Travel Roundup: Starwood Sues Hilton, Icahn Pushes MGM Mirage, Florida Wants Staycations and More

Starwood Hotels & Resorts sues Hilton for industrial espionage — Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. is suing Hilton Hotels Corp. and two of its executives, saying its competitor stole company secrets. Starwood alleges that the two of its former employees, now at Hilton Hotels, stole more than 100,000 electronic files before and after joining Hilton Hotels last June. Starwood asserts that Hilton returned boxes of their company documents only days before announcing the launch of its new Denizen brand, similar to Starwood’s luxury W brand. Starwood wants a a court to keep Hilton for using the information and is suing for monetary damages in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. [Source: Associated Press]

Carl Icahn pushes bankruptcy on MGM Mirage — Billionaire Carl Icahn and Oaktree Capital Management, an investment fund, are pushing for MGM Mirage Inc., the troubled casino operator headed by Kirk Kerkorian, to file for bankruptcy. MGM Mirage, now $13.5 billion in debt, is struggling to refinance loans and negotiate its debt load. According to reports, both Icahn and Oaktree own millions of dollars in MGM Mirage stock. [Source: Associated Press]

Florida tourism embraces the staycation — Florida tourism wants Floridians to vacation in their own state and hope they will encourage out-of-state relatives and friends to visit, too. State tourism agency Visit Florida said about 60 percent of the state’s 18 million residents leave the state for vacation. The tourism agency says that surveys state 97 percent of consumers are concerned about affordability, with most seeking low-cost family vacations to the beach. [Source: Sarasota Herald-Tribune]

Cathay Pacific Airways cuts flights and wants to furlough employees — Cathay Pacific Airways is cutting flights and asking its 17,000 employees to consider taking unpaid leave. Cathay, based in Hong Kong and Asia’s third-largest carrier, said Friday it had to take drastic steps after its first quarter revenue fell 22 percent year-over-year. The announcement comes a month after Cathay reported a $1.1 billion loss in 2008. [Source: Associated Press]