Anthony Losanno

Last week, I had a dinner to attend in Cincinnati, OH. I stayed at the Hyatt Regency Cincinnati as I'm working to renew my Globalist status for 2025. The hotel worked well for what I needed for the less than 16 hours I spent in Cincinnati. It was a quick ride to my dinner and is convenient if you have a future event at the Duke Energy Convention Center (although that is under construction currently with a massive renovation in the works).

Hyatt announced plans to open the Grand Hyatt Deer Valley back in November 2023. The resort is the first luxury hotel within the new Deer Valley East Village. It offers 381 rooms including 40 suites and 55 private residences.

American Airlines announced today that it's rolling out the gate reader technology that it has been testing to more than 100 airports across the United States. If you've boarded a flight in the US over the past decade, you've seen folks huddled around the gate, lined up in lanes, and generally lingering until it was time to board the plane. Many passengers tried to cheat the system and board when it was not their turn. American Airlines is hoping to stop these line cutters with this new initiative.

The catering on many of United's domestic flights has improved. I have been super critical in the past, but United has been making some efforts to improve onboard meals. In addition to the regional dishes that United has started serving to represent its hubs, it is also changing up some of the other menu items. The Cheese Plate haas long been my favorite as it's simple and delicious. Recently, the description and images changed so I thought I'd give it a shot to see how the new version tasted. For some reason, what I was given was the tried and true. Here are my thoughts.

Star Alliance was founded in May 1997 and is the largest airline alliance with 25 members including United Airlines, Lufthansa, Air Canada, Singapore, SWISS, and more. The alliance operates several lounges globally and announced today that it's opening a new lounge (its first in Asia) in China at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport (CAN).

The Confidante Miami Beach was part of Hyatt's Unbound Collection, but it might be most famous for being the setting of Dua Lipa's “New Rules” video. I stayed at the hotel last year and found the experience a mixed bag (full review here ). It's perfectly located for enjoying the beach, but service and elite benefits were spotty at best. I'm happy that it's getting a huge renovation and reopening as the Andaz Miami Beach . Now, we have an official opening date. It's a bit delayed from the initial goal of late 2024, but the property is taking reservations for March 5, 2025.

Virgin Australia flight VA1482 from Broome International Airport (BME) to Perth Airport (PER) had an interesting stowaway this week when a Stimson's python was found on the aircraft before takeoff. A reality TV personality from Disney's Shipwreck Hunters Australia handled the situation and removed the reptile from the aircraft.

The Rio Hotel & Casino now has a home under Hyatt's Destination by Hyatt brand. The hotel became part of the World of Hyatt program back on March 1st, but had not been classified as it underwent a $340 million property-wide renovation.

A United Airlines flight attendant has been fired after reportedly having an anti-gay conversation with another flight attendant in the galley. Digging in a bit more, it looks like his social media posts might have been what ultimately did him in, though. The kicker: the flight attendant making the derogatory comments is is also gay.

Porter Airlines is a Toronto-based airline that connects passengers to 23 cities across Canada and the US. It announced today that it's adding a duo of warm weather, vacation destinations in the United States this winter. The two new routes will takeoff from Ottawa International Airport (YOW) begins today and next week.