PrimaTable was founded in early 2012. The two co-founders, CEO Jamie Davidson and Colin Zima (both former Googlers), will become VP of Product and Data Scientist, respectively, at Hotel Tonight. PrimaTable will also bring along its main developer. PrimaTable had done a limited beta of its software earlier this year and was looking to possibly raise another round of funding when their investors introduced them to Hotel Tonight chief Sam Shank.

Shank, meanwhile, had been looking to hire people to build out its platform — the system that helps hotels advertise their same-day room vacancies to consumers — when he had a fortuitous meeting with the PrimaTable guys, he said.

“We were really impressed by the caliber of these people, the amount of thinking they’ve done in this topic,” said Shank. “Instead of taking another round, we convinced them to join forces with us at HT and bring it to a much bigger audience.”

Shank would not disclose the price or any financial details of the acquisition. But he did say — without naming names — that Hotel Tonight beat out a large internet company for the acquisition. “Public internet companies were interested in the acquisition as well,” he told me. “To be able to acquire them in a competitive situation was pretty amazing.”

What will this mean for users of Hotel Tonight’s iOS or Android app? Hopefully nothing, Shank says. “From a consumer standpoint, our goal is for you not to notice this because our front-end apps are so simple, and we want to keep that experience effortless. Over time [users] will notice more hotels, better inventory with more relevance.”

Relevancy is a feature Hotel Tonight has been actively trying to improve. A few weeks ago the company released a significant app upgrade that introduced some limited user reviews and personalized recommendations of hotels they might like. As Hotel Tonight has grown from 29 hotels in just San Francisco, New York City and Los Angeles when it launched in 2011 to the current 1,500 hotels in 50 cities in the U.S., Canada and U.K., figuring out how to help customers cut through too many options and clutter is paramount.

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How to Start Off Small With a Short Break

If you’re struggling to go on a holiday, start small. Start with a day off, if you have to, and go explore your surroundings. And consider trying the following:

1. Take the trip over a weekend to avoid missing too many work days.
2. Keep the vacation short so the thought of packing and unpacking doesn’t paralyze you.
3. Pick a place that allows you to pack as light as possible.
4. Go someplace within driving distance.

I took a Friday through Sunday vacation with my family to a hotel with an indoor water park about 30 minutes from home. I’d rather travel to a new city or country, but the thought of catching up with my work when I return stresses me. This vacation let me relax without worrying about work.

I didn’t take my computer. OK, I confess: My spouse took his and I did use it briefly while away, but at least it didn’t have my usual applications or tools. During the entire trip, I spent no more than an hour, at most, on the computer to do quick email checks.

Dealing with Your Vacation Fears

The things I feared would happen upon my return didn’t occur. I’m one of those people who cleans up as I work and handles things as they come in, rather than letting them pile up and facing a mountain. So I feared returning to:

• an overloaded inbox.
• too many client requests.
• the general catch-up involved.

Between the BlackBerry and laptop, I focused on keeping my inbox manageable without spending much time doing so. Most of us don’t get much email over the weekend, so a short break over a weekend means helps in that respect.

Preparing for the Next Vacation

After seeing see how well a short, in-town vacation can work, next you can travel a greater distance. Plenty of places offer great short getaways. Places like Las Vegas, campgrounds and resorts make great short vacations. If you plan one over a weekend, it’ll cut your worries of returning to an overwhelming inbox.

After conquering a few long weekend vacations, go the next step and take a week-long trip. If this makes you cower, compromise again. Pick three or four days out of the week to do work while spending the other days doing the vacation thing. Thursday offers tips for setting up an office away from home. Consider shortening your work hours by quitting earlier in the day or starting in the afternoon.

Another option is to attend a conference. Many conferences occur in cities where people tend to go on vacation. Start your vacation after the conference ends. You could have your vacation beforehand, but it might be harder to enjoy your time there knowing the conference lies ahead.

How do you ensure you get a well-deserved vacation without worrying about work?

