http://www.hostels247.com/news/ Best Hostels 24/7. No Booking Fee. No Hassle. en-us HOSTELS 247 Thu, 14 Feb 2013 20:02:09 +0000 http://www.hostels247.com/news_2_hostels247__news/ Best Hostels 24/7. No Booking Fee. No Hassle. Hostels247.com Launches Its New and Dynamic Website 2007, we formally welcome you to Hostels247.com's new look website, designed to make the backpackers, students and budget travellers, online Hostels and Budget Hotels booking experience easy and hassle free. We see the launch of this new look, clean cut and easy to navigate website as one of our major commitments in ensuring that, we reach our valued customers far and wide, by giving them first hand information on the services we provide, in line with our focus on double digit growth throughout this year. http://www.hostels247.com/news_4_Best__Hostels__24__7/ Best Hostels 24/7. No Booking Fee. No Hassle.
Hostels247.com Launches Its New and Dynamic Website 2007, we formally welcome you to Hostels247.com's new look website. We see the launch of this new look, clean cut and easy to navigate website as one of our major commitments in ensuring that, we reach our valued customers far and wide, by giving them first hand information on the services we provide, in line with our focus on double digit growth throughout this year. We welcome you to Hostels247.com the Dynamic Hostels, discount hotels and cheap accommodation online booking website made for you. Our aim is to be the best by focusing on offering you the customer, the best service and the cheapest prices available, by working closely with our partner properties to achieve this. http://www.hostels247.com/news_5_Press__Release/ The Most Dynamic Back Office in the online booking world

Hostels247.com the London based, online hostel and budget accommodation booking site with no booking fee, has developed the most dynamic Back Office system in the online booking world. The reason the system is so dynamic and unique is the amount of user friendly aspects that make updating and changing information easy and fast. Hostels247 knows that time is money and understands the needs of their working partners, the hostels and accommodations no-one wants to spend hours on the computer updating information when it could be done in minutes. Once logged into the system the administrator has many tools at their disposal to make changes and updates, which make the administrators, job a breeze. In order to fully appreciate the capability of the back Office system you would have to be an authorized user, but to give you an idea of what is on offer I will say this, even as a complete novice, I was able to make changes and understand the system in minutes. Hostels247.com may not be the biggest in the online hostel, discount hotel and budget accommodation booking market, but they are nimble, savvy in their approach to customer care and catching up fast. The rest of the online booking sites, well you could say the dinosaur's better look over their shoulders because Hostels247.com is catching up fast. http://www.hostels247.com/news_6_Press__Release/ Launch of new amp; dynamic online budget accommodation amp; travel booking site. We are pleased to announce the launch of Hostels247.com the independent online travel and booking site for hostels and budget accommodation world wide with no booking fee. The aim of hostels247.com is to save Students, backpackers and all travellers' money and to allow everyone the opportunity to travel cheaply and stay in a clean, safe and affordable accommodation while travelling, even people on a low income. We are excited and proud to introduce our new easy to use online travel and booking site. To date, searching and booking online has been hit and miss, never knowing if you are really making the right choices. We have combined all the best features of other online booking sites, ironed out all the problems and have created the ultimate online travel and booking site. Hostels247.com has been developed and designed with backpackers, students and budget travellers in mind; every aspect of the site has been designed to put the customer first, from Multi function search tools like a easy click Map, quick search bar and country listings to travel tips, No booking fee and No Credit Card transaction fee. Through every stage of development of this unique and dynamic site, the customer's needs have been kept at the heart of the business and we know, that this site, like no other is made for you. Why does Hostels247.com beat the competition? Customer first Free Service No booking Fee No Credit Card transaction fee Simple and easy to use Designed with you in mind No registration required Multi function search tools The internet travel market is growing and changing fast and Hostels247.com has burst onto the internet and is off to a running start, no matter your opinion of online budget accommodation and travel booking sites and what they stand for, this site is definitely worth a visit. Hostels247.com is a trading name of Golden Charles Ltd. http://www.hostels247.com/news_8_South__Africa__defeated__England__15-6__for__Rugby__World__Cup__2007/ South Africa won the Rugby World Cup by beating England the defending Champions 15-6, on Saturday 20 October 2007 at the Stade de France outside Paris . Percy Montgomery converted all four of his penalty kicks and Francois Steyn kicked another penalty to account for all the 16 points that took South Africa to victory. Was the world cup stolen from England the moment the try by Mark Cueto was disallowed? If your an England Fan the answer is a resounding yes, the decision was carefully deliberated before a match official decided to disallow the try, but no matter your option on the subject, its too late now, the defending champions England , have been defeated in the 2007 Rugby World Cup, by South Africa 15 - 6. It was a pivotal moment in the match for England , that in some ways they never recovered from. As South Africans and their supporters around the world celebrate, England and their supports are left disheartened and disappointed. All England can do now is to regroup, assess their performance and strive to do better.
Hostels in Paris Hostels in London Hostels in Cape Town http://www.hostels247.com/news_9_Raging__Mega__Fire__Burns__in__Southern__California/ Fire fighter Heroes Battle the raging California inferno With thousand of acres on fire in southern California. California has faced a mega fire beyond comprehension, with over half a million people being evacuated, this is the biggest evacuation in California history and has been well organised and has helped to save many lives. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the governor of California, ordered the states National Guard to help evacuate residents. Many of the evacuees have found accommodation and shelter in Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego which is transformed into a Guest House for fire evacuees. With thousands of homes burn to the ground, and countless others still in danger, the tireless firemen have battled for four days to try and contain what seems like a loosing battle, with over 8500 fire fighter working around the clock, they got a slight break on Wednesday when the Santa Ana Winds shifted and died down a bit. The drop in the winds was good for the fire fighter and helped to stop the fires from spreading but it was not so good for the massive clouds of smoke settling over California causing breathing problems for everyone. The massive fires in southern California have been upgraded to a federal disaster by President George W Bush. Bush said he wants the people of Southern California to hear a message loud and clear from Washington. "Americans all across this land care deeply about them," The president said after a Cabinet meeting convened to coordinate federal efforts. "We're concerned about their safety. We're concerned about their property." Bush will be visiting the disaster area on Thursday. http://www.hostels247.com/news_10_Lunar__Tourism__China__Launches__Lunar__Probe/ China's Lunar Probe Launched China has taken a giant step in the race to be the first Asian nation to put a man on the moon. China has launches a lunar space probe named the Chang'e 1 from Xichang launch pad in south west China. Several thousand people were evacuated form a 2.5km radius of the launch site as a precaution. Chang'e 1 is named after a mythical Chinese goddess who, according to legend, flew to the moon. The probe is intended to spend a year orbiting the moon with the first photographs due at the end of next month; Chang'e 1 will use stereo cameras and x-ray spectrometers to take 3-d images of the moons surface. If the Mission is successful it will be the beginning of China's long tern 3 step plan of landing an unmanned lunar mission in 2012 and having their first man on the moon in 2020. China is not the only Asian country striving to be the first Asian Nation to land a man on the moon, Japan took their first step by launching a lunar probe, nicknamed Kaguya after a moon princess in an ancient Japanese folktale, in Mid-September and India is planning to send their own lunar probe into space in April 2008. China made its first piloted flight into space in October 2003, making China only the third country in World after the Soviet Union and the United States to have sent a man into space. It is the ultimate aim for all countries in the space race to have a permanent Lunar Base. NASA plans to build a solar powered lunar base at one of the moon's poles and it is expected to be permanently manned by 2024. The establishment of a permanent lunar base would be the beginning of a new era in Leisure and Tourism with Private Accommodation, Luxury Hotels, and even Hostels on the moon. This is not as far fetched as it may sound, as the first space tourist Mr Dennis Tito a Californian based millionaire launched into space on April 28 2001. Space tourism is still in its infancy but many countries and private companies are striving to become the leader in Space Tourism and intergalactic travel. http://www.hostels247.com/news_11_unilateral__ceasefire__in__Darfur/ Sudan has announced a unilateral ceasefire in Darfur to coincide with talks in Libya to try to end the four-year war.
A Sudanese presidential adviser made the announcement at the start of talks in the city of Sirte.
But two of the main rebel groups have boycotted the talks in a row over invited factions, despite a threat of UN Security Council sanctions.
Some 200,000 people have died and 2m have been displaced in the conflict.
Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir had said last month he was prepared to call a truce for the talks.
At the Sirte gathering, Sudanese presidential adviser Nafie Ali Nafie said: "We announce a ceasefire from this moment, and we will respect it unilaterally."
However, several ceasefires have previously been agreed and none has ended the violence.
The African Union envoy for Darfur opened proceedings by saying the talks were a new opportunity for the region.
"Today marks another milestone in our collective search for peace in Darfur," Salim Ahmed Salim said.
"The journey has been long, arduous and extremely challenging. And the results... have been mixed. But today we are here in this historic city of Sirte for another new beginning."
Fighting in Darfur began in 2003 when rebels attacked government targets.
Sudan's government then launched a military and police campaign in Darfur.
A 2006 peace deal faltered because it was signed by the Sudanese government and only one rebel group.
The latest talks are being hosted by Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.
'Trap'
Both the SLA-Unity and the Justice and Equality Movement (Jem) groups decided not to attend after the UN and the AU - who are mediating the talks - invited other rebel groups they claim have little support, said Mohammed Bahr Hamdeen, a senior Jem leader.
"The mediation has fallen in the trap prepared by the government by making the negotiations an arena for every Jack, Tom and Harry," Mr Hamdeen said.
The UN's special envoy for Darfur, Jan Eliasson, continued to hold out some hope for the talks, at which he will be an official mediator.
"This is the first time in a very long time that we have a chance to start to talk about the concerns of the people of Darfur - the right to return to their villages, the need to stop the violence," he said.
When the conflict broke out in 2003, SLA and Jem were the only two rebel movements. Now, there are at least 12.
Demonstrators protested against the talks in Abu Shouk, one of many refugee camps in Darfur, on Friday.
Many Darfuris from different tribes are united in their support for the key rebel leader, Abdul Wahid.
Large numbers are also strongly opposed to the talks and doubt that the negotiations will lead to any concrete improvements on the ground, says the BBC's Amber Henshaw, in Darfur.
They seem to blindly back Abdul Wahid, she adds, even his decision not to attend the peace talks - which means that their voices will not be represented at the discussions.

Story From BBC News.
With the ceasefire in place in Darfur Sudan, let's hope that Sudan will become a peaceful Country and a place that people will want to travel to, for Business, Leisure and tourism. The image of the country will improve gradually and no doubt there will be backpackers and budget travellers looking for adventure and place to stay like cheap hostels, youth hostels, backpackers hostel accommodation, budget hotels amp; luxuary 5 star hotels.
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http://www.hostels247.com/news_12_Everest__Rocks/ Highest ever Rock Concert Mike Peters musician from "The Alarm" and a cancer survivor along with James Chippendale led 40 Musicians, cancer survivors and mountaineers on a 14 day trek to the Base camp at Mount Everest. It was no easy task since you cannot, drive or fly to the base camp, they Trekked and hiked along with the Sherpas for 14 days to base camp at mount Everest, where they held the highest ever Rock Concert at 5,600 meters. Mike Peters the founder and CEO of Love Hope Strength a US based Cancer awareness group, has registered the concert with Guinness World Records as the being the highest ever rock concert 5,600 metres up Everest. The Concert is in aid of The Nepal Cancer Relief Society (NCRS) and has already raised a quarter of a million and it estimated to raise another quarter of a million, the money will be used to help the Bhaktapur Cancer Hospital build the infrastructure of its clinic, NCRS, by providing them with much needed equipment and funding. The grand final will be a Rock Concert on Monday in Kathmandu. Some of the other people in the Everest Rocks Team: Nick Harper – Musician Glenn Tilbrook – (Squeeze) Cy Curnin – (The Fixx) Jamie West-Oram – (The Fixx) Alan Hobson - Leukemia Survivor, Motivational Speaker, Author and Everest Summiteer Jake Norton – Everest Summiteer and Photojournalist Alex Coletti – MTV Producer / MTV Unplugged creator Sean Swarner – Author, speaker amp; 2 time cancer survivor, first cancer survivor to summit Everest Ade Summers – Mountaineer, Head guide Tom Grimshaw – Video editor Special guests in Kathmandu: Steve Lucas - X Patrick Donovan – Chief Music Writer - The Age, Melbourne, Australia Cheap Hostels, Youth Hostels, Backpackers Accommodation amp; Budget Hotels in Nepal. http://www.hostels247.com/news_13_New__York__Giants__Beat__the__Miami__Dolphins__at__Wembley__London__England/ New York Giants Beat the Miami Dolphins at Wembley London England In the first ever competitive NFL game played outside the USA, New York Giants beat the Miami Dolphin 13-10, on the muddy Wembley Pitch. A mixed crowd of Miami Fans, New York Giant Fans, American expats and dedicated hardcore fans from all over Europe made up an estimated crowd of 81,000 watching the match on Sunday 28th October 2007. Miami coach Cam Cameron: "I can't imagine a game being put together better than this. The hospitality was like none I've ever seen" "As it relates to the game, I told our guys you can't make that many mistakes, especially in the scoring zone. We weren't able to overcome those mistakes." Giants coach Tom Coughlin: "Our team was very proud to be here in London. The people have been wonderful to us. The stadium is beautiful" "It was a difficult game for us. We thought we were in pretty good shape defensively for a long time" "But nevertheless, on the last drive [for them] to score in those situations was a shocker to me." Cheap Hostel, Youth Hostels, Backpackers Accommodation amp; Budget Hotels in London. Book Budget Hotels, Motels, Backpackers Accommodation, Youth Hostels amp; Cheap Hostels in New York. http://www.hostels247.com/news_15_Last__Minute__goal__saves__Arsenal__to__draw__Manchester__United__2__-2/ Arsenal Still Top Of The Table

The Emirates Stadium London, played host to the much-awaited match between rivals Arsenal and Manchester United, the match has been played and the scorecard has been marked with a 2-2 draw keeping Arsenal at the top of the table.

After a slow start from both sides, Manchester United went into the lead in the 45 minute of the first half with a goal scored by Gallas o.g,

The second half saw Arsenal answer back quickly, with an equaliser after just thee minutes, with a Goal scored by Fabrigas in the 48 minute. Visitors Manchester United thought they had sealed the game, when a goal from Ronaldo, at close range was scored in the 82 minute. Arsenal was desperately trying to keep possession and create an opening in the Manchester United Half. Gallas scored the equalizer from the far post in the 90 minute of the game to save Arsenal from defeat.

The draw with Manchester United on Saturday night set a new unbeaten club record at Arsenal, with 25 games without defeat in all competitions. Arsenal has been on a wining streak since 7 April, almost seven months.

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http://www.hostels247.com/news_17_Public__Transport__Strike__in__Italy/ Travel Chaos in Italy

Travelling around Italy today was not as smooth as usual to put it lightly, Italy was hit by a public transport strike, some trains were affected and most buses were not running leaving many stranded. To make matters even worse in Rome, heavy rain made finding alternative transport even harder and made taxis in high demand.

The slight inconvenience caused by the buses and trains, was nothing compared to the problems and chaos causes in the air, many flights were delayed and dozons were cancelled.

The Public transport strike called by the Cobas Union, was in protest to a deal struck by Italy's three main union confederations and the government. The agreement will mean a progressive rise in the retirement age. It has also increased short-term contracts in the workplace.

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http://www.hostels247.com/news_18_Travel__and__Accommodation__Boom__In__Canada/ Travel, Leisure, Tourism, Hotels, Hostels, Youth Hostels and Budget Accommodation Boom in Canada The strong Canadian Dollar has not stopped the increase in travel to Canada from U.S. and the rest of the world. Canadians have also taken advantage of the strong dollar by making record amount of overseas travel in August.

Travel to Canada rebounded in August while Canadians set new records in their U.S. and overseas travels, Statistics Canada said in a report released October 18th 2007.

Canadian residents took about 2.1 Million overnight trips abroad in August – a new record. This included 609,000 trips to overseas countries and it marks the sixth month in 2007 that the number of overseas trips by Canadians passed the 600,000 mark.

Before 2007 the 600,000 mark had never been reached reports Statscan.

Overnight trips taken by Canadians south of the border rose 4.2% to almost 1.5 Million. This sets a new record for overnight air travel. Canadian residents took 498,000 overnight plane trips in August, up 2.3% compared with the previous month.

Overnight car trips, meanwhile, jumped 5.3% in August since July, although same day trips increased a more modest 0.6% to nearly two Million trips.

Despite the strong Canadian Dollar, overall travel from Abroad increased 2.4% in August from July. U.s. and overseas travellers took nearly 2.6 Million trips to Canada in August.

Travel to Canada from the United States rebounded in August after across the board declines in July.

Meanwhile, travel from seven of Canadian's top 12 overseas markets increased, while overall travel to Canada from overseas countries remained stable at 385,000 trips.

The boom in travel to Canada has helped to boost employment in the travel and hospitality sector, also increasing the profits of the operators of Hotels, Cheap Hostels, Youth Hostels, Bed and Breakfast, Guesthouse, Lodgings, Private Apartments, Budget Accommodation and Restaurants, Bar and Nightclubs.
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http://www.hostels247.com/news_19_Londons__Slave__Trade__Past__Revealed/ Britain's Capital City Slavery Past revealed and on show in Museum in London Docklands

November 2007 sees Museum in Docklands open the new permanent gallery in London, which examines the capitals involvement in transatlantic slavery and its legacy on the Capital City of Britian.

Marking the bicentenary of the abolition of the slave trade by Britain, the new gallery is part of a series of events and projects planned by the museum in West India Quay.

The new gallery, called London, Sugar and Slavery, will reveal how London's involvement in the slave trade shaped the capital since the 17th century.

