Amenities and Hotel Class – What Can Guests Expect?

Every metropolitan area in the United States offers numerous choices when it comes to hotels and amenities. That’s great news for the average consumer as it means they have options to fit their budget and that hotels are vying for their business. When hotels are competing for guests, prices are more competitive and hotel supplies are more abundant so consumers get more for their money. Additionally, stiffer competition means hotels are more aware of their occupancy rates. This usually leaves hotels and their management teams asking themselves how they can attract more guests and which hotel supplies they could add to please hotel guests and affect occupancy rates.Even if you only travel occasionally, you’ve likely noticed that all hotels offer basic amenities. Essentially, you pay for a hotel room and, whether it cost you $50 or $2,000, you expect it to have complimentary toiletries, hangers, an ironing board with an iron, an alarm clock and an information binder, among other hotel supplies. When hotels offer you less than the standard basics, it diminishes the perceived value and it affects your opinion of them as well as their occupancy rates. If hotels provide basic hotel supplies but there’s an apparent lack of quality, providing them may be for naught. Hotels strive to please their guests, part of which is offering quality hotel supplies.Where you can find a decent meal for $5, so too can you find hotels that provide basic amenities with a twist. The twist is typically plush towels that are softer than the standard bath towels, toiletries with luxury ingredients, high quality plastic tumblers and other hotel supplies that, while basic, are better quality than the basics. Serving trays, glass or ceramic bathroom fixtures, shower curtain rods that bow out for extra room and laundry bags are just a few of the hotel supplies and amenities that convey additional value. Mid-range hotels that are more than rest stops but less than full-service resorts often provide higher quality hotel supplies to their guests, in part as a way to affect their occupancy rates with little additional cost or effort.The amenities hotels offer will vary depending on the class of hotel. The pricier the hotel, the more and better amenities they’ll offer guests. Of course, basic hotel supplies will be offered but ice buckets will be faux leather, serving trays will be wooden or glass, coffee makers will be European or they’ll double as espresso makers and laundry bags will be cloth and part of complimentary laundry service. Room service, custom beds and 320-count sheets are just a few of the wide variety of amenities luxury hotels offer their valued guests.While there’s a wide variety of hotels with a spectrum of amenities and hotel supplies, all hotels have the same goal: providing guests an exceptional experience. Guest services are an important part of a guests experience After all, a friendly, helpful guest services attendant can turn a negative into a positive quickly and effortlessly. However, offering guests wealth of valuable, useful amenities not only impresses guests, it also helps occupancy rates. Regardless of where you stay or the hotel supplies offered, the, at the end of your visit, the hotel’s greatest wish is that you’ve enjoyed your stay and that you’ll return soon.

Payday Loans: When You Should and When You Should Not Apply for One

What are Payday Loans and How are They different from Conventional Loans?Payday loans (also called cash loans) were traditionally given out when people got their wages. The employees were allowed to borrow loans from the company which they were obliged to return before the next payday.These loans were far easier to avail of than conventional loans at banks. Bank loans required collateral and took a long time in getting approved. Modern day payday loans are similar in that they are easy to procure and helps you gain access to quick cash during emergencies.Bank and credit institutions still take a long time to approve loans and the procedure is much more complex and long-drawn. Payday loans can be useful provided you use them wisely. Loans (payday or other loans) should only be acquired after you have examined your finances and made sure you can afford the rates of interest. It’s also important to understand the time frame of repayment and the penalties involved upon non-repayment of the loan.To summarize, there are some important questions that you need to ask yourself before procuring payday loans:

Do you really need one? Can you manage without taking out a loan?

What are the rates of interest charged by the provider?

Can you afford to pay back the loan? Have you calculated exactly how much you will need to repay?

What is the repayment period? Can you manage to repay the loan within that period?

In the event that you are unable to repay the loan, what are the penalties involved?
Escalating Money-troublesIn these days of rising expenses and an unfriendly economy to boot, it comes as no surprise that people are often in a hole for money. With staggering inflation rates pushing up prices of commodities; the business of daily life is getting more and more difficult to deal with.With hundreds of payday loan providers advertising their fast approvals of payday loans on the internet, it’s no wonder that stressed clients find it appealing to simply apply for a payday loan online. There are certain distinct advantages to this mode of borrowing.Benefits

They are easy to obtain. Approval time is usually within hours.

They are great for borrowing urgent cash on week-ends, nights and public holidays.

