More of the Week’s Meetings and Travel News

Here is a roundup of some more of the week’s news from the world of meetings, conventions, hospitality and travel:

–Researchers have identified the airports with the longest walks from the terminal entrance to a far-flung gate, including six with hikes of more than 1 mile. airport-int.com

–Ladies and gentlemen: the 3-pound pillow! usatoday.com

–Amtrak ridership is up in the Northeast, and The New York Times says it’s because passengers are fed up with the hassles of air travel. nytimes.com

–Hackers claim NextGen—the new, GPS-based air-traffic control system the FAA is rolling out—is vulnerable to fake “ghost planes.” npr.org

–Four Seasons Hotel Las Vegas at the top of Mandalay Bay is renovating all 424 of its guest rooms in time for New Year’s Eve. fourseasons.com

–Once again, Moscow has the most expensive hotel rates of any city in the world. businesstraveller.com

–Strategic Hotels & Resorts is buying the Jumeirah Essex House hotel in Manhattan from Dubai Investment Group for about $375 million. reuters.com

–A developer is seeking approval to turn a block of run-down, historic South Beach hotels into 300-room complex. miamiherald.com

–It’s all about meeting space: Cvent concludes that factors like local attractions play a minor role in determining which cities become convention destinations. latimes.com

–Here are four cunning ways to avoid paying for hotel Wi-Fi. mashable.com

–Starwood’s Aloft brand is opening hotels in Asheville, N.C., and at SFO within the next few weeks. hotelchatter.com

–A Massachusetts congressman is calling for a hearing to investigate reports of racial profiling by TSA agents at Boston’s Logan International Airport. boston.com

–Speaking of Congress and the TSA, compared to the former, the latter isn’t so unpopular after all. nbcnews.com

–There are indications that the hotel and cruise industries may be following in the fee-loving footsteps of the airline industry and looking to ancillary charges as a way to boost revenue. abcnews.go.com; usatoday.com