To counter unauthorized wholesale rates and avoid monitoring several online travel agencies, Marriott International has teamed with Expedia for a first-in-industry partnership that makes Expedia the exclusive distributor for wholesale and promotional rates at the hotel chain's 7,000 properties worldwide as of Oct. 15. The deal won't affect agencies, tour operators and others that have a direct partnership with the hotel titan.

Montage Big Sky, which is slated to become the first five-star resort in Montana, will offer ski-in/ski-out and golf lodging at Spanish Peaks Mountain Club near Yellowstone National Park. The "mountain modern" guest rooms, the 16,000-square-foot Spa Montage with 12 treatment rooms, private hiking and mountain biking trails, and an exclusive fish camp along 4 miles of a private river will open in 2021.

The 54-room, five-star Asbury Ocean Club Hotel opened this summer on the shore of Asbury Park, N.J., a little over an hour from New York City. Floor-to-ceiling glass windows offer views of the Atlantic Ocean or sand-dune gardens, and the hotel also includes an oceanview pool, 24-hour concierge, personal bell staff, a spa and fitness center.

The Day Spa @ Folawns in Texas recently treated six children facing cancer to a spa day. "They have a lot of smiling faces on right now, but next week, they're gonna be in treatment. They need something to encourage their heart. They need something that makes them feel good and beautiful, too," said Manuel Diotte, founder of nonprofit The Ferrari Kid, which helped organize the spa day.

The city of Kalamazoo, Mich., is using its first Business Development Fund Loan to back the Glamour Spa Bus. The mobile spa could help business owner Duanta Taylor create 20 jobs.

Tresor Salon and Spa in California recently hosted the first Glamming Kids For Success event, partnering with STREAM Kids Expo to provide hair-styling free of charge for young girls. "I'm fortunate to be able to get my hair done whenever I want so I know how special that feels and I want kids to be able to experience that, too," salon owner Lynda Brierly says.

Kith and Malin + Goetz are jointly releasing a product line dubbed "Ronnie's edit," which includes eau de parfum, hair care products and body lotion. "These products also bridge the gap between our brand and our customers' daily lifestyle," Kith's Ronnie Fieg says.

Reyna Duong, the owner of a Vietnamese restaurant called Sandwich Hag in Dallas, Texas, uses her position as a business owner to advocate for people living with disabilities and employs a number of differently-abled staff. She recruits employees from a group called LaunchAbility and champions community fundraising efforts for World Down Syndrome Day.

Although critics and advocates have called for boycotts of Chick-fil-A due to it's founder's opposition to the LGBTQ community, the company has more than doubled its sales and opened close to 700 new locations in the past decade. The chain has since established a charitable organization called the Chick-fil-A Foundation but has continued to donate to anti-LGBTQ groups like the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, critics say.

Award-winning chef Asma Khan frequently closes her popular restaurant Darjeeling Express on Sundays to give inexperienced female immigrant chefs a space to work and host supper clubs, with the goal of helping immigrant women gain acceptance in the United Kingdom. "The future for us to get doors opened -- which are closed to women -- is for us to actually fight together," Khan says.