It will debunk the myth that London was a minor player in the trade, by showing that it funded much of the city's industrial and financial success. London today is a major Business, Leisure and tourist destination and has a wide variety of attractions and accommodations to offer, from hostels, youth hostels, bed amp; breakfast, budget hotels to private apartments and luxuary 5 star hotels.

On Friday 16th November, the Museum will be staging Olaudoh Equiano: His life and Times, which will feature an international panel in an exploration of London's greatest black abolitionist. Vincent Carretta (USA), Paul Lovejoy (Canada), Alexander X. Byrd (USA), Clive Harris (UK), Helena Woodard (USA), Jim Walvin (UK).

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Cheap Hostels Youth Hostels Backpackers Hostels and private Apartments in London England http://www.hostels247.com/news_20_Africa__mourns__one__of__its__beloved__sons__Lucky__Dube/ Africa mourns one of its beloved sons Lucky Dube

South African reggae music icon and singer against Apartheid, Lucky Dube who was gunned down in downtown Johannesburg on 18th October 2007, a month ago is still being missed by millions of his fans across Africa and the world. Mr Dube who was the first black artist to have a record played by a white radio station in South Africa during the Apartheid Era, is known all across Africa and the World for his music and love of peace.

He was killed in a botched car jacking, by a gang of four men who where later caught by the South African police. Although Lucky attempted to escape the scene, he had been fatally wounded from the hijacker's attempt to steal his motor vehicle, and he died almost instantly.

Senseless and random, the death of Lucky Dube leaves a great void in the music industry, as 25 years of music suddenly ends in tragedy.

Mr Lucky Philip Dube "Lucky Dube" born 3rd August 1964 in Ermelo, Mpumalanga province, South Africa.

Having watched him perform as a young man in South Africa, I must say he reminded me of another reggae superstar who died tragically in a similar way (Peter Tosh) who died aged 43, just like Lucky Dube and almost the same day as well, despite all of this not so inviting news south Africa especially Cape Town still remains one of the most visited places by tourists, sun seekers and young backpackers from across the globe, who just can not get enough of this magnificent southern African country which boasts among its major attractions the famous table mountain, drakensburgh mountains, the kruger national park where one can see Africa's big five.

Cape Town is known for its sophisticated nightlife, great wine and romantic restaurants not to mention some of the best fish dishes in the world.

So those of you who might have been alarmed by the tragic death of one of Africa's most loved sons, I say to you don't be, my heart goes out to his family and he will always be remembered as one of the greatest "Sons Of Africa"

Crime in South Africa is getting under control now, thanks to the president Mbeki, who has formed a special force to tackle car jacking and violent crime, which was spiralling out of control.

South Africa is a wonderful place to travel to especially within the next two years, the first ever world cup to be staged on African soil will be in south Africa in 2010 and Cape Town will be host to most of the games.

Those travelling on a budget will be happy to know that almost all hostels, youth hostels, budget hotels, cheap hostels, guesthouses, bed amp; breakfast hostel, discount hotels and lodgings are open 247 and are of very high standard compared to many places around the world and not to mention how affordable and cheap things are in South Africa.
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http://www.hostels247.com/news_22_Americas__National__Day__of__Thanksgiving__2007.____Busiest__Travel__Weekend__in__America/ America's National Day of Thanksgiving 2007 – Busiest Travel Weekend in America

A Proclamation by the President of the United States of America

Americans are a grateful people, ever mindful of the many ways we have been blessed. On Thanksgiving Day, we lift our hearts in gratitude for the freedoms we enjoy, the people we love, and the gifts of our prosperous land.

Our country was founded by men and women who realized their dependence on God and were humbled by His providence and grace. The early explorers and settlers who arrived in this land gave thanks for God's protection and for the extraordinary natural abundance they found. Since the first National Day of Thanksgiving was proclaimed by President George Washington, Americans have come together to offer thanks for our many blessings. We recall the great privilege it is to live in a land where freedom is the right of every person and where all can pursue their dreams. We express our deep appreciation for the sacrifices of the honourable men and women in uniform who defend liberty. As they work to advance the cause of freedom, our Nation keeps these brave individuals and their families in our thoughts, and we pray for their safe return.

While Thanksgiving is a time to gather in a spirit of gratitude with family, friends, and neighbours, it is also an opportunity to serve others and to share our blessings with those in need. By answering the universal call to love a neighbour, as we want to be loved ourselves, we make our Nation a more hopeful and caring place.

This Thanksgiving, may we reflect upon the past year with gratefulness and look toward the future with hope. Let us give thanks for all we have been given and ask God to continue to bless our families and our Nation.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim Thursday, November 22, 2007, as a National Day of Thanksgiving. I encourage all Americans to gather together in their homes and places of worship with family, friends, and loved ones to reinforce the ties that bind us and give thanks for the freedoms and many blessings we enjoy.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this fifteenth day of November, in the year of our Lord two thousand seven, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-second.

GEORGE W. BUSH
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Today America is a land of opportunity and the largest economy on the face of the Earth, with a modern and vibrant infrastructure; America has a lot to give thanks for. This Thanksgiving holiday weekend millions of Americans will travel to different corners of America and the World, to be with families and Friends, not forgetting the countless other Americans around the world, that will for what ever reason, be spending Thanksgiving away from their families, in Hotels, Motels, Hostels, Youth Hostels, Budget Hostel Accommodation, Cheap Hostels, Bed and Breakfast, Guest House, Backpacking and Private Apartments. The spirit of thanksgiving will always stay in the heart of every American no matter where they are, because America has a lot to give thanks for. http://www.hostels247.com/news_23_New__and__improved__Hostel__Accommoadtion/ new and improved hostel accommodation around the world, has increased the amount of people using hostels. http://www.hostels247.com/news_25_Amir__Khan__Boxing/ Khan Retains Title on his 21st Birthday in Style Amir Khan retains his Commonwealth Lightweight Title in Style by Knocking out Graham Earl in just 72 Seconds. A packed Bolton Arena saw Khan celebrated his 21st Birthday by knocking out Earl and keep his 100% fighting record. Graham Earl 8 years his senior, seemed average and Khan secured his most impressive Win of his career so far, with ease. No Doubt we will see more from this impressive and promising young Man, his rise to fame began in 2004 Athens Olympics, when at the age of 17, he represented Great Briton in Lightweight Boxing and Won the Silver Medal. Bolton was jam packed with boxing supporters that travelled from all over UK to watch Khan fight. It was a boom also for the local business and accommodation such as Hostels, Backpackers Hostels, Youth Hostels, Budget Hotels, Bed and Breakfast Hostels, Private apartments and luxury 5 Star Hotels. http://www.hostels247.com/news_26_Floyd__Mayweather__Gives__Ricky__Hatton__a__Boxing__Lesson/ Pretty Boy Mayweather retains his WBC Welterweight Crown Las Vegas in America hosted the showdown between the undefeated fighters Ricky Hatton and Floyd Mayweather Jr. Both fighters fought like tigers but in the end the best man had to win. Pretty Boy Mayweather knocked out Hitman Hatton in the 10th Round to retain his WBC Welterweight Crown and to put himself in history book as the best pound for pound fighter in 2007. Ricky Hatton Supporters travelled from UK in droves to support their undefeated champion, but this was not enough to see him through from the heavy armoury from America's Pretty Boy Mayweather. Las Vegas was a buzz with boxing supporters from around the world and it was also a Christmas come early for Hotels, Youth Hostels, Motels, Bed and Breakfast Hostels and Guesthouse, not forgetting the casinos, restaurants bars and night clubs in Las Vegas, Nevada.
http://www.hostels247.com/news_29_2008__Has__Just__begun/ NEW YEAR A TIME OF HOPE
As we waved good bye to 2007 and welcomed in 2008, only a few days ago, billions of people Worldwide rest their hopes on 2008 and the year ahead. Celebrations, parties and time for reflection is all part and parcel of December 31st each year. There may be countless languages, cultures and traditions worldwide, but one thing is universal, the New Year is a time for new beginnings for everyone. Only three days into the New Year, we can not tell what is ahead for us all, we have only had time to tidy up after the Celebrations.

Ever since I have been a child, I have always seen New Years Eve and the Stroke of Midnight chiming in a new year as a magical time.

When I was a child I spent every New Years Eve with my parents at home, being allowed to stay up till Midnight as a child, to see in the New Year was a treat and I felt it was a privilege, as usually I would be fast asleep at midnight. Once the clock struck Midnight we would sing Auld Lang Syne ndash; (Which means times gone by), we would all have a celebratory Drink and within minutes I would be sound asleep, and my Dad would carry me upstairs to bed.

New Years Eve now is still as magical as when I was a child. No matter what the previous year has brought you the New Year is a New Beginning. If you have been lucky and things have been going really well, the money is rolling in, your family life is stable and happy and you rsquo;re on top of the world, then the New Year is seen as a launching pad for even better things and a time to build on the success of the previous year.

On the other hand, if you have had a tough year and have just managed to get by, the New Year is as a time for new beginnings, the hardship and problems of the previous year are left behind, once the midnight hour is struck and the New Year begins.

So to me it does not matter your age, where you live or even how rich or poor you are, the new year is a magical time for everyone, New Year brings hope.
Book Worldwide New Years Cheap Hostels and Budget Hotels Accommodation Online. http://www.hostels247.com/news_30_World__Economy/ Will the budget travel market weather the world economic down turn? The answer is probably yes.

The Fed, the US central bank, is trying to keep the US economy from slumping into recession and US and European stocks took heart from the move.

US President George W Bush has said that emergency economic measures will be passed soon.

The Fed's interest move came as a complete surprise, as it was taken a week before its rate-setting Open Market Committee meeting scheduled for 29 and 30 January.

It came after huge declines in shares across Asia and Europe on Monday, with London's benchmark FTSE 100 suffering its biggest one-day fall since the attacks of 11 September 2001

How this will affect ordinary men and women is yet to be seen, but one thing is for sure people are going to be more careful with their money, this will mean a drop in the sales of luxury item and services and a sharp increase in people using budget accommodation like cheap youth hostels and discount hotels and cheap air fares.
http://www.hostels247.com/news_31_Travelodge__Ireland__Joins__with__Hostels247.com/ Press Release

Hostels247.com and Travelodge Hotels Ireland join force, the perfect cobination.

Travelodge Hotel Ireland, the home away from home and the most preferred budget Hotel for independent and corporate travellers, joins force with Hostels247.com, the most nimble, travel social networking and online Budget Accommodation Booking website.

Travelodge Ireland has established itself as the preferred budget accommodation in Ireland and has locations in key cities in Ireland, such as Dublin, Cork, Galway, Waterford, Limerick, Belfast and Derry.

Working in conjunction with Hostels247.com, Travelodge is able to maximise their exposure in the international travel market and gives added choice and quality accommodation for Hostels247.com customers.

Travelodge Hotels in Dublin, Travelodge Hotels in Cork, Travelodge Hotels in Galway, Travelodge Hotels in Waterford, Travelodge Hotels in Limerick, Travelodge Hotels in Belfast, Travelodge Hotels in Derry. http://www.hostels247.com/news_32_Grupo__Playa__Sol__Hotels__Ibiza__Joins__Force__With__Hostels247.com/ Press Release

Hostels247.com joins force with Grupo Playa Sol Ibiza

Grupo Playa Sol Ibiza, the largest operator of Ibiza Hostels, Budget Hotels, Apartments, Hotel Complexes, Budget Accommodation and Holiday Resorts in Ibiza, has joined forces with Hostels247.com

Our aim at Hostels247.com is to bring a wide range of quality hostel and hotels accommodation to out customers in Ibiza Spain, working with Grupo Playa Sol has enabled us at Hostels247.com to fulfil this goal.

Grupo Playa Sol has what it takes to offer our customer quality accommodation in Ibiza, San Antonio Ibiza, San Antonio Bay Ibiza and Palma de Mallorca, at affordable prices without loosing quality of service.

Working with Grupo Playa Sol has allowed our customer access to more than 50 high-quality resorts between hotels and apartments, with recent reforms and modernizing of all the facilities of the establishments, this has further enhanced the quality of service on offer. http://www.hostels247.com/news_33_Chinese__Lunar__New__Year__Travel/ Chinese Lunar New Year Holiday Travel February 2008

The world rsquo;s largest holiday travel, Chinese Lunar New Year, sees over 190 Million People travel home for the most important Holiday in the Chinese calendar. This year the carefully planned travel arrangements by many Chinese have not helped them to make their journey home any easier; everything seems to be going wrong, the weather, with many inches of snow, the transportation at a standstill, everything seems to be against them making it difficult for the masses, to get home before the Chinese Lunar New Year on Wednesday.

China has been hit by the worst snow storms in half a century, travelling in China came to a stand still, leaving holiday travellers stranded across the country. Planes have been grounded, Trains have been delayed for days and roads have been closed.
Millions of people have been waiting in the freezing cold trying to grab a place on the few trains that have managed to run.

The tension in Guangzhou Railway Station has only been contained by the amount of military personnel who have been sent to try and co-ordinate the movement of the travellers at the Railway Station, only in Guangzhou Main Railway Station in Guangdong Province, Southern China there is about 12,000 Police working all hours, working alongside the military personnel.

For many people in China the Chinese New Year is the only chance they get to travel home on Holiday and visit their families and spend time with friends.

Hostels and Budget Hotels in China, Book your Hostels in China, Backpackers Youth Hostels and Cheap accommodation online to get the best deals.
http://www.hostels247.com/news_34_Valentine__The__Worldwide__Day__of__Love/ Valentine's Day 2008
On February 14th every year across the world from Lovers in London, Romantics in Rome, Proposals in Paris to Newly Weds in New York, in cities from Dublin, Barcelona, Amsterdam, Krakow, Lagos, Hanoi, Cape Town and nearly every city and country in between people are celebrating this yearly Day for Lovers and Romantics ldquo;Valentine Day rdquo;
The day has not gone without some controversy, BBC News Reports ldquo;The Chinese authorities are suspicious of the religious origins of the celebrations, while conservative Hindus in India consider Valentine's Day to be an alien Western import. However, neither ideological objection nor militant intervention appears to have been able to check the growing international popularity of this day rdquo;
Shops, Restaurants, Bars and Night Clubs are packed with happy Couples enjoying some special time together, not forgetting the boom in weekend breaks in Hostels, budget hotels, bed and breakfast and luxury 5 star hotels in every corner of the world, champagne flows, flowers are and chocolates are exchanged and that rsquo;s just for starters. Valentine Day comes but once a year, so enjoy yourself, your partner and all the presents and perks the day brings. Love each other every day. Happy Valentine rsquo;s Day http://www.hostels247.com/news_35_Hostels247.com__Partners__with__NYC__Hostels/ Hostels247.com Partners with NYC Hostels

Hostels247.com has partnered with NYC Hostels, the largest hostel group in New York City, to offer their New York Hostels and Studios to Hostels247.com customers. NYC Hostels currently has 5 prime locations in New York, Candy Hostel, Chocolat Hostel, Hostel Fresh, Sky Hostel and West Side Inn Hostel, giving travelers a wide array of premier budget accommodations to select from when they are visiting New York City, for Business or pleasure, customers can choose to book a private room, dorm beds or private apartments.

Hostels247.com has been adding numerous partnerships with hostels and budget hotels around the globe to their extensive list, ever since the company rsquo;s grand opening over 7 months ago.

ldquo;We are so pleased to have formed this partnership with NYC Hostels since their hostels and studio properties are a perfect match for our budget seeking customers. Hostels247.com aims to provide premier budget accommodations for all travellers, rdquo; said the company founder when asked about this new partnership.

ldquo;We welcome a partnership with Hostels247.com, and am most confident that your presence in New York will grow rdquo;. Said Mr. Robert Beda Executive Vice-president NYC Hostels New York.

This important partnership allows Hostels247.com to expand their customer rsquo;s budget travel options in one of the most desirable cities in the world. ldquo;New York is a must visit, rdquo; said the founder of Hostels247.com when asked about this travel destination.

New York City (NYC) is without a doubt one of the most sort after cities of the world and a premier travel destination for all travelers.

Hosels247.com offers a comprehensive list of all the most popular travel destinations in the world.
http://www.hostels247.com/news_36_Lombardy__in__London__for__Womens__Eights__Regatta__2008/ Canottaggio Lombardia in London for Women's Eights Head

On Saturday 1 March 2008 at 10am, the start of the Annual Rowing Event on the River Thames, London, England, the Women's Eights Regatta 2008 began. Teams from around the World gathered to this annual event to prove who is the fastest, this year saw 251 crews enter the race.

One of these International crews was from Italy called IDROGENO ROSA LOMBARDIA, this year headed by Mr Antonio Bassi the Canottaggio Lombardia president brought to the race a very young crew, a mix of senior and junior crew members.

The Crew members were: Alessandra Caraffini - Elisa Scapolo - Valentina Calabrese - Giulia Pollini -Elisa Stranges -Deborah Battagin - Sabrina Noseda -Ambra Roversi- are the names of the girls and Michael Wale the quot;English quot; Cox.

All the girls of the crew were from Lombardia region in Italy one of the best regions for rowing in Italy, due to the amount of lakes and rivers allowing easy access rowing practice and in 2003 the world rowing championship was in Milano and in 2007 the international junior regatta Coupe De La Junesse was at Varese Lake.

Since the crew was a new subscriber they were made to start in the most crowded part of the race, which causes problems for overtaking and mutual respect for others, but if you are among the first to go all have the opportunity to make the most of your field, not with standing this handicap they still performed well in the race.

