Get the "Presidential" treatment this election

Well, Election Day is almost here, and in honor of this we've collected some hotels with some "Presidential" history. Below you'll find places where you can be treated like a president, or where a past US President has actually stayed.

First up, it's a hotel named after one of the greatest US Presidents:
President Abraham Lincoln Hotel
Springfield, Illinois
It's located just 3 blocks from the Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum


Brown Palace Hotel
Denver, CO

Over the years legendary guests such as Ike, Churchill, and the Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson have passed through the doors of The Brown Palace Hotel. The "Unsinkable" Molly Brown even stayed here just a week after the Titanic disaster. Guests of The Brown Palace Hotel still include many entrepreneurs, legislators, presidents and foreign officials.

JW Marriott on Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, DC

The National Theater is a historic playhouse located adjacent to the hotel that has provided entertainment for every U.S. President since Andrew Jackson.

Hotel Josephine
Holton, KS

The original guest registries, including U.S. President Grover Cleveland’s signature, are available for viewing.

1805 Cameron Estate Inn and Restaurant
Mount Joy, Pennsylvania

The mansion was built in 1805 by Dr. John Watson, who was the great-grandfather of U.S. President William McKinley.

So, be sure to vote, then head out and enjoy the best America has to offer.

From Around the Web: Motel 6 to go carpetless in rooms in an effort to go green

A press release caught my eye this morning, and I did a double-take as soon as I read it. Apparently, in an effort to go green, the Motel 6 chain is planning to get away from having carpet in their guest rooms, and going with a "wood-effect laminate flooring" (starting first with its "Phoenix Prototype", and then moving on to hotels that are currently in the design stages (or currently being renovated), and then onto all other properties.

Here's a link to the original press release.

While I applaud hotels that take efforts to cut back on waste, this just strikes me as odd. I don't think I'd want to stay in a room that didn't have carpet. *shudders*

I mean, think about all the crud that will stick to the bottom of your feet as you walk around the room. At least with carpet, most pieces of "stuff" will be grabbed by the carpet. Ok, so let's not think about that...

Anywho, so what do you guys think about this news?

Boo! Haunted Hotels...

Updated 10/2010

Well, it's that time of year again -- time for trick-or-treating, ghosts, goblins and all sorts of paranormal fun!

What better way to celebrate Halloween than to stay in an actual haunted hotel! Who knows what you'll see or hear!

To help you save time, I've searched Resideo and found the following hotels that claim to be haunted or have some sort of connection to the paranormal.


Queen Mary Hotel
Long Beach, CA
... Throughout the year, the Queen Mary Hotel offers regularly-scheduled day and night guided and self-guided paranormal tours of the haunted ship. ...

Queen Anne Hotel
San Francisco, CA
... According to legend, it is still haunted by the ghost of Mary Lake, who was the school’s superintendent and mistress of Senator Fair. ...

Georgian Hotel
Santa Monica, CA
... During prohibition, the Art Deco hotel housed a popular speakeasy and is now rumored to be haunted by certain unearthly guests. ...

Sutherland House Bed & Breakfast
Canandaigua, NY
... A scrapbook that documents the home’s transformation from a haunted house to a bed and breakfast is available for guests to peruse. ...

Planters inn on Reynolds Square
Savannah, GA
... Rooms include in-room safes. Bathrooms feature bathrobes and Gilchrist & Soames toiletries. Expert Tip. Legend has it that the hotel is haunted. ...

The Marshall House
Savannah, GA
... The Travel Channel has featured The Marshall House several times on their haunted hotel programs. Please Note: Fees apply for valet parking or self parking. ...

1886 Crescent Hotel & Spa
Eureka Springs, Arkansas
... Springs, Arkansas. The amazing hotel has a rich and fascinating history and is considered by some to be a haunted hotel. The Crescent ...

Glen Tavern Inn
Santa Paula, CA
... Tudor-Craftman style hotel property has been the site of several western films and embraces a reputation of being somewhat enigmatic, if not altogether haunted ...

