Asia's Bargains

The crisis that has hit the economies of the Orient can be a boon to the cost-conscious traveler

Individual E-mail accounts, personal exercise equipment--even vibrating massage chairs. It may sound like a business traveler's Xanadu, but it's business service as usual at Hotel Phoenix in Singapore after its recent $7.6 million renovation. Not only did the makeover boost the business hotel's ranking from 3 1/2 to four stars last year, but for the additional comforts, guests are now paying a mere $87, about $20 less than they were paying a year ago. "It's a matter of repositioning and offering true value for money," says Margaret Low, the hotel's marketing director.

To no one's surprise, business travel is faltering beneath...

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