The starting position of the IDROGENO ROSA LOMBARDIA crew was 13th; they finished in 14th place out of 251 crews, the second best overseas crew, only pushed into second best position due to a yellow card and 5 second penalty incurred by the crew at the start of the race, inflicted by a starter Idrogenorosa.

ldquo;It was a pity to be pushed into second best overseas crew, but we are still very happy with the result that this years young crew has produced rdquo; said Mr Antonio Bassi when asked about the performance of his crew.

ldquo;The Course was not an easy one for a young crew as the River Thames has many curves and bends to navigate rdquo; said Mr Antonio Bassi when asked about the River Thames Course.

ldquo;Next year is another year, which will give the possibility to young and senior crews to immerse in the atmosphere of a major international competition like the Women's Eights Regatta in London rdquo; Said Ferruccio Calegari Press FIC Lombardy

When asked, all the crew member had positive feedback about the Women's Eights Regatta 2008 and were grateful for the opportunity to participate in an International Rowing Event.

Once the competition was over the Lombardy group had time to enjoy an evening out in Leicester Square, West End of London. And the following day they had a day rsquo;s sight seeing in London and a ride on the Famous London Open Top Bus.

For the second year in the row, the Lombardy Group stayed at Adamotel, near Gloucester Road and Earls Court, due to easy access to the course.

For More Information or to Speak to the team president Mr Antonio Bassi or Canottaggio Lombardia rowing club Please Visit www.canottaggiolombardia.it

Book Cheap Youth Hostels | Budget Hotels | Group Bookings http://www.hostels247.com/news_37_The__University__of__the__Free__State__is__a__ticking__racial__time__bomb./ The University of the Free State is a ticking racial time bomb.

This week the first warning sign was the release of a racist video protesting against an integration policy, in which four members of the university's Reitz hostel degrade five black cleaners.

The five down beer, run a race, play touch rugby before being forced to eat food reportedly laced in urine.

On Friday, in little black or white groupings all over campus, the Reitz video was the only topic of conversation.

Although some calm had returned after widespread rioting, the situation was tense.

Reitz hostel students received death threats this week.

Hostel head student Pieter Odendaal confirmed students had been threatened with death and that the hostel would be burned down.

quot;They said they will rape our girlfriends and our sisters and that they would not stop before the hostel closes, is set on fire or when they see a Reitz student lying in his own pool of blood, quot; Odendaal said.

He said tension was running extremely high, quot;especially during the evenings quot;, and the students' studies were suffering as a result of it.

quot;The Reitz House Committee distances themselves from all incidents of racism and regrets the fact that the current residents at Reitz are now being targeted and perceived as racists, quot; Odendaal said.

He said it was unfair to judge the entire Reitz hostel by the actions of a few.

The president of the UFS Students' Representative Council Ben Schoonwinkel said racial incidents had exploded all over campus.

quot;It's not just Reitz. And it's back and forth between black and white. quot;

He is one of the 15 white members of the 18-strong SRC on a campus where 61 percent of the students are black.

He blames the university's integration policy both for the video and the subsequent uproar.

He said there had been undue pressure, particularly on white hostels, to bring about transformation with increased placement of black students at white hostels. This, he said, had forced some of the white students to sleep in communal areas after being forced out of their rooms.

Even though preparations like security services and translators were agreed to in the initial planning of integrating hostels, this had not been done.

quot;White people on the campus are not that bad, quot; Schoonwinkel said.

Prior to the widespread distribution of the Reitz video, the hostel had already been identified as a hotbed of racist behaviour.

In 2004, as per the university tradition, female hostels put on a show in front of the male residences. Black female hostel dwellers from Akasia who attempted to put on their show at the hostel were chased away with dogs. Following a complaint with the university, the ladies from Akasia received flowers by way of apology.

The following year a black female student was punched in the stomach, apparently for walking on the pavement in front of the Reitz residence. She went to a nearby black male hostel whose members physically confronted the Reitz hostel dwellers.

Last year Villa Bravado, an adjoining black hostel, had a party. Members of Reitz decided to sit in the road dividing the two residences, blocking traffic from proceeding to the party.

Agitated residents of Villa Bravado asked campus security to intervene. They replied that the black hostel dwellers should not cause trouble.

SRC vice-president Tom Thabane was one of five arrested after he had tried to talk down the angry protesters at Reitz hostel.

He backed the call for the closure of Reitz residence quot;because of its cult mentality quot;.

quot;People come in and out there but the mentality remains, quot; said Thabane.

He blamed the racism on the campus on a prevalent mindset which was not challenged, especially by black students. He also condemned the lack of action on the part of the university, which failed to follow through on prosecuting perpetrators even when a formal complain had been laid.

By Beauregard Tromp, Botho Molosankwe and Nadine Visagie

This article was originally published on page 3 of Cape Argus on March 01, 2008

Book Clean Hostels and Budget Hotels Worldwide http://www.hostels247.com/news_39_St__Paddys__2008/ St Patrick's Day Celebrations Worldwide

2008 is a year to remember for St Patrick rsquo;s Day, the date of the celebrations was moved from the 17th March to the 15 March, due to the 17th March clashing with dates in the Catholic Church Calendar, Bishops discovered the Irish patron saint's feast on March 17 clashed with the second day of Holy Week in 2008.

The last time St Patrick's Day had to be moved was in 1940 when it coincided with Palm Sunday, the first day of Holy Week. The next date it will have to be moved again is 2160.

Sinead Grace, of Tourism Ireland, said the traditional St Patrick's Day parade through Dublin has now become a week-long festival.
quot;I wouldn't imagine too many people are aware of the religious aspect. I can't see that it will make any difference to the bookings of Hostels, hotels and B amp;Bs, quot; she said.

The moving of the official day of Celebrations for St Patrick rsquo;s has not dampened any enthusiasm or the scale of the elaborate celebrations Worldwide. Chicago still dyed the River Green; New York rsquo;s St Paddy rsquo;s Day Parade was still as magnificent, London rsquo;s St Patrick rsquo;s Day Parade was Still as Amazing and the festival in Trafalgar Square, Leicester Square and Covent Garden were a must if in London and around the World the change in date hardly made an impact.

When asked, most people commented that the date of St Patrick's Day was important, but not as important as the celebration itself. http://www.hostels247.com/news_40_American__Airline/ 200 Flights Cancelled by American Airlines

American Airline has cancelled 200 Flights Nationwide, throughout America, on Morning of Wednesday 26th March 2008; the flights were cancelled due to an electrical fault found by the FAA during a Voluntary Safety Inspection of the MD80 Planes. In a statement give by American Airline they said that the MD80 Air Crafts were grounded due to question had arisen quot;concerning how a certain bundle of wires quot; had been secured in the aircraft.

The grounded planes will undergo an inspection that will take a couple of hours and then go back into service once the wiring that has caused the concern has been checked and all other checks have been performed.

The FAA are also going to check the Safety records for the MD80 planes to ensure the right procedures were followed during the last scheduled inspections.

The cancellation of the flights has caused a lot of havoc through out America, for around 26,000 airline travellers and has raised questions into the safety checks being performed by American Airlines as well as other Air Line Operators.

The trust airline travellers have in the safety of the aircrafts and the safety procedures in place by the airline operators, have taken a hard blow today, and American Airlines will have to regain the trust of its passengers, by ensuring all aircrafts are serviced and safety checked regularly made.

Book Hostels, Motels and Budget Hotels in USA and Worldwide Online. http://www.hostels247.com/news_41_Heathrow__Terminal__5/ Problems with Opening Day at Heathrow Terminal 5

The long awaited opening of pound;4.3 Billion ($8.6 Billion) Heathrow Terminal 5, opened to the public today. The state of the art terminal 5 had a lot to live up to, as passengers, press and the airlines had high expectation for the new addition to Heathrow, one of the world rsquo;s busiest airports.

The opening of terminal 5 has had a few problems and issues, the first, being 250 protesters in a ldquo;Flash mob rdquo; demonstration in the terminal's arrivals hall and problems with the new baggage check in technology, that were put down to teething problems by the BAA Management.

The state of the art baggage system, saw staff struggle to operate the new technology and passengers waited up to 4 hours for their bays. The Fast bag check in points, that are designed to take no longer than 10 Minutes to check in, ground to a halt and the manual check in desks also saw staff having trouble to log into the new system, all the while passengers and baggage were backing up all day. Flights were cancelled and Check I was also suspended for some time, which added to the frustration and waiting time for passengers. Tonight only three flights are able to operate due to the problems with baggage system.

Terminal 5 rsquo;s first day of operation has been quite rocky, but I am sure that the new Terminal at Heathrow will, resolve any minor issues they have seen today and will be an excellent addition to Heathrow and help London and the UK remain at the forefront of great Travel Destinations Worldwide, offering travellers the opportunity to discover what London, the UK and the world has to offer.

Book Cheap Hostels and Hotels Accommodation in London and Worldwide Online http://www.hostels247.com/news_42_Schengen/ Schengen - Border free travel area in Europe expands to 24 Countries

Schengen open borders area in Europe expended to include 9 new countries: Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Malta the overland and sea borders where abolished in these 9 countries in December 2007 and now in March 2008 the border controls at airports have also been abolished.

The original Schengen countries signed the agreement to abolish border controls between their countries in June 1985, France, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands they met near the town of Schengen in Luxembourg to sign the Schengen Agreement, the agreement was named after the town in Luxembourg Schengen, where the agreement was first signed.

It took another 5 years to finalize the agreement and in 1990, the five countries (France, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands) signed the Schengen Convention, intending to put the common area into practice.

The 9 New Schengen Countries brings the total Number of Schengen Countries to 24, the other 15 countries part of the Schengen border free area are, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain and Sweden.

The Schengen border free area in Europe allows for the free movement of people within the Schengen zone, it opens up opportunities for all Schengen citizens to be able to access and travel in all Schengen areas and not be restricted by border controls.

It allows Tourists and visitors to apply for one visa for a country within the Schengen area and then be able to travel freely within all the Schengen countries without the need for multiple visas, making their holiday experience hassle free and more enjoyable for them.

Book Cheap Hostels and Budget Hotels Accommodation in Schengen, Europe. http://www.hostels247.com/news_43_Open__Skies/ OPEN SKIES - MORE FLIGHT OPTIONS FOR TRAVELLERS WORLDWIDE

The first plane under the open skies agreement landed at London Heathrow Airport in the early hours of morning on Sunday 30th March 2008, the Continental Airways flight from Newark to Heathrow is the first step in what is hoped to be a new era in air travel.

The president of Continental Airline Jeff Smisek, was onboard this monumental flight and told CNN Heathrow landing rights had cost Continental Airline $200 million, but that it had been quot;money well invested. quot;

The open Skies agreements allows international travellers much more options in regards to non stop flights, and also allows airlines more opportunities to gain key direct flights from major cities around the world. Negotiations are still going on and further ldquo;Open Skies rdquo; negotiations are due in 2010, until then airline operators may find it hard to secure slots at airports.

No matter the speed of the progress with the ldquo;Open Skies rdquo; agreement it is well over due that airline travellers are given more options from airline carriers for non-stop transatlantic, long haul and short haul flights.
Book Flights, Hostels and budget Hotels Worldwide.

ldquo;Open Skies rdquo; agreement is the dawn of new era in air travel. http://www.hostels247.com/news_44_First__Day__of__Spring__Moved/ First Day of Spring has been Moved

It was announced to day by AFN News channel that 1st April has officially gained the title as the First day of spring, the announcement was made in the early hours of the Morning New York Time, after the extraordinary closed session in United Nations.

March 1st every year has always been seen as the first day of spring and the turning point from winter into spring time. The reason for the 1st March losing its title and its crown as the First day of spring, was put down to increased Worldwide Climate change. Scientists from around the world were consulted and their combined data has been used to calculate the New First Day of Spring, which has been announced as 1st April.

It is expected that in the next hundred years, if we do not start to make drastic changes, the first day of spring will have move to the beginning of May.

Governments Worldwide have announced Travellers will be banned from travelling, and all local and international flights will also be grounded, within this period with the hope that one day maybe, not in our lifetime that April 1st will become the first day of spring again. The use of the internet, mobile phones and cars will also be restricted in a bid to curb the amount of radiation on the environment; Tax relief will be given owners of horse drawn carriages, Bicycles, Camels, Donkeys and Push Cars.

This breaking News Story is brought to you by the April Fools Network.

Book Hostels and Budget Hotels Worldwide for Spring Holidays

http://www.hostels247.com/news_45_Snow__Misery__at__Terminal__5/ Snow leads to further Canceled Flights at Terminal 5

April showers have a new meaning, London and the South East was blanketed with snow up to 3 Inches deep, the last significant snow showers in April was in 1989.

The snow has brought more misery to the travellers at London's Heathrow Airports Terminal 5, over 100 Flights have been cancelled and many flights have been delayed due to the un-seasonal snow showers.

Two runways were briefly closed to allow for deicing and the amount of runway traffic was refused, all adding to the existing delays caused by the problems with the baggage handling system. Thousands of passengers were stranded while other flight due at Heathrow were diverted to other UK airports.

Some travellers spent the night in Local Hotels waiting for their reschedualed flights. Hotels in the area have taken advantage of the troubles at Heathrow Airports Terminal 5, by increasing their room prices.

It seems even nature is not on the side of Heathrow Airports Terminal 5, and the success of a smooth service provided by BA and the new terminal.

Book London and Worldwide Hostels and Budget Hotels Online http://www.hostels247.com/news_46_Qantas__Airline/ What keeps Qantas Airline
the Australian National Carrier
going continuously for 87 Years?

Qantas Airline the Australian National carrier, founded in Queensland Outback in 1920, was originally registered as Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Service (Qantas), with its kangaroo Logo, has been in the Air for 87 Years, longer than any other Independent Airlines, KLM (Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij, exact translation in English Royal Aviation Company, known as KLM Royal Dutch Airlines), is the Oldest Airline founded in 1919, but since its takeover by Air France in 2003, now called Air France-KLM, it is no longer has the longest unbroken record as an Independent Airline.

Chalk's Ocean Airways, founded in 1917 with ad-hoc charter operations is the unofficial oldest airline in the world, but this is disputed by some people as the airline is no longer flying.

I was surprised in my little research of the World Airlines, to find out that the longest and the oldest unbroken record in the Airline Business goes to Qantas. I Suppose they do it better than anyone and manage to stay in the Air, Because Australia is so far from everywhere else, the only way to get in and out of Australia quickly is by Air. Even getting to some parts of Australia takes days if going overland. Remarkably Qantas has one of the best safety records and air worthiness amongst all the World Airlines, its also profitable and well run.

I was expecting that this record would be held by a European or a North American Airline like KLM the Royal Dutch Airline, Air France, British Airways (BA), Lufthansa, American Airlines, Continental Airways, United Airlines or Air Canada.

When I started my little research, I was almost sure that it would be British Airways, and at some point I was thinking that it would be Aeroflot Russian Airways, which for many years was the largest Airline in the World and has the largest fleet of Aircrafts.

The Airline business is a difficult business, it rsquo;s a business where giants like Pan Am (Pan American Airline), TWA, Swiss Air, Nigerian Airways and Laker Airways disappear overnight, and are never heard of again.

Its also a business that has a lot of glamour and opulence, the Airline Business has created well known names like the legendary Sir Freddie Laker the pioneer of no frills Airlines, best known for founding Laker Airways in 1966, Sir Richard Branson Founder of Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Blue and Virgin Nigeria, Stelios Haji-Loannou Founder of Easy Jet and Michael O rsquo;Leary the Boss of Ryan Air the Irish Airline.

The title of longest running independent airline goes to Qantas, I know some people may dispute this, and would like to give this title to KLM, but all the other Airlines in the World carrying travellers, students, Families, Business Men and Women, on countless Holidays, Business Trips and Weekend Breaks, must also be recognised, as being vital and integral part of the Travel and Tourism Industry the World over.

What will be interesting to see is how many of these airlines will survive the difficult economic climate and high costs of oil that is destined to reach $200 USD a barrel.

Book Cheap Flights, Airline Tickets and Holiday Accommodations Worldwide http://www.hostels247.com/news_48_Mysery__For__American__Airline__Customers/ 1000 Flights Cancelled by American Airlines

American Airlines have been forced to cancel another 1000 flights across the USA, due to the same problem with the bundling of some electrical wiring in the MD80 Air Crafts; the cancelled Flights have left over 100,000 Travellers stranded across the USA trying to book alternative flights and make different travel arrangements.

American Airlines have continued to have problems with the bundling and spacing of the electrical wires in the MD80 Aircrafts since the problem was discovered a couple of weeks ago in March. American Airline not only have to reimburse the affected customers, they are also paying for peoples overnight stay in local Hotels Accommodation. At the time when airlines are at the knives edge trying to make money, this bad PR doesn't help the travel market.

Book Cheap Hotels Accommodation in USA and Worldwide http://www.hostels247.com/news_49_British__Airways__Delays__Move__to__T5/ London Heathrow Terminal 5 will not see the complete move of
British Airways until June 2008

British Airways has delayed their complete Move of all Long Haul Flights to London Heathrow Terminal 5 from Terminal 4 at Heathrow until June 2008, BA had hoped to transfer all operations to the new Terminal 5 at Heathrow by the end of April 2008, but continued problems with the baggage handing System and un-seasonal Snow Showers added to the delays caused to BA Customers at London Heathrow rsquo;s Terminal 5, many customer were forced to spend nights in local Hotels until their cancelled flights were rescheduled the following days.

Willie Walsh, BA rsquo;s Chief Executive said the company wanted to make sure everything was working properly before more strain is put on the system.

quot;We are making this decision in the interests of customers, quot; he said. ldquo;Though Terminal Five is now working well, we need to have confidence that good service can be maintained when the terminal is handling larger numbers of customers. quot;

The delay of British Airways will have a knock on affect for other airline carriers using terminal 4 who were in line to take over free slots that BA would leave by moving to Terminal 5.

Book London Hostels and Budget Hotels online http://www.hostels247.com/news_50_London__Marathon__2008/ Flora London Marathon Winner 2008 Martin Lel

Sunday 13th April 2008 sees another London Marathon begin. The London Marathon is one of the 5 most Important Annual International Marathons Worldwide.
London Marathon 13th April 2008 Boston Marathon 21st April 2008 Berlin Marathon 28th September 2008 Chicago Marathon 12th October 2008 New York Marathon 2nd November 2008 This year rsquo;s London Marathon winner was Martin Lel, the Kenyan marathon runner. Martin Lel set a race record finishing in just 2:05:15. Martin Lel has won the London Marathon 2 times before in 2005 and 2007.