Photo credit: Chris27

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But a hotel room just isn’t meant to be an office. While you may have fun during the trip, the working part can be a little harder than at home. It can uncomfortable (especially in rooms not equipped with a desk), there can be unusual interruptions, and it can simply to tough to get work done.

By focusing on solving these key problems, though, you can turn a hotel room into a web working office.

Find a Comfortable Place to Work

Hotel beds don’t make particularly good desks, but they’re the only piece of furniture guaranteed to be in a hotel room. Sometimes, you’ll luck out and get a desk — but it’s just as likely that you’ll wind up with a chair and a coffee table or some other configuration that results in a backache after just a few minutes of work. If you don’t have a desk in your hotel room, pick up your laptop bag and explore the rest of the hotel. An empty conference room or a computer center can give you a far more comfortable working environment without having to leave your hotel. I’ve even been known to take advantage of the tables set up in the hotel’s breakfast area, after everyone’s done eating.

Getting out of your room can be even more important, depending on who you’re traveling with. If the family is on vacation, no one’s going to want to sit quietly so that you can work. And in a hotel room there are distractions that the average web worker probably doesn’t see every day, like a maid coming by to vacuum. Finding another room to work in can provide a little distance so that you can actually get your work done.

Follow Your Normal Routines

I don’t know many web workers who don’t have routines for their work day. Maybe you make a cup of tea before you sit down at your computer. Maybe you stop and stretch after every hour you’ve worked. It’s important to follow your routines as closely as possible, even if that means making your tea in the hotel room’s coffee pot. There may be some parts harder to stick to, such as the specific hours you work — maybe you’ve got plans to attend a meeting or go to the beach right in the middle of your work day.

But you’re used to working. Your routines give you the mental and physical cues that you’re supposed to be hard at work. Following those routines can keep you in the right mindset when you would rather be entirely on vacation.

Leave the Laptop in the Hotel

Resist the urge to take your laptop to every stop of your trip. Sure, you might be able to get a little more work done while the rest of the family is playing tourist or having dinner with the in-laws, but what’s the point of exercising that famous web worker flexibility if you’re only going to work the entire time you’re traveling?

While you may have some work that must absolutely be completed no matter where you are, you probably have some flexibility in your other work. It can be hard for some web workers to take advantage of that flexibility and take a break, it’s important to do so — even if you have to do a little extra work before or after you travel.

Share your hotel working tips in the comments.

Image by Flickr user PurpleMattFish

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Get your spoon and prepare to swallow a whole tub of awesome because we’ve got the freshest picks from the App Store to stuff in your mouth.

Before we get in to the latest releases, I’ve got a couple of interesting picks from the week’s Apple news.

First big thing, file sharing has been activated for MobileMe. Great news for users of the service, although when it comes to sharing files I’m a big fan of Dropbox – it’s packed with features, more so than MobileMe’s option, and integrates with OS X seamlessly.

Next up, Microsoft is joining the high street retail fray. Fresh from Wal Mart, David Porter is now onboard as Microsoft’s Corporate Vice President of Retail Stores.

A potentially profitable suggestion came from JB in TheAppleBlog’s comments: “They could put a McDonald’s inside to attract customers!” If that does happen, I’ll take my Windows Vista with a large cola and a side-serving of disappointment. Only joking, I don’t drink cola.

In this week’s roundup I’ll be looking at Harvest Time Tracker, Room, Kern and Flickit.

Harvest Time Tracker (free)
Being a freelancer I’ve got to keep track of my time, particularly which of my clients are making use of it — Harvest is a fantastic tool that keeps the brain-ache out of this task. The iPhone Web App does the job for me, but now there’s a streamlined native iPhone app dedicated to keeping track of time and tasks. Plus it’s totally free, so users of Harvest and those looking for such a tool should grab it now.

Room (free)
I’ve stayed in an array of hotels this year, tweeting my adventures across Europe, and yet for all the comforts that come from being a globe-trotting freelancing journo, I’ve hit on a major problem: there comes a point when the ever-changing rooms become a bit of a blur. This aptly-named app solves that problem, allowing you to enter a room number which — and here’s the excellent feature — is displayed as a badge on the app icon. A clever solution to a recurring problem.

