By Samantha Whitehorne: 2014 is looking good for meeting and travel suppliers and, well, a little more expensive for business travellers and meeting planners and attendees. That’s according to Carlson Wagonlit Travel, which has released its 2014 Travel Price Forecast.

For those of you who dread the bland interiors of Holiday Inns, Marriotts and Best Westerns, here’s a selection of the geekiest places to visit on an extended city break.

Great hotels have been the vision of strong, passionate, eccentric and colourful individuals: owners, architects, managers, politicians and industry leaders.  Often they built their hotels not simply to make money but to show their wealth, influence and power.  They influenced, shaped and developed the hotel industry in the past and the present.   There was Thomas Cook who invented the Travel & Tour Agency and Cesar Ritz who gave us luxury hotels.

By Lauren Wilson: Globalization has made sampling delicacies from around the world fairly easy. Most of us don't have to live in the Middle East to sample delicious falafel, or travel to China for near perfect jiaozi. But our list isn't solely about individual dishes; it's about the experience of eating in an authentic context. It's about actually stepping foot in the wood-fired pizzerias in Naples, the steaming noodle shops of Tokyo, and the bustling cevicherias of Lima.

By Ashley Stevens: As hoteliers, you've all been there: a group cancels at the last minute and you’re stuck with an excess of empty rooms. As the Director of Sales of a hotel, you’re scrambling to get guests into your hotel that same night but have little time to coordinate a huge occupancy push. It’s happened before and will likely happen again. But never fear! Next time, just turn to your online channel to drive some last-minute occupancy. Below are three easy ways to get some heads in your beds when you need them most.

By Jacquelyn Smith: If you want to be perceived as a leader in the workplace, a great place to start is by deliberately choosing to speak words and phrases that are empowering to yourself and others; to use language that captivates, motivates, and inspires; and to communicate a vocal image that conveys clarity, confidence, and credibility.

By Jason Brick: Finding new customers costs more than retaining the ones you have. Keep your customers happy, and spending, with these 7 tips.

By feature writer Steve Curtin: The key to achieving desired results is to put your desired actions as close to the path of least resistance as humanly possible. Identify the activation energy—the time, the choices, the mental and physical effort they require—and then reduce it. Let’s take a look at this theory as applied to a breakfast buffet.

By Steve Tappin: I hope that these seven CEO secrets bring to life a better way to lead – how you use them to create powerful change in your own career in now in your hands. If you work in one of those companies that isn’t well led, don’t despair: you can still become the shining example to others of a better way forward. And even if your company doesn't value your efforts, applying the secrets today will prepare you for leading something great in the future.