As in every race there can be only one Winner, but the London Marathon means a lot more than winning to many people, it is a chance to raise money for charities and good causes, such as the Six Masai tribesman who ran the London Marathon to raise money for water for their village in Tanzania, other people run to raise money for cancer research, RSPCA, Poverty Eradication and countless other charities and good causes.

The Londn Marathon is also about the whole experience the atmosphere, its about the taking part for many people and not necessary the time it takes them to finish, but what you have achieved by taking part.

London Marathon is also an important Travel Event, and a boost for London Tourism. Athletes and people from around the world travel to London to Paticipate in the Marathon, staying in Hostels, Bed and Breakfast, Private Apartments and Hotels Accommodation across the Capital city.

Book London Hostels and Budget Hotels Online http://www.hostels247.com/news_52_Pope__Benedict__in__America/ President Bush Welcomes
Pope Benedict to America

Pope Benedict XVI, 6 day visit to America began when arrived at Andrews airport base in Washington DC and was welcomed by President Bush and hundreds of well wishers.

The Pope is on a his first official trip to America, he is due to stay 6 days and will hold two stadium masses and will also visit ground zero in New York among other places. Thousands American's and other tourists travel to the Capital to catch a glimpse of the Pope, Many Hostels, Budget Hotels and Motels are fully booked due to the Popes Visit to the Capital.

Security is high for the Pope rsquo;s visit and the security services have a contingency plane for every eventually that might occur.

The Pope visit to America is an historical event as he is only the Second Pope every to Visit the White House in Washington DC.
http://www.hostels247.com/news_53_Cricket__Revolution/ The New Indian Cricket League (ICL)

The Indian Cricket League is a mix of Cricket and Bollywood, it has made Cricket trending and exciting, the adverts are catchy, top Bollywood and Indian Cricket stars have been used to promote the league, and big money has been invested to promote the league and also major international cricket players are due to participate in the up coming matches.

Some of the World rsquo;s Top Cricket players have come to Bangalore, India to Chinnaswamy Stadium, to see the opening ceremony and the first match of the Indian Cricket League, between Bangalore Royal Challenge and the Kolkata Knight Riders all matches played in the league are to follow the Twenty 20 Format. The opening ceremony saw Fireworks Extravagantly dressed dancers, stilt walkers and also American cheer leaders, cheering on the crowd and players, it was certainly not your every day start to the usual subdued Cricket Match.

This new Indian Cricket League has brought travellers and players from around the World to India and the ICL is set to change the way we view cricket. One of the Commentators of the event said, that this is a historical moment in the sport of cricket.

The Indian Cricket League created a Mini Boom in Indian Travel and Tourism and many Hostels, Hotels, bed and Breakfast, Guest Houses and Luxury 5 Star Hotels were fully booked due to the first match of the ICL.

TV rights to the matches have already generated Millions of Dollars, the Indian Cricket League may not be what a lot of Cricket Fans expect, but it may bring a whole new generation and demographic to enjoy the game of Cricket. http://www.hostels247.com/news_54_Key__to__E-Commerce__Success/ Engaging with the Customers is the Key to Success in E-booking Travel, Hostels and Hotels Business

The way forward for online Hostels and Hotels Booking websites, is no longer just to sell 1000 rsquo;s of beds and rooms to their customers for their next Holiday or weekend break, but to engage with the customers.

ldquo;Engage with your customers rdquo; is the Buzz phrase in the travel, hostel and hotel industry at the moment, but only a few companies, have actually embraced the meaning of engaging with your customers and made their site a user friendly and must visit travel social networking site, not just your average run of the mill, hostel and hotels accommodation booking engine.

Some key features that help to engage and encourage customers to visit sites over and over, not just to book their accommodation but to find out what is going on and what rsquo;s new, are:

Travel Blogs, Travel News, Travel Reviews, Informative News Letters, Travel Forum, City Guides, Events and celebration in different cities

These added features allow the customer to interact and gain more than just a hostel and hotel bed booking from the website, the customer is able to keep up to date with Travel News around the World, read and Post Travel Blogs, check out Cities guides and find out what events are happening in different cities during the year, and also read reviews from other travellers.

These are only a few of the many value added features that entice customers to online hostel and hotel booking websites and also help to retain them as long term loyal customers.

In this fast moving, ever changing internet world, you have to keep ahead of the game, engaging with customers, incorporating travel social networking and unique features like travel pal and Social Networking Plug ins to your site, is the only way to retain existing customers, while enticing new customers. http://www.hostels247.com/news_55_Hostels247__is__now__Compatable__With__Rate__Tiger/ Hostels247.com Partners With Rate Tiger The Multi Channel
Travel and Hospitality Distribution System Provider

Hostels247.com the travel Social Networking and online Hostels and Hotels booking website, has partnered with Rate Tiger by eRevMax, the online distribution management system provider of Sophisticated Multi Channel Distribution technology, for updating availability and pricing for the travel and hospitality industry.

Hostels247.com has been adding numerous partnerships to help improve the customer rsquo;s experience from Booking Accommodation to Uploading the availability by the hostels and hotel management teams.

Partnering with Rate Tiger, enables the management of the hostels and hotels to upload their availability simultaneously to multi channel portals, making their life easier and also increasing the amount of bookings made online without increasing their work load.

Hostels247.com and Rate Tiger have integrated their systems allowing Hostels and Hotels accommodation partners of hostels247.com to use Rate Tiger Technology to update their availability, and Rate Tiger Customers are also able to channel their availability through Hostels247.com, an ideal situation and Win, Win for all parties.

The Integration of Hostels247.com and Rate Tiger was made possible by Ragnar Strerath the VP of Product Development at Rate Tiger.

ldquo;In today rsquo;s fast moving Internet World, every minute counts and time is money, so any technology to cut the work load of Hostels and Hotels Management teams and improve on existing systems is always welcome, and Rate Tiger is at the forefront of this technology quot;

quot;Hostels247.com is experiencing tremendous growth and we want to maximise our exposure, partnering with Rate Tiger will help us to do this rdquo; Said the founder of Hostels247.com when asked about this new partnership with Rate Tiger.

Sign up your Hostel and Hotels Accommodation to work with Hostels247.com
http://www.hostels247.com/news_56_American__Airlines__Luggage__Charge/ American Airlines will soon be charging for Checked in Luggage

It is almost certain that American Airlines is going to introducing a $15 Dollar charge, for every passenger's first piece of checked in luggage, with additional charged of around $25 for second piece of luggage.

This is one $15 charge that will definately cause a lot of negative press for American Airline. Every Airline traveller takes it for granted, that included in the price of the flight ticket is a certain amount of luggage allowance included in the price of their air fare.

To begin to charge for every piece of checked in luggage is certain to deter some customer from booking with American Airlines, and this is just another piece of bad press that is unwanted for American Airlines, after the problem earlier in the year, with the wiring in the MD80 Planes that were grounded for safety checks, causing cancellations and customer disappointment.

This is a simply an increase in the price of air fare, they could have found a good medium to increase the price of thier tickets instead of charging customers to check in Luggage.

The question is, will they remove the charge of the checked in luggage, when the price of oil reduces?

The problem of American Airline, is the union, the high cost of employment, that has vertually rendered them bankcrupt not the price of oil. Even if the price of oil is $50 a barrel, American Airline will still have high Operating costs. The only way they can solve this problem in my opinion, is by firing the entire American Airlines Staffs and employing new ones, which is impossible. Or closing down and setting up an entirely new Airline

Cheap Air fare|Fight Tickets Online|Cheap Flights Worldwide|Airline Tickets

http://www.hostels247.com/news_57_Carbon__Foot__Prints/ A Carbon Footprint, is Not what we should leave behind, during our Travel through life

Reducing Carbon Foot Print is the new Buzz phrase and is the latest way to sell energy saving products or Ideas.

In essence this is a great idea, we all make an impact on the environment around us, every time we drive 5 minutes to the shops instead of walking or when we go on holiday and travel on an Aeroplane, we all leave a carbon foot print. We are all capable of minimising this impact and we can all make adjustments to our life to help with the carbon foot print we leave behind us.

Not forgetting the ever increasing costs of fuel and energy making alternative sources of energy like Solar Power, Wind Turbines and Hydro Power seem more and more attractive.

Some thing we can do quite easily to help our environment, like recycling, turning off lights, using energy saving bulbs, not having electrical equipment like the TV, HIFI and Computers on Standby, not running the tap while brushing your teeth and even Car pooling or sharing to take the kids to school or going to the supermarket for the weekly shopping. These things can be done quite easily and will not mean major changes in our every day life, just a little bit more care and consideration is needed.

The major issues like alternative renewable sources of energy can rsquo;t be taken on by individuals these issues need to be tackled by Governments and major international companies and corporations, its going to take a lot of investment and infrastructure implementation, to make renewable sources of energy viable and part of our every day life.

But just like years gone by, when we had to take a boat to visit far off places, we now have east access to online bookings for budget airlines and cheap Hostels Accommodation, and think nothing of a weekend trip to Europe or New York, nearly everywhere is quite easy to travel to.

Our Children will hopefully, have easy access to renewable sources of energy and see Solar, Wind and Hydro Power as the main Source of energy in their life. http://www.hostels247.com/news_58_Happy__90th__Birthday__Nelson__Mandela/ Nelson Mandela rsquo;s the world rsquo;s statesman and the former South African rsquo;s president 90th Birthday Celebration and Concert on Friday 27 June 2008, in Hyde Park London was a resounding success, with Tens of Thousands of admiring fans who travelled from across the UK and worldwide for the open air concert in Hyde Park hosted by Will Smith.

As well as celebrating Nelson Mandela rsquo;s 90th Birthday the concert also raised funds for Mr Mandela's HIV/Aids charity.

The numerous musicians and stars included Geri Halliwell, Lewis Hamilton, Annie Lennox, Leona Lewis, Amy Winehouse, Sugarbabes, Razorlight and Simple Minds. Many African artists also flew in for the birthday extravaganza, including Papa Wemba of DR Congo, Josh Groban and the Soweto Gospel Choir, and South African singers Loyiso and Kurt Darren.

Many well known celebrities and world leaders from Oprah Winfrey to formed US President Bill Clinton were also in attendance.

The evening was brought to a close by a rendition of Free Nelson Mandela led by Amy Winehouse, with all the other stars and musicians joining in on stage, it was a perfect close for an amazing night of entertainment.

Mandela was released from prison in 1990 after spending 27 years behind bars. He was elected South Africa rsquo;s first black president in 1994 and retired from politics in 1999. He has since campaigned to prevent the spread of AIDS.

Proceeds from the show mdash; for which there were 46,664 tickets mdash; are going to 46664, the AIDS charity named for the number Mandela wore in prison.

Mandela has lead an exemplary life, he never lost hope even after 27 years in prison, he rsquo;s truly a Worlds Statesman.

ldquo;Where there is poverty and sickness including AIDS, where human beings are being oppressed, there is more work to be done, rdquo; Mandela said. ldquo;Our work is for freedom for all.

ldquo;We say tonight after nearly 90 years of life, it is time for new hands to lift the burdens. It is in your hands now. rdquo;

Book cheap hostels in London | Discount hotels accommodation in London and worldwide online http://www.hostels247.com/news_59_Emergency__Landing__By__Qantas/ Emergency Landing By Qantas 747 in Manila Philippines, due to ruptured fuselage. A Qantas 747 plane from London to Melbourne, via Hong Kong was forced to make an emergency Landing in Manila after a gaping hole was left in the plane when part of the fuselage ruptured. Passengers are reported to of heard a loud bang, and then oxygen masks dropped, there was a massive rush of air and then debris began to fly around in the cabin. The Pilot managed to control the plane but not until after the plane had dropped about 19,000 ft in altitude, the pilot then managed to make an emergency landing in Manila and all 346 Passengers and 19 crew landed safely unharmed. It was only when all the passengers a crew had disembarked the Qantas 747, that the size of the hole in the plane could be seen, many passengers began to cry and become faint with the thought of the disaster that had been adverted and what could have happened. The Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority and Boeing Safety Inspectors are investigating to see what may have caused the Gaping hole in the Boeing 747 Plane. One area of investigation is the Oxygen Cylinders in the Cargo Bay of the 747; an exploding oxygen cylinder may have been responsible for the gaping hole in the fuselage next to planes the right wing.

Chemical oxygen generators were the cause of the fatal crash of Valujet 592 in 1996, the plane plunged into the Florida Everglades killing all 110 people aboard the plane. The explosion caused a fire that reached over 2,000 Fahrenheit, hot enough to melt steel.
Qantas is still one of the safest Airlines with their last crash back in 1951. Although this emergency landing by the 747 has raised some questions into the safety and air worthiness of some of their older planes, that may be in need of refurbishment or decommissioning. The question that is now being asked is, if these airlines are now putting passengers at risk in order to save money, due to high cost of fuel. Book Cheap Airline Tickets Worldwide | Hostels and Budget Hotels Accommodation
http://www.hostels247.com/news_60_Lufthansa__Strike/ Strike By Lufthansa German Airline Grounds Crew and Cabin Staff
Hostels247.com Travel News, the Strike by grounds crew and cabin staff of Lufthansa the German Airline is set to impact thousands of flights and travel arrangement of customer, in this busy July/August summer holiday and vacation season, the open ended strike began at midnight on sunday and is over a dispute about pay increase for Lufthansa staff. Many customers have booked on alternative Airlines or just allowed extra time in case of delays.

The strike by Lufthansa staff in areas such as catering, cargo, maintenance and repairs, could will affected tens of thousands of travellers at the height of the Summer vacation and holiday season.

The open-ended strikes began at midnight on Sunday in major German International airports such as Frankfurt and Hamburg. The striking Ver.di Lufthansa staffs are asking through their union, which represents 52,000 air industry workers, for a 9.8 percent pay raise for one year, Lufthansa has offered just over 6% with an added lump sum. The negotiations and the strike continue.

One thing that is hard to understand about these strikers is why it always the busy Summer or Holiday season these airline staffs seems to embark on these strikes.

It is always the paying customers that lose out, either by their Travel arrangements being delayed or cancelled, or the price of the Airline ticket increasing to allow for the pay increase and loss of revenue due to the striking staff.

It rsquo;s the worse time for this Lufthansa Staff to engage in this futile exercise. Many airlines are already cutting down on costs and staff because of the high fuel costs and now customers have to pay higher Airline ticket prices, and also pay additional costs for checking in luggage.

This is not the right time for Lufthansa staff to strike; they could find a way to negotiate with the airline without inconveniencing the customers.

It rsquo;s high time these airline staff get over this type of practice, and remember it rsquo;s the airline customers, that they are disrupting, are the ones actually pay their wages, without paying travellers they would not have a job in the first place, this is one time when the customers should definitely come first.

This is a busy time for many travellers looking to go on their well earned, Summer Holiday, and delayed or canceled flights equally means, they have to rebook their Hostels and Hotels Accommodation, causing added cost and stress to the travelling public and holiday makers.

Cheap Airline Tickets Online | Book Hostels and Budget Hotels worldwide online http://www.hostels247.com/news_61_Emirates__Airbus__A380/ Emirates Airline first Airbus A380 Superjumbo Jet 28 July 2008

Emirates the Dubai Based Airline took delivery of their first of 58 Airbus A380 Superjumbo Aircrafts on 28 July 2008, from Airbus Hamburg in elaborate hand-off ceremony in northern Germany. The First Airbus A380 was handed over to Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates Airline and Hundreds of Emirates staff.

The A380 Aircraft was delivered 21 Months late due to wiring problems that needed to be corrected before the aircraft could be delivered.

This Airbus A380 Superjumbo Jet is at the height of luxury and comfort and a spokesman for Emirates airline said it's the only commercial airline in the world equipped with showers. This aircraft is more like a flying hotel it also features spas, bars, lounges and private suites accommodation for passengers.

The majority of the 58 Airbus A380 fleet will be in a typical three-class configuration, the aircraft can seat and accommodate about 525 people.

The new A380 Superjumbo Aircraft in Emirates fleet will enhance the travel and holiday experience for Emirates passengers.

The maiden flight of the A380 is due to take off on 1 August 2008 on a Dubai to New York Flight.

Book Cheap Airline Tickets Luxury Hotels Accommodation Worldwide http://www.hostels247.com/news_62_American__Airlines__Emergency__Landing__At__LAX/ American Airlines Boeing 757 Made an Emergency Landing at Los Angles International Airport

American Airline Boeing 757 Airline forced to make an Emergency Landing at Los Angles International Airport (LAX), due to smoke in the cabin that forced the plane to make an Emergency Landing.

Just after taking off from LAX to Honolulu at 8:48 a.m. PDT (11:48 a.m. EDT), there were reports of smoke and haze in the cabin, and the plane was forced to turn around and return to LAX.

A similar problem occurred in a Swiss airline plane and the crew tried to deal with the problem in mid air, which ended in disaster, over a decade ago, now no pilots would take a chance, the pilot of the American Airline Boeing 757 turned the made the right decision, turned the plane round and returned to the Airport at LAX.

All 188 Passengers and 6 cabin crew of American Airlines Flight 31, evacuated the plane via the 3 slides packed in the doors of the plane, one slide at the back of the plane failed to inflate properly, so passengers used the 3 working slides..

The Emergency landing was executed without any problems and the passengers were bussed to the terminal.

It is still unclear what caused the smoke in the cabin; the Boeing 757 has been taken out of service for an investigation.

