Travel Roundup: Las Vegas Sands Banks on Bethlehem, Embassy Suites' Experiment, Disney Cruise Line's Bomb Scare and More

Las Vegas Sands Corp. opens Bethlehem, Pa. casino — Las Vegas Sands Corp. opens its 124-acre Sands Bethlehem casino in Bethlehem, Pa. today, hoping its profits will help turn around its various misfortunes. Earlier this year, Las Vegas Sands pulled the plug on several developments, including condominiums on the Las Vegas Strip and projects in Macao. Lately the casino operator has been concentrating on a $4.5 billion casino resort in Singapore and this $743 million casino in Bethlehem. But the company’s financial problems stripped away several of the Bethlehem project’s amenities, including a hotel, a shopping mall and a 50,000-square-foot convention center. Las Vegas Sands says it still plans to build the projects, but only when the economy improves. [Source: Associated Press]

Embassy Suites unveils one-room suites – Embassy Suites will unveil its specially designed one-room suites in Buffalo, N.Y. this August, mingling the experimental design with the property’s 150 standard, two-room suites. The prototypes are based on customer research by parent company Hilton Hotels Corp., where business travelers said they didn’t need as much room and preferred a smaller, one-room suite. The prototype is 370 square feet, has a walk-in shower, a 42-inch flat screen TV and outlets to recharge cell phones and other electronic devices. [Source: Business First of Buffalo]

Disney Cruise Line terminal evacuated after bomb scare — A Disney Cruise Line terminal in Port Canaveral, Fla. was evacuated Thursday after a bomb scare. Apparently the evacuation was caused by a fire alarm and bomb-sniffing dogs sweeping the parking lot stopped at a van that had been used for hauling fertilizer. The Disney Wonder still left the terminal on time and business continued as usual, a spokeswoman said. [Source: Orlando Sentinel]

More travelers preferring cars over planes this Memorial Day weekend – The American Automobile Association predicted a 1.5 percent rise in travel from last year for this Memorial Day weekend, with 83 percent traveling by car and 7 percent by airlines. Another 10 percent will use a combination of trains, buses and boats. Automobile trips increased 2.7 percent from last year and airline trips are down about 1 percent, according to the study. Lower gas prices and the downturning economy are cited as reasons that consumers are turning back to their cars. [Source: Reuters]

Amtrak lowers fares 25 percent to woo summer travelers — Amtrak will offer a 25 percent discount on Northeast trains for travel between June 2 to Sept. 3 in an attempt to woo summer travelers. The fares include trains running between Washington, D.C. and Boston. Reservations must be made two weeks in advance. [Source: Providence Business Journal]