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Industry Happenings
Marseilles Hotel South Beach Celebrates Miami Beach’s Centennial Birthday
Marseilles Hotel | March 5, 2015
Marseilles Hotel South Beach is celebrating Miami Beach's 100th birthday in 2015 with special rates. Guests will receive $20 off the best available rate and a complimentary upgrade to a deluxe oceanfront room during their stay at this Art Deco jewel in the heart of South Beach. The offer is available through March 15, 2015. Marseilles Hotel is in the heart of Miami Beach's art deco district, with international culture and nightlife from sunrise to sunset. Recent renovations are completed in all 112 guestrooms, including five oceanfront deluxe rooms and eight junior suites. Each room is equipped with double or king beds with 300 thread c...
Tryperion & Vesta Joint Venture Acquires Iconic Riverhouse Hotel & Convention Center in Bend, Oregon
Tryperion Partners | March 5, 2015
March 05, 2015, LOS ANGELES -- A joint venture between Tryperion Partners and Vesta Hospitality has acquired the Riverhouse Hotel & Convention Center, a 220-room full-service hotel and 53,000-square-foot state-of-the-art convention center strategically located along the Deschutes River in Bend, Oregon. In addition to its prime riverfront accommodations and unrivalled conference facilities, the Riverhouse offers guests access to walking and hiking trails surrounding the Deschutes River, close proximity to Bend's numerous retail districts and breweries, and a short commute to the famed Mt. Bachelor Ski Resort. The joint venture will i...
AJ Capital Partners Acquires Former Doubletree by Hilton Hotel Richmond Downtown
AJ Capital Partners | March 5, 2015
Now Closed to Convert and Open as Graduate Richmond Hotel in Richmond, Virginia in Early 2016 Richmond, Va. - AJ Capital Partners is pleased to announce that it has acquired the former Doubletree by Hilton Hotel Richmond Downtown in Richmond, Virginia. As of today, the property will be closed to facilitate a comprehensive renovation and will open as the Graduate Richmond in early 2016. The 200 room full-service hotel is located on Franklin Street, ideally located one block from Virginia Commonwealth University, walking distance to the Virginia State Capitol, downtown Richmond and the Broad Street dining and entertainment district. Creat...
Leonardo Hotels to Open Newly Rebranded Leonardo Hotel London Heathrow Airport
Leonardo Hotel London Heathrow Airport | March 5, 2015
BERLIN, March 5, 2015 Leonardo Hotels opens its first UK hotel. The group has agreed a new 25-year lease with The Standard Life Investments Pooled Pension Property Fund. Opening on 16 March in the former Holiday Inn on Bath Road, Heathrow, the 230-room hotel has been re-branded as the Leonardo Hotel London Heathrow Airport. It will benefit from a substantial refurbishment, bringing it in line with the distinctive Leonardo Hotels 'look and feel' that is already well established in a growing number of key European cities, such as Antwerp, Berlin, Bruges, Budapest, Frankfurt, Munich, Vienna, and Zurich, as well as across Israel. Saar Sharo...
Africa Hospitality Investments to Open New DoubleTree by Hilton Kinshasa – The Stanley
DoubleTree By Hilton | March 5, 2015
A conversion from its previous designation as the French Embassy in the Capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo KINSHASA, DRC and MCLEAN, Va. - Hilton Worldwide, the world's fastest growing hospitality company, today announced the signing of a franchise agreement with Africa Hospitality Investments to open the full-service DoubleTree by Hilton Kinshasa - The Stanley. Located in the bustling Capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the signing marks the arrival of Hilton Worldwide to one of Africa's largest urban areas. Patrick Fitzgibbon, senior vice president of development, Europe and Africa, for Hilton Worldwide, said, "Our f...
