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Travelers may want to choose Chicago Midway airport over Chicago O’Hare International this Thanksgiving to avoid stress-induced indigestion before the turkey is even on the table.
That’s because O’Hare is expected to be the busiest airport in the nation this holiday, according to a ranking by Orbitz, a Chicago-based online travel company, outpacing its next busiest counterpart Los Angeles International airport by 20 percent. Get the full story »
Shares of online travel agency Orbitz Worldwide Inc. tumbled 18 percent on news that American Airlines has threatened to stop selling tickets on Orbitz sites.
Orbitz said American, the fourth-largest U.S. airline, was threatening to pull its content if the travel agency did not use a direct link to the carrier’s inventory instead of a global distribution service, which negotiates prices. Get the full story »
Online travel agency Orbitz Worldwide Inc. posted a better-than-expected quarterly profit and forecast a 1-2 percent increase in full-year revenue as a rebounding travel industry lifts hotel and international air bookings. Orbitz, which owns travel sites Orbitz.com and Cheaptickets.com, said third-quarter net profit was $15.3 million, or 15 cents a share, compared with $7.0 million, or 8 cents a share, a year earlier. Get the full story »
The Park Hyatt hotel in downtown Chicago. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)
Hyatt Hotels Corp. posted sharply higher quarterly profit on Wednesday as demand for business travel improved.
The hotel owner and operator, controlled by the Pritzker family in Chicago, posted third-quarter earnings of $30 million, or 17 cents per share, up from $5 million, or 3 cents per share, a year earlier. Get the full story »
Hyatt Hotels Corp. intends to open its first luxury hotel in New York–a 210-room Park Hyatt–in a Midtown condominium tower under development by Extell Development Co. In unveiling plans for the luxury hotel, set to open in 2012, Hyatt has gone from just one hotel in Manhattan–the Grand Hyatt in Midtown–at the start of this year to now having plans for six. Get the full story »
Mayor Richard M. Daley and Governor Pat Quinn open the Bio International Convention at McCormick Place on May 4, 2010. (Nancy Stone/Chicago Tribune)
The Biotechnology Industry Organization said its international convention will return to Chicago’s McCormick Place in 2013 and 2016.
“Chicago has hosted two successful and exciting BIO International Conventions, in 2006 and 2010, and we are thrilled to bring the world’s largest gathering of the biotechnology industry back to the windy city and the Midwest,” said Jim Greenwood, chief executive officer of the BIO International Convention.
The convention attracts more than 15,000 people from the agricultural, pharmaceutical and medical device industries as well as government leaders from around the world. Get the full story »
Both Southwest Airlines and AirTran Airways announced short-term fall fare sales Tuesday.
Southwest’s sale, which ends at 11:59 p.m. Pacific time Thursday, offers one-way tickets for $30, $60, $90 and $120 to select destinations, based on the length of travel. There are blackout periods during the December holiday period. Get the full story »
Wright Preservation Trust offices and gift shop seen from the light court of the Rookery Building. (Handout)
Frank Lloyd Wright is headed back to Chicago’s historic Rookery building, in a manner of speaking.
The Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust plans to open a public information center and offer free tours of the building where Wright once housed his downtown Chicago offices and later updated its light court and lobbies. The free tours, as well as the opening of a gift shop, are scheduled for early 2011. Get the full story »
Jimmy Buffett. (John Fitzhugh/Biloxi Sun Herald/MCT)
Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville restaurant is sailing into Navy Pier for a 10-year run.
The Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, which owns and operates the pier, announced the lease Wednesday morning.
“So, we’ll have the Caribbean in February on Navy Pier,” said David Mosena, chairman of the authority, known as McPier. The authority is hoping the restaurant and entertainment venue will serve as an attendance magnet year-round. Get the full story »
Tourists pose for photographs in front of "The Bean" in Millennium Park, Jan. 28, 2010. (Jose M. Osorio/Chicago Tribune)
Chicago and New York tourism officials announced Tuesday their first-ever collaborative effort to lure visitors to their respective cities in the dead of winter.
The Chicago Convention & Tourism Bureau and the Chicago Office of Tourism joined with NYC & Co., the organization that markets the Big Apple, to secure discounts on American Airline flights between their cities during the traditionally slow post-holiday months. Get the full story »
Hilton workers protest in front of thee Hilton Hotel on Michigan Avenue in Chicago Saturday. (Tribune / Abel Uribe)
A strike by hundreds of Hilton Chicago Hotel workers who are working without a contract entered its third and presumably last day today. The three-day strike began Saturday in connection with the workers’ inability to negotiate an agreement at the same time they assert the hotel received a sweetheart deal from the federal government. Get the full story>>
A mobile application that combines games and perks at local businesses is launching Wednesday in Chicago with the Chicago Office of Tourism and other area institutions.
SCVNGR is the latest location-based service to enter the Chicago market. These apps, which allow consumers to “check in” at local businesses, have become increasingly popular, thanks to the rise of companies such as Foursquare and Gowalla. Yelp and Facebook have also added location-based features to their offerings. The SCVNGR app is available for both the iPhone and Android-based phones. Get the full story »
From the Daily Herald | Schaumburg officials said construction on its 26th hotel is moving forward, as hotel occupancy in the Northwest suburbs continues to rebound. The new hotel will be a Cambria Suites, a business-oriented hotel chain, will be built at the northwest corner of Roselle Road and I-90.
Southwest Airlines Co. reported continued growth in September as a rebound continues in the travel and tourism sector.
Airlines have been posting increasing traffic and record portions of plane seats filled lately, after last year’s deep drop in demand in the recession and resulting capacity cuts. Get the full story »
The agency that runs McCormick Place got long-awaited financial relief Wednesday with the sale of $1.12 billion in bonds to restructure old expansion debt and finance an addition to the convention center hotel.
The bond deal, which represents the second step toward a state-mandated revamp of the convention center, also will restore depleted reserves and provide a short-term operating subsidy. Get the full story »
