By Steve Cokkinias: A veteran of the hospitality industry, Steve has many entertaining stories up his sleeve. Each Wednesday he will share a story on ehotelier.

At a time when more than 75 million young people can't find jobs, and countless more are underemployed, investing in opportunities for youth is not only a critical development issue but also a growth strategy for businesses around the world. In response to this challenge, Hilton Worldwide will announce at the World Economic Forum a commissioned white paper from the International Youth Foundation (IYF) that highlights solutions to youth joblessness that the global hospitality sector is uniquely positioned to provide.

Spain and Sri Lanka have come out equal cheapest of 42 destinations surveyed in the latest Post Office Worldwide Holiday Costs Barometer. The Barometer collates the cost of eight items: a cup of coffee; bottle of local beer; can of Coca-Cola; glass of wine; 1.5L bottle of mineral water; 200ml bottle of SPF15 sun cream; packet of 20 Marlboro Lights; and a three-course evening meal for two adults with a bottle of house wine.

Hosting the President is no easy feat, what with the intense security detail, special requests, and busy schedule to maintain. But Philip Wood has played host to dozens of heads of state at hotels around the world, from the Four Seasons to Rosewood and Orient Express Hotels, and Forte's Exclusive Hotels of the World. Today, he serves as managing director of The Jefferson Hotel in Washington, D.C., President Obama's No. 1 fund-raising spot in the city. Wood has agreed to dish the dirt on what it's like to care for the most important person in the world.

By Jason Garcia: Under a sweltering sun in August 1971, a 17-year-old just out of high school waited in a long line leading to an office trailer in a cleared palmetto thicket. The Walt Disney Co. was hiring for its soon-to-open Florida theme park, and the kid needed to pay for college. Disney gave him a job clearing tables in a hotel restaurant. Forty-two years later, Disney has a new assignment for George Kalogridis: president of the entire operation.

By Sara Johnson: For some hotel designers, building a soft place to rest your head is apparently too easy. They're experimenting with converting prisons into hostels, plopping lux bedrooms into public restrooms, and submerging guest rooms underwater. Below, a collection of some of the most extreme global hotel concepts of the past few years, assembled by Reuters.

By Rudy DeFelice: This approach is based upon focusing your efforts on people that know and care about you and what you have to say, then empowering them to spread the word through their networks. Since everyone spreading your message, starting with you, has an authentic relationship with their networks, your message has a distinct advantage over the undifferentiated messages we're all bombarded with every day. So use that advantage.

By Mike Oppenheim, M.D: A delightful perk of hotel doctoring is the "clearance to travel" visit. I tell guests to travel if they feel up to it, but some insurers demand another exam and written permission. That's where I came on the scene.

By Erin Shea: A Luxury Institute executive at Luxury Daily's Luxury FirstLook: Strategy 2013 conference said that affluent millennials will be moving into the prime of their luxury consumption years as baby boomers are moving out.