HSMAI to Honor GCommerce With 5 Silver Adrian Awards for Outstanding Travel Marketing
HSMAI | December 5, 2019
Wingspread Retreat & Executive Conference Center Takes Top Honor in 2019 Stella Awards
Wingspread Retreat & Executive Conference Center | December 3, 2019
Industry Happenings
Rainmaker, a Cendyn company, Ranks on Inc. 5000 List of America’s Fastest-Growing Private Companies
Cendyn | August 21, 2019
Boca Raton, FL. — August 21, 2019 — Cendyn is proud to announce that The Rainmaker Group, a Cendyn Company, has ranked on the Inc. 5000 list of the fastest growing privately held companies in the U.S. for 2019. This marks the eighth year for Rainmaker to achieve this honor since 2010. With a continuously expanding customer base and an industry leading platform of revenue & profit solutions, Rainmaker continues to rank on the Inc. 5000 list due to its impressive growth in the hospitality space. Founded in 1998 by Bruce Barfield and Tammy Farley, Rainmaker was recently acquired by Cendyn. As the leading innovative cloud software a...
South Carolina’s Duane Parrish Named 2019 State Tourism Director of the Year
U.S. Travel Association | August 20, 2019
AUSTIN, TX (August 20, 2019) — Duane Parrish of the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism has been named national State Tourism Director of the Year for 2019. Parrish was announced as the honoree before more than 1,000 destination marketing professionals at the U.S. Travel Association's annual Educational Seminar for Tourism Organizations (ESTO) conference, the premier annual gathering for destination and tourism leaders, held this year in Austin, TX. U.S. Travel's National Council of State Tourism Directors—a body representing the tourism offices of all states and U.S. territories—votes on the award annually ahe...
Redefining Luxury and Culture in Hospitality
Kimberly Yoong | August 15, 2019
The hospitality industry has been abuzz with the growing need to redefine the notion of luxury to cater to an increasingly diverse clientele. Gone are the days when enjoying a luxurious experience meant indulgent in-room candlelight dinners and a rose petal-filled jacuzzi; today’s travelers seek authenticity and experiential travel. Eugenio Pirri, Chief People & Culture Officer at the Dorchester Collection, emphasizes just that as he tells the Young Hoteliers Summit in an interview, that luxury has to be defined by the customer. Hoteliers often say that they are customer-focused. However, Pirri also highlights the need to take it a s...
Study Reveals the Emotional Journey of a Digital Detox While Travelling
August 14, 2019
New research reveals the emotional journey that tourists go on when they disconnect from technology and social media while travelling. The study, by the University of East Anglia (UEA), University of Greenwich and Auckland University of Technology (AUT), investigated how engaging in digital-free tourism impacted travellers’ holiday experiences. It involved losing access to technologies such as mobile phones, laptops, tablets, the Internet, social media and navigation tools. The researchers, who also took part in the study themselves, examined participants’ emotions before they disconnected, during their disconnection, and after they...
Sixty-Four Percent of Travelers Secretly Extend Business Trips for Pleasure – Without Telling Anyone
La Quinta by Wyndham | August 14, 2019
La Quinta® by Wyndham uncovers seasonal bleisure trends with latest survey about summer business travel PARSIPPANY, N.J. (August 14, 2019) — Summer is peak vacation time for most, but for frequent business travelers it can be a struggle to squeeze in a much-needed vacation between work trips. With its latest “La Quinta Means Business” national survey, La Quinta® by Wyndham — a trusted hotel brand among career commuters for more than 50 years — unveils the unique trends and challenges for business travelers during the summer season and busy back-to-school months. The survey offers insight on the distinct experience of busines...
IDeaS Intern Program Voted Top 100 in U.S. on WayUp’s 2019 List
IDeaS | August 14, 2019
WayUp’s panel considered public votes and program highlights to select the nation’s best internship opportunities Tweet This: @IDeaS_RevOpt has been recognized on @WayUp’s Top 100 Internship Programs list! Check out the full list of winners: www.nationalinternday.com/top100-2019 www.ideas.com/news MINNEAPOLIS—Aug. 14, 2019—IDeaS Revenue Solutions, the world’s leading provider of revenue management software and services, has been recognized by WayUp on its Top 100 Internship Programs 2019 list. Determined by a panel of industry experts who consider everything from thousands of public votes to internship program highlights...
