The Landmark Swindon is set in the heart of the beautiful Marlborough Downs near Swindon in Wiltshire.

Its directors, Malcolm and Margaret Pearson, have owned the hotel property since it was built in 1979, converted and refurbished the building into a Hotel in 2000.

Now, they want to take a step closer to retirement and give someone else the chance to run the hotel.

To enter you need to buy a ticket for £25 and answer three locally based multiple choice questions via the competition website. The odds of winning are far better than the lottery as only 48,000 tickets will be sold in total.

“We decided to ‘sell’ our Hotel by competition because we love the thought of someone having the life changing opportunity of winning this amazing investment property,” said the couple.

“So many people talk of winning the lottery and what they would do with the money, this gives who ever enters a much better odds of winning a £850,000 hotel but would also give them the chance to instantly have an annual income of £50,000 – so, we thought this would be a fun way to make that happen for someone,” they added.

Each of the individually decorated bedrooms in the hotel is named after local Wiltshire landmarks and there is also a boardroom and restaurant.

If the couple fail to sell enough tickets to cover the asking price of the hotel, a raffle will still be held and the winning ticket holder will receive a cash prize.

The conditions of the competition mean the couple would be entitled to retain up to 35% of the entry fees to cover administration and marketing expenditure which will be verified. The remaining balance would be the prize fund, which would then be given to the cash prize winner.

The competition closes on 31st October 2010 and you can enter as many times as you like. Visit www.winahotel.co.uk to find out more.

For more information on hotels for sale and the property market in general, please visit http://commercial.themovechannel.com/

-ENDS-

Notes to editors:

TheMoveChannel.com is a property website that was founded in 1999 as an online resource for buying, selling and learning about property. It now receives as many as 300,000 visits per month and advertises over 50,000 properties in nearly 90 countries, which are listed by over 500 partner organisations.

For further information, please contact:

Dan Johnson
Managing Director
www.themovechannel.com
0207 952 7650

The hotel price comparison site Trivago.co.uk found that 45 per cent of the 4,000 British travellers they surveyed relied on old fashioned travel guide books to choose their holiday and hotels rather than turning to the internet.

I am always tempted to check out online reviews before booking anywhere but, despite the growth of these websites, only seven per cent of those surveyed said they were the main influence on their choice of hotels.

This new research follows a report by a US market research company, PhoCusWright, which claimed that the number of travellers using review sites was falling.

It said the number looking at reviews declined from 55 per cent in October 2007 to 46 per cent in October this year.

Advertising and holiday brochures were deemed to be most important by 15 per cent of respondents and ten per cent of Brits based their decision on experience.

Surprisingly, even with the weak pound, the price of the hotel was only listed as the fourth most important factor for Brits.

The reputation or affiliation to a hotel chain influenced the decision of four per cent of respondents. Only two percent of British travellers booked because of a friend’s recommendation.

In other countries the results are very different. The Spaniards are the biggest bargain hunters: Hard hit by the economic crisis, 45 per cent of Spanish travellers stated that the price as the most important factor when selecting a hotel in 2009.

The Germans also indicated that the price was the most important criterion (35 per cent), as well as the Italians (34 per cent). From the French respondents, 60 per cent stated that advertisements and holiday brochures were the most important factor.

Loved a location on holiday? Why not make it more permanent – check out some Spanish property at http://spain.themovechannel.com/ or some in France at http://france.themovechannel.com/

For the latest news on travel and tourism, and the property market in general, please visit http://www.themovechannel.com/news/travel_and_tourism/

-ENDS-

Notes to editors:

TheMoveChannel.com is a property website that was founded in 1999 as an online resource for buying, selling and learning about property. It now receives as many as 300,000 visits per month and advertises over 50,000 properties in nearly 90 countries, which are listed by over 500 partner organisations.

For further information, please contact:

Dan Johnson
Managing Director
www.themovechannel.com
0207 952 7650

A new dawn is being heralded in the airline industry, with an aircraft design being developed here in the United Kingdom in which passengers sit facing each other in rows.

As the new design would allow 50 per cent more passengers to be crammed onto the plane, it would also mean that seats were up to a third cheaper. Which can’t be bad, can it?

Well, even though the plans are only being aimed at passengers on short-haul flights, I’m still not convinced that I fancy spending a couple of hours surreptitiously avoiding the eyes of the person opposite me. I can’t help it- I’m just too English for my own good.

