Tower Mill Has A Healthy Appeal

METRO Hotel Tower Mill Brisbane is a landmark in the centre of the city, offering leisure and business visitors stylish and affordable accommodation and dining.

The property is close to the CBD's main attractions, including the Queen St Mall, Treasury Casino, South Bank Parklands, the Brisbane Botanic Gardens, art galleries, museums and Suncorp Stadium.
The cylindrically shaped hotel has 71 guest rooms, many with private balconies that take in views across Brisbane.

The hotel offers rooms from twin, queen bed and family (accommodating up to four people) to executive suites.

Limited complimentary parking is available for guests.

Situated next to Brisbane Private Hospital (Holy Spirit), a short walk to St Andrew's Hospital and a wide range of medical specialists, the hotel is also a popular accommodation choice for people visiting Brisbane for medical reasons.

Hotel general manager Allan Hilt said many guests had been recommended to stay at the hotel by doctors.

The hotel has special rates for those attending hospitals and medical specialists in the area.
Metro Hotel Tower Mill Brisbane is close to the city's transport options, just 500m from Central railway station and nearby bus stations.

For business visitors, the hotel is within a 20-minute walk of the city's major conference venues, including the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre.

The hotel also has a dedicated meetings room, which can host up to 60 people.

Targeted at the small meetings market, the room provides a more intimate and affordable alternative to some of the city's larger venues for conferences and meetings.

Conference equipment is available for hire or can be included as part of one of the hotel's conference packages.

The licensed restaurant and bar, The Mill Hotel Bar and Restaurant, has a new outdoor dining area ideal for the sunny Brisbane weather.

The restaurant is open for breakfast, lunch and evening meals, and also provides room service.
A wide range of accommodation packages is available at the hotel.

Guests can book accommodation at metrohotels.com.au or by calling the toll-free reservations line on 1800 806 553.

Phone the hotel directly on 3832 1421.

Metro Hotels is the public face of Transmetro Corporation, an Australian-owned public company listed on the Australian Stock Exchange.

Metro Hotels has more than 1000 rooms across Australia.

"Nice" Guest Review of Metro Hotel Tower Mill - Brisbane Hotel Reviews

I stayed at the Tower Mill last year as it was opposite where our tour was to leave from.

I booked an executive room and I was pleased with the room, especially my view of the tower mill itself and the city beyond. The room was small but suitable for one person.

The breakfast was very nice but make sure to read the menu properly - I ordered extras with my bacon and eggs and ended up paying $36 for breakfast! Woops. All said and done - I would stay here again if I was on my own.

If travelling with my husband or family, I would choose somewhere with larger rooms.

View Metro Hotel Tower Mill on Tripadvisor

View the Offical Metro Hotel Tower Mill Webpage

TripAdvisor Reviews: Malicious, Bogus, Vexatious says AAA

One of Asia Pacific’s largest accommodation lobby groups says dealing with powerful review website TripAdvisor has become a huge issue for its 2000 members with the “possibility for abuse” having the “strong potential to undermine a business and damage it”. The Accommodation Association of Australia says operators regularly complain of “malicious”, “bogus” and “vexatious” reviews they feel powerless to stop.

“It is here where there is a strong concern that the process is weighted against operators, with their responses more likely to be moderated than those of the reviewer,” wrote Michael Georgeson, Manager National Operations for AAA.

“In a recent case presented to us, the site was used in a personal attack on a property manager via a review where the manager was accused of inebriation (amongst other complaints) whilst on duty.

“In this case, the property was able to identify that the reviewer was the disgruntled former partner of the manager.  Despite having this fact pointed out to TripAdvisor, the site refused to remove the review.

“The property was fortunately able to go directly to the reviewer and have the listing removed. However, this case underscores the lack of control and severity of attack that is possible.

“The possibility for abuse can mean that TripAdvisor has the strong potential to undermine a business and damage it quite substantially.

“This potential has been realised quite acutely in at least one UK case, where a targeted campaign was launched by an individual posting negative bogus reviews on a restaurant they had not even visited.

“Whilst it is unfortunate that this is not the only example, it is amongst those which have led to legislative changes in the UK.