Hotelogix Cloud-Based PMS Helping Bond Hotel Boost Occupancy from 55 percent to 95 percent
Hotelogix | March 5, 2015
Independent hotel in Boise transitions transient roomnights to seven-day minimum extended stays - thanks to the raised occupancy [SAN JOSE, CALIF. - March 5, 2015] - When The Bond Hotel and Extended Stay in Boise, Idaho, was purchased by United Hospitality LLC, owner Jason Purkiss noticed that: the 57-room mixed-use ApartHotel was operating without a property-management system. Immediately, Purkiss began a search for a cloud-based PMS; his choice was Hotelogix. Almost immediately after installation, occupancy at the property jumped from 55 percent to 95 percent. "This property operated for many years without a PMS, and it proved to...
Led by GM, Marisol Colon, Phase One Renovation of Two Puerto Rico Embassy Suites Complete
Embassy Suites San Juan Hotel & Casino | March 5, 2015
San Juan, PUERTO RICO - Embassy Suites hotels in Puerto Rico announce the completion of the first phase of a renovation campaign at Embassy Suites San Juan Hotel & Casino and Embassy Suites Dorado del Mar Beach Resort, including a full renovation of all suites at the San Juan hotel and bathroom upgrades in all suites at the Dorado resort. "We are thrilled to welcome travelers to our newly renovated properties," said Marisol Colon, cluster general manager, Embassy Suites Hotels, Puerto Rico. "As part of our effort to continuously offer best in class service and a superior upscale product, both the Embassy Suites hotel in San Juan and...
Hotel AG Continues Closing Pace
Hotel AG | March 5, 2015
ATLANTA - March 5, 2015 - Hotel Assets Group, LLC (Hotel AG), announced today the firm continues to see a rapid pace of closings. The firm has sold or advised on 195 separate hotel transactions for the last trailing 24 months. A few of the recent closings in 2015 included a full-service resort hotel in Oregon that sold for $143,000 a room, a full-service hotel in historic downtown Savannah that sold for $220,000 a room, a Hyatt Place and Courtyard by Marriott located in the Upper Midwest, and a high-rise full-service beach front hotel located in Daytona Beach. The firm is 250% ahead in closings compared to the same period last year. Cur...
Interel’s connectBsmart Bluetooth Beacons Named Top Hotel Technology Innovation by HTNG Members
Hotel Technology Next Generation | March 5, 2015
Revinate and IDeaS Products Earn Runner-Up Titles CHICAGO (March 5, 2015) – Hotel Technology Next Generation (HTNG), the membership association that unites the world's hospitality companies and technology innovators to solve industry challenges, announced that its members have awarded the 2015 "TechOvation Award" to connectBsmart by Interel. The First Runner-Up technology was inGuest by Revinate, and the Second Runner-Up was IDeaS Function Space Revenue Management by IDeaS. HTNG senior officers and competition emcee David Berkus, presented the awards at the annual HTNG North American Conference in San Antonio on February 25. In accept...
Every Booming Village Needs One and Flip.to Has A Weibel
Flip.to | March 5, 2015
ORLANDO, FL - March 2015 - Flip.to announces the addition of industry veteran, Jeff Weibel as its Chief Marketing Officer. Weibel was one of the original employees at Preview Travel, which was acquired by Travelocity. At Travelocity, Weibel was in charge of building out the merchant hotel and attractions business. He started out as the only Travelocity employee in Orlando and quickly grew his team, with bookings to over $200 million per year. After 18 years of working in travel, Weibel thought he escaped the industry to manage a Real Estate portfolio but was lured back in by Ed St.Onge. "I was working for myself for the last two years b...
AH&LA Praises Senate Vote to Overturn NLRB “Ambush” Election Rules
American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA) | March 5, 2015
Washington, D.C. – March 5, 2015 – The American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA), the sole national association representing all segments of the 1.8 million-employee lodging industry, today welcomed Senate passage of legislation to overturn the National Labor Relations Board's (NLRB's) recent "ambush" elections rule. This rulemaking currently limits the rights of both employees and employers in the hotel industry and others, and jeopardizes businesses' ability to continue growing and creating jobs. "We welcome the leadership of Senator Lamar Alexander and the Senate for their timely, effective action to overturn the NLRB'...