For the passengers of the American Airlines Boeing 757 Flight 31, the emergency landing at LAX, was a disruption to their travel plans and messed up their hotel accommodation, but its better safe than sorry. At least they all lived to travel another day. http://www.hostels247.com/news_63_Beijing__Olympics/ The Beijing 2008 Summer Olympic Opening Ceremony on Friday 8 July 2008, was spectacular with Fireworks lighting up the sky from the Birds nest stadium in Beijing, singers, dancers and countless performers all welcoming the Athletes, 90,000 Spectators and over 100 head of states to Beijing and the beginning of the 2008 Summer Olympics.

The first Gold Medal of the summer 2008 Olympics was won by a Czech Athlete, Katerina Emmons she won the women's 10m air-rifle final, Lioubov Galkina of Russia won the silver and Snjezana Pejcic of Croatia took the bronze.

CHEN Xiexia won China's first gold of the 2008 Olympic Games when she claimed the women's 48kg weightlifting title, she succeeded on all six attempts to set Olympic records with a lift total of 212kg

With only two days of events so far, the 2008 Olympics is set to have many more medals won, records being broken and years of hard work by athletes paying off with the success of bringing a medal home after the games.

Spectators have been enjoying the events during the day and in the evening, returning to their, Cheap Hostels, Hotels Accommodation, Guesthouse, Bed and Breakfast, Motels and some 600 Host Families in Beijing City that were selected by the government to host and care for tourists during the games. http://www.hostels247.com/news_64_Indian__Independence/ India Celebrates 61 Years of Independence From Great Britain

Today, 15 August 2008, marks the 61st Anniversary of India rsquo;s Independence from the British Empire. Indian nationals around the World are celebrating and enjoying this special day for India.

Many Indian nationals travelled home to India to spend time with family and friends, and Indians who are not in India, are still marking this day with celebrations, parties and a whole day of enjoyment.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, in his speech marking India's Independence Day spoke about what he has done for the country and people, and also the importance of peace for the continued success of India.

India has made a lot of achievements in the past 61 years since independence, with infrastructure, area of education, software, technology and entertainment.

The Indian movie industry Bollywood, is world famous and the films are enjoyed by Indians, as well as a wide and varied audience, the Indian Movie Industry is a multi Billion Dollar Industry and produces more new movies each year than any other movie industry.

It hasn rsquo;t been all rosy, for all Indians since independence; India still has a long way to go, to bridge the gap between rich and poor.

Book Cheap Hostels and Budget Hotels in India Online http://www.hostels247.com/news_65_XL__Leisure/ XL Leisure Group Plc has gone into administration, leaving thousands of Customers Stranded

Over 80,000 XL Leisure customers are stranded around the world in about 50 Countries, all of the companies 21 planes have been grounded.

Most customers will have booked their holiday with XL Leisure as a package deal, Fight and Hotel Accommodation all inclusive, with a travel agent; they will be covered by their insurance from the Air Travel Organisers Licensers (ATOL). This should pay for their flights back to Britain, but they may be waiting at Airports for days, waiting for seats on other airlines.

ATOL Protected tour operators

The Really Great Holiday Company PLC - ATOL 3827
Trading as: Cruise City, Excel Holidays, The Florida Skytrain, Transatlantic Vacations, Travel City Direct and Travel City International

Kosmar Villa Holidays PLC - ATOL 1760
Trading as: Kosmar Holidays

Freedom Flights Limited - ATOL 5296
Trading as: Freedom Flights

Aspire Holidays Limited - ATOL 6536
Trading as: Aspire Holidays

XL Customers that paid by Credit card are protected by section 75 of consumer credit act 1974, those that paid with Visa Debit Card, may also be protected by Visa, but should check with their card Issuer for further details

Customers that booked directly with XL.com or through the XL Direct telephone booking system are not covered by ATOL and are not entitles to a refund for their flight.
Customers that booked through Medlife Hotels are not covered by ATOL.

Over 200,000 customers pre-booked their Holiday and travel planes with XL Leisure and all these advanced booked are now cancelled leaving thousands of people disappointed and out of pocket.

The third largest package holiday company in Britain, the UK based Travel Company XL Leisure has declared Bankruptcy, at about 3 am today UK Time, stating that, as a result of volatile fuel prices, the economic downturn, and unable to obtain further funding from banks and investors, Barclays Bank pulled funding in Mid August.

All these companies are part of XL Leisure group Plc, and are all in administration
XL Leisure Group Plc, XL Airways UK Limited, Excel Aviation Limited, Explorer House Limited, Aspire Holidays Limited, Freedom Flights Limited, Freedom Flights (Aviation) Limited, The Really Great Holiday Company plc, Medlife Hotels Limited, Travel City Flights Limited, Kosmar Villa Holidays plc

Book Cheap Hostels and Discount Hotels Worldwide Online http://www.hostels247.com/news_66_Travellers__Beware/ Airlines amp; Tour Operators going Bust - Travellers Beware

A word of Advice, for any Traveller, looking to book a Holiday or Airline Ticket. Get to know the airline and tour operator you book your Holiday with, before you pay any money, because they might not be in Business, when you come to go on Holiday or Travel.

You should always book or purchase any Airline Ticket or Holiday with a Credit Card; because your credit card will have added protection in the case of service you paid for not being provided.

Another important factor to finding the best Air Fares and Holiday hostels, bed and breakfast, guesthouse and hotels Accommodation, will the company you rsquo;re buying your Travel Ticket or holiday Accommodation still going to be in Business when the time comes for you to go on Holiday.

It rsquo;s a sad but true fact that, a lot of Airlines, tour operators and travel companies are walking a very thin line between success and failure; many companies are trading even though they are not profitable and are finding it difficult to raise capital.

The big question is which Airline or Tour operator will go bust next? Leaving customers stranded again.

Alitalia, the Italian national carrier, may be the next casualty. It has been bailed out by the Italian government over the past decade, but appears to be in the last chance saloon as it loses $1.4m ( pound;780,000) a day.

Alitalia rsquo;s problem is not just a simple case of lack of finance, but much more in depth due to Union opposition, to a rescue plan led by Roberto Colaninno, the industrialist who controls scooter maker Piaggio.

Today it is important not only to find a cheap ticket or package Holiday but also to make sure, that if the worst happens that you are covered by insurance or you have alternative means of getting home.

It is always said that: Prevention is better than cure, in the case of Travel Plans and Holiday accommodation this is definitely the case. http://www.hostels247.com/news_67_World__Economy__News/

Difficult Time for World Economy The World Credit Crunch is affecting everyone, from Wall Street to Main Street, the liquidation and take over of banks and businesses, the volatile fuel prices, rocky stock market and the high price of foods and essentials.

Its Undeniable that major banks and businesses are in financial distress, like AIG (American International Group Inc.), Lehman Brothers the once venerable investment bank, Washington Mutual, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Northern Rock, Bradford and Bingley, HBOS (Halifax Bank of Scotland), Dexia Belgium/French Bank, Fortis Bank, Hypo Real Estate AG,XL Leisure Group PLC and Alitalia Italian National Carrier to mention but a few

Consumers and customers feel as if everything is totally out of control, its like an avalanche, Banks are not lending money to individuals for new Morgages, House Prices have fallen, small businesses are worried about how to make payroll and rising unemployment. Before we have time to comprehend the liquidation, nationalisation or take over of one business or bank, another company goes under, one stock market plummets then another takes a dive, it like a massive line of Dominos or a House of Cards. Banks and financial institutions that were once the pillars of the economies of the World, are now running for cover. Some of them ending up in a shot gun marriage just to survive.

This is a worrying and unsettling time for everyone. The thing is, life still goes on, some belt tightening is what is required to get over this turbulent period in our life, but people still go to work, Families grow and babies are born, customers still buy products and a lot of businesses still make profits, some people loose their jobs while others get hired.

These are the things that make the world go round. Book Cheap Hostels Accommodation and Budget Hotels Worldwide Online
http://www.hostels247.com/news_68_Mystery__Guest__and__Secret__Shoppers/ All Customers are Mystery Shoppers, Secret Diners and Mystery Guests - Online Reviewers

Do Mystery Shoppers, Mystery Diners, Mystery Guests, Test Purchasing and Secret Shopping help the Retail, Travel and Hospitality Industry Improve their Customers Services and Staff Training Programmes?

The Quality and Consistency, of the Service and products provided in any Customer Driven Industry, whether it is Retail, Catering and Hospitality, Hostel and Hotel Accommodation is the key to a successful Business. It is the one key factor that keeps customers loyal and coming back time after time to use your business or services.

Staffs need to provide good service and products to each and every customer that uses the Business and to understand the product or service they are providing and not just give good service when they think they are being watched or judged by the management, so simply put, they have to be at their best at all time.

That is why there has been a huge increase in the number of the anonymous Mystery Shoppers, Mystery Diners and Mystery Guests being used to access the consistency of services and products.

The purpose of Mystery or Secret Shoppers, Dinners and Guests by covert information gathering and data collection, is to evaluate customer service and brand audit

No matter whether the mystery person goes to a restaurant for a meal, a retail shop to make a test purchase or stays in a Hostel, Hotel or apartment accommodation, the way they are treated and served is a reflection of the way other customers are treated.

Usually the Mystery Shopper, Dinner or Guest, uses a set number of tick box questions for each location to access how well they were dealt with by the staff and also to access the quality of service and products provided.

These questions range from the most basic things that everyone should be aware of such as, being greeted on arrival and being thanked after they have finished, how quickly telephones are picked up, to more detailed and specific questions depending on what is being accessed.

It is easy to make a special effort when staffs are told that a certain customer is a VIP or might be an important person, but the key to a successful business, is to treat each and every customer as if they were a VIP and ensure that they are happy with what you are providing for them, because it is these every day people that are the basis of the Business and not the random VIP that may come once in a Blue moon.

The key to the success and the reason why Mystery Shoppers, Dinners and Guests are used, is to use the results analysis of the reports, to help to point out the gaps in training and areas that need to be improved in the way customers are cared for and the lack of training of staff in key areas that are important to customers. It is this information that should be used to improve the areas that are lagging behind, but also praise the staff and acknowledge were things are going well.

In order to get the staff to perform and take pride in what they do, you must instil loyalty in them. Somebody can not just be loyal to a business because you are paying them, using such argument is pointless.

To instil loyalty, the staffs need to believe that their contribution to the business is appreciated and their opinions are being listened to, and were necessarily rewarded for a job well done.

Recognition does not always mean, financial gain, a lot of the time a simple well done or thank you is appreciated just as much. One thing that destroys moral, is constant criticism with no constructive feedback from Management, Lack of respect from the management, this is in the case were a bad management style is in use and the lack of praise when a job is well done.

In order for staffs to want to be loyal and work well for the business and ultimately serve the customer better, they need to know that there are standards that must be upheld but also, when they are doing things well, it will be acknowledged by the management, it is this balance of training, assessment, Feedback and praise that makes staffs loyal not the wage packet at the end of the month. Simply put, there need to be a structured training. It is also difficult to motivate an underpaid and overworked staffs.

There is no point for an organisation to employ Mystery Shoppers, Dinners or Guests, deluding them self into thinking they will get the desired result, if they have not first trained their staff. Many organisations, especially in Retails and Hospitality (Restaurants, Bars, Hostels and Hotels Accommodation) make this mistake, because they are used to employing cheap labour with a high turn over of staffs.

Organisations time and money should be better spent, employing a better paid work force that will stay with the company for some time and benefit from a structured training that should and must be given, and the staffs being accessed, performance measuring, which will in turn translate into a better customer service.

In today rsquo;s ecommerce and internet world, organisations in the retails, travel and hospitality industry, should remember, that every customer is the same as a mystery Shoppers, Dinner or Guest, and their staff should be trained from day one to give the best quality service and products possible, you will be able to control the feedback from paid Mystery shoppers, Diners and Guest.

But unhappy customers go to online review websites and forums and leave their option about your business online. Once their comments and ratings are uploaded to the web there is no way to stop other customers from reading what their experienced was from your staff and business, and taking their comments into account before using your services or products, bad online reviews can be very detrimental to any Business.

The key to making sure there are no bad reviews out there, damaging your business, is to train your staff to use their Common sense and put customers first. http://www.hostels247.com/news_69_Press__Release__Hostels247.com__Joins__Forces__with__13__Coins__Hotels/ Hostels247.com Partners with 13 Coins Hotels Bangkok Thailand

Hostels247.com has partnered with 13 Coins Hotels, one of the biggest hotel operators and fastest growing hotel chains, in Thailand, to offer their Bangkok and Nonthaburi Thailand Hotels to Hostels247.com worldwide customers. 13 Coins Hotels currently has more than 10 locations in Thailand, 13 Coins Resort Minburi, 13 Coins Tiwanon, 13 Coins Tower Hotel Ratchada, 13 Coins Resort Bang Na, 13 Coins Resort Yotin Pattana, 13 Coins Antique Villa, 13 Coins Bang Yai, 13 Coins Ngam Wong Wan, 13 Coins Airport Grand Resort, giving travellers a wide range of premier hotels accommodations to select from when they are visiting Bangkok, Nonthaburi and Thailand, for Business or pleasure.

Hostels247.com has been adding numerous partnerships with hotels groups, holiday resorts and budget hostel accommodation around the world to Hostels247.com's growing list of accommodations, ever since the company was founded at end of summer 2007.

quot;We are excited to have formed this relationship with 13 Coins Hotels since their premier hotels accommodation are a perfect match for our budget seeking customers. Hostels247.com aims to provide premier budget accommodations for all travellers, quot; said the company founder when asked about this new partnership.

quot;We welcome a partnership with Hostels247.com, and am most confident that your presence in Bangkok, and Nonthaburi, Thailand will grow quot;. Said Mr. Janak Pandey Senior Executive 13 Coins Hotels.

This important partnership allows Hostels247.com to expand their customer's budget travel options in one of the most desirable cities in the world Bangkok and Nonthaburi, Thailand are a must visit, quot; said the founder of Hostels247.com when asked about these travel destination.

Bangkok and Nonthaburi, Thailand are without a doubt some of the most sort after cities of the world and a premier travel destination for all travellers, all year round, and Thailand offers value for money and undoubtedly one of the safest places to visit.

Hostels247.com offers a comprehensive list of all the most popular travel destinations in the world.

About Hostels 24/7Hostels247.com is a travel social networking site and a leading provider of Budget Hotels accommodation, Hostels and Youth Hostels for worldwide destinations. Hostels247.com offers their customers secure online booking and reservations with free booking service and travel tips and guides for all of their travel destinations. Hostels247.Com's goal is to be the number one leader in travel social networking sites for backpackers, students and independent travellers around the world. Hostels247.com also specializes in arranging group accommodation for large groups and have a dedicated team, of group booking specialists, for more information about the company or to make a booking. http://www.hostels247.com/news_70_Welcome__to__2009/ 2009 New Year - New Hope

As we wave Good Bye to 2008 and welcome 2009, we all make our New Year Resolutions and hope for a prosperous and happy 2009.

With each New Year comes a renewed hope and excitement of what the year will bring, what changes and improvements will happen at work and in family life and where our travels will take us in the summer or other Holiday times.

Each year we become one year older and hopefully wiser; our experiences from the previous year have shaped our hopes and dreams for the New Year, now its time not only to make a New Year Resolution and hope for the best, but to implement and work towards our goal for 2009.

No matter what our goals are for 2009, the only way we are going to have even a chance of achieving them is to work hard and never loose sight of what we want.
http://www.hostels247.com/news_71_On__the__rampage__in__New__York/ America rsquo;s Next Top Model Riot at Auditions in New York

America rsquo;s next top model auditions in New York made the news for all the wrong reasons.

Not because the Hostels in New York and Hotels in New York were sold out because of the large numbers of potential contestants visiting the city, but because the thousand of wannabe Model lining up waiting to audition turned into a riot situation.

Speculation into why the models waiting to audition began to riot range from a pick pocket being amount the people waiting, to a car back firing and someone shouting that there was a bomb.

Tyra Banks and the show's producer Ken Mok said: quot;We are concerned by the events. We still don't know all the details of what triggered the incident. quot;

Police cancelled the auditions due to the riot that ended with six people injured and three arrests.

The question is, was this an accident, or a bunch of desperate wannabe rsquo;s going on the rampage http://www.hostels247.com/news_72_Worlds__Best__Airport__Named__as__Incheon__International__Airport__Seoul__South__Korea/ Incheon International Airport Named Worlds Best Airport 2009

World rsquo;s best airport number one spot has been given to Incheon International Airport in Soul Korea, by Skytrax who carried out a worldwide study by airline reviewers and secret shoppers.

Incheon won the top spot pushing Hong Kong into second place and Singapore into third place.

More than 8.5 Million passengers took part in the study by Skytrax, which measured 39 factors from check in, and staff appearance to the cleanliness of the aeroplane toilets, more than 190 Worldwide Airports were surveyed.
2009 Top 10 Airports 1. Incheon International Airport
2. Hong Kong International Airport
3. Singapore Changi
4. Zurich
5. Munich
6. Kansai
7. Kuala Lumpur
8. Amsterdam
9. Centrair Nagoya
10. Auckland
2009 Best in region airport winners Africa Best Airport: Cape Town Asia Best Airport: Incheon Int'l Australia/Pacific Best Airport: Auckland Europe Best Airport: Zurich Middle East Best Airport: Tel Aviv North America Best Airport: Dallas/Fort Worth South America Best Airport: Lima Central America Best Airport: Panama 2009 Best in Category Awards Winners Best Duty Free Shopping: Dubai Easiest International Transit Airport: Incheon International Best Airport Dining: Hong Kong Best Terminal Cleanliness: Incheon International Cleanest Airport Washroom: Kansai Best Terminal Cleanliness: Incheon International Best Baggage Delivery: Helsinki Best Leisure Amenities: Singapore Best Immigration Service: Kuala Lumpur This is just a handful of the airports in the world; the others need a lot of improvement to catch up the best airports. With the increase of budget Airlines, Youth Hostels and budget hotels accommodation, there is an evermore varied and demanding amount of people travelling via Air. If the other airports worldwide want to ever be in the top 10 or 20 then they need to take a close look at what the winners are doing right in their airports and copy their success http://www.hostels247.com/news_73_Time__Out__Names__New__York__as__World__Greatest__City__2009/ Time out Names World rsquo;s greatest city 2009

New York has been named by Time out as the World rsquo;s greatest city 2009 closely followed by London.

