Per Diems In U.S. Cities

The cost of travel is not cheap. The average daily cost of 100 U.S. cities is 314.78! This daily cost consists of hotel, 3 meals, and car rental. Below are the 10 most expensive cities in the United States. Included is the average per diem needed. Note that the per diem does not include airfare and parking fees.

1. New York $564.24

2. Washington DC $463.41

3. Boston $433.12

4. Newark $422.74

5. Detroit $416.94

6. San Francisco $410.33

7. Chicago $406.62

8. Honolulu $399.84

9. White Plains $398.19

10. Baltimore $397.45

44. Milwaukee $308.68

62. Madison $293.19

International travel isn't much cheaper. Using a cross section of 100 cities the daily per diem needed is $314.08 (US dollars). Although this is .70 cheaper than the average in the United States, one can see from the numbers below that the 10 most expensive international cities are much more pricey that their US counterparts.

1. Paris $528

2. Amsterdam $506

3. Moscow $505

4. Stockholm $498

5. London (Central) $480

6. Oslo $478

7. Rome $454

8. Brussels $452

9. Kiev $450

10. Lyon $448

THE BELLAGIO: I Loved the Electronic Drapes

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of staying at The Bellagio in Las Vegas NV for 5 nights. Before checking in the only expectation I had was the expensive room rate and although The Bellagio is considered "high-end" for Las Vegas I still expected the decor to be somewhat tacky. The expectations of the expensive room rate was accurate. However, The Bellagio wasn't tacky. In fact, The Bellagio is the nicest hotel I've ever stayed in.

My traditional room was very spacious. It featured a king size bed, a work/business area, and a huge bathroom. When entering the the room I was greeted with marble flooring that lead you into the room. The marble flooring extended into the bathroom. In the corner of the room was a comfortable sitting chair. My first 5 minutes in the room was spent "playing" with the electronic drapes. Very cool. I must admit, during the 5 days, I found myself fascinated with the electronic push button drapes. I'm convinced the electronic drapes actually saved me money at times because it kept me away from the gaming tables.

The bathroom was huge. It featured a marble floored shower area that had glass walls. This was separate from the bathtub which was large and deep that included jacuzzi jets. The vanity was long and had 2 sinks.

Like most of the newer Las Vegas hotels...The hotels are destinations themselves. Even if you are not staying at The Bellagio one could spend a few hours walking around admiring the hotels impressive architecture, fine art, touring shops, and visiting one of the hotels find eating establishments.

Before arriving in Vegas a co-worker who had stayed at The Bellagio the year before told me that when he stayed there for a week that it was the only time that he didn't want to leave a hotel to go home. After my trip, I would have to agree. Does anyone know how to get electronic drapes installed in your house?

TOP TEN IN ROOM MOVIES FOR 2007

LodgeNet Interactive Corporation is the leading provider of media and connectivity solutions designed to meet the unique needs of the hospitality industry. LodgeNet Interactive serves more than 1.9 million hotel rooms representing 9,300 hotel properties worldwide in addition to health care facilities throughout the United States. Translation...If you paid for an in room movie while traveling over the past year, you most likely watched the movie via the LodgeNet system.

Lodgenet is the leader in providing on demand entertainment to the market, and its list of the top selling titles is the most accurate gauge of performance in the market. The most-viewed video on demand movies in properties served by LodgeNet during the year were:

1. Knocked Up
2. Borat
3. Night at the Museum
4. Wild Hogs
5. 300
6. The Bourne Ultimatum
7. Casino Royal
8. The Departed
9. Live Free or Die Hard
10. Ghost Rider

Mideast's first woman-only hotel opens in Saudi Arabia

Women in Saudi Arabia have a plethora of constraints. They are banned from driving vehicles, forced to be covered from head to toe while in public, prevented from talking to men other than relatives and prevented from traveling without written permission from their male guardian.

With this restrictive life-style...maybe women is Saudi Arabia deserve to have a hotel for themselves. The Luthan Hotel and Spa caters to women only, has 25 rooms, offers 150 spa treatments, and has fine dining as well as conference facilities. Are woman allowed to hold meetings/conferences in Saudi Arabia?

The Luthan Hotel and Spa opened this month.