Charlotte properties receive AAA distinction

AAA Carolinas is honoring 10 Charlotte-area hotels and restaurants with AAA Four Diamond Awards.

Four Diamond hotels in Charlotte, listed with the number of years won, include Renaissance Charlotte SouthPark (2 years), Hilton Charlotte Center City (6 years), The Duke Mansion Historic Inn & Meeting Place (8 years), The Westin Charlotte (9 years), The Ballantyne Hotel (10 years), Omni Charlotte Hotel (12 years) and Marriott Charlotte SouthPark (24 years).

Four Diamond restaurants in Charlotte include Bonterra Dining & Wine Room (9 years), Zebra Restaurant and Fine Catering (10 years), and the McNinch House (16 years).

“AAA’s requirements for a Four Diamond rating are rigorous, and those that achieve this designation are among the finest hotels and restaurants in the world,” said David E. Parsons, president and CEO of AAA Carolinas. “Only 3.4 percent of the more than 59,000 annual inspections conducted nationally result in a Four Diamond rating.”

A total of 35 hotels and 14 restaurants throughout North Carolina have achieved this rating. More than 2,000 properties nationally earn the designation after specially trained evaluators conduct anonymous overnight stays or dine incognito. Staff report

Young people picking Tumblr over Facebook

A survey released this week found that there were more teens and young adults who said they use Tumblr on a regular basis than those who said they use Facebook.

Fifty-nine percent of respondents between the ages of 13 and 25 said they use Tumblr regularly; 54 percent said they use Facebook.

Among those 13 to 18, the percentage who said they use Tumblr regularly was even higher – 61 percent compared with 55 percent who said they use Facebook regularly.

The survey was conducted by startup Survata. It surveyed 1,038 people after Gerry Tan, one of Survata’s investors, became curious about which social networks younger Internet users are turning to.

The Survata survey also found that 20 percent of respondents between 13 and 25 said they use Twitter regularly. That was followed by 16 percent for Instagram. Los Angeles Times

Best Buy shares jump on holiday results

Shares of Best Buy Co. jumped on Friday after the electronics chain showed signs of starting to reverse declining sales during the critical holiday selling season, a better-than-expected result.

Shares rose more than 16 percent, closing at $14.21, up $2.

Best Buy has been facing tough competition from discounters and online retailers, as people browse electronics in stores and then go home to buy them more cheaply online, a practice known as “showrooming.” To combat this, it has instituted a cost-cutting program, invested in more employee training and put an online price matching policy in place during the key holiday period of November and December. The holiday quarter accounted for about a third of Best Buy’s revenue last year.

The chain said that revenue at stores open at least a year fell 1.4 percent for the nine weeks ended Jan. 5. This figure is a key gauge of a retailer’s health because it excludes results from stores recently opened or closed.

Best Buy said that sales were strongest among cell phones, tablets, electronic readers and appliances, while sales of entertainment, televisions and computer-related items dropped. - Associated Press