Documentation required is only your ID (applicants are required to be above 18 years old), bank statements and proof of employment. So no complicated faxing and copying to deal with.

Due to the online flexibility, applicants are able to apply from the comfort and privacy of their homes and in their own time.

A bad credit background does not hamper your chances of approval of a payday loan. They are only interested in your current employment details.
Those are the advantages. They work well essentially for people who:

Have steady employment and a decent income

Have the confidence and resources to pay the loan back in the stipulated time-period.
There are however several pitfalls that consumers must watch out for:

They have a very quick (and therefore stressful)repayment schedule- usually within one month.

They are associated with unusually high interest rates often pegged at 400 percent up to 700 percent

There is a lot of fine print embedded in contracts cleverly concealed in legally incomprehensible phrases.
The applicant may feel relieved that he has managed to stave off a financial crunch but little does he realise that with his next salary; he has to pay off his loan AND pay other regular bills (rent, utilities, school fees) as well. This leads to a bottleneck situation at the end of the month.Such stress for repayment invariably leads to the harassed applicant applying for yet another payday loan to pay off the previous one! This snowball effect leads to a spiral of financial disaster that typically requires professional intervention at some point.But for people who have a reasonably decent cash flow coming in, repayment should not pose a problem. The best thing is to sit down with a pencil and paper and write what you owe and when you can afford to repay the loan. Have you done the math for the current rate on your payday loan?ConclusionThey serve the purpose when you have a temporary setback- as a one-time deal. They are suitable for people who have a healthy income at the end of the month to look forward to. Analyse your cash problem. Is it really URGENT? Or can you manage with your savings to span the period until your next pay-check? If you find that you can manage, don’t apply for one!Payday loans are not that great for individuals who already have mounting loans and no way to pay them off. Applying for a loan to pay off another one is a sure-shot way of getting into an endless cycle of debt.

The Elements For Creating a Japanese Garden

The Key Elements of a Japanese GardenJapanese gardens are growing in popularity nowadays. This can be attributed to its graceful combination of plants, water and rocks all meticulously arranged to invite a sense of calm and tranquility. If you’re looking to build your own Japanese garden at home, here are important principles you should keep in mind:1. Your stone layout sets the foundationAs Ancient Japanese mythology puts great importance to mountains and stones as the foundation of the earth, the Japanese consider this as one of their most important principles in designing their own zen gardens. They believe that stones form the frame of the garden and if they are properly arranged, the other parts of the garden should automatically arrange itself. If you’re just in the process of designing your Japanese garden, some ideas include incorporating raked gravel around islands or laying out uniform-sized gray river rocks to create a stream bed.2. The water serves as the basis of the whole garden compositionWater is considered an essential part of every Japanese garden, as it symbolizes the steady and continuous flow of time. Elements of water in the Japanese garden are evident in their pond installations and thin water strings flowing through rocks, as well as in rocks, gravel and sand where water seems to have run dry to symbolize the passing of time. It might be a good idea to introduce falling water or bamboo fountains in your garden design to complete the Japanese garden flavor.3. The architecture must help design a pathAs the Japanese culture put a lot of significance on life being a path, its gardens are designed to take guests through a carefully designed path. On top of keeping with tradition, the main function of the path in Japanese garden design is the unification of all garden elements. They also put significant importance in designing architecture that complements the path. These are usually made of natural materials such as wood, stone and metal.Traditional Japanese garden architecture includes pavilions, stone lanterns and wells. You can make your own tea house in the middle of your garden by using bamboo. You can even add your own personal touch to your garden by adding stone water jars or bamboo garden fences to give the impression of lightness and grace.4. Use plants to create the backgroundEvery Japanese garden is designed in a way that plants always obey the stone layout. So, instead of letting the plants dictate how you want your garden to look, always keep in mind your stone layout in selecting the plants that will soften the lines and create the background. You can select different kinds of garden plants to complement your stone layout from evergreens and conifers to blooming trees and shrubs, all the way to local hardwoods and perennial forest flowers. Don’t be afraid to prune the trees in order to echo your garden’s architectural design and create subtle reflections in water.Apart from the minimalism of Japanese gardens, what most people do not realize with the design is that it attempts to illustrate the unique relationship between man and nature. Man should always improve nature, by showing its essence, and not by pressuring it to its needs. If you only keep this in mind, you’ll be able to design a Japanese-style garden that not only complies with its aesthetics but also its founding philosophy.