Owned by Penny Ching, the Country Inns & Suites By Carlson, Dixon, CA Opens
Country Inns & Suites By Carlson | March 5, 2015
MINNEAPOLIS (March 5, 2015) – Country Inns & Suites By Carlson, a leading upper-midscale hotel brand, today announced the opening of Country Inn & Suites By Carlson, Dixon, CA. "We're thrilled to expand our brand in California, near Sacramento," said Scott Meyer, senior vice president, Midscale Brands, Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group, Americas. "Guests visiting this all-suite hotel will experience the brand's comfortable accommodations and superior guest service." Country Inns & Suites By Carlson, Dixon, CA will offer guests free high-speed Internet, a fitness center, Read It & Return Lending Library, complimentary weekday...
Loews Hotels CMO Bruce Himelstein On Keeping A Brand And Customer Experience Unique
Loews | March 4, 2015
Loews Hotels & Resorts is not the largest hotel company in the world, but it has been working for the past few years to be the most innovative. Under the marketing leadership of CMO Bruce Himelstein, the company has harnessed social media to be the first to enable bookings via Twitter introducing the option in 2013, and also that year unveiled its $4 million print and digital campaign, "The Room You Need,"—a play on the word "room"—developed with agency Catch New York. Click here to read the article on forbes.com ...
Marriott’s Moxy Hotels to Expand in Europe with Opening of 11 Properties by End of 2016
Marriott International, Inc. | March 4, 2015
March 4, 2015 – Marriott International (NASDAQ: MAR) today officially announces plans to open 2,700 Moxy hotel rooms in key cities throughout Europe by end 2016. With a goal of 150 Moxy hotels and 25,000 rooms by 2020, the company expects to sign at least 4,200 rooms in 2015 alone. The announcement follows the successful debut of Moxy Milan Malpensa, Italy in September 2014 and the news that the brand is entering the U.S market with eight identified properties slated for major metropolitan locations, including three in New York City (Chelsea, Mid-town and Lower Manhattan), San Francisco, Seattle, New Orleans and Chicago. "The launch o...
Interstar and IHG Enter Multiple Development Agreement for 10 Hotels in Germany
IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) | March 4, 2015
4 March, 2015 - InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG®), one of the world's leading hotel companies, has announced the signing of its latest multiple development agreement (MDA) to develop 10 hotels in Germany by 2019 with first time franchisee for the company, Interstar. IHG's growth strategy continues to gain momentum in Germany with over 85 hotels currently either open or planned under MDA agreements. The agreement enables Interstar to develop hotels across two of IHG's brands – Holiday Inn® and Holiday Inn Express®. The 10 hotels will add approximately 1,700 rooms when signed to Germany's current development pipeline of close to 4...
Hospitality Veteran William Blackham Joins Supertel Hospitality as CEO
Supertel Hospitality, Inc. | March 4, 2015
NORFOLK, Neb., March 4, 2015 - Supertel Hospitality, Inc. (NASDAQ: SPPR), a real estate investment trust (REIT), today announced that hospitality and finance veteran William Blackham has joined the company as chief executive officer. Previously, Mr. Blackham was president and CEO of Eagle Hospitality, a hotel REIT which traded on the NYSE and has been active for several decades in entities actively involved in real estate and hospitality development, acquisition and advisory services. He replaces Kelly Walters, who will remain on Supertel's board of directors. Mr. Blackham also was appointed to the Supertel board of directors. "Bill Bla...
Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group, Americas Names Annual Award Winners
Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group | March 4, 2015
MINNEAPOLIS (March 4, 2015) - Carlson Rezidor Hotel Groups, one of the world's largest and most dynamic hotel groups, announced the companies top performers of 2014 at its annual Americas Business Conference last week. "We take this opportunity to celebrate and honor the outstanding people and hotels that make Carlson Rezidor so special by connecting with our customers," said Javier Rosenberg, chief operating officer, Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group, Americas." Rosenberg was joined by David Berg, Carlson's chief operating officer, as they cited the impressive accomplishments and customer accolades for the 2014 award winners. Four people ear...
