Travel in state Missouri

Spooky season is upon us, and leave it to historic hotels to tell some of the very best ghost stories about guests who never checked out. In fact, Historic Hotels of America keeps a running list of its 25 most haunted hotels and many hotels market their ghosts with tours and merchandise to help drum up revenue to cover historic preservation costs.

Think the Midwest is just a cornfield you fly over between coasts? Don’t be fooled by that nonsense.

Labor Day is behind us, which means it’s time to unpack the cozy sweaters, warm mittens, and oversized scarves and start plotting out those leaf-peeping adventures. But before you book, you may want to hear about AccuWeather’s fall foliage forecast because it’s listing some rather surprising must-see destinations for this season's leaves.

With the Labor Day holiday now behind us, the year’s peak period for warm-weather travel has passed. Summer is winding down and, although the autumnal equinox doesn’t actually arrive until September 23, many fall fanatics cannot wait for crisper weather to roll in and the harvest season festivities to start. Some autumn enthusiasts will start amassing all things pumpkin spice, putting together the perfect Halloween costume or crafting Thanksgiving-themed decorations.

The United Arab Emirates has established the General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority, known as the GCGRA, a federal-level entity to regulate and establish “strict guidelines” for the country’s commercial gaming industry. The GCGRA sets the scene for future casinos where Ras Al Khaimah already has the confirmed Wynn resort; a potential “Arabian Strip;” and gaming in other emirates, including Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

Did you know that before James Bond famously ordered his shaken-not-stirred martini or his negroni that the British secret agent was sipping on a Classic Americano? That inaugural drink order was in “Casino Royale,” when Ian Fleming introduced the world to Bond, arguably one of the first spirits influencers who went on to shape cocktail culture.

St. Louis is known as the Gateway to the West. A major stop on the Mississippi River and just south of the Missouri River, it was the jumping-off point as the United States expanded its border westward and the city boomed in 19th and 20th centuries. Today, you can see vestiges of an affluent past mix with a forward-thinking, artistic community that make St. Louis an exciting destination year-round.

Here are some excerpts from Daily Lodging Report from the past week. If you’re not a subscriber, you should be. Get news on hotel deals, development, stocks, and career moves. Sign up here, now.

One of the more interesting U.S. innovators of boutique hotels had humble origins. Atit Jariwala is today the founder and CEO of Bridgeton, a New York real estate development group managing $1 billion in assets, including hotels. But Jariwala got his first taste of the hospitality industry living in an EconoLodge motel that his parents managed in Bridgeton, Missouri.

Here are some excerpts from Daily Lodging Report from the past week. If you’re not a subscriber, you should be. Get news on hotel deals, development, stocks, and career moves. Sign up here, now.

Timeshares are a contentious topic in vacation hospitality. Some of the biggest and publicly traded companies have often been censured or ruled against for not upholding consumer protection laws by using deceptive sales tactics.

The Ozarks may have a branding problem. Built up in the ’80s and ’90s with big hotel chains and arguably kitschy attractions, Branson has garnered a reputation among some as “the Las Vegas of the Midwest” — just more family-friendly. But the team behind The Ozarker Lodge in Branson, Missouri, which opened June 30, has some fresh ideas.

This week Executive Editor Dennis Schaal followed up on a comment made by Tripadvisor’s CEO about his company’s position in the tours and activities space. After looking at the growth of Tripadvisor’s Viator brand against its rival GetYourGuide, Schaal concluded that it wasn’t really a competition as much as it was a tale of these two big online companies competing against much larger offline competition. Read on for the full story, as well as other headlines from this week.

Good morning from Skift. It’s Friday, July 21. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.

North American destinations are getting ready for the 2026 World Cup, said city officials at the session titled “On the World Stage: Leveraging the 2026 FIFA World Cup Across North America and Beyond” at the Destinations International 2023 Annual Convention.

It seems everyone wants to experience the happiest place on Earth.

An X user who goes by @dynamicallydara says she was on an American Airlines flight when she opened her 3-year-old nephew's snack box they brought from home.

Alcohol, cannabis and multi-substance impaired driving have surged in recent years and account for about one-third of traffic fatalities annually in this country. A new round of grants aims to help lower that death toll by providing law enforcement officers with tools, resources and training to better identify impaired drivers and remove them from the road.

Travel Weekly reports that the TSA is already alerting travelers to forthcoming ID requirements set to take effect in 2018.

As reported by USA Today, lawmakers in Missouri are expected to pass a bill that will amend the state’s liquor law to allow travelers to take alcoholic drinks with them to their boarding gates.

This morning, my inbox and social-media feed were chock full of messages from and about Virgin America. And they had nothing to do with the airline’s rumored merger with JetBlue or Alaska Airlines, a developing story that concerns the company’s very existence.