It was a close fought race for first and second place between New York and London,some of the things that pushed New York to the forefront are, New York has a 24 Hour culture, offering travellers and locals something to do and see no matter the time of day or night, from Restaurants, Bars and Night Clubs to Theatre, Shopping and Sight Seeing, no other city has more energy than New York this factor gained New York an extra point for Buzz getting the top mark of 10 compared to London getting 9.

New York is a new, modern, planned city compared to ancient and historic cities such as London, Rome and Athens and has built itself up very quickly to a prime holiday and business destination for reasons other than historical sights and monuments, New York city has countless accommodation options for tourists, from Budget Hotels and Youth Hostels to Luxury 5 Star Hotels and Studio Apartments.

The Manhattan skyline makes your heart beat faster and is an imposing and amazing sight, whether you see it every day or when just you rsquo;re visiting for a holiday, the architectural delights of Manhattan gained New York two extra points making 9 over London getting 7 for architecture and pushed New York into the top city spot.

New York city has an unrivalled infrastructure needed for any great city of the world.

The key features looked at to determine which city is the greatest in the world are:
Architecture, Arts amp; culture, Buzz, Food amp; drink, Quality of life and World status.

Top 10 Results

1. New York, USA
Architecture: 9 #8232;
Arts amp; culture: 10 #8232;
Buzz: 10 #8232;
Food amp; drink: 9 #8232;
Quality of life: 6 #8232;
World status: 9 #8232; #8232;
Total/60: 53

2. London, UK
Architecture: 7 #8232;
Arts amp; culture: 10 #8232;
Buzz: 9 #8232;
Food amp; drink: 9 #8232;
Quality of life: 6
World status: 9
Total/60: 50

3. Paris, France
Architecture: 9 #8232;
Arts amp; culture: 9
Buzz: 6
Food amp; drink: 9 #8232;
Quality of life: 7 #8232;
World status: 8 #8232; #8232;
Total/60: 48

4. Berlin, Germany
Architecture: 7 #8232;
Arts amp; culture: 9
Buzz: 9 #8232;
Food amp; drink: 6 #8232;
Quality of life: 7 #8232;
World status: 8
Total/60: 46

Equal 5th. Barcelona, Spain
Architecture: 9 #8232;
Arts amp; culture: 7 #8232;
Buzz: 8 #8232;
Food amp; drink: 8 #8232;
Quality of life: 8
World status: 4 #8232; #8232;
Total/60: 44

Equal 5th. Chicago, USA
Architecture: 9 #8232;
Arts amp; culture: 8
Buzz: 7 #8232;
Food amp; drink: 7 #8232;
Quality of life: 7
World status: 6
Total/60: 44

Equal 5th. Tokyo, Japan
Architecture: 7
Arts amp; culture: 6
Buzz: 9 #8232;
Food amp; drink: 10 #8232;
Quality of life: 4
World status: 8
Total/60: 44

8. Istanbul, Turkey
Architecture: 7
Arts amp; culture: 7
Buzz: 9 #8232;
Food amp; drink: 7
Quality of life: 6
World status: 7 #8232; #8232;
Total/60: 43

Equal 9th. Rome, Italy
Architecture: 9 #8232;
Arts amp; culture: 7
Buzz: 7
Food amp; drink: 6 #8232;
Quality of life: 6 #8232;
World status: 7 #8232; #8232;
Total/60: 42

Equal 9th. Sydney, Australia
Architecture: 7 #8232;
Arts amp; culture: 6 #8232;
Buzz: 7 #8232;
Food amp; drink: 7 #8232;
Quality of life: 10
World status: 5 #8232; #8232;
Total/60: 42 http://www.hostels247.com/news_74_Rio__De__Janeiro__to__Host__2016__Olympics/ Rio De Janeiro has won the bid will host the 2016 Olympics, it will be the first city in South American to host Olympic Games.

The president of Brazil Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva made an impassioned plea to the International Olympic Committee in Copenhagen, reminding them it would be a great thing for the Olympics and for mankind, to have the Olympic games hosted, for the first time in South America. It would not be just for Brazil but for the whole continent. This would address the imbalance of where the games have been hosted. Rio De Janeiro ill be ready to host the historic 2016 Olympic games

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Rio 2016 bid President Carlos Arthur Nuzman and the great Brazilain footballer Pele were all ecstatic when the news was announced that Rio De Janeiro was to Host the 2016 Games.

Brazilians round the world rejoiced and the street of Rio exploded with music, dancing and people celebrating in a massive street party

The announcement by International Olympic Committee was made Friday evening from the Bella Conference Centre in Copenhagen, Denmark, that Rio De Janeiro, Brazil will host the 2016 games, beating Madrid into second place.

Chicago and Tokyo were also selected to the shortlist but did not make it through to the final vote, Chicago was voted out after the first vote, not even President Obama rsquo;s visit to Copenhagen helped his home town (Chicago) bid, and then Tokyo was knocked out after the second vote, leaving Rio De Janeiro and Madrid fighting to host the games.

Rio De Janeiro has gone through and won the prize to host the 2016 Olympic, now the hard work begins to prepare for the countless tourists and athletes, Hostel amp; hotels accommodations need to be improved and added, not to mention the venues and stadiums needed to host all the events.

For Rio De Janeiro the hard work has just begun and 2016 seems a long time in the future, first we have to look forward to the London 2012 Olympics, London has countless established hostels and budget hotels, but there are also many new accommodations being built especially for the games and the Olympic Village and numerous venues and stadiums are well on their way to completion.

The Olympic games comes every 4 years and if you would like to experience either the London or Rio Games book your hostels and budget hotels well in advance as they always sells out very quickly

London Hostels | Rio De Janeiro budget Hotels | Youth Hostels Accommodation http://www.hostels247.com/news_76_Launch__of__Apples__Ipad/ Apples CEO Steve Jobs Launches Ipad in San Francisco California

Steve Jobs, the Apple Inc Boss, Finally launches the long awaited Ipad, touch screen tablet computer which looks like a giant Iphone and has just one Button on the screen. The Ipad weighs 1,5 Lbs, has a 9.7 Inch Display and 10 hours battery life, Ipad runs virtually all the Iphone Apps. (Applications)

Steve Jobs said ldquo;the Ipad is Awesome for Movies and TV shows rdquo; and Ipad is much more intimate than a laptop and more capable than a smart phone rdquo; The Ipad has a map powered by google to help you travel around smoothly.

The Ipad will bring a whole new experience to browsing the internet on the move, its ideal for travellers, whether its just to check your emails, book youth hostels and budget hotels accommodation, watch a movie or even check the news and latest sports updates.

The launch of the Ipad comes at a time when e-readers like Amazon rsquo;s Kindle and others from Barnes amp; Noble and Sony are on the Market, with even more coming to the market later in the year from companies such as Samsung and the Hearst Corp.

To give you an idea of the market last year about 3 Million e-readers were sold, estimates are that around 6 million will be sold in 2010, the Bulk of the e-reader sales were from the Kindle that retails for $259. This also raises the question about the price for Apples Ipad $499, which will is the major selling point for their new product and will also be an indicator of the target market and scope of the e-reader market open to the new Ipad.

There has been much discussion about the name Ipad, whether it is the right name for it, to some women it sounds more like a feminine product (Sanitary Pad), to me I take the name Ipad Literally, to mean Internet Pad, Jokes apart Apple has become the biggest mobile devise maker, and love or hate their products, everyone wants to know about them, whether your a backpacker into hostels and budget hotels or a high flying executive and into 5 star hotels and michelin star restaurants. http://www.hostels247.com/news_77_Britsh__Airways__Cabin__Crews__Due__to__Strike/ Cabin Crews of British Airways set to disrupt travel plans of their customers

BA Cabin Crews are due to strike for 7 days later in March, defiant Mr Walsh said he was disappointed that the strike were to go ahead as they were still in negotiations but now BA rsquo;s offer for renegotiation is no longer on the table.
Mr Walsh said, some affected customers can re-book flights and he will not allow the strikes to stop all flights by BA, but admits that there will be a reduced service if the strikes go ahead.
Customers who manage to rebook their flights and fly with BA during the strikes of the cabin crew will be faced with cold meals onboard, only first class passengers will receive Hot meals, no special meals will be cater for and customer will have to bring their own food onboard, only special baby meals will be provided.
These days Unions and staff sometimes loose track of the fact that the customer should always come first, these planned strikes by BA cabin crew are only the latest in disruption to travellers holiday plans, its not only the airline that will be affected but the accommodations like the budget hotels, hostels and guesthouses that the customers were due to stay in. Not everyone will be able to rebook their flights so a lot of people will loose out. http://www.hostels247.com/news_78_Macau__Record__Breaking__House__of__Cards/ Macau No small house of cards

Macau in China the gambling capital of the world is the venue for Bryan Berg rsquo;s World Record breaking triumph for building the largest house of freestanding playing cards at The Venetian in Macao, which is a fitting venue as it is the world's largest resort-hotel.

He used more than 190,000 cards and took 44 days to complete the construction of The Venetian Macao, The Plaza Macao and Sands Macao buildings, which are all luxury hotels and casinos complexes in Macau.

Macau is famous for having some of the greatest Casinos and luxury hotels but not everyone who enjoys gambling and the sights in Macau can afford the luxury hotels. Its hard to find a budget alterative but there a few budget hotels in Macau like Ole London Hotel, ideal for the budget conscious traveller who is aspiring to become one of the high rollers in the casinos. http://www.hostels247.com/news_79_5__Hour__Virgin__America__Flight__turns__into__16__Hour__Ordeal/ Direct 5 hour Virgin America Flight 404 from LA to JFK New York turns into a 16 hour nightmare for passengers.

Virgin America flight 404 left LA at about 7 am, for a direct 5 hour flight to JFK New York but due to gale force winds the plane was diverted to Stewart Airport in Newburgh, New York, located about 90 miles north of NYC, instead of JFK were the plane was due to land, the plane at Stewart Airport was grounded on the tarmac for 4.5 hours, passengers were offered a chance to leave the plane only once and then the remaining passengers were told they had no choice and had to remain on the plane.

Then after a 4.5 arduous hours wait, on the tarmac, the passengers were finally shuttled by Virgin America rsquo;s competitor Jet blue, by Bus to travel the 90 Miles to JFK Airport New York, the total journey took a marathon 16 Hours, instead of the scheduled 5 hours.

During the wait on the tarmac the food and drink ran out and had to be rationed to a couple of crisps per passenger, and I don rsquo;t mean packets, I mean actual crisps and the flight crew were not dealing with the whole situation in the best way, due to lack of information and fatigue, which also escalated the tension on the grounded plane.

All passengers were sent a letter of apology from the CEO of Virgin America, given a full refund for the flight and an additional $100 credit for future travel.

A bill of rights for airline passenger rsquo;s would have ensured that passengers had access to clean toilet facilities, food and water and the right to leave the plane after 3 hours.

It has to be said that this was not a usual occurrence and different factors contributed to the ordeal the travellers endured for 16 Hours, but flight crews and staff should be give training in how to deal with difficult and unusual situations, as no matter what happens they still have a duty of care to all the passengers to ensure they are looked after and accommodate to their needs, the passengers should not have been left on the tarmac for such a long period of time, with insufficient food and drink, and a lack of information.

Airlines are getting away with a lot of this, I don rsquo;t think that just giving a refund, apology and a couple of bucks to use on the same airline, is enough to compensate what was a very traumatic experience. Being restricted to a confined space on an aircraft that is grounded on the tarmac, not only wastes travellers time but is very frustrating, as in these types of situations, there always seems to be a lack of information given.

For passengers and the flight crew this type of situation is very stressful to say the least. Tensions and passions run high, if at least travellers have enough food, drink and information they can try and make the best of a bad situation, because the plane will be their accommodation until the situation is resolved but tired, thirsty, hungry people that don rsquo;t know what is going on are all a recipe for disaster. http://www.hostels247.com/news_80_Volcanic__Ash__Cloud__causes__Travel__Chaos__in__Europe/ Volcanic eruptions intensify in Iceland causing more flights across Northern Europe to be cancelled and fuel travel chaos for millions of travellers

Euros Star is fully booked for the weekend and early next week with over 50,000 passengers travelling from London to Brussels and beyond,

Ferries from UK are sold out and packed to capacity. Across Europe people are resorting to taking expensive taxis, from one country to another in an effort to try and get to where they need to go.

Over 16,000 flights have been cancelled across Europe, about 26 countries have been affected.

London Heathrow airport is completely closed, and flights are grounded until at least 1am Sunday Morning.

England is only one of the European Countries affected by the Volcanic Ash Cloud, in Spain, if you rsquo;re travelling South it is fine to travel but if your travelling North more than 10,000 flights across Spain in 30 Airports have been cancelled.

EU registered Airlines have a duty of care to look after travellers whose flights have been cancelled, all around Heathrow and Gatwick the London Hostels are fully booked, in a lot of major cities in Europe Hotels accommodation is also sold out, Barcelona, Hotels are Full, Amsterdam Schiphol airport is closed due to the Ash cloud and Amsterdam Hostels are Full also.

This is all causing Travel Chaos across Europe for countless travellers, it rsquo;s difficult to organise alternative travel arrangements as Trains and ferries are all sold out.

The best advice for travellers is to try and relax, be patient and remember you are not the only one stranded without a clear way of getting to where you need to be. Be nice to other travellers and use this time to social network and try and make the best of a bad situation, if you have hotel accommodation then just think to yourself your in a better position that some travellers. http://www.hostels247.com/news_81_Hostels247.com__Launches__new__website/
The long awaited launch of www.hostels247.com new website has finally gone live today, Monday 3 May 2010.

The new user friendly easy to navigate hostels247.com website, looks fresh and clean and has all the usual information and eye catching pictures, to help our customers navigate the site with ease, the inner workings of the site has been greatly improved and that rsquo;s were the most exciting new things have happened, to make booking hostels and budget accommodation easy.

The New colour scheme of blues and greys, with accents of red and yellow, is easy on the eye and doesn rsquo;t distract from the key features of the pages which are the search box, which has been improved to make finding your accommodation easier and faster.

Once you search for your hostel, bed amp; breakfast or budget hotel accommodation from the search box, the results page has clear easy to understand green boxes for accommodation with availability, at the top of the results page and closer to the bottom red boxes for hostels and budget hotels accommodation that are sold out for the selected dates.

Clicking on the hostel or budget accommodation that you have chosen takes you straight to the accommodations listing page with the availability chart already open so you can see the room types and prices for each room. Customers are now able to book multiple rooms, and also see the total price and 10% deposit due before you go to the confirm booking page, this is a new feature on the site and of course there is No Booking Fee when booking with hostels247.com and no additional fees to use Credit or Debit cards.

To change the dates or the number of nights stay there is no need to click backward or go to another page because on top of the availability chart there are drop down menus to change the arrival date and the number of nights stay.

The secure online booking page to pay the 10% deposit has also been redesigned to be more stream lined and user friendly. The Booking details are located on the left of the page and then on the right is the requested Personal and Payments details required to confirm the booking.

The new www.hostels247.com site combines new eye candy design, colour and user friendly features, with high tech innovative back end workings, making booking youth hostels and budget accommodation easy, hassle free and a pleasure rather than a chore.


About Hostels247.com:

Based in London, England, Hostels247.com is an independent online hostels and budget hotels accommodation booking website, offering customers a budget alternative to expensive hotels accommodation worldwide, with no booking fees.

To know more about Hostels247.com
UK Tel +44 207 993 8611
US Tel +1 212 655 4454
Email: press (at) hostels247.com
Website: http://www.hostels247.com/ http://www.hostels247.com/news_82_Happy__New__Year__2011/ First of January is a new start every year, a chance to start a fresh, wipe the slate clean, set new goals and work towards achieving them.

The first of January 2011 is also a special date and the beginning of the year of special dates

Today is 1.1.11 in 10 days the date will be 11.1.11 then again in November we have 1.11.11 and also 11.11.11, nothing special you may say, many people speculate that 2011 will be the year of travel, adventure, technological advances the year to remember for e-commerce and a year for doing everything online from booking your hostels amp; hotels accommodation, arranging meetings to checking your bank balance (online banking)

There are not many things in life today that are not touched by technology and the internet so this new year of 2011 keep your eyes peeled and your mind open to all the new technologies and the ever increasing things you do via or on the internet, from following your Sat Nav directions and booking your hostel accommodation online, to heating your food in the microwave and checking your email.

Little gismos like, Mobile Phone and Laptops, Online booking websites like Hostels247.com for budget accommodation and internet banking are all indispensable these days and are a major part of our every day life.

Welcome to 2011, enjoy http://www.hostels247.com/news_83_Grand__national__2011/ Grand National the most glamorous horse race in the world

It rsquo;s not just horse racing lovers that enjoy the Grand National, this world famous race held every year in UK is an event that everyone can enjoy and is the most loved and popular horse race that takes place in United Kingdom.

The yearly horse racing has grown into an amazing event with people planning many month in advance about what to wear and who to go with, it is traditional for ladies to wear extravagant hats and elegant dresses and for men to wear tailored suites, this makes Grand National one of the most Glamorous events in the yearly calendar.

The Grand National is held at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool, UK and has always been a success, and this year is no exception, the added benefit of blue skies and sunny weather today have helped to sell out the event.

