By Carey Polis: As is the case with all "best of" lists, no guide is perfect. But very few sources attempt to rank all the restaurants in the world. The "50 Best" awards are decided by a group of over 900 restaurant world experts. There are 26 different regions that make up the list, and each region has a panel of 36 members including a chairperson. Each panelist has seven votes and at least three of those votes must be for restaurants outside of his or her region.

By Jean Francois Mourier: Only six luxury hotels in the US are expected to open their doors in 2013. That number is consistent with the results seen in 2012, as a total of six properties opened that year. Unlike 2012 and 2013, development in the luxury market during 2011 was high with 23 hotels opened during the year. These declining numbers demonstrate an ongoing trend away from investment in the luxury market, and the growth of upscale properties. This trend reflects the changes in consumer behavior post-recession. Before the recession, consumers were willing to pay high prices for a five-star luxury experience, but since the financial fallout, most consumers have a maximum room rate in mind, that they won't exceed, no matter how luxurious the property.

By Alan Campbell: We have gone through the industrial revolution, the electrical revolution, and the women’s revolution. So now what will be next? Well the next revolution to come will be the hotel revolution. It will be the gadgets versus the customers. As I write these words there are new innovation’s being prepared for the hotel industry that will pamper and make each hotel more attractive to the buying public. We have grown to expect certain standards of what should be in any given hotel that we visit. Every time that some designer comes up with a new idea that appeals to the hotel public, we the customer expect to find it when we check in to the next hotel. How many gadgets can the industry provide before it goes in to overload?

By Terence Ronson: On what can be described as the eve of AHTEC@HOFEX 2013, it's the perfect time to update our ever-popular DO's and DON'TS of Hotel Technology.

By Chris McGinnes: Nearly every traveller I know (including me) checks out hotels on TripAdvisor before making a booking. I'm sure you do, too. Right? The infographic below provides an interesting look at how travelers use the review sites and what makes them trustworthy. It also provides some tips on spotting "fake" reviews.

By Matt Bitzer: We've recently heard many stories of hotels that feel stuck with their current emarketing provider. Sometimes hoteliers are immobilized by ironclad contracts that give all website rights to the emarketing vendor. Other times a hotel is locked in a perpetual relationship with an emarketing provider due to proprietary technologies and accounts. Of course, these types of lock-ins are never a problem when the customer is happy, but when things go south that's when the swords come out and the legal dogs are let loose.

By Nancy Trejos: When you travel these days, you're doing so in a more environmentally friendly fashion than you did a decade ago – and you probably can't even tell.

By Jennifer Kester: When our incognito Forbes Travel Guide inspectors covered London for our first Star Awards in Europe, they learned the ins and outs of the city's best hotels and spas, testing service, facilities, treatments and more. Along the way, they also discovered some hidden amenities that hotels only offer to guests in the know, including an underground casino and an airport service that lets you bypass the security line.

By James Ellis: The battle lines are being drawn by companies vying to be the new TripAdvisor, including two new British start-ups that are trying to knock the user-generated review site off the top spot.