Luxury Hotel Chains Dropping Five-Star Ratings to Conserve Cash

Luxury-hotel chains, the biggest losers in the lodging industry’s decline, are giving up some of their hard-won stars to save money. Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc., the U.S. owner of luxury brands including St. Regis and W Hotels, will let some of its properties reduce their level of service — and number of stars

Verizon gets top marks in call quality

Another day, another cell phone study from J.D. Power and Associates. This time, it’s not customer service–T-Mobile, Alltel, and Verizon Wireless tied for that honor earlier this month–but a survey of the all-important call quality. Just like last year, Verizon was the overall winner this time around. The carrier ranked highest in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic,

Spotify for iPhone gets thumbs up from Apple, subscription music with offline playlists is a go

Streaming and subscription music services are a dime a dozen on iPhone, and they seem to get past Apple’s app store approval hurdles with relative ease. But Spotify was one whose fate wasn’t so clear cut, given its offline playlist function — which as the name suggests downloads songs ahead of time for you to

Human-carrying robot bear gets cuteness upgrade

Raise a glass to ‘beer country’

(CNN) — When it comes to taking spirited vacations, wandering a vineyard falls flat in the face of handcrafted brew. With more than 1,500 breweries across the United States, beer is not just a drink — it’s a destination. “What’s happened is that the old world has influenced the new world; the U.S. is now

Get locals’ lei of the land in Oahu, Hawaii

CNN) — With Hawaii’s impossibly perfect temperatures and enviable scenery, it’s easy to forget that there’s life off the beach. But with Hawaii celebrating its 50th anniversary as a state, it’s definitely time to look past Oahu’s Waikiki Beach and experience the most populous island’s abundance of local flavor. Hang like a local The best

Boating adventures in Alaska’s Glacier Bay

(Tribune Media Services) — Try maneuvering a kayak through icebergs — big ones, small ones, ones that look like alligators and flat-topped bergs that could spell trouble because they are mostly underwater. Just 250 years ago, this area was all glacier and no bay. Today, hundreds of thousands of tourists cruise Glacier Bay National Park

Healthy Dining a Hard Sell, Study Says

Nutritionists are harping on everyone to make better food choices. The government wants you to disclose the calorie and fat counts in your dishes. And many of your guests are dealing with multiple diet-related chronic illnesses, not the least of which is obesity. But do they want to eat right at your restaurant? Nope, according

The Taste of Buffalo is back

The second-largest food festival in the country returns this weekend as five dozen restaurants and hundreds of thousands of eaters converge on Delaware Avenue and Niagara Square for the Taste of Buffalo. A record 60 restaurants will be on hand for what has arguably become Buffalo’s signature summer event. Nearly a quarter of those restaurants

Dell sees stronger second half

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Dell reported earnings that beat analysts’ estimates Thursday and said it expects stronger sales in the second half of the year, sending shares of the world’s second-largest PC maker up 5% after hours. The company said second-quarter net income fell 23% to $472 million, or 24 cents per share, from $616