News for the Hospitality Executive |
By Stanley Turkel, CMHS, ISHC
December 2, 2011 1. Congratulations to Lodging
Hospitality Editor Ed Watkins 2. Did You Hear About “Airbnb”? The New York
Times
(11/13/11) reported “Airbnb’s Lodging Gets Tested, and a Mixed Bag Is
The
Result”: Since its debut
in
2008, the company, based in San Francisco has booked more than two
million nights of lodging all over the world. But it’s not a hotel. Instead it allows people to rent out their entire home or apartment- or just a room or a bed- to others who find Marriott boring or want to see life in a area as a local would. In three years, Airbnb (whose name refers to bed-and-breakfast establishments) claims to have about 100,000 listings in 19,000 cities and towns in 192 countries. Wikipedia reports that Brian Chesky and Joe Gabbia founded the site and that listings include private homes, entire apartments, castles, boats, manors, tree houses, tipis, igloos, private islands and other properties. The company is well known for its freewheeling company culture, which has been praised by Business Insider and the Wall St. Journal. For instance, Airbnb employees wear hoodies to press conferences and business meetings. New York’s state legislature passed a law in 2010 making it illegal to rent out Class A residential space for less than 30 days. It remains to be seen how this will affect Airbnb’s business. 3. A Sows Ear Becomes a Silk
Purse 4. On The Verge My new book Built To Last: 100+ Year-Old Hotels in New York, tells the stories about thirty-two hotels that defied the passage of time and are still in operation. For eighteen of them, it was the fortuitous creation of the New York City Landmark Preservation Commission in 1965. The landmarks law was enacted in response to the demolition of the iconic Pennsylvania Station in 1963. Unfortunately, Belleair and Pinellas County have far fewer protections for historical properties. The residents should join together and protest because a restored Biltmore could attract world travelers seeking a resort with history like the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, Michigan or the Hotel del Coronado in San Diego. Here’s a listing of the Biltmore’s famous guests: President Barack Obama, when he was a U.S. Senator, Presidents Jimmy Carter, Gerald Ford, George W. Bush, the Duke of Windsor, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, Tony Bennett, Jerry Lee Lewis, Robin Leach, Cesar Romero, Billy Joel, Joan Baez, the Temptations, Gene Autry, Peter Marshall, Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, Joe Di Maggio, Dionne Warwick, Fred McMurray, Christie Brinkley, the Lennon Sisters, George Foreman, Norman Rockefeller, Jane Pauley, Gary Trudeau, Bob Dylan, Caroline Kennedy, Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, Dizzy Dean and practically all the golf greats from 1900 through 1940. 5. Quote
of the Month
Benjamin
Franklin, January 26, 1781 I’ve just published my new book, Built To Last: 100+ Year-Old Hotels in New York. It contains 32 chapters, 380 pages, 35 illustrations, a foreword, preface, introduction, bibliography and index. In the foreword, Bjorn Hanson, Ph.D. (Divisional Dean, Clinical Professor, HVS Chair at the NYU Tisch Center for Hospitality, Tourism and Sports Management) writes: Stanley
Turkel has
gathered information that reveals how history,
the economy, society, technology and entrepreneurship have created among the most iconic and distinctive hotels in the world…. You can order the
book on www.centuryoldhotelsinnewyork.com. Just click on the “Buy The Book” link for a
reduced rate.
|
Contact: Stanley Turkel, MHS, ISHC 917-628-8549 [email protected] www.stanleyturkel.com
|