Both visitors to UK and locals enjoy the Grand National race, hotels in Liverpool are always fully booked far in advance of the race date and some people stay in a London Hotels and travel to Liverpool by train for the event, which only takes just over 2 hours.

The Grand National race is over about 4.5 miles and consists of a two lap course with 16 fences, Horses and their jockey rsquo;s have to jump over fences and complete the two laps as quickly as possible, this type of race is know as a steeplechase.

The Glory of winning the Grand National this year went to Ballabriggs ridden by Jason Maguire.

Every year millions of people either attend the race or watch it on the TV and this year there was about 500 to 600 million viewers. http://www.hostels247.com/news_85_London__Marathon__2011/ Every year the World Famous London Marathon takes place in Central London, the 26.2 Mile race starts out in Greenwich and passes close to many landmarks of London such as The Cutty Sark in Greenwich, Tower Bridge, St Pauls Cathedral, London Eye, Houses of Parliament and many more, the race finally finishes on The Mall by Buckingham Palace.

Thousands of runners take part in the London Marathon, some elite runners, some celebraties and a lot of runner raising money for various charities and thousands of people Travel to London and stay in London Hotels and hostels in London, ready to watch the race by the roadside along the 26 mile course and millions of people watch the race either on TV.

There is also a number of runners known as the Ever Present, who have ran every London Marathon since it was founded in 1981 31 years ago, In 2010 there was 20 Ever Present Runners who finished the marathon, after this years Marathon the number is now 18 Ever Present Runners who have ran all 31 London Marathons since it began in 1981, their times range from 2 hours 51 minutes to 7 Hours 15 Minutes and their ages range from 50 to over 70.

The winner of the Mens 2011 London Marathon was Emmanuel Mutai of Kenya who ran the fastest ever London Marathon in 2 hours, 4 minutes, second place went to Martin Lel after beating Patrick Makau in a last minute dash for the finish line.

The ladies London Marathon race was won Keitany Mary Jepkosgei from Kenya she finishing in 2:19:17 she finished almost a minute ahead of defending champion Liliya Shobukhova who came second. http://www.hostels247.com/news_86_Palm__Sunday/ Billions of Christians Worldwide celebrated Christian Palm Sunday today 17 April 2011, The Pope held a massive outdoor service in St Peter rsquo;s Square, Vatican City, Rome which was attended by thousands of followers. A special service was held at Canterbury Cathedral, The Blessing of Palms, Procession and Sung with the singing of the Passion

Palm Sunday is the sixth and last Sunday of Lent and beginning of Holy Week and it marks the beginning of the events leading up to the crucifixion of Jesus on Good Friday and his resurrection on Easter.

Palm Sunday is the day that Jesus triumphal entry into Jerusalem on a donkey, Jesus riding on a donkey is symbolic of entering the city in peace, as usually war raging kings always entered cities on a horse

Every year Christian Palm Sunday is marked by special Church services where Palm crosses are handed out, traditionally they were make from Palm leaves shaped into a cross, but over the years the crosses are now made of a variety of materials but they all still hold the same symbolism.

The Palm crosses are also used in the following years celebrations, as they are returned to church and burnt on Ash Wednesday and the ashes are used in the Ash Wednesday church service. http://www.hostels247.com/news_87_The__Royal__Wedding/ Congratulations to HRH Prince William and Kate Middleton on their beautiful, opulent Wedding today 29 April 2011.

Around 2 Billion people around the world were watching with delight the Royal wedding of HRH Prince William and Kate Middleton.

From the guests arriving at Westminster Abbey, the page boys and bridesmaids leaving their London Hotel travelling to the Westminster Abbey, the arrival of Prince Charles amp; Camilla Parker Bowels, to the Queens arrival and of course the grand entrance of Prince William and then Kate Middleton in her Alexander McQueen couture dress walking down the aisle, then onto Buckingham palace in the horse drawn carriage for the Wedding Reception and the long awaited kiss on the Palace balcony.

The Royal Wedding was broad cast on Hugh screens across the world for everyone to watch and enjoy, in London and across the UK there were about 5000 street parties and people watched on screens in Hyde Park, Trafalgar Square and many other places.

In central London were the Wedding took place there were millions of people lining the streets all hoping to catch a glimpse of the happy couple.

At Buckingham palace were the Wedding Reception took place people filled the mall and eagerly waited the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to appear, they were not disappointed, on the balcony is were their first official kiss after being married took place. The Crowd cheers and shouted for more, and Prince William leaned forward and Kissed Kate for a second time, much to the delight of the on looking crowds.

The Royal Wedding of HRH Prince William and Kate Middleton was an amazing event and will go down in history as a success for the Royal Family. http://www.hostels247.com/news_88_Volcanic__Ash__cloud__hits__Europe__again/ Volcanic Ash cloud closes European air space again in 2011

It seems like only yesterday that a volcanic dust cloud in 2010, caused havoc across Europe and the world, closings airports, cancelling hundreds of flights and strangling hundreds of thousands of travellers, Youth Hostels and Hotel accommodation reservations cancelled, Car rentals cancelled, all at an estimated cost of over 1.7 billion according to International Air Transport Association.

But here we are again in 2011 and another Icelandic Volcanic ash cloud has began to close air space, British Airways, Air France-KLM among other carriers have already cancelled over 250 flights with Scottish air space being closed

There are conflicting reports on how much of a danger this Volcanic Ash Cloud is actually posing, most companies are edging on the side of caution, but Ryan Air has flown a test flight over Scotland and has reported that they found no evidence of any volcanic ash material whatsoever, and Michael O rsquo;Leary the CEO of Ryan Air has asking for Scottish Air Space to be reopened.

British Airways has now setup their own test flight to try and see what the affects the Volcanic Ash Cloud has on the flight if any.

The dust cloud is still on the move and there are about 600 regions affected with 13,000 flights affected by delays or cancellations, it rsquo;s hopped that the dust cloud this year will not cause as much disruptions as last year.

With the end of May bank holiday weekend fast approaching in UK the delays and cancelled flights could become more of a problem with for UK and European holiday makers http://www.hostels247.com/news_89_Barcelona__Win__UEFA__Champions__League__2011/ Barcelona beat Manchester United 3-1 to win UEFA Champions League 2011

Celebrations for all Barcelona fans around the world, as Barcelona beat Manchester United at Wembley Stadium London England, 3 -1, to win the 2011 UEFA Champions League

It was a spectacular 3 -1 victory for Barcelona over Man U, at Wembley stadium, there were high hopes on the side of both teams and both Manchester United and Barcelona fans were confident, that their team would be victorious in this year UEFA Champions League.

The score were even at 1-1 after the 1st half , but in the second half, Barcelona continued their dominance and scored another 2 goals to secure their victory over Manchester United.

In Barcelona fans watched the football match on big screens in Barcelona hostels, bars, restaurants and cafes, the atmosphere got increasing excited the more goals Barcelona scored. By the time the 3rd goal was scored the bars, restaurants and Hostels in Barcelona that were showing the match were all in party mode and the streets of Barcelona exploded in spontaneous party and celebration.

A lot of fans travelled to London to watch the Champions League match live at Wembley Stadium, many hostels in London and budget hotels encouraged fans that couldn rsquo;t get hold of tickets to watch the match on big screens in the bars or common rooms.

After the match outside Wembley Stadium Barcelona fans celebrated and the Spanish fiesta was in full swing, they had a lot to be proud about and their celebrations continued throughout the night. http://www.hostels247.com/news_90_Hostels247.com__launches__slick__new__home__page/ Hostels247.com have launched an updated home page with an emphasis on travellers being able to easily find a place to stay through the easy to use search box

An updated version of the website has been launched by Hostels247.com the online booking website for worldwide budget accommodation, the new site offers travellers an easy to use, image rich experience to accommodation booking online, with an emphasis on travellers being able to easily find a Place to stay through the search box

Some of the key features include an updated, user friendly large search box on the top left hand side of the site, with quick search feature for writing the accommodation name or city, and click through changing images on the top right hand side of the site, featuring some of the top destinations

This combines the two major point rsquo;s customer look for when they want to book their budget hotels, bed amp; breakfast, hostels, guesthouse and place to stay, easy to use search features and images to catch the eye and get imagination going.

Other easy access, user friendly features are in the centre of the page at the top, quick links to the top 10 Hostels and hotels and Top 10 Destinations as well as a picture quick link to the Group booking page

Our specialist group booking department has been integral to the exceptional growth seen by Hostels247.com since its foundation.

When asked about the new site launch and the ongoing success of Hostels247.com Sarah Smith the Group Manager said :-

ldquo;What has brought this unprecedented success to Hostels247.com even in the very competitive market of online accommodation booking is our commitment to our customers from day one and knowing what matters.

Hostels247.com is no longer the new kid on the block, we are now a force to be reckoned with, this new look site is just part of our ongoing commitment to remain at the forefront for online accommodation booking and ensuring that customer have an easy and hassle free enjoyable experience while using our site rdquo;

The launch of the new look site helps Hostels247.com to keep up to date with new trends, and makes the site a more enjoyable booking experience for new and old customers a like. http://www.hostels247.com/news_91_UK__Pension__strike__action/ Pension Strike Action in England amp; Wales

Across England and Wales there are hundreds of thousands of people on strike including teachers, 105,000 civil servants and public sector workers, all striking over the government rsquo;s review of public sector pension, the pension reform is currently at the proposal stage.

The strike action is intended to show the Coalition government headed by Prime Minister David Cameroon (Conservative Party) and deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg (Liberal Democrat), the people rsquo;s disappointment at the proposed pension changes the government has detailed.

Over 11,000 schools across the England and Wales are closed today due to teachers strike action leaving students with an early summer holiday day off.

London airports have also been hit by the strike action as immigration officers are also on strike; some travellers are facing delays due to the industrial action.

Travellers arriving to England on long haul flights and those without an EU passport will be most affected by the strike action by the immigration officers, as they have to go through more immigration checks than those from EU countries.

For travellers arriving on Euro Star there shouldn rsquo;t be any delays as the Immigration checks are done on the other side.

Strikes and Industrial action always affects a lot of people, and is supposed to be used as a last resort to shown discontent, today saw hundreds of thousands of people march through central London in Protest to the proposed pension reforms.

It is now a case of waiting to see if the strike action today will have any affect on the pension reforms put forward by the Government, whether today 30 June 2011, Strike day was the day that saves public sector pensions or first day of ongoing battle with government. It rsquo;s not so much about what is happening on the streets but the Negotiations between what on what unions want and what ministers say they can afford.

Some of the key factors in dispute are the public sector workers are saying that the pension reform means they will be paying up to pound;74 a month extra and also will have to work longer till 66, the government says if a worker is paid less than pound;15k per year there will be no change and everyone is still guaranteed a pension payout. http://www.hostels247.com/news_92_Worlds__fastest__train__in__Japan/ Japan Maglev trains get the go ahead today.

Japan's first maglev train service will be run by Central Japan Railway, and their aim is for the first part of the Maglev track to be completed in 14 years in 2025, and the Maglev trains will run between Tokyo and the central city of Nagoya, but many train enthusiast and fanatics watch eagerly as the train speeds by and imagine what it will be like to travel on such a futuristic super fast train, the Maglev is so fast its almost impossible to photograph.

Japan rsquo;s Maglev Train, which is the World rsquo;s fastest land vehicle with a top speed recorded of 581 Kilometres per hour (361 Miles Per Hour), The Maglev Train travels along the tracks without touching the ground, the Train uses electric-powered magnets which allows the train magnetically levitate above the tracks allowing for the super fast speed with minimal or no resistance as the train floats above the tracks.

It is this type of technological advancements that are making travel faster, easier and hopefully affordable for the masses as time goes by, we have seen this when it comes to air travel with the introduction of budget airlines, hopefully these new type of trains will help travel become more accessible and affordable for everyone, while at the same time bringing the world closer together.

High speed rail already exists in Japan and China as well as in Europe with the Euro Star London, Lille, Brussels amp; Paris and TGV trains in France, the advantage of the Maglev train in comparison is that they are potentially faster, quieter and will use less energy to run, as the majority of energy used to run trains, is to overcome air drag, which is substantially less for a levitating Maglev train compared to a conventual train. http://www.hostels247.com/news_93_Boeing__787__Dreamliner/ Boeing 787 Dreamliner is 50% lighter and 20% more fuel efficient.

Boeing is making test flights with All Nippon Airways (ANA) for its new light weight carbon composite Boeing 787 Dreamliner, the test flights are taking place in Japan, and will be along the domestic routes within Japan.

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is to begin commercial flights with All Nippon Airways (ANA) on domestic routes linking Tokyo with Hiroshima and Okayama, possibly from September 2011, and then if all goes to plan, in early 2012 there will be flights using Boeing 787 Dreamliner, to either Europe or to the East Coast of United States.

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is made of 50% light weight carbon deposits making the plane much lighter than conventional Air planes, this lighter weight should help Boeing 787 Dreamliner rsquo;s be about 20% more fuel efficient.

Other noticeable differences the 210 to 250 passengers will see from the Boeing 787 Dreamliner when it begins to fly travellers, is that there are much bigger windows allowing for more light and the cabins will be at a lower air pressure during flights making travellers journeys more pleasant.

There are other Carbon Composite air crafts in the making such as the 8350 Airbus due in 2015.

These new Carbon Composite Air Crafts will hopefully help to reduce the cost of air travel and open the world to more holiday makers. The cost of holiday travel, hotels amp; hostels accommodation soon adds up so the added fuel efficiency of these Carbon Composite planes should partly be passed onto the person who intends to travel, by reducing the cost of air fares. http://www.hostels247.com/news_94_South__Sudan__Independence/ Republic of South Sudan the newest country in Africa the World amp; the 193rd Member of United Nations

Today Saturday 9th July is a historic and glorious Day for South Sudan as they become an Independent state. The First President of New Republic of South Sudan Salva Kiir Mayardit Celebrated with the rest of his new nation today.

After a lot of discussion and debating in the Government, the official full name for the newest independent Country is Republic of South Sudan in short ROSS, with its capital being Juba.

The South Sudan Flag is filled with symbolism, and consists of horizontal black, red and green stripes, separated by two thinner white bands. The thick stripes represent the black people, their blood and fertile land. White is for peace. The blue triangle at the flag's hoist symbolises the Nile, and the yellow star inside it the unity of the 10 states.

Within South Sudan there are several hundred languages spoken making South Sudan one of the most Multi Lingual countries in the World and now after independence the official language is English, the South Sudan national anthem has very uplifting and moving word that help to bring new hope for all South Sudan.

South Sudan National Anthem
Oh God!
We praise and glorify you
For your grace on South Sudan
Land of great abundance
Uphold us united in peace and harmony
Oh motherland!

We rise raising flag with the guiding star
And sing songs of freedom with joy
For justice, liberty and prosperity
Shall forevermore reign
Oh great patriots!

Let us stand up in silence and respect
Saluting our martyrs whose blood
Cemented our national foundation
We vow to protect our nation
Oh God, bless South Sudan!

The South Sudan Pound will begin to be introduced over the coming months. http://www.hostels247.com/news_95_Nelson__Mandela__at__93/ Nelson Mandela celebrates his 93rd birthday with family amp; well wishers.

Today 18th July 2011 is the 93rd birthday of Nelson Mandela and a national holiday in South Africa, the whole country celebrates Mandela Day.

Thousands of South African school children across the country sang happy birthday to Nelson Mandela and wished him a happy 93rd birthday.

Nelson Mandela has not been seen in public since the World Cup in South Africa, but several pictures of him celebrating his birthday with family and friends have been released.

Nelson Mandela, also known as Madiba, a nickname taken from his clan is an inspiration to all South African rsquo;s and everyone round the world, his struggle against apartheid and final triumph to become the first black president of South Africa is an amazing journey.

South Africa has now become a popular travel and holiday destination offering a wide range of budget accommodation and luxury hotels as well as many attractions and things to do, this popularity would not have been possible if apartheid was still in affect in South Africa. http://www.hostels247.com/news_96_Space__Hotel/ Get away from it all in the Space Hotel

It rsquo;s a well known fact that the main reason people go on holiday is to get away from the everyday life and relax in a different place away from where you usually live, for many people the further away from where they live the better. The Russian company Orbital Technologies has taken this theory to the limit and is working towards the first every Space Hotel which is due to open to Space Tourists in 2016.

So if your fed up with the holiday experiences on offer on Earth its worth thinking about the Space Hotel if your finances will allow.

Obviously the Space Hotel is not for everyone, it will be the world rsquo;s most exclusive Boutique Hotel with the target market of the ultra rich and private companies who want to do research in space.

Staying at the Space Hotel is not for budget travellers with costs starting from about pound;600,000 which includes the cost of travel to the Space Hotel and Hotel accommodation and meals. All meals are obviously included as the nearest take way or shop is about 217 miles away.

The accommodation and facilities in the Space Hotel can not really be compared to any Earth Bound Hotel, instead it rsquo;s simply pointed out that the guests will be much more comfortable than the usual astronauts in Space Stations.

The Space Hotel can accommodate up to 7 guests who will be accompanied by experienced staff, the food on offer will be prepared on Earth and reheated in space by microwave, for the accommodation and sleeping arrangements due to weightlessness guests will sleep either upright or vertical in sleeping bags attached to the wall.

2016 is only a few years away so if you have ever dreamed of going into space then it rsquo;s the time to start saving for the most amazing holiday experience on offer and a Hotel accommodation that will defiantly get you away for a few days. http://www.hostels247.com/news_97_Luggage__Allowance/ Luggage allowance on Air planes 20% down

Air travel is an integral part of most of people rsquo;s life from business trips to holidays and visiting friends and family, it would be hard to travel without using Air travel at some point.

It would be like going on Holiday and not staying in a cheap hotels accommodation or youth hostels, while away from home you have to stay in some kind of holiday accommodation and to travel long distances and cross countries, you have to fly.

Taking this into account it seems as if airlines are beginning to take customers for granted and reduce the services and baggage allowances for travellers.

