With gasoline at historically high prices -- averaging $3.81 this week -- hotels are offering fuel-related discounts this summer. Deals include gas gift cards and free nights, promotions wherein travelers can submit their gas receipts for reimbursement, and deals rewarding people who carpool or take mass transit. Joe McInerney, president and CEO of the American Hotel & Lodging Association, says the programs aren't new but they are getting a lot more sophisticated.

Blogger MP Mueller says trying something new in advertising is the hardest thing to do in business. Mueller, founder of Austin, Tex., boutique ad firm Door Number 3, says when he (she?) makes a pitch that hits the marketer's objectives and is totally different from what the company or the industry has done before, "Minute one, the chief executive's face is euphoric, almost giddy. "Minute two, more of the same as the C.E.O. imagines how far a truly new campaign might take the company. And then we get into the third minute and the rush of possibility recedes, deflated …

Richard Branson said he's in talks with up to three suitors for Virgin Atlantic Airways, Ltd. The high-flying Virgin CEO says a deal should be on paper next quarter. Branson has hired Deutsche Bank AG to assess the international carrier's options in the wake of a cross-pond alliance between British Airways and American Airlines. Branson said he's not sure yet whether an alliance would include a sell-down of his 51% stake in the company he founded in 1984.

Virgin CEO Richard Branson set the tone for Virgin America's challenge to competitors when he dressed as a prizefighter named "Bruiser Branson" for a press event launching the carrier's service from O'Hare International to San Francisco and Los Angeles: Branson is "calling all bums," to borrow from Muhammad Ali. It seems the Sonny Liston and Floyd Patterson of the domestic carrier world have taken notice. United this week said it was launching double award mileage for its Mileage Plus members in Illinois or California who book nonstop United and Continental flights between Chicago and San Francisco or Chicago and LA. …

Nestle launched BabyNes this week. The milk dispenser uses a system that is technically similar to the company's Nespresso coffee maker. But instead of coffee, it uses infant formula capsules. The company said the machine and the capsules are on sale in the Swiss market with a global rollout to be determined by their popularity there. Martin Grieder, head of advanced nutrition systems at Nestle, called it "a game changer in the infant formula category. It's very simple, very intuitive, hygienic and of optimum safety."

Black flight from advertising in the 1970s has a lot to do with why the makeup of ad agencies -- and the advertising itself -- is so much whiter than the U.S., said former ad man Eugene Morris, who left a white ad agency 40 years ago to join an African-American ad firm. "When I first came into the business, if I had projected 40 years into the future, I would never have described the current situation, where African-Americans are still in the single digits in all these agencies," he said. The issue is at the fore now since a …

British spirits holding company Diageo is in talks to buy family-owned Jose Cuervo tequila, according to a source. Rumors have swirled about such a deal with the top-selling tequila brand internationally. Diageo already distributes the brand, which is overseen by current Beckmann family scion Jose Beckmann Vidal.

Kia Motors has signed a deal making the automaker official partner of the Major League Soccer Team the New York Red Bulls. This is the latest in a long roster of deals for the Irvine, Calif., automaker. The Hyundai Motor division is also partner with the NBA, and does programs with the LPGA, motorsports and the NHL.

Several global factors are likely to get Americans behind the wheel to spend some of the Memorial Day weekend in the car. A struggling global economy, stronger dollar, and fewer immediate concerns about events in the Middle East have pushed crude prices down $10 a barrel since the beginning of the month. Gasoline prices have dipped below $4 a gallon in New England and elsewhere. While the drop is only symbolic, since prices at the pump are still high and probably going higher, it makes people feel good, says Chris Christopher an economist with IHS Global Insight. "Maybe they'll spend …

Los Angeles has passed Miami as the U.S. city getting the second-highest number of visitors from overseas. The stats from the U.S. Office of Travel and Tourism Industries show L.A. had a 33% boost in visitors last year versus the year before, while Miami's numbers rose 17% during that period. Overseas visitors spend more and stay longer. California's travel and tourism commission says the average visitor from overseas spends $1,166 per trip versus $909 spent by the average visitor from Mexico. The top U.S. destination by far remains New York, which had 8.5 million visitors last year versus …