Nearly every one in the hotel industry is glad to see the curtain falling on 2009. It’s been a tough year for anybody connected to the business, and, as a result, most of the news stories we reported on during the year reflected the pain many hotel owners, operators, developers, vendors and employees are feeling.

Over the next two days, we’ll present the top 10 hotel stories that defined the year. Today, we cover stories six through 10:

10. The rebirth of the Greenbrier. One of the few feel-good stories of ’09 was the purchase of the venerable Greenbrier by local investor Jim Justice. More importantly, Justice has vowed to restore the famed West Virginia resort to its Five-Star stature. In March, the hotel filed for bankruptcy, and while owners CSX Corp. struck a tentative deal with Marriott to purchase the property, Justice swooped in at the last minute to buy the resort for $20 million and assumption of debt. As part of the revitalization of the Greenbrier, Justice is introducing casino gaming, first in a temporary facility but on a permanent site that opens sometime in 2010.

9. Hotel Chains Versus The OTAs. Just like the hotel industry’s last downturn in 2001-02, the online travel agencies stepped up their pressure on hotel chains in ’09. And, just like last time around, several hotel chains, led by Choice Hotels, balked at some of the onerous terms the OTAs were trying to impose on them. Choice initially told Expedia to take a hike when the OTA tried to get the upper hand. Both sides eventually blinked and reached a new agreement, something that most chains and OTAs are eventually likely to do.

8. Hyatt Hotels Goes Public. Despite the shaky state of the stock market, and hotel shares in particular, the Pritzker family decided to take part of its Hyatt Hotels empire public. In early November, the company issued 38 million shares of stock. Priced at $25 a share, the offering raised nearly $1 billion. The share price rose by $3 by the end of the first day of trading. The stock peaked at $30.70 and stood at $30 on Dec. 28.

7. Troubles In Las Vegas. Everything that could go wrong in Las Vegas did so in 2009. Despite euphoria over the opening of the CityCenter project (see #6), most of the news in Sin City has been bleak. While the number of visitors to the city is down nearly four percent this year, the city is in the midst of another construction boom that may add as many as 10,000 rooms to the inventory. The result has been massive rate cutting, as scores of casino hotels and other smaller properties struggle to maintain occupancies. Several proposed casino hotel projects (the Fontainebleau and the Echelon) sit half-built with slim prospects for completion. Other bad news: the Lake Las Vegas development filed for bankruptcy, Binion’s in downtown Las Vegas closed its hotel tower, and the Sahara temporarily shuttered two of its three guestroom towers.

6. CityCenter Opens. Amid hopes the project will eventually spur a new wave of prosperity for Las Vegas, the $8.5-billion CityCenter multi-use development opened in early December in the middle of the Strip. The project is a partnership between MGM Mirage and Dubai World and initially includes three hotels (Aria, Mandarin Oriental and Vdara) and the Crystals entertainment and retail district. Slated to open in 2010 are Veer Towers, twin 37-story, 335-unit residential condominium towers; and the Harmon Hotel, a boutique hotel. When complete, the complex will employ more than 14,000 workers, a welcome sign for a city with unemployment at 12 percent.