Checked in Luggage for economy class passengers on long haul flights used to be as high as 2 bags of 35 kg now some airlines have reduced it to just 2 bags of 28 kg a reduction of 20% and some airlines only allow one checked in bag, its not as if air fare prices have also decreased at the same rate, in fact air fares have increased in many routes, especially the African routes and routes that are not well served by many Airlines.

So it seems the less the amount of airlines that travel a route the more expensive the ticket.

You can travel for 6 hours on a plane and pay more than what you would pay for a longer distance that would take you more than 18 hours. It rsquo;s quite easy to see that this Maths doesn rsquo;t add up. No matter the excuse that rsquo;s given.

Airline business is one business that charges whatever that suits the airline when there rsquo;s no competition and not care for the needs of the customers, and still claims not to make money. http://www.hostels247.com/news_98_Child__Air__Fares__Too__High/ High Costs of Air Fares Hit Families With Children the Hardest.

Here are the facts, so you decide for your self.

Even if you are an adult on minimum wage or feel as though your wages are never enough to cover the monthly bills, it should be pointed out that adults without children in most cases still have it easier than people with children.

Holidays and travelling are what many people look forward to and if your lucky enough to have holidays abroad that means booking hotel accommodation and a place to stay as well as flight tickets to travel to your chosen location.

Now days there are three categories Air travellers fall into, and I don rsquo;t mean Economy, Business and First Class, what I am referring to is Infants, under 2 years Old, Children, from 2 till 12 and adults anyone over 12 years old.

Now let me explain why this is makes such a big impact on families and their holiday budget. Adults i.e the parents always pay adult prices that is a given, the sticking area and point of conflict is the children's prices.

Any infant under 2 years old pays a small fee to travel as the parents carry the child or have them in a cot during the flight at the front seats of the aircraft cabin. As soon as the child is 2 years and one day old the ticket price shoots up, to only about 10 or 20% less than an adult ticket.

Now its understandable that from maybe 4 or 5 the price should be more but from 2 years old, its too young, there can be a policy in place for airlines that the infants must sit on their parents lap for example

Then a child hits 12 years and 1 day now they are considered an adult and they have to pay the full fare.

I know most people don rsquo;t think about this until they become a parent, but airlines are unfairly overcharging children to fly.

A good breakdown of the three categories should be as follows
Infants Under 4 years old
Children 4 to 15 years old
Adults over 15 years old

Or ideally there should be 4 categories as follows
Infants Under 4 years old
Children 4 to 12 years old
Senior Children or Young Adults 12 to 16 years old
Adults over 16 years old

Apart from Airlines, most the Hospitality and Leisure industry have a much better pricing scheme for children, for example hostels in London, hotels Accommodation, Hotels in New York and all types of budget accommodation worldwide have great policies for children, such as the examples below

Under 5 years old are free
1 child free in each room when sharing same beds
2 children aged 16 or under is free when sharing with two adults
5 -12 year olds are half price
and many more.

Other modes of transportation are also child friendly, on trains such as euro star under 4 year old are free as they sit on their parents laps.

As a frequent traveler I feel that changes need to be made to Airline Ticket pricing to make it more child friendly and affordable for families in the future. http://www.hostels247.com/news_99_EU__Carbon__Tax/ Apart from a few forms of travel such as walking or bicycles they all leave a carbon footprint, from the fuel used to run the car, air plane or ship to the fumes left behind from burning/using the transportation, Travel always leaves some kind of carbon footprint.

The European Union has created a carbon emissions scheme to offset this Carbon Footprint left by planes by implementing an EU Carbon Tax and charging any Air planes flying within the EU, leaving or arriving in the EU and the European Union's Emissions Trading Scheme came into effect on 1 January 2012.

When it comes to air fares there is not as much choice as accommodation for example, only a few airlines have licences to fly to each city so the prices are always quite similar so a flight from London to New York no matter which airline you use is very similar, New York accommodation on the other hand ranges for luxury 5 star hotels, to bed and breakfast, guesthouse, hostels and New York budget hotels accommodation

Whether or not this scheme will help to reduce the carbon footprint of planes or encourage companies to development new planes the EU Carbon Tax has caused major disputes with china that refuse to pay, and has been heavily criticised by many outside the EU such as Canada and the US.

Whether the Tax will or will not help, one thing is for sure the cost will be passed onto the traveller and holiday maker meaning the airline ticket will cost more and another thing is, what will EU do with the money collected from this Taxes.

Chinese Airlines have refused to pay the EU Carbon Tax, the China Air Transport Association (CATA) who represents the 4 major China Airways, Air China, China Southern Airlines, China Eastern Airlines and Hainan Airlines say they will not co-operate with the EU tax and will not impose any surcharges onto customers relating to emissions tax.

All eyes are now on the EU to see how or if they will try and enforce this EU Carbon Tax onto Chinese Airlines.

As for travellers, they have no say in what taxes are and are not added to their air fares all they can do is search for the best priced tickets and try to save money wherever possible by using budget airlines and staying in cheap hostels and budget hotels to try and keep the holiday costs as low as possible. http://www.hostels247.com/news_100_May__Day__2012/ The 1st May 2012 sees another day of protests staged by Labour Movement and Anarchists among other protesters in London, Paris, Berlin, Madrid, and Athens to New York, Washington and many other cities across the world.

Most of the protest marches and Occupy protests were without incidence but there were arrests in each city and some protesters either tried to rush shops and businesses and vanalized windows or became disorderly and clashed with police who were trying to keep the protesters calm.

The May Day originates from the eighteen hundreds and the day is meant to commemorate the historic achievements of the Labor movement and in remembrance of the 1886 Haymarket Riot in Chicago, Illinois. But these days most people don rsquo;t know what May Day stands for and use the day to protest and cause disruption in city centres for their own particular reasons.

Even before the eighteen hundreds the May Day celebrations was always used as a workers holiday to celebrate and have fun, but over the years the celebrations have turned into protests and marches. http://www.hostels247.com/news_101_Sarkosy__Out/ Francois Hollande In Sarkozy Out.

A new dawn in France, Socialist Francois Hollande wins the 2012 French presidential elections as Nicolas Sarkosy admits defeat and concedes, Sarkosy is the only French President in over 30 years not to win a second term in power.

Francoise Hollande gives victory speech from Tulle, as the whole of France and the world watches. He promises to serve his country with devotion and thanks all the French people for their support, he aims to Reduce defecate and get French debt under control and shift the focus to growth measures for France

The Victory for Hollande was by no means a land slide but still a victory of 51.7% to 48.3% in the run off vote.

Mr Sarkozy said in a farewell speech to supporters in Paris.
quot;The French people have made their choice... Francois Hollande is the President of France and he must be respected, quot; http://www.hostels247.com/news_102_London__Torch__Relay/ The Olympic Torch arrived in The United Kingdom yesterday and today Saturday 19 May 2012 is the first day of the 70 day relay leading up to the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games on the 27 July 2012.

The count down to the London 2012 Olympic Games has now entered the last days and the anticipation is mounting, the whole world is watching and London will not disappoint.

The Olympic Torch Relay set off in Land's End in Cornwall and the first torch bearers were cheered on by crowds of Thousands, the start was actually delayed by about half an hour due to the large crowds that turned out.

The Olympic flame will continue travel on the 70 day relay and will come within 10 Miles of 95% of the people in UK, Isle of Man, Guernsey and Jersey, allowing everyone who wants to see and experience the unique relay first hand.

The Olympic Torch is to be carried by 8,000 torchbearers who were nominated by someone they know, as each torchbearer carries the torch on their leg of the relay it will be their

Moment To Shine

Its not just the Olympic Stadiums and venues that are ready and waiting for this Summers Olympic games in London, Restaurants, and tourists sights a like are eagerly awaiting tourists, a lot of Accommodations in London have been renovated in preparation Hostels in London have seen a huge increase in demand over the Olympic periods, London hotels from 5 star luxury resorts and budget hotels are also almost fully booked.

This Summer will be super busy in London, every year is busy but this year is especially special and exciting, with the Queens Jubilee celebrations during the 2, 3, 4 and 5 of June and then the Olympics in July.

2012 is the year to visit London and join in all the festivities. http://www.hostels247.com/news_103_Queens__Jubilee__Pageant/ Queens Diamond Jubilee Thames Pageant

Today Sunday 3 June 2012 saw over a thousand boats, vessels, flotilla of tugs, steamers, pleasure cruisers, dragon boats, kayaks and ships join the Queens barge on the Thames to celebrate the Queens Diamond Jubilee in the Thames Pageant.

The Jubilee Pageant was the London highlight of the Jubilee weekend celebrating 60 years of the Queen's reign, it was one of the largest flotillas ever to assemble on the River Thames as registered by the Guinness Book of Records, the Pageant involved vessels from the armed forces, police, rescue and other services as well as passenger boats with members of the public joining in the festivities.

There was a specially constructed boat with a belfry with 8 specially cast Jubilee bells, the chiming bells from the boat were answered by churches along the river bank and 10 musical barges to keep a party atmosphere with choirs and orchestras.

There were of course many people lining the embankment along the route who also joined in the celebrations, a great cheer was heard every time the Queens barge came into sight, its estimated that over 1 million people braved the rain to enjoy the River Pageant, and over 20,000 people were on the boats during the Pageant.

The Queen dressed in a white hat and a silver and white coat designed by Angela Kelly and was accompanied on the Royal Barge the Spirit of Chartwell by her family, including the Duke of Edinburgh, the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall, and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge

The Pageant started at 2.20 pm at Albert Bridge with the ringing of the Jubilee bells, and ended as the last vessel completed the 7 miles route to Tower Bridge at 6pm and the fireworks exploded on Tower Bridge http://www.hostels247.com/news_104_Ikea__to__Open__Budget__Hotels__Across__Europe/ Ikea the Swedish company famous for affordable flat-pack furniture and the world largest Furniture Company, has plans to expand their business and is looking to open around 100 budget design hotels across Europe.

Ikeas aim is to create a Hotel accommodation based on budget design with a boutique and exclusive feel but with affordable prices, the budget hotels accommodation industry is considered to be one of the fastest growing in the hotel industry, so this is a very smart move on Ikeas side.

To all those eager to try out a stay in one of Ikeas new budget hotels in Europe, you will be disappointed to hear that the hotel chain will not use the Ikea retail name and the hotels will be run by an already established hotel operator outside the company, but the locations, design and concept are all Ikea.

The Ikea budget hotels will be available across Europe, starting in the UK with budget hotels in London, Netherlands and Poland where Ikea is already well known and also in new destinations like Germany.

Budget accommodation is one the easiest ways for budget conscious travellers to save money on holiday, and the European budget hotel market is one of the best places to start as travel between European cities is easy and many budget Airlines offer cheap air fares adding to the number of potential customers for Ikeas new Designer Hotels. http://www.hostels247.com/news_105_Airline__Asks__Passengers__for__Gas__Money/ It rsquo;s a common saying that life is sometime more unusual than fiction and there are many examples of this especially when you travel and go on Holiday, your expecting new experiences and different things, but sometimes things get a little too much like the twilight zone.

It is expected that when you travel and stay in holiday accommodation like budget hotels, cheap youth hostels or guesthouse and visit new places things will be different from at home but Passengers on an Air France Flight 562 got a very strange and somewhat disturbing announcement from their captain after their plane was forced to make an emergency landing is Syria.

First of all an unplanned landing in Syria which is embroiled in civil war is not the most comforting place to land for passengers, coupled with this after landing the Captain put an announcements that passengers should please gather together their cash to help pay for fuel for the plane as they were running low and couldn rsquo;t take off again without refueling and paying for the fuel.

Considering the passengers were not hitching a ride with a stranger or car pooling with friends but had paid for a flight on a well known air line, this is not the type of request you will be expecting from the captain of the plane, but being good passengers everyone gathered together their money and in first class alone the travelers gathered together over 17,000 Euros.

In the end the captain managed to pay for the fuel without having to use the cash from the passengers but the fact that the passengers were asked to contribute for fuel still is one of the most unusual and somewhat unprofessional request from an airline to date.

Air France with its biggest hub airport in Paris France when asked about the incident said that because of the civil war and embargo on Syria paying for the fuel by normal means was proving to be difficult so the Captain of the Air France Plane was just taking precautions in case they had to pay cash for the fuel, the final cost and method of payment for the fuel was not revealed. http://www.hostels247.com/news_106_London__2012__Paralympic__Games__Opening__Ceremony/ London 2012 Paralympics Opening Ceremony

The London 2012 Paralympics opened this evening with a spectacular Opening Ceremony, a worldwide audience of millions watched on TV and 60,000 people were at the Stratford Olympic stadium, including the Queen, Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, both ambassadors for Paralympics GB, and the Earl and Countess of Wessex.

Professor Stephen Hawking launched the opening ceremony which the theme is Enlightenment, the skies lit up with fireworks and the carefully choreographed performers and artists entertained the audience, the London Paralympics is meant to take everyone, spectators and athletes a like on a journey.

Spectators and athletes can now look forward to 11 days of Paralympic events, hopes are high for UK athletes who finished well in the medals table in Beijing.

London has been especially busy this summer with the Queens Jubilee Celebrations, Olympic Games, Notting Hill Carnival and now the Paralympics, many hostels in London, guesthouse, bed and breakfast and budget hotels have been fully booked, but there are still some budget accommodation in London with availability for holiday makers. http://www.hostels247.com/news_107_Making__Light__of__Travel/ Travel Light amp; Save Money on Extra Charges For Checked in Luggage.

Since the introduction of budget airlines and the increased number of good quality budget accommodations like cheap hostels, bed amp; breakfast and guesthouse, more and more people have been able to travel and go on holiday.

But in recent years some budget airlines have been reducing the number of included services with the normal airline ticket price, in some cases now budget travellers have to pay for everything during a flight from Food and drink, to entertainment, but the most annoying and expensive of these is paying for checked in luggage.

That rsquo;s why there are an ever increasing number of travellers who choose to travel light and only use their onboard luggage allowance which until now is still free. Of course this isn rsquo;t ideal for everyone because if your going on holiday for a week or longer just having a carry on bag doesn rsquo;t allow enough space for clothes and everything you may need.

For anyone going on weekend break or short holiday its worth considering using just carry on luggage if your going to fly with a budget airline that is charging to check in luggage, these days every penny counts and you can use the money you saved on paying for your luggage to enjoy yourself.

Going on holiday is always going to cost money and finding ways to save where ever possible makes it easier to afford to go away, so next time your planning a weekend break or mini holiday away make light of travel and take less with you, you will be surprised that the majority of things we take on holiday with us are actually not needed http://www.hostels247.com/news_108_Beijing__To__Guangzhou__As__Fast__As__A__Bullet/ High Speed Trains Have Brought The World Closer Together

In a modern world there is no avoiding travelling, from going to the shops, work or travelling on Holiday. One of the major factors that decide how we travel is the time it takes to get to our destination, walking, bus, cars, subways, trains and planes are all essential to enable us to travel with ease.

Trains are one of the most efficient ways to travel long distances over land, there is no traffic on railway lines and the only stops are at stations along the line, depending on the country and route there is a vast different between the trains used, there are the usual trains that travel on average 40 mph, and now there are high speed trains that travel around 300 kilometres per hour cutting travel times drastically, bringing different cities and countries closer together.

There are different high speed train networks around the world in Europe (France TGV amp; Eurostar), Asia (China Bullet Train amp; Japan Maglev Train) and North America and there are lines under construction in Algeria and Morocco.

China has opened the world rsquo;s longest high speed railway line, from China rsquo;s capital city Beijing to Guangzhou the bullet trains travels at an average speed of 300 kilometres per hour.

The Bullet Train has cut the 2,298km journey time from Beijing to Guangzhou from 22 hours to just 8 hours.

Ticket prices are a premium for the journey between Beijing and Guangzhou with Standard Tickets to travel on the Bullet trains cost about pound;86 which is 2 times as much as a bunk on an older train, though the price is still a bit cheaper than most flights. While business class tickets on the line cost around pound;270.

The introduction of high speed trains have cut train journey times drastically and have brought the world closer together, allowing people to travel longer distances in a shorter amount of time. http://www.hostels247.com/news_109_Happy__Chinese__New__Year/ Gong Xi Fa Ca Happy Chinese New Year

Gong Xi Fa Ca, the traditional Chinese New Year Greeting which means ldquo;wishing you prosperity rdquo; in Mandarin.

Today the 10th February 2013 is the first day of the Chinese Lunar New Year, the most important celebration in the Chinese calendar, this year we say goodbye to the year of the Dragon and welcome in the year of the Snake. Each Year the Chinese celebrate one of 12 Animals.

1. Rat
2. Ox
3. Tiger
4. Rabbit
5. Dragon
6. Snake
7. Horse
8. Goat
9. Monkey
10. Rooster
11. Dog
12. Pig

Across the world billions of Chinese celebrate Chinese New Year wherever they are, from Beijing, Hong Kong and Macau, many Chinese travel home to different parts of China to celebrate with family and friends and Chinese New Year is the biggest mass movement of people in the world , group accommodation in China during Chinese New Year is almost impossible to find as everywhere is fully booked as if people can rsquo;t travel home then they celebrate with some friends and colleagues.

Chinese New Year in London is among one of the largest celebrations outside Asia, there are parades, and special events all day that centre in and around China Town and Trafalgar Square in Central London. Many hotels, hostels in London and budget accommodations are fully booked well in advance with people all wanted to join in the celebrations.

In China the Chinese New Year Celebrations last for 15 days culminating with the festival of lights, with fireworks displays and lanterns and gifts exchanged. The moon plays the role in the celebrations, with foods that are shaped like the full moon such as scallops, golden round dumplings, anything round and of course money wrapped in red or gold paper or now days given in red or gold envelopes. http://www.hostels247.com/news_110_Happy__Valentine__2013/