Celebrating International Youth Day: 50 Years of Experience With Hilton
Travel with Purpose | August 12, 2019
We all start somewhere. And that somewhere for Carol Brock was and still is Hilton. A career in the hotel industry provides a wealth of opportunity and growth, which is why in honor of International Youth Day, Hilton is celebrating Carol’s 50th anniversary with the company by looking back to where she began – a determined, young woman in Boston bound to break boundaries. “I feel blessed and honored to have spent the last 50 years with Hilton. The company has challenged and helped me to grow both personally and professionally. I have been able to travel the world and work with the best of the best. I have made friends from near and fa...
Southern Lodging Summit Names Chuck Pinkowski Honorary Duck Master for 17th Annual Conference August 27th & 28th in Memphis
The Southern Lodging Summit | August 7, 2019
MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- August, 7, 2019 -- Officials of the Southern Lodging Summit, an annual gathering of hoteliers specializing in development and operations in the southern United States, today announced that Chuck Pinkowski, owner of Pinkowski & Company and conference co-founder, has been named Honorary Duck Master for this year’s conference being held August 27-28, 2019, in Memphis, Tenn. “Without Chuck, there would be no Southern Lodging Summit,” said Wayne Tabor, president, Metropolitan Memphis Hotel Lodging Association. “In addition to helping create a full-fledged conference highlighting the role of Southern hotels in the o...
Teneo Hospitality Group Expands Portfolio of Independent Brands and International Properties, Adds Six Hotels from The Dedica Anthology
The Dedica Anthology | August 6, 2019
Eden Prairie (Minneapolis), MN -- August 6, 2019 -- Teneo Hospitality Group, the premier Global Group Sales Organization, has expanded its portfolio of luxury, unaffiliated brands and international properties, adding six five-star European hotels that now make up the impressive and new The Dedica Anthology collection. The Milan-based company, founded in 2018, brings energy, spirit and imagination to the rebranding and renovation of these spectacular hotels, located in Italy, France, Hungary and the Czech Republic. They span historic icons, Renaissance palaces and a chic and contemporary example of modern Italian style. Each hotel is loca...
Cape Grace’s Concierge: First Woman in Cape Town to Join Society of the Golden Keys
Cape Grace | July 30, 2019
Cape Town, July 30, 2019 -- Cape Grace Concierge Moira Mdakana has been appointed to the elite Les Clefs d’Or – or Society of the Golden Keys. It is an incredible achievement for any concierge, but in Moira’s case, it is made even more remarkable by the fact that she is the first woman in Cape Town to receive her Golden Keys and the first black woman in South Africa to have done so. “I want all young children who are in hotel schools right now and are dreaming of becoming an elite concierge to know that anything is possible through hard work. Your background does not define where you will go in life. I’ve proven that anything is p...
Driftwood Hospitality Management Shares New Insights Into Industry Trends From Property Manager Poll
Driftwood Hospitality Management | July 29, 2019
North Palm Beach, Fla. – July 29, 2019 – Driftwood Hospitality Management (DHM), a North Palm Beach-based hotel management company that operates 70 hotels throughout the United States and Costa Rica, recently surveyed its general managers, seeking to understand this year’s growing hospitality trends and the evolving needs of travelers. “We are constantly looking for ways to improve the guest experience, which is why we prioritize keeping a pulse on emerging industry trends,” said Michael Diaz, chief operating officer for Driftwood Hospitality Management. “Today, our property teams are noticing more and more conversations and in...
Melia Hotels International’s Vice President of The Americas, Alvaro Tejeda Schroeder, Steps Down After 30 Years, Seasoned Hotelier Is Appointed
Meliá Hotels International | July 29, 2019
Miami, FL (July 29 2019) – Alvaro Tejeda Schroeder, Vice President for The Americas for Melia Hotels International (MHI) has stepped down from his role with the Spanish hotel company. Alvaro’s career with Melia Hotels International has spanned almost 30 years in seven different countries and most notably included the roles of Area Vice President for EMEA, as well as his current role, where he was responsible for overseeing all MHI operations in The Americas and Caribbean for the past 10 years. “We greatly appreciate Alvaro’s commitment and invaluable contribution to Melia Hotels International over the past three decades,” said An...