Noble House Hotels & Resorts Names Michael E. Bloise as Executive Chef to Pelican Grand Beach Resort
Noble House Hotels & Resorts | March 4, 2015
SEATTLE, March 4, 2015 -- Noble House Hotels & Resorts proudly announces the appointment of Michael Bloise as Executive Chef to Pelican Grand Beach Resort, located just steps from the Atlantic in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. In this role, Bloise will oversee all culinary operations for Pelican Grand and its signature waterfront restaurant, OCEAN2000 Restaurant & Lounge, which pays homage to local foodways, devoting itself to the fine combination of great mixology, good times and fresh American fusion cuisine. "We're extremely excited about the unique blend of creativity and the level of passion for cuisine that Chef Michael Bloise brin...
Owned by Lawrenceville LLC & Managed by Colwen Hotels, Fairfield Inn & Suites Boston Cambridge Opens
Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott | March 4, 2015
Cambridge, Massachusetts - March 4, 2015 - The 123-room Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott in Cambridge, Massachusetts is scheduled to open this Friday, with its smart, inventive public space and guest room design highlighted by urban & sophisticated décor. Located at 215 Monsignor O'Brien Highway, the Fairfield Inn & Suites Boston Cambridge will operate as a Marriott franchise, owned by Lawrenceville LLC and managed by Colwen Hotels of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. This Fairfield Inn & Suites will feature a customized décor for the Cambridge market, which enhances the guest experience through flexible features, and a war...
PeakCM Selects American Resort Management to Manage Planned 84 Room Hotel for St. Albans, Vermont
American Resort Management | March 4, 2015
St. Albans, VT – March, 2015 – PeakCM, developer and contractor for the recently announced 84 room downtown St. Albans Hotel has selected American Resort Management, LLC as third party consultants and operators for the project. American Resort Management, LLC and PeakCM are currently in discussions with several national hotel brands to determine which brand would be the best fit for the $11 Million hotel. The new limited-service Hotel will be adjacent to the recently opened state office building. American Resort Management, LLC Senior Vice President of Development & Operations Richard Coleman stated "We have been assisting on th...
Owned by OPREM 390, the 35-key Las Alcobas, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Opens in Mexico City
The Luxury Collection Hotels & Resorts | March 4, 2015
March 04, 2015 - MEXICO CITY - Accelerating growth in dynamic markets worldwide, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:HOT) today announces the debut of Las Alcobas, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Mexico City ideally located in the heart of the posh Polanco district. The opening of Las Alcobas, owned by OPREM 390, highlights Starwood's aggressive expansion in Latin America, where the company now boasts a total portfolio of 94 hotels in Latin America and the Caribbean, with 15 additional hotels in the pipeline set to open by 2017. "The rapid growth of Starwood's luxury brands in Mexico reflects a robust demand for high-end hosp...
Transforming the F&B Department in F&F
Larry Mogelonsky | March 4, 2015
By Larry Mogelonsky, MBA, P. Eng. (www.lma.ca) In the good old days of hospitality, food and beverage was part of the core. Management treated the department with the lofty respect it deserved, not only in differentiating the property, but also because of the profits it delivered. The iconic hotel dining room was an important meeting place in the community it served, often considered the best table in town. Times have changed. Food is clearly important, as witnessed by a myriad of great chefs and restaurant brands associated with and located within hotels. But the drink side of the equation has taken a heavy blow. Alcoholic beverages ar...
Technology and Today’s Hotel Guest
Kevin Edwards, Managing Director, Avenue9 | March 4, 2015
By Kevin Edwards, Managing Director, Avenue9 Whilst there has been a continued investment into increasing the hotel guest experience, the UK hotel industry's general lack of investment in technology and gaining insights from business' data – as well as in its online marketing to potential and existing guests – could become one of the most significant stumbling blocks to the sector capitalising on the current upturn in the UK economy. Given this fact, it was very encouraging to learn that 88 per cent of delegates, polled at the recent HOSPACE 2014 Conference and Exhibition, stated that they were investing in hospitality technology in...
Executive Hotels & Resorts Plans June 2015 Opening of the 163-key Executive Hotel Le Soleil New York
the