I blame myself for the error of judgment. I should have realised that this 'independent Mediterranean-style family-run property' was not going to be an ideal choice based on the Trip Advisor comment that said 'this could be a great hotel, just not in this country.' But downtown Houston was full for the NBTA Convention and I didn't want to be stuck out in the boonies with an almost-in-Dallas zip code. So I took a chance...

It was a Sunday afternoon; the mercury way up over 100°F; and the city streets were deserted as the taxi pulled up outside the hotel entrance. It was an anonymous looking building with a simple glass door and few clues as to its function. Then a figure emerged from inside. Dressed in old jeans and a t-shirt, he had the grizzled and emaciated appearance of a man who's eventful life has added 70 years to his 40 year old frame. As he paused at the entrance, I could just make out the slogan emblazoned across his chest - 'body piercing saved my life'. There was a reddish stain on his shoulder that looked suspiciously like blood. He started to walk across to the taxi. My heart beat a little faster. Was this man typical of the hotel clientele? Maybe it was one of those welfare hostels. Would I have to spend the night fully dressed behind triple locked doors clutching a kitchen knife? "Careful man" murmured the cab driver as he prepared for a fast exit.I opened the taxi door. "Good afternoon sir", said the blood-stained, grizzled 110 year old, "may I take your bags?"

The blood-stained, 110 year old grizzled doorman led me into the tiny lobby where I was checked in by a thickly accented man of Mediterranean descent. In the background, two weary women of indeterminate age absent-mindedly shuffled papers and yawned. I took my key and followed Grizzly up the stairs and into a room on the first floor. He seemed like a nice man so I tipped him generously, partly as insurance against any nocturnal axe-thru-door incidents. After he'd gone I surveyed my surprisingly pleasant room. There were two large windows...but these were covered by blinds that refused to open. There was a coffee maker... but it refused to make coffee. There was a wifi signal... but my laptop refused to connect.

I had three hours to kill before the NBTA opening reception. So I triple locked the door, sat on the bed and - kitchen knife in hand - waited for night to fall.

The final occupancy numbers won't be with us for a few weeks, but - surprise, surprise - to quote one African newspaper,'the World Cup has not been the cash cow many expected it to be.' Wow. Hold the front page. How many major international sporting events ever deliver guests at the levels computed in the febrile imaginations of owners and developers? Despite the usual surge in available 4 and 5-star rooms, it seems most fans were happy to settle for converted schools, universities and guest houses. And to make matters worse, Visa's list of big spenders - citizens of England, USA, Australia, France and Brazil - all packed up and decamped fairly early in the proceedings thanks to risible performances on the field....

...talking of which, there seems to be no meaningful correlation between the standard of accommodation enjoyed by the teams and their success in the competition. The French team were accused by a government minister of staying somewhere 'far too flashy', while the Nigerians booked themselves into a Hampton Inn next to an interstate. Both teams were eliminated at the group stage, though presumably the Nigerians will feel the more satisfied of the two: how can you be expected to defeat Argentina with only an 'On the Run Breakfast Bag' for sustenance?

Finally, spare a thought for the England team. Humiliated on the pitch by that footballing powerhouse Algeria, then embarrassingly exposed by Germany, their final ignominy was to have their underwear stolen by members of staff at the team hotel. Should've stayed at a Hampton.

Cast your eye across the British cultural landscape at the moment and you'll find one dominant theme - holes. They're everywhere. There are holes in the road. Quite a lot of them actually.. around 1.5 million, which is 50% up on last year in the aftermath of a Siberian Winter. The government is so concerned about the potential impact (literally) on the electorate that they've announced a £100m pay out to help councils fill them up again. Of course, that's £100m they don't really have because there's another big hole in the public finances. This debt hole is heading rapidly toward £1.6 trillion and means that next year British taxpayers will spend more on debt interest than on Defence.

And then there's the Lenny Henry hole. For those unfamiliar with Lenny, he's a Brit comedian who also happens to be the face of Premier Inns. The latest Premier ad campaign involves Lenny smashing a hole in a hotel room door with an axe, a la Jack Nicholson in The Shining, sticking his head through and shouting 'Here's Lenny'. This parody supposedly demonstrates the ill-effects of sleep deprivation caused by a bad night in a lousy hotel. Unfortunately for Premier, it's also demonstrated the ill-effects of broadcasting an axe-wielding Lenny Henry on daytime TV. Terror-stricken young children have reportedly been sent running and screaming for Mummy, leading the Advertising Standards Authority to ban poor Lenny from all children's programming.

I have some sympathy with Premier.. and Lenny. Let's face it, we've all had moments when we've wanted to smash a hole in a hotel door. Typically it's the door of the room next to us when 'nocturnal sounds' of one sort or another inhibit the serious business of falling asleep. Maybe Premier should consider a sequel with Lenny as the Terminator crashing through the walls from one room to another, ruthlessly taking out anyone shouting, moaning or talking on the phone too loudly, or with the TV on full volume at three in the morning. I'd buy into that. And with that kind of message Premier would soon monopolise the business traveller market. But I guess that's a hole other story...

Last time I was in Bali I was carrying a backpack, wearing sandals and chilling out to the wind chimes in Ubud. A 'few' years later and I've returned in smart casuals for a conference. Many things have changed - more traffic on better roads, an incongruous Planet Hollywood, the tight security around Nusa Dua - but thankfully the essential Bali is still intact. There's an overwhelming sense of tranquility and everyone really does smile. Whether this is a cultural/ religious phenomenon or a narcotics related trance is unclear, but it certainly makes for a peaceful experience.

Jogging along the beach one early morning in search of authenticity, I come across a group of locals wading along the shoreline collecting seaweed off wooden barriers and piling it into small flat boats that bob along in front of them. How heart-warming to find a genuine cottage industry! Later I learn that the enterprise is just one of hundreds throughout the region owned by a big American corporation. Still, shattered illusions can't remain long in an environment like this....

....because back at the conference the mood is positively bouyant. Somehow the fusion of Balinese wellbeing, Asian dynamism and travel industry optimism has created a brew so heady that one speaker can declare - with no apparent irony -"In August the region was 28% down, now... we're only 21% down!" Bless.

Forgive me, but I'm coming over all Wordsworthian. Looking out from my office I see a blanket of white snow and ice covering the lawn and flower beds. But thrusting forth from the frozen ground is a flash of green...it's a daffodil! OK, it's not at the 'fluttering and dancing in the breeze' phase, but still - a daffodil in December?

Now if this was a half decent blog I'd write some heart warming stuff about green shoots of spring in the depths of Winter being a metaphor for early signs of life appearing in the barren wastelands of the hotel industry. But I have a hunch that the next overnight frost will kill the daffodil stone dead (not to mention the metaphor). No, the lesson I would prefer to draw from this touching floral phenomenon is the importance of resilience. We press on, not because of some fantasy that Spring will arrive tomorrow, but because that's what we're wired to do. And because we know that even if business does not come bounding back in January, it will eventually as surely as Spring follows Winter.

May we all have a happy and peaceful Christmas and New Year...and a firm hope for 2010 born of resilience.

Here endeth the first lesson...

I've been following the Choice/ Expedia dispute with some interest. Should we applaud Choice's CEO, Steve Joyce, for taking a courageous stance against loss of control of his hotels' rates and inventory? Or sympathise with the laudably pragmatic views of one Choice franchisee who is quoted as saying "I am an independent business person who will likely not survive this loss in sales I will experience while the big boys are having a pissing contest." Well, maybe we have to do both. No one wants to lose business, but then again no hotel should have to accept business at any price. The short term loss of being withdrawn from the site is going to hurt, but the longer-term damage of accepting adverse terms would be even greater.

In a past life I've been through this scenario myself with Expedia. They play hard ball in hard times because they can... and generally they do deliver. But if one supplier has complete control over your sell price down to last room, then where do you find rate parity? In a handbasket, on its way to hell.

The word Expedia is invented but obviously has its roots in 'expedient'. The OED defines expedient as 'convenient and practical although possibly improper or immoral'. That's one Branding company that really fulfilled the brief....

I see that Hilton has announced a 'new' name...it's... errr....Hilton. I wonder how many late-into-the-night-sessions-with-Corp-ID-consultants it took before they came up with the 'Worldwide' suffix? To be fair, I suppose with one of the most recognised brands in the world (hotels or otherwise) there's only so many variations you can consider without compromising on brand values. (And I do like the new logo, even if it does look like a novel way of arranging a twin-bedded room).

When Utell and Anasazi merged to form REZsolutions back in '98, a journalist asked Anasazi founder Tom Castleberry how long it had taken to come up with the new name."Not long enough" was his succinct response. I'm tempted to offer the same reply when it comes to Nexus. I come across people all the time who think they've heard of us when in fact they have in mind an entirely different Nexus. Us Nexus's offer the world everything from business information to medical services, building alarms and, of course, hotel sales management systems.

This week I added another one to the list. A client sent us an important document via UPS, but unfortunately they addressed it wrongly. Rather than checking back with the client as to the correct address, UPS in its infinite wisdom decided to google an alternative Nexus location (at least I assume this was their methodology based on the outcome). It took a few days to finally ascertain that the document had been delivered to a Docklands-based company called Nexus Range. Of course I went to the website to look for a contact number and - wow - what an interesting organization! I like to think that our own product portfolio is exciting and appealing but I have to concede that the Nexus Range leaves us in a distant second place. I would blush to tell you more so if you're curious do your own UPS-style googling. I can't see any obvious marketing tie-ins between our two Nexus's, but I might just nick their tag line...

Nexus - guaranteed to hit the spot for everyone

...so the plane (a Northwest puddle-jumper) left the gate 2 hours late from Detroit for the short flight to Omaha. Having left home in the UK at around 5am that morning I wasn't best pleased at the delay but at least we were now on our way. We taxied out to the end of the runway.We waited half an hour.We turned round and went back to the gate. Mechanical problems. Everyone off. Replacement equipment supplied an hour later. We boarded. We took off. 20 minutes in, announcement: "Warning lights are on... we have to land in Grand Rapids, Michigan". Where? We landed and stopped abruptly on the runway as fire trucks swooped in to look for smoke. There was none. But the plane could not be cleared for take off. We disembarked at the terminal and waited for more replacement equipment. Ever been to Grand Rapids? It has a an airport and a bowling alley. But no replacement equipment. By this time, darkness had descended on Michigan. We all lined up while the nice ladies from Northwest, Grand Rapids, re-booked us one by one and handed out hotel vouchers. That took another hour and it was 11pm when I finally rolled up at the Holiday Inn. I think. Hard to remember because I was only there for 5 hours before heading back to the airport for my American flight to... Chicago.I arrived in Omaha at 10am, 16 hours late.

So thanks, Northwest. After 20 years in the business, that was definitely the most frustrating journey I have ever experienced. And apologies to all citizens of Grand Rapids, Michigan. I'm sure it's a lovely place to raise a family.

For many folk in the hotel community, Berlin has only 4 reference points: An airport (Tegel, home of the most officious security people in Europe. I don't count Schoenefeld as it's halfway to Dresden); an exhibition centre (Messe Berlin, home of ITB); a hotel (could be any - you only spend 3 hours a night there anyway) and a bar (Marlene's). Berlin has only one temperature: bloody freezing (ref ITB, March). This was certainly my experience until about a year ago. That's when Nexus held its first EMEA client forum in Berlin. In May. What a revelation! Stripped of its winter gloom, the German capital really comes to life - from the many bars along the newly developed riverfront to the wonderful Tiergarten the city is a really pleasant place to hang out. And freed from the restrictive social demands of the trade show, there's time to explore some of the more out-of-the-way locations. Last year we took an evening trip along the river, this year we were down in the bunkers below the city. And my insider tip for a good night out - Clarchen's Ballhaus. Take your Tango shoes...

Five things that happened this week that may be a sign of the times... or may be a sign that some things in business never change

1. An article in Ehotelier, written by a US lawyer, stated: 'With people beginning to look at the German mark as the replacement for the dollar, we have to wonder a bit about our direction." Not the only thing we have to wonder about mate....

2. An email to an industry colleague resulted in an out-of-office reply that read 'I will be away from my office indefinitely'. Is that a very long business trip or a really subtle way of saying bye bye?

3. A recruitment consultant accepted a 60% reduction in fees without any resistance at all

4. When I complained about delays to the customer support rep of a leading high street bank, he told me candidly 'yeah, the service here is awful'

5. I've been trying for over a week to sign a contract with a state-owned company which would bring them thousands of £££s per year. No one returns calls.