Worldwide hotel chain Marriott International said its net income for the second quarter of 2006 rose by 35% to $186m.
Part of the reason was a "significant" growth in revenue per available room (revPAR), which rose by 10.4% in the three months to mid-June, and average daily rates which rose by 8.6%.
Revenue during the quarter rose by 7% to $2.85bn.
The company said there was strong demand in Asia and the United Kingdom while demand in Continental Europe improved in the second quarter, especially in the weeks leading up to the World Cup competition.
RevPAR improved by 3.1% in Germany and by 4% in France.
J.W. Marriott, Jr., Marriott's chairman and ceo, said, "Across our portfolio, and throughout our global system, business is exceptionally strong."
DB signs world deal with Amadeus
German rail company Deutsche Bahn (DB) has a signed a worldwide deal with IT company Amadeus to display rail availability and schedules on its GDS screens.
The agreement will not apply initially to Europe where "local solutions" will remain in place.
Under the deal, DB's fares and availability will be on display with competing airlines, enabling agents to make a comparison.
Albert Pozo, Amadeus' managing director, Travel and Leisure, said: "High-speed rail links are a competitive alternative to air travel and it is now possible to combine air with rail travel.
"To encourage rail providers to sell their content internationally they need a solution where their fares and availability are displayed directly alongside air."
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Corporate travel spend rising - BCD
Corporate travel budgets are rising and employees are taking more trips, according to the BCD Travel's 2006 Annual Client Benchmark Survey.
More than half (56%) of the 181 BCD customers questioned said their travel programme was expanding, an increase of 11% compared to 2005.
Among the main findings of the survey were that 40% of companies manage their meetings through the travel department, 62% of the respondents reported air deal cancellations for not meeting market share commitment, 83% of companies have a traveller tracking technology in place and there was a 5% rise in globally consolidated travel programmes.
Because of the rise in budgets and travelling, Mary Ellen George, general manager of BCD Travel Consulting, said: "Businesses will continue to struggle with balancing the need to travel with the need to manage costs."
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