“The issues are not limited to these negative reviews and the potential for attack either – even the positive reviews have pitfalls which may be questioned.

“Ghost-writing opportunities are available for the posting of reviews, in some cases specifically identifying TripAdvisor and the process to generate numbers of reviews from multiple profiles.

“To date, the advice of the Accommodation Association to members has been to attempt to respond to reviews through TripAdvisor.

“However, the consistent feedback from operators is that getting a response from the site operators is difficult, and when successful, responses to reviews can be heavily moderated, with one member saying the final response allowed was almost pointless.

“It is here where there is a strong concern that the process is weighted against operators, with their responses more likely to be moderated than those of the reviewer.

“Regardless, at this stage a measured response via TripAdvisor seems the only productive means of engagement with reviewers.”

(Source: Travel Trends News)

“Great Hotel” - Metro Hotel Tower Mill, Brisbane

My husband and I stayed at this hotel late March at the start of holidays, we were greeted very warmly by Manager Allan Hilt & his staff, everything at the hotel was great, room was terrific, good rates, wonderful views, they have a restaurant & bar.

Allan was checking on transport to the airport for us and came and found us and told us what he found out about the coach, it was too early in the morning so we decided to go by Airtrain, we bought the tickets there with a saving of $1.50 each.

We caught a taxi to and from the station to the hotel cost around $10, thanks to Allan and his staff for such a pleasant experience.

View the Metro Hotel Tower Mill Website

View Metro Hotel Tower Mill on Trip Advisor

What Would You Most Like to Get for Free at a Hotel?

The following results were taken from a Linkedin survey asking "What Would You Most Like to Get for Free at a Hotel?"

Linkedin Members: Comments:

Peter

Peter Jeffries • It seems to me that the bush is leading the charge in the area of free wifi! I also think the industry could learn from their country counterparts in the art of friendliness.

24 days ago Voted for Late check-out

Jan

Jan Dickens • Free WiFi should be available but I don't think Australia has the capacity to provide this. Hotel bookings should be for at least 22 hrs - this would enable the hotel to have 2 hours cleaning time and still keep their occupancy rates.

27 days ago | Voted for Wireless internet

Lee

Lee Oliveira • Australia is way behind when it comes to free wifi in hotels. Every hotel should at least have free wifi in the lobby. They would need to upgrade their system if a hotel was going to offer free wifi. Some hotels I've stayed at that offer free wifi are extremely slow because of the amount of people using it.

about 1 month ago

Phillip

Phillip Fitzgibbon • wifi should be free in Hotels, if you ask nicely you can usually get late check out free anyway

about 1 month ago | Voted for Wireless internet

Makoto "Mak"

Makoto "Mak" Arai • Free WiFi for sure - Just imagine when you have to sign in and even agree to pay for such basic infrastructure, first thing at hotel after hours of tiresome flight(s)...

about 1 month ago | Voted for Wireless internet

James

James Rennie • Absolutely free WiFi. You have already paid a premimum to stay there so why not offer something that is free in other parts of the world

about 1 month ago | Voted for Wireless internet

Mathew

Mathew Thompson • I have recently returned from a Western USA road trip. I found it interesting that of the five hotels I stayed in, it was the "mum and dad" operators to provide free WiiFi and it was the major national chains who failed to deliver. Unless corporate's refuse to book group travel with hotels failing to step into the 21st century, they won't change their ways, vote with your feet people!

about 1 month ago | Voted for Wireless internet

Carmel

Carmel Hutt • I would like Free WiFI and late a Late Check Out

Ella

Ella Conway • honestly, I think Wifi and Late check outs should be at no extra charge at all.

View the Survey

What Would You Most Like to Get for Free at a Hotel?

Expedia Touts 'Verified' Reviews

No sooner had Expedia shed TripAdvisor in a public offering than it launched an online feature that certifies some user reviews of hotels as having been “verified.”

Known as Expedia Verified Reviews, the feature is a clear attempt to counter skepticism about the veracity of user reviews on sites such as TripAdvisor and Yelp.

To qualify as a verified review, the writer must be a traveler who booked reservations through Expedia, and the stay must be authenticated by the OTA.

