The New York Times today has an article on the plight of those with extra height - Headlined the "Coping With the Tall Traveler's Curse" the article notes how "the discomfort continues long after the flight, as their feet dangle off the edge of hotel beds".

While the report spends a fair amount of newsprint on the travails of the vertically superior in airlines and taxis it notes that "The only hotel chain that seems to have staked out the tall traveler niche is Kimpton Hotels, which introduced its "tall rooms" with 96-inch beds, higher showerheads and higher door frames in 1995. Each hotel in Kimpton's Hotel Monaco chain has about 20 tall rooms".

That represents an enormous unfulfilled opportunity for hotels as according to the most recent survey by the National Center for Health Statistics "Five percent of men ages 20 to 74 in the United States are 6- foot-2 or taller".

The Times also reports that "Other hotels that have tall-friendly rooms are the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, which has 48 rooms with 96-inch beds in its Palms tower and fantasy tower. (The owners, the Maloof family, are sensitive to the height issue because they are the majority owner of a National Basketball Association team, the Sacramento Kings".

For now, destinations that make overt steps to accommodate tall travelers are few and far between with the Netherlands (Holland) leading that list.

Vijay is Chief Operating Officer and part-founder of Apple Core Hotels- a chain of 5 midtown Manhattan hotels offering value and comfort in the heart of the city.Member of the board of Directors - Hotel Association of New York.  www.vijaydandapani.com