This is especially true at luxury hotel brands that typically do not discount below their own web advertised lowest prices like Four Seasons, Mandarin Oriental and Peninsula.

FORBES: Why You Need A Travel Agent, Part 2

The company, Dubai Ports World, would do so by purchasing a British concern, Peninsula and Oriental Steam Navigation Company ("P and O").

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This demanding group of busy travelers placed Singapore's Raffles, Tokyo's Park Hyatt, Bangkok's Oriental, the Ritz-Carlton Millenia in Singapore and Hong Kong's Mandarin Oriental, Regent and Peninsula (at No. 1) among their choices for the world's top international and city hotels.

CNN: ASIANOW - TIME Asia | Travel Watch