percent, due to a drop in occupancy and new hotel developments. Rome, Copenhagen and Dubai also showed reductions of 7 percent, 10 percent and 12 percent respectively.

London’s average room rates advanced 1 percent, after a “significant” increase in corporate occupancy levels and “buoyant” demand from leisure travelers, as well as the weakness of the British pound against other currencies.

U.S. room rates were “flat or marginally lower,” except for San Francisco, where average rates fell by 11 percent. A drop in demand and oversupply in places contributed to the fall in prices in Bangalore, Belfast and Beijing, where rates fell 21 percent, 12 percent and 19 percent in British pounds, while currency fluctuations caused most of the rise in prices in British pounds in Australia and South Africa, the report said.
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Monday, August 2, 2010

Most expensive bed in the world for the super rich ‎


When you have way too much money to spend, what do you do with it? Some of us would love to be in such a position, since it would be able to solve many of our material “problems” (more of wants than needs if you ask me). Well, imagine for a moment that you are one of the tycoons who regularly appear on Fortune magazine covers as well as other business publications.

With a whole lot more dough you can spend on frivolous items, what would be at the top of your list? We know that getting a good night’s rest is extremely important, so why worry with sleepless nights when you can always sink your head down onto a soft pillow and mattress?

You can do so with what is deemed to be the most expensive bed in the world, thanks to Parnian Furniture from Arizona. After all, the company has already come up with the world’s most expensive desk, so why not expand on their portfolio?Designed and created by the company’s president Abdolhay Parnian, the main intention when developing this bed was not to make it the most expensive in the world, but rather, to design something which does not look like anything folks have seen before, where it is supposed to elicit a feeling of “Wow!” the moment you lay your eyes on it.

The design itself took more than two years to create, while the craftsmen at Parnian Furniture took more than 8 months to create this intricate piece of fine art by hand. The end result is stunning to say the least, and yet Abdolhay is now working on a much more elaborate version for a private client.

Just how expensive is it? For starters, it will retail for $38,000 a pop, with the final price tag easily touching a whopping $210,000, depending on features and materials selected. Other options that are available in case you’re feeling rather generous would be integrated iPad holders (talk about keeping up with the times, eh?), charging stations, pop-up and swivel TVs and computer monitors, hidden compartments, gold and stainless steel detailing and custom handmade mattress options with all natural materials include wool, cotton, latex and horsehair.
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