Airbnb pulls app: Airbnb removed from Google Play an unreleased app called Airbnb Trips it was testing that offers personal itineraries with information about future Airbnb rentals, city guidebooks and other events. According to Engadget, the company may change the app’s name and features before its release.
Read more on Engadget and Bloomberg
Zika on Miami Beach: The Miami Herald is reporting that two new Zika infections were found in the resort city of Miami Beach. The city’s mayor said there was no confirmation yet that the cases had been transmitted there.
Ramble in Denver: A 50-room boutique hotel will open in Denver’s RiNo neighborhood in late 2017. It will operate a Death & Co. bar in the company’s first location outside New York and its first collaboration with a hotel. The hotel is being developed by Denver-based Gravitas Development Group.
Internet travel planning saturated?: Use of the Internet for travel planning in the U.S. market has reached saturation point but there are still opportunities for growth, according to a recent study by the School of Hotel and Tourism Management at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Multi-year tracking of the percentage of travelers using the Internet for travel planning has changed little, the study says.
See the press release about the study
Occupied Philadelphia: July’s Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia boosted hotel occupancy to 97.6%, up more than 10% year over year, according to the city’s tourism bureau. It added an extra US$16.3 million in hotel revenue to the city center. RevPAR is 6.6% ahead of last year as well.