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Your online business is critically dependent upon two processes. Tracking your hosting company's downtime and knowing what your customers are doing when they get on your site are two critical pieces of information that can make or break your business.

When your hosting server is down, your customers cannot find you and you will lose sales and your reputation. If you don't know what pages attract your customers and which page lost their attention so they clicked off, you will never be able to effectively tweak your page to lead your customers where you want them to go...to your "Buy it Now" button.

The status of your hosting server needs to be reviewed periodically and will probably be done on a regular basis by your hosting service. Immediate notification of your website being down should be a priority with you if your business is the way you make a living.

There are subscription services that will check your site for you on a regular basis, with the actual frequency stated in your contract with them. They check your site and, if there's no response or activity, they call you to let you know it is down.

Logging your site visitors will return data about their browsing habits that can help you to increase conversions...changing visitors into customers. Here's some data that would be of real value to you:

* Where your visitors came from

* Which search engine sent them to your site

* What pages they visit or links they click on

* How long they stay on each page

* Which pages are the most popular on your site

* What errors occurred when they were browsing

* What page they were on when they left your site

If most of your visitors, or a large number, leave your site from the same page, there might be a problem on that page that you have to fix. This is particularly critical if they get to your "Buy Now" page and leave without buying your product. Your task would be to determine what stopped them from clicking the "Buy Now" button. It could be something as simple as a broken link. Your reports will indicate where your site problems are.

There's a few processes you can set up to make your visitor's movements open to you. A simple one is to put a counter on each page of your site. Another way is to gather information in a Log File . Check your web host to see if your server can log your visitor's actions on your site. If it can, then you would have a logfile that would be filled with good information and need to be analyzed by a logfile analyzer. This software would produce those pretty charts and tables. There's software that runs on your server and lets you look at the data in real-time and subscription services that do it for you.

There's no need to sit in the dark and wonder what's happening on your webpage.

Dan Thompson is a veteran website designer and has used numerous web hosts in his time. Dan specializes in writing web host reviews, his latest article is a Hostmonster Review. You can view Dan's latest web hosting review at http://www.hostmonster-the-review.com

When it comes to staying in a city, you often seem to be spoilt for choice when choosing a luxury hotel. Sometimes, though, there is a hotel that stands out from the rest through an amazing location, unique facilities, or just the quality of its service. Some of these luxury hotels are renowned as the most famous or prestigious in their respective cities, while others are not as well known but remain the accommodation of choice for discerning visitors. Here are the hotels of choice for five of the most exciting cities around the world.

The City: Marrakesh

The Hotel: La Sultana

Staying at this luxurious Moroccan Riad is like taking a step back in time, as great efforts have been made to make La Sultana a real feast for the eyes. It is laid out in traditional style around a central courtyard, and each of the lounges and bedrooms are decorated with antique furniture, marble bathrooms, sculptured ceilings, and paintings alongside the traditional features of a luxury hotel room.

This hotel has more to it than just opulent dcor. It is a complete spa hotel, with an amazing hammam, sauna, and a beauty centre offering numerous luxury health treatments. Rounding off the hotel's features are a restaurant, elegant bar and a swimming pool. For a taste of traditional Moroccan luxury, hotels don't get any better than this.

The City: Rome

The Hotel: Portrait Suites

There are plenty of big name luxury hotels in Rome, but if you are looking for something a little different, a stay at the Portrait Suites, located on the famous Via Condotti, could be perfect for you. Elegance and class are the essential qualities at this boutique hotel, and it's no surprise - the hotel is owned and run by the Ferragamo fashion house.

With only 14 studios and suites, this is a highly exclusive place to stay and, as you would expect from this "fashion hotel", the dcor of the suites is stylish and tasteful. Particular importance is placed on the materials used, including boar skin and marble, and each studio is furnished with a bar corner, kitchenette and other mod cons.

The City: Paris

The Hotel: The Plaza Athenee

Since it first opened its doors in 1911, this luxury hotel has provided the very best accommodation in the heart of Paris. Located between the Champs Elysees and the Eiffel Tower, the Plaza Athenee is in a perfect central location. And with members of staff outnumbering rooms by three to one at this luxury hotel, a high quality of service comes guaranteed.

As well as being perhaps the best place to stay in France's capital, the Plaza Athenee is also one of the trendiest places to drink thanks to its famous cocktail bar. If this wasn't enough, Alain Ducasse, the most acclaimed chef in France - with a total of 14 Michelin stars - is Head Chef, making a stay at this hotel a serious culinary delight.

The City: London

The Hotel: Charlotte Street Hotel

For those looking for the finest boutique hotel in London, they need look no further than the Charlotte Street Hotel. Perfectly located in London's West End, this hotel is filled with Bloomsbury paintings and bronze statues - all adding to the warmth and difference of the place. Every bedroom is uniquely decorated with artworks and handmade furniture, and the dcor is an elegant mixture of art-deco and contemporary. This boutique hotel also features a cinema showing black and white classics, a gym and classic cuisine is available downstairs at Oscars, the bar and restaurant of the Charlotte Street Hotel.

The City: Geneva

The Hotel: La Reserve

This luxury spa hotel is undoubtedly one of the finest places to stay for a visit to Geneva, even though it is located just outside the city itself! La Reserve is in the middle of a ten acre park on the edge of Lake Geneva and the city can be reached by a daily boat service. The dcor of this spa hotel reflects its beautiful surroundings and mahogany and marble keep a classy and natural feel throughout. The magnificent spa offers a great range of health and beauty treatments and the hotel also features three outstanding restaurants. For a relaxing holiday in beautiful surroundings, it is hard to beat La Reserve.

Stephanie Clarke is the Managing Director of Concierge Collection, providers of some of the finest luxury hotels in Europe. Stephanie and her team use their wealth of experience, expertise and contacts to achieve "Beyond Special". For Concierge Collection, luxury does not have to have a large price tag but the hotels do have to be unique.