Bob Moore and Nancy Novogrod to Be Inducted Into U.S. Travel Hall of Leaders
U.S. Travel Association | July 29, 2019
Moore, Novogrod to be 99th and 100th honoree installed since 1969 WASHINGTON (July 25, 2019) — Travel industry leaders Bob Moore, former longtime Hilton executive, and Nancy Novogrod, the 21-year editor-in-chief of Travel + Leisure, will be honored as the 2019 inductees into the U.S. Travel Association Hall of Leaders, the organization announced Thursday. Distinguished individuals are named to U.S. Travel's Hall of Leaders for "sustained, noteworthy contributions that have positively impacted the travel industry and raised industry-wide standards." "Bob was an innovator throughout his career, working to evolve business and leisur...
The Rise and Fall of OTAs
Rob Sudakow | July 24, 2019
Is Expedia Destined for Disruption? By Rob Sudakow Travel and Tourism accounted for approximately $8 Trillion of the world economy in 2018 and 10% of the world’s work force - a 6% increase from 2017 and no foreseeable signs of slowing. The travel industry is directly tied to global consumption growth and as wealth and populations continue to grow, demand for travel products will continue to expand. With statistics like this it should come as no surprise that there is a rush to jump into the market. The industry has a long history of failing to drive change and transform internally. “The travel and hospitality industry as a whole has ...
Mobile Key Helps Combat Human Trafficking
Brian Shedd | July 24, 2019
By Brian Shedd The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children reported over 23,000 endangered runaway children in 2018. One in seven were likely victims of child sex trafficking. 80% of human trafficking victims are women and girls and up to 50% are minors. 70% of human trafficking is linked to organized crime. Hotels across the U.S. are being used to shuffle children in and out of rooms for sexual exploitation and hoteliers are increasingly under scrutiny to do something about it. Lawsuits are being filed from Los Angeles to Philadelphia and six-figure settlements are being paid by hotel brands to settle human trafficking lawsuits...
Advance, Elevate, & Evolve at HSMAI’s Sales Leader Forum
HSMAI | July 23, 2019
(McLean, VA, July 23, 2019) HSMAI is proud to announce the first-ever HSMAI Sales Leader Forum, November 5-6, at the Westin Stonebriar Hotel & Golf Club in Frisco, Texas. This unique event advances the hotel sales discipline by elevating the knowledge and skills of off-property sales leaders with new trends, critical insights, and best practices, and their application to leading hotel sales teams in today’s landscape. Save with early rates by registering through October 2, 2019. This event is specifically designed for seasoned sellers who want to fuel, update, and reinvigorate their careers in sales leadership. All hospitality profes...
The Suite Spot for Family Travel: Development Insights for Attracting Summer Travel Demand
Daniel McCoy | July 19, 2019
By Daniel McCoy As a hotel development consultant, my work experience offers my family some helpful insight, and plenty of annoying hotel-geek commentary, in planning our stays. My experience as a family traveler also informs my consulting perspective and helps provide a real-world basis for the advice I provide to clients. The number one insight from my experience on the road with the fam is the value of suites. While typically considered in the context of extended-stay hotel demand, studio and one-bedroom suites offer traveling families much desired space. After hours upon hours crammed in a car together, most families need the extra ...
GDPR Comes to California. Is Your Hotel Compliant?
Tambourine | July 18, 2019
By Tambourine GDPR: One Year Later It all started across the pond, when the European Union’s 2018 General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) took effect on May 25, 2018. It mandated that companies do more to protect the personal data of consumers. In short—if hoteliers marketed to European Union citizens without the proper permission, then they were in violation and could be fined. How that might have looked in practice: If a hotel captured the email of an EU citizen using the wifi on property. And then sent an email to them without having captured the proper consent, they would be in violation. Initially, the new law made...
