By Dhananjay Khadilkar: For four weeks starting July 20 each year when a 1.8-mile stretch of beach appears along the banks of the river Seine in the heart of this landlocked city that is otherwise at least 125 miles away from the nearest coastline.

By Donna Heiderstadt: A hotel is just somewhere to spend the night, right? It is simply a building full of rooms with beds and bathrooms. Of course, that's just the surface. As these 10 iconic American properties show, a hotel can also be a one-of-a-kind showpiece full of fun facts, quirky details, and unexpected hidden histories. Here's a look at some fascinating tidbits you may not know about some of the country's most famous (and historic) hotels.

By Mike Michalowicz: Want your customers to spread the word about your hotel? Start by surprising them with the best customer service they've ever gotten.

By Julie Weed: New offerings are part of a push among hotel companies to speed up the innovation process and to foster new ideas at the local level by testing them on-site and receiving quick feedback from customers.

By Alex Skjong: From simple street vendors to hole-in-the-wall hot spots, it’s not always necessary to climb into the triple (or quadruple) digits to get a great culinary experience. But for those looking to truly live a lavish lifestyle, thousand-dollar omelets and gilded cupcakes can be the ultimate thrill for high roller foodies.

By feature writer Lars Hilse: Now that we've presented a few of hundreds of possibilities at your disposal in context to marketing efforts in Part 1 (http://ehotelier.staging.wpengine.com/hospitality-news/item.php?id=25905_0_11_0_C), we want the potential Guest to visit your Website to book their vacation so that the margin entirely goes into your pocket in favour of that of the tour operator.

By Nancy Trejos: Hotels have long been willing to hawk pillows, linens and bathrobes. Now, they're peddling fine wines. A number of major hotel chains are getting into the wine business, teaming up with wineries to start wine clubs, create their own private labels or hold special wine events.

By feature writer Steve Curtin: I often encounter managers who rightly cite the importance of selection in building a staff of exceptional customer service providers. But many of these same managers bemoan the difficulty of motivating those tenured employees whom they inherited to provide the same quality of customer service.

Expedia.com® today released the results of the 2013 Flip Flop Report, an annual study of behavior and preferences among beachgoers in North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Australia. Here are their sometimes surprising findings about beach behaviour.