I can imagine this kind of set up going down well in America, Australia or New Zealand, but us Brits are often very reserved and the thought of being engaged in conversation with a stranger en route somewhere and then being trapped opposite them once small talk runs out strikes fear into our hearts.

And that’s not all – not only would we be facing other passengers, the seats would be flip-down with their backs to the window rather than padded recliners like we currently have.

You’d think the leg room would be better though – after all, how close are they going to make us sit? Well, the design, created by UK based Design Q, also prevents the use of food trolleys as the aisles would be too narrow to allow them to pass by. So I think that answers your question.

Plus there wouldn’t be any view out of the window.

The company said it is loosely based on the way some soldiers travel to battle zones and is aimed at passengers on short trips where comfort is less important than a cheap flight.

The design is also said to make the plans more fuel efficient and lighter.

For the latest news on travel and tourism, and the property market in general, please visit http://www.themovechannel.com/news/travel_and_tourism/

-ENDS-

Notes to editors:

TheMoveChannel.com is a property website that was founded in 1999 as an online resource for buying, selling and learning about property. It now receives as many as 300,000 visits per month and advertises over 50,000 properties in nearly 90 countries, which are listed by over 500 partner organisations.

For further information, please contact:

Dan Johnson
Managing Director
www.themovechannel.com
0207 952 7650

British Airways' first commercial Concorde flight flew from London Heathrow to Bahrain on 21st January 1976, creating aviation history.

Now, the Concorde fleet is grounded and the aircrafts have been placed at museums around the world, but if you want to experience the thrill of what it would have been like, check out the simulator.

It isn’t just a mere fairground attraction either – all British Airways Concorde pilots were trained on this simulator.

Concordes are the only aircraft in the world that can fly at twice the speed of sound, meaning that a trip from London to New York would take a mere three hours as opposed to more than seven hours on a normal aircraft.

Each of the Concordes were partly built at Brooklands Museum in Surrey, which is now home to the simulator too.

It also provides a home for the Concorde G-BBDG, the first aircraft to fly 100 people at twice the speed of sound.

Previously, the simulator was only open to aviation professionals who were using it for training, but, following renovations, it is now open to members of the public too.

And, unlike many simulators, this one does not move, instead relying on detailed graphics to recreate the ‘flight.’

And, like Concorde, a flight on the simulator won’t come cheap – expect to pay either £139 or £395, depending on whether you choose a one or two hour experience.

For the latest news on travel and tourism, and the property market in general, please visit http://www.themovechannel.com/news/travel_and_tourism/

-ENDS-

Notes to editors:

TheMoveChannel.com is a property website that was founded in 1999 as an online resource for buying, selling and learning about property. It now receives as many as 300,000 visits per month and advertises over 50,000 properties in nearly 90 countries, which are listed by over 500 partner organisations.

For further information, please contact:

Dan Johnson
Managing Director
www.themovechannel.com
0207 952 7650

A new survey by Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express hotels has uncovered some rather alarming information about just what constitutes travellers' essential items.

Space is usually limited when packing for a trip, but the bizarre array of items found left accidentally in hotel rooms suggests that some things just can't be left at home – including a monk fancy dress costume.

Of course, lots of things that were left behind are far less interesting than sheep and monks. (What a combo!)

False legs were on the list – which begs the question, how on earth did their owner leave without noticing they didn't have their leg in tow?

Crutches and dentures were also found to be a common sight after their owner's departure.

Hotel managers reported that around £2.5 million worth of items are left behind each year, with phone chargers and underwear the most-recovered things.

Each year, hotel staff find 42,000 phone chargers worth around £630,000 and more than 40,000 items of underwear worth around £200,000, plus 14,000 toothbrushes worth around £21,000.

Pity the poor sole who left behind £2,000 in cash.

Jane Bednall, from Holiday Inn, said, "It's quite unbelievable just how much is left behind by our guests each year.

"The phone chargers would easily stretch across the English Channel.

"Most items are not re-claimed and after six months we donate anything of value to local charities," she added.

For the latest news on travel and tourism, and the property market in general, please visit http://www.themovechannel.com/news/travel_and_tourism/

-ENDS-

Notes to editors:

TheMoveChannel.com is a property website that was founded in 1999 as an online resource for buying, selling and learning about property. It now receives as many as 300,000 visits per month and advertises over 50,000 properties in nearly 90 countries, which are listed by over 500 partner organisations.

For further information, please contact:

Dan Johnson
Managing Director
www.themovechannel.com
0207 952 7650