CNN Business Traveller

SHOW #67

A Tale of three Cities

This month, CNN Business Traveller features Michael Elliot, the author of a recent Time Magazine article 'A Tale of Three Cities', on how influential New York, London and Hong Kong are in setting the benchmark in hotel standards and trends. Gone are the days when business travellers were simply interested in a decent night's sleep and a good breakfast - today's guests want and expect more.

The programme explores how hotels carry out tests to ensure they meet the needs of their guests, by looking at Starwood's 'hotel lab' for its budget boutique subsidiary, Aloft, in New York.

With boutique hotels proving big business, the show speaks to John 'Bill' Marriott, Jr., Chairman and CEO of Marriott International and renowned hotel designer, Ian Schrager who have teamed up to ensure the Marriott group makes its own mark on this bespoke type of accommodation.

In London, the programme visits the first Andaz hotel, formerly the Great Eastern; from Hong Kong, Andrew Stevens looks at high-end hotels that are expanding into Asia and speaks to regional experts on whether the city is still the fighting ground for new trends in the industry.