Global Connections, Inc. (GCI) Beso Del Sol Receives “Loved by Guests Award”
Global Connections, Inc. | July 18, 2019
Hotels.com Celebrates Exceptional Experiences DUNEDIN, FL— (July 18, 2019) –Beso Del Sol Resort (Dunedin, FL), owned and managed by Global Connections, Inc. (GCI), has been selected for the Hotels.com 2018 “Loved by Guests” Award. GCI, the highly respected travel club developer, fulfillment and service provider, owns and manages six resorts in popular vacation destinations. One of these resorts, GCI’s Beso Del Sol, embodies the charm and hospitality of “Old Florida” making it a year- round paradise and a picturesque site for special occasions. Hotels.com “Loved by Guests” global awards celebrate the properties that gue...
New Partnership Is Taking Steps to Prevent Human Trafficking in Maryland Hotels
Businesses Ending Slavery and Trafficking (BEST) | July 18, 2019
Annapolis, MD (July 18, 2019) – The Maryland Hotel Lodging Association (MHLA) today announced a new partnership with the Seattle-based nonprofit, Businesses Ending Slavery and Trafficking (BEST) to make human trafficking awareness training available to all MHLA’s hotel members and their staffs, free of charge. BEST provides expertise in human trafficking prevention, and BEST’s Inhospitable to Human Trafficking training, sponsored by AAHOA, helps hotel employees learn the indicators of human trafficking and how to safely report it to law enforcement. By partnering with BEST to offer this valuable training, the MHLA is helping their membe...
Cvent Unveils Lists of Top Meeting Destinations Worldwide for 2019
Cvent | July 17, 2019
TYSONS CORNER, Va - July 17, 2019 - Cvent, a market-leading meetings, events, and hospitality technology provider, today released its annual lists of the Top Meeting Destinations for meetings and events worldwide. The lists were compiled based on meeting and event booking activity across Cvent’s venue sourcing sites, including the Cvent Supplier Network, through which more than $16 billion in business was sourced in 2018. The annual lists include top destinations located in: United States, Europe, Caribbean & Latin America, Middle East & Africa, Canada, Germany, and United Kingdom. Due to increased sourcing volume to the Asia Pac...
Human Trafficking and the Hotel Industry: How to Combat This Crime Against Women
Dr Sowon Kim | July 17, 2019
Why hotels are vulnerable to human trafficking, how to identify the critical signs of trafficking and what can be done to prevent it? By Dr. Sowon Kim The EHL Women in Leadership (WIL) Expert Series had the privilege to welcome Prof. Dr. Maureen Brookes of the Oxford School of Hospitality Management (Oxford Brookes University) to share her expertise on the topic of human trafficking. Drawing on her research, which has been funded by the European Commission, she helped our audience to understand why hotels are vulnerable to human trafficking and how to identify the critical intervention points within hotels where signs of trafficking ca...
Call for Nominations! HSMAI Lifetime Achievement Awards and Top 25 Extraordinary Minds of 2019
HSMAI | July 17, 2019
(McLean, VA, July 17, 2019) - Nominations are officially open for the Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI) Americas Lifetime Achievement and Top 25 Extraordinary Minds in Sales, Marketing, and Revenue Optimization awards. Honorees will be recognized during the HSMAI Adrian Awards Dinner Reception & Gala on January 21, 2020, at the New York Marriott Marquis. HSMAI’s Albert E. Koehl Award for Lifetime Achievement in Hospitality Marketing, Winthrop W. Grice Award for Lifetime Achievement in Hospitality Public Relations, and Lifetime Achievement Award in Hospitality Sales recognize hospitality professiona...
A Story About a Dog Who Had His Day … and the Innovative Foster Dog Program Run by a Boutique Hotel
McKibbon Hospitality | July 16, 2019
In March of 2017, a friend sent Ashley Bush a photo of an adorable little dog living the high life in the lobby of the Aloft Tallahassee Downtown. Chester, a rescue, was part of the hotel’s foster dog program. Smitten by the picture, Ashley stopped in for a visit. The Leon County Humane Society placed Chester, a Pekingise/Chihuahua mix, at Aloft for his effervescence, abundant cuteness and ability to thrive in the busy environment of a hotel lobby. If Chester needed some private time, he could retire to his doghouse, a custom-built replica of the hotel. Ashley felt an immediate connection with Chester. “I put him on a leash and took...
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