Kern (99 cents)
I instantly fell head over heels for this game, created by U.S. design-studio FORMation, the folks behind color-matching iPhone dueler EYE vs. Eye. Kern is kind of a typographical take on Tetris as you slot individual letters in to different words while the leading rapidly shrinks. A super smart concept for a game which fellow designers in particular will adore.

Flickit (free)
This is the iPhone Flickr uploader to beat all others. The app has all the essential features — shoot within the app, batch upload, tagging and more — plus it really does look like it could have come straight out of Cupertino: designed purely with the user in mind. It’s totally free and I don’t know why — this is the sort of app that most Flickr users would certainly shell out a few bucks for.

That’s all for this week, I’ll see you next Saturday for more apps and more chat. In the meantime, drop by the comments and let me know which apps you recommend.

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If that’s ever happened to you then you probably already follow Rule No. 1 for hassle-free flying: Never pack in checked bags anything that would make you ill or heartbroken if the bag isn’t returned to you immediately upon landing.

The vast majority of passengers’ bags don’t get lost, and theft from bags in transit is rare. But jewelry, iPods, PDAs, cameras, chargers and other electronics will be the first items to disappear if you’re a victim, and airlines specifically exempt them from reimbursement if they’re lost.

Important papers or electronic storage devices should be in your carry-on bag as well. Airline web sites, including those for Delta and Usairways, have big sections on baggage policies but vary in how far down you must drill to find specific information.

Here are some practices road veterans try to follow when preparing and packing for any trip:

• Plan on using two carry-on bags, one a rolling type that will fit in an overhead bin and the other a briefcase or large purse – with those prescriptions inside – that holds more than just a laptop. I often check the rolling bag but only for a discrete reason: Since I write about this stuff, I want to gauge the quality of different airlines’ service.
• When shopping for luggage, check the weight of the empty bag. If the bag itself is as heavy as the contents, it’s harder to heft into an overhead bin, or could be subject to an overweight fee if it’s checked.
• Another factor to consider when buying a rolling bag: How easily does it roll, pivot and take corners? Pull and push it around the store to see if it could tip over easily when it’s full.
• Buy shampoos, lotion and other liquids in 3-ounce bottles or buy empty 3-ounce bottles and label them (so you don’t do as my wife almost did recently and use hand lotion on her hair). Carry them in a quart-size plastic bag because airport security is picky about it. The Transportation Security Administration’s web site is loaded with detail on the rules.
• If you’re not particular about brands of shampoo or lotion, don’t pack the little bottles at all and use those the hotel provides.
• Wear socks and slip-on shoes for that especially irritating part of security screening.
• I’ve read this tip for years and usually follow it: Take only the apparel you will really wear. Lay out all your clothing and shoes on a bed before packing and be tough on yourself.
• Take clothing that’s in neutral colors and doesn’t wrinkle easily. I’ve ordered several items from travelsmith.com that are specifically designed for life on the road but there are myriad other brands available.
• If you’ll be traveling for more than four or five days, use a hotel with laundry facilities. At Hilton, Marriott or Choice Hotels’ sites, look for guest services or amenities.
• Pack heavy items like shoes on the bottom of the bag – provided you can’t survive with just one pair of shoes.
• Don’t take a travel iron or a hair dryer because most hotels provide them now. After you get to your room, but before the next morning when your hair is wet, turn on the hair dryer to make sure it works.

What tips do you have for packing for a trip?

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I was coming to Paris and knew it was going to be one of those out and about all day and half the night and with a side trip to another country kind of vacations. And it was January, which meant heavy luggage. What was I going to do, lug my laptop around with me? Leave it in a safe? Certainly not in the room!

And when, realistically, was I going to use it? Those café tables are hardly big enough for two beers. I knew from experience there was a computer in the lobby of my hotel where I could check my e-mail for X Euros per X number of minutes. So the laptop stayed home. It was not easy.

Now the days of deprivation of this magnitude are over, luckily for you! Prepare yourself for the Parisian dream geek vacation.

