Justin Watt, a Web engineer, was browsing the Web in his room at theCourtyard Marriott in Midtown Manhattan this week when he saw something strange. On his personal blog, a mysterious gap was appearing at the top of the page.

After some sleuthing, Mr. Watt, who has a background in developing Web advertising tools, realized that the quirk was not confined to his site. The hotel’s Internet service was secretly injecting lines of code into every page he visited, code that could allow it to insert ads into any Web page without the knowledge of the site visitor or the page’s creator. (He did not actually see any such ads.)

Mr. Watt posted about the discovery on his blog, and that soon spawned a conversation on Hacker News, a discussion site for tech topics, about the ethics of this technique. One commenter described it as “icky,” and another asked, “Why aren’t they putting ads in my pillow?”

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A magnitude-4.5 quake jolted the Eastern Samar area in Eastern Visayas before dawn Friday, with the quake felt as “moderately strong” in some areas.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said the quake was tectonic in origin and was recorded at 4:29 a.m.

In its bulletin, Phivolcs said the quake’s epicenter was 65 km northeast of Tacloban City.

Phivolcs said the quake was felt at:

STAMFORD, Conn., Apr 04, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. HOT -0.91%today announced it will open its first dual-branded ski resort complex in Changbaishan, China later this year. The Westin Changbaishan and Sheraton Changbaishan Resort will open in August 2012, adjacent to the slopes of Changbai Mountains, one of China’s leading ski areas. The highly anticipated resort complex will lengthen Starwood’s lead as the largest international luxury and upper upscale hotel operator in China.

“We look forward to introducing both Westin and Sheraton to Changbai Mountains with this spectacular, new ski resort complex where guests will enjoy world-class amenities set against the backdrop of one of China’s most visually stunning mountain ranges,” said Stephen Ho, Starwood’s Senior Vice President of Development for Asia Pacific. “China is both our fastest growing global market and our richest source of loyal travelers, and we expect that this dual-branded Starwood resort development will resonate with Chinese travelers who stick with the brands they know and love.”

The Westin and Sheraton resort complex is close to Yingfu Expressway and just six miles to Changbaishan Airport (NBS). Known for its breathtaking natural beauty, the Changbai mountain range extends through several countries and is home to 200 animal and bird species. Guests will enjoy downhill on trails surrounded by unspoiled pine forests, as well as ice skating and ice fishing.

The world-famous Changbai Mountains are known as one of the most beautiful areas in China. Endowed with rich natural resources and amazing scenery, the more than 494,000 acre nature reserve has been established to protect the Changbai Mountains’ natural environment and eco-system.

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MILWAUKEE, Apr 03, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Marcus® Hotels & Resorts, a division of The Marcus CorporationMCS -3.47% , today announced that the Hilton Minneapolis/Bloomington hotel in Bloomington, Minn. has been recognized by Hilton Hotels & Resorts as a 2011 Hilton Brand Award of Excellence recipient. The Hilton Minneapolis/Bloomington was one out of only nine Hilton properties recognized in the Americas for this award, out of 293 Hilton Branded hotels. The property is owned by W.P. Carey & Co. LLC and managed by Marcus Hotels & Resorts.

Tweet this: @Hilton494France Recognized as @HiltonOnline 2011 Brand Award of Excellence Recipient http:/bit.ly/GRQtTm

“It is an honor to receive this extraordinary award from Hilton Hotels & Resorts,” said Gary Gentile, senior vice president of operations at Marcus Hotels & Resorts. “We are pleased that travelers appreciate the high level of operational excellence our teams strive for every day. We are proud to have earned this recognition and look forward to continuing to deliver exceptional service to our guests.”

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LONDON — Coming for the Olympics with money to spend? Then there’s still time to ensure you can take tea at The Ritz, drink at the Savoy’s American bar, or sleep in an Art Deco room at Claridge’s.

Most of London’s most exclusive hotels have been booked for the Olympics, snapped up by Olympic officials or companies block-booking rooms for favored customers, but there are still amazing places to stay.

That is, if you can afford the bill.

“You can still get some rooms in certain periods of the games, although we expect to be fully booked soon,” said Simon Negger, spokesman for the Maybourne Hotel Group that owns three of London’s most iconic hotels: Claridge’s, The Connaught and The Berkeley.

London’s hotels are walking on their own balance beam this Olympic year, trying to maximize revenues during the July 27-Aug. 12 event while not alienating loyal customers and still fulfilling obligations to Olympic organizers, who asked all hotels to hand over some rooms to house Olympic officials, athletes and delegates during the London Games.

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TACLOBAN CITY Leyte, Apr. 1 (PIA) — Land Transportation Office (LTO) Region 8 Director Camilo Guarin said recently that the “Ligtas Oplan Cuaresma 2012” will again be implemented in Eastern Visayas, from April 2 to 10. 

This is pursuant to the DOTC Memorandum directing for a nationwide implementation of “Ligtas Oplan Cuaresma 2012” to assist the travelling men, women and children, Director Guarin said. 

Guarin said he has directed all the heads of LTO districts and extension offices all over Eastern Visayas to set up DOTC-LTO Help Desks in various transport terminals in their respective areas of jurisdiction. 

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The fashion firm Laura Ashley - famous for its flowery decor - unveiled plans to open a boutique hotel in the United Kingdom’s Hertfordshire, according to The Guardian.

The paper says Laura Ashley bought the hotel (actual address still unknown) for around $9.2 million (£5.8 million) as a unique way to showcase its home accessories, furniture and decorations.

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Welcome to the iHotel, where you can check in — but there’s no check-in counter.

At the Andaz West Hollywood, a host stands near the entrance to register guests on an iPad tablet.

The 239-room boutique hotel — which also features free Wi-Fi and communal tables designed for laptop use in the lobby — is just one of many hotels that have adapted their reception areas to be a better fit for the digital-savvy guest.

Because working alone in a hotel room seems as antiquated to young business travelers as typewriters, these hotels are going for a Wi-Fi coffee-shop atmosphere in their lobbies.

At the Hyatt Grand Champions Resort in Indian Wells, electrical outlets have been installed on the surface of the lobby bar so guests can power their laptops and mobile devices 24 hours a day.

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TACLOBAN CITY, Leyte, March 28 (PIA) — Around 300 people participated in a pledge to save energy and save the environment at the Oriental Hotel, MacArthur Park, Leyte, Tuesday as a prelude to the observance of Earth Hour. 

The Philippine Information Agency (PIA) Regional Office Region 8 partners with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the Department of Energy (DOE) gathering participants from government agencies, schools, business establishments, the army, media, and non-government organizations to commit themselves to save energy. 

Led by a student of Tanauan, Leyte high school, the 300 participants pledged to “save energy everyday.” 

The pledge culminated the half-day Seminar on Electricity Conservation in Households and Schools. 

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TACLOBAN CITY Leyte, March 28 (PIA) — The continuous downpour on March 27 has rendered many areas in Tacloban City flooded and several road impassable, the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council reported. 

OCD Region 8 Director and RDRRMC Chairman Rey Gozon informed at about 5:30 in the afternoon of March 27 that among the roads reported to have been rendered impassable to light vehicles were Maharlika-Nulatula at Barangay 74, Maharlika-Tigbao at Barangay 94and Maharlika-Abucay at Barangay 9, Barangay 109 at V&G Subdivision and Barangay 109-A. 

The other areas which were flooded were Abucay, Barangay 95 Apitong, Barangay 95 and 95A in Caibaan, among others. 

The Tacloban DRRMC through the TOMECO conducted ocular land survey on the flood and landslide prone areas in the City. 

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