The verified-reviews feature has already launched in much of Western Europe and Asia. John Kim, senior vice president of global products at Expedia, said the company would roll it out in the U.S. and the rest of Western Europe this month.

“The innovation we are launching is a more relevant way to target reviews,” Kim said. He added that Expedia authenticates reviews by checking the writer’s booking history on Expedia and verifying a non-cancelled reservation at a hotel.

“We have introduced an ability for reviewers to target reviews based on interests,” Kim said.

By launching the feature, Expedia, which was overtaken last year by Priceline.com as the largest U.S. online travel agency as measured by revenue, appears to be addressing a hot-button issue: skepticism about whether user reviews are legitimate.

The number of monthly visitors to travel-review sites, online travel agencies’ review pages and travel blogs jumped 35% between 2008 and 2010, research firm PhoCusWright reported earlier this year. Such growth has fueled suspicions about whether some positive reviews are being written by the hotels themselves or some negative reviews are being authored by competitors.

“They’re recognizing that there’s a concern of accuracy and legitimacy of reviews online,” said Henry Harteveldt, an industry analyst with Atmosphere Research Group.

He cited a recent research document by his company reporting that more than half of U.S. leisure hotel guests “expressed some concern” about the credibility of online travel reviews.

Such growing concerns about the legitimacy of reviews are best typified by the recent prospectus for TripAdvisor, the spun-off division of Expedia that was founded in 2000 and began trading Dec. 20 as an independent public company on the Nasdaq exchange.

Before Expedia spun off TripAdvisor, it warned potential TripAdvisor investors of possible liabilities in the form of legal claims stemming from user reviews.

The 184-page prospectus filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission in July warned that TripAdvisor could be subject to legal expenses related to claims ranging from defamation and libel to negligence.

Additionally, this summer TripAdvisor, in what may or may not have been a nod to such concerns, changed the slogan on its hotel-review pages. While TripAdvisor’s home page says “Find Hotels Travelers Trust,” the wording was changed on individual hotel pages to “Reviews from our community.”

At the time, TripAdvisor called the wording change “part of our ever-evolving communication efforts, this time highlighting our commitment to our all-important community.” It did not acknowledge any concerns about hotel grievances.

Harteveldt said the launch of Expedia’s new feature on the heels of the TripAdvisor spinoff was no accident, given that both companies are competing for page views from travelers. Expedia hosts about 6.5 million user reviews, compared with more than 50 million on TripAdvisor.

Kim declined to specifically address whether the timing coincided with the TripAdvisor spinoff, saying only that the company was “trying to satiate consumer demand with its own unique approach.

Expedia Touts 'Verified' Reviews

TripAdvisor Goes on Sale Today

Travel review site TripAdvisor will launch on the Nasdaq stock exchange today with an expected value of around $4bn.

TripAdvisor shares, being traded under the name TRIP, will go on sale at 09:00hrs in New York.

The company, which has websites in 30 countries, is being spun off by parent Expedia.

Expedia has been the largest buyer of advertising on the TripAdvisor website, accounting for as much as 35% of its total revenue, according to a report in today's Financial Times. However, the company expects to attract more business from Expedia's rivals following the sale.

After the spin-off, Expedia will no longer have any ownership interest in TripAdvisor.

By Linsey McNeill

(Source: Travelmole.com - http://www.travelmole.com/news_feature.php?news_id=1150777 )

TripAdvisor makes Nasdaq debut

By Johanna Jainchill

TripAdvisor began trading as an independent public company on Wednesday on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the ticker symbol TRIP, following the completion of its spin-off from Expedia Inc.

To mark the occasion, TripAdvisor co-founder and CEO Stephen Kaufer visited Nasdaq’s headquarters in New York City's Times Square to ring the opening bell.

“This is a truly exciting time for TripAdvisor, and we are eager to continue to innovate on behalf of our users and grow the business as we enter this next chapter,” Kaufer stated on TripAdvisor's blog.

At 11:24 a.m. Eastern, TripAdvisor shares were down about 5.5%, trading at $28.55.

(Source: Travelweekly.com - http://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Travel-Technology/TripAdvisor-makes-Nasdaq-debut/ )

TripAdvisor Goes on Sale Today