Road Warrior: The business of travel

London 1% hotel tax proposed There is consternation in London as the frontrunner for the next mayor, Tessa Jowell, is proposing a hotel levy of 1 per cent per bed per night. The tax could raise £50 million (€68 million). The Guild of Travel Management Companies says it could have a negative effect on the city. "Making it more difficult to do business in London is not a positive move for the economy. We are firmly opposed to the hotel levy," said Paul Wait, the chief executive of the guild. Veto on London City expansion There is more consternation in London as the current mayor Boris Johnson has ordered Newham Council to veto the planned expansion of London City Airport. In February the council gave the go-ahead to expand the airport to allow up to 111,000 flight movements per year with a £200 million building programme. The mayor said this would "lead to an unacceptable increase in noise for east Londoners and would not be for the greater benefit of the city".

More business for Aer Lingus A new Aer Lingus Gold Circle lounge opens at T5 in New York JFK airport this month. Flyers can dine before boarding, work or relax. The lounge continues the theme of those at Dublin and Heathrow T2. Aer Lingus's Cara magazine has increased its business content to 16 pages. The new section is called On Business. Get ready to tag your own bag A number of airlines have begun to offer self-bag-tagging. Alaska Airlines was the first US carrier and United has begun a similar initiative for non-stop flights from Boston. In Europe Iberia has MyBagTag home printing service in Spain, Switzerland and Latin America. Lufthansa is experimenting with HomeTag which would also have a radio frequency identifier chip.