Mama Shelter, a luxurious hotel in the 20th arrondissement of Paris wants you. But why would you want to stay out on the eastern edge of Paris instead of in the heart of the Latin Quarter with the other 80 million tourists? Well, it is only a couple of blocks from the eerily beautiful Père Lachaise cemetery (one of my favorite places in Paris and where many of my favorite heroes, eccentrics and geniuses are buried: Oscar Wilde, Molière, Gertrude Stein, Colette, Edith Piaf, Jim Morrison…).

But mostly because at Mama Shelter, they’ve done away with the TV entirely and put at least one 24-inch iMac in every room. Of course, the wi-fi is free. And every room has an office. The incredibly cool bar has live music and iMacs too.

Geek bonus: Wookie mask bedside lamp, the pièce de résistance.

Even though I’m more Star Trek than Star Wars, I adore this place already, and am planning a surprise getaway there with my husband. (At least it was a surprise till I posted this.)

Mama Shelter is the brainchild of the Trigano family (co-founders of Club Med) and French philosopher Cyril Aouizerate (only in France, right?). Its edgy interior was done by renowned designer Philippe Starck. Words cannot do this place justice. You have to check out the site. And then the hotel! Rates right now, since it’s off season, are from 79 € – 139 €. Totally affordable!

If any of you are going to be here for Le Web ’08 Paris in December, you might want to see if they have any room!

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A little about me: Last spring I left a fulltime position as a reporter, columnist and blogger for The Philadelphia Inquirer and joined your world as a home-based freelance writer — doing the same amount of work for half the money! I continue to write a Philly-focused column and blog for the newspaper. What I’ll offer for WWD readers will be more wide ranging, talking about ways to work efficiently wherever and whenever you’re traveling, along with throwing out ideas for stretching your travel budget to the max.

My first topic is a basic for the business traveler whose working life depends on web access, and is one that many of you probably have some experience with.

How do you avoid surprises when you check into a hotel, find your room and fire up the laptop to check e-mail or do other work online?

The great majority of hotels of all brands, sizes and comfort levels, both domestic and foreign, have high-speed Internet access these days. Many chains promote it in their advertising, and most of the time it’s “free,” which really means it’s included in the room rate.

But as strange as it may seem, the more luxurious and expensive your hotel is, the more likely it is you will have to pay extra for access. The fee is usually no more than $10 a day, perhaps not a big deal if you, your employer or client has shelled out $150 to $300 for the room. But we’re talking here about some really nice places, including Ritz-Carltons, Four Seasons and full-service, four-star Hiltons, Marriotts and Sheratons, virtually all of which have the annoying policy of adding on the fee.

Exceptions do abound: Often the fee can be included in negotiated corporate room rates or will be waived if you’re fairly high-ranking member of a hotel’s frequent-guest program.

I’ve always avoided the Internet access fee by, usually of necessity because of budget constraints, by staying in three-star or occasionally two-star hotels.  I use Hampton Inn a lot because, first, I know I’m not going to pay the fee, and I also know what else I’m going to get. Every room in the chain, a Hilton division, has a good-sized work desk and comfortable desk chair, and a nifty tray designed specifically to let you work on a laptop while reclining in bed or the lounge chair.

But I’m not just endorsing one brand. Most of the other mid-priced divisions of the hotel chains don’t charge the fee and have made strides in recent years in making it easier to work in your room, with decent desks and chairs. Most Choice Hotels, which run the Comfort Inn and Quality brands, lower-priced Marriotts, including Fairfield Inn and Garden Inns, and all Best Westerns have no access fee. Even some lower-priced brands are the same, with exceptions like Motel 6.

I have found only two ways to make sure you know in advance whether you’ll be hit with a fee: Look at the “policies” or “services and amenities” page on the individual hotel’s web site to see what the policy is, or call the hotel directly and ask. And that leads me to another topic I’ll provide more advice on soon:

How do you get the lowest room rate? The short answer is often the old-fashioned way: Pick up the phone and haggle.

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