American hotel developers today are eye-balling the announced $75 million deal oil-rich Qatar has signed with Cuba, but that’s about all they can do at this time, they say.

GOL, Brazil’s low-cost airline, announced that it has received approval from ANAC, the Brazilian civil aviation authority, to operate regular flights from Santos Dumont airport (Rio de Janeiro) to Belo Horizonte (Confins airport), Brasilia and Vitoria.

LAN Airlines S.A. has announced its consolidated financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2009. All figures were prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and are expressed in U.S. dollars.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. reported EPS from continuing operations for the first quarter of 2009 of $0.04 per share compared to $0.42 in the first quarter of 2008. Excluding special items, which net to charges of $18 million in 2009 and $4 million in 2008, EPS from continuing operations was $0.14 for the first quarter of 2009 compared to $0.44 in the first quarter of 2008. Excluding special items, the effective income tax rate in the first quarter of 2009 was 16.4 percent compared to 28.7 percent in the same period of 2008, primarily due to lower pretax income from high tax jurisdictions in 2009.

Closely watched Expedia, Inc., the online travel giant, announced drops in bookings, revenue and profit for the first quarter ended March 31, 2009. Revenue was down 8 percent to $635.7 million, gross profit was down 8 percent to $492.2 million, adjusted net income was down 11 percent to $62.8 million, and net income attributable to Expedia Inc. was down 23 percent to $39.5 million.

Happy Vacations is in the process of filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. “As soon as the bankruptcy has been completed and a filing number has been received, it will immediately be made available on our website,” the tour operator said.