Travel Roundup: Injunction on Hilton's Denizen Brand, JetBlue's Sabre Makes Surcharges Easier, Motel Turns Affordable Housing and More

U.S. District Court places temporary injunction on Hilton's Denizen brand -- Judge Stephen C. Robinson, U.S. District judge for the Southern District of New York, placed a preliminary injunction on any further work on the Hilton Hotels Corp.'s Denizen brand and using any of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.'s documents or electronic information. Hilton was also ordered to return any Starwood documents or files in their possession. Two executives at Hilton, former Starwood employees Ross Klein and Amar Lalvani, are accused of stealing trade secrets from Starwood and using the information to develop Hilton's luxury brand, Denizen. The injunction will expire in 90 days. [Source: Starwood Hotels & Resorts]

JetBlue may be considering first checked-bag fee -- While JetBlue Airways may be be one of the few airlines not charging for the first checked bag, a conversation with CEO Dave Barger indicates that could change. Barger said he could see placing a surcharge on a checked bag for quicker service, but said if JetBlue were to go ahead with a surcharge, it would coincide with the carrier's switchover to its new Sabre system in 2010, which can handle more transactions -- and charges. [Source: Boston Globe Travel Blog]

Springfield, Ill. motel becomes affordable housing -- A former All Star Inn in Springfield, Ill. is being turned into 19 units of low-income housing. The former motel is now owned by Fifth Street Renaissance, a social service agency, who paid about $1.2 million for the 20-room motel with a 20-year loan from the Illinois Housing Development Authority. [Source: Associated Press and State Journal-Register]

Amtrak's Empire Builder to bypass Grand Forks, N.D. -- Flooding has disrupted Amtrak's Empire Builder line, requiring the rail company to use an alternate route from Fargo to Minot, N.D., bypassing its regular route through Grand Forks, Devils Lake and Rugby. An Amtrak spokesman couldn't say when the original route would be open again. The Empire Builder line runs from Seattle to Chicago. [Source: Grand Forks Herald]