Magnolia Mansion
New Orleans, LA
... Expert Tip. The Magnolia Mansion was featured on the Today Show’s "Travel" section on account of rumors that the mansion is haunted by friendly ghosts. ...

The Holt Hotel
Adderbury, GB
... 1475. It is situated on the edge of the Cotswolds and is said to be haunted by a highwayman who used to frequent the establishment. ...


New for 2009:

Omni Park House
Boston, MA
From about.com: "The third floor is the paranormal hotspot at this historic Boston hotel. Charlotte Cushman, a renowned 19th century stage actress who played both male and female roles (Lady Macbeth as well as Hamlet), died in 1876 in her room on the third floor. Now, one of the elevators often travels on its own to the third floor, even when no buttons are pushed."


New for 2010:

Sofitel Washington Lafayette Square
Washington, DC
The structure was built by a friend of George Washington and is purported to be haunted...

Biltmore Hotel
Coral Gables, FL
Each Thursday night, ghost stories are told fireside in the hotel lobby.



Well, what do you think -- brave enough to visit one of these, or dare to stay the night? :-)

Twitter-licious!

Well, by now many of you have heard the buzz about Twitter (and the various clones), so I thought now would be a good time to talk about our Twitter initiative.

@resideo has been up and running for a few months now, and I'm extremely happy with its reception and performance thus far.

We're slowly building our own community of followers and followees, and actively seeking out and interacting with folks who are looking for a hotel but not sure where to start -- all without being spammy and bot-like.

Here's a few messages we've received:

Rebecca_M: This is one more reason why I adore Twitter. @Resideo just made my vacation traveling plans a whole lot easier! Thank you!

retheauditors: New follower @resideo Looks interesting. Anyone else like this on Twitter?
retheauditors: I like your outreach. Not a bot.

Anywho, feel free to check us out, and be sure to "follow" (we always follow back). You can also check us out at the following places:

Pownce
Plurk
Jaiku
Identi.ca
Tumblr
kwippy
friendfeed

Be sure to say hello!

Speaking of contests...

Came across an interesting post on Twitter this morning. @bloggeries is giving away a 8GB Ipod Nano to someone who substitues the word "bloggeries" instead of "blog posts" or "blogs".

So, I could say "Hey, here's a list of the various bloggeries I contribute to.".

Hey, I think I just entered the contest. Woo!

Seriously, give it a try, and be sure to follow @bloggeries, you'll be glad you did. Original contest info post can be found here.

Microsoft's Live Search...getting desperate?

Received an email from Microsoft today, and was completely taken aback. Apparently, they're launching getsearchperks.com -- you earn "stuff" by using Microsoft Live Search.

Um. What? Ok, I know Google is the number 1 search engine, and Microsoft sucks, but really, this just screams desperation.

Of course, I signed up anyways, cause I'm a sucker for free stuff. But still...


Oh, almost forgot: You have to use IE in order to take part. Nice.



*UPDATE*
Attempted to download/install their tracking widget -- did not install on 3 different attempts. FAIL

Resideo one of the first to feature TripAdvisor reviews under new agreement

Hello again!

I know it's been awhile since my last post, but we've been busy here at Resideo. In fact, one of the new features has just been released -- we're now featuring TripAdvisor reviews for all of the hotels in our system. Under a new agreement with Expedia & Hotels.com, affiliates (like us) can now display and link to TripAdvisor reviews.

Everyone already knows that TripAdvisor is *the* place for hotel reviews -- they're the biggest and most respected, for good reason.

So, we're proud to be one of the first to take advantage of this unique arrangement, and we're sure you'll agree.

To see what we're talking about, head over to resideo.com and search for a hotel. Or, for a quick peak, check out the reviews for Gaylord Palms down in Orlando.

We've got lots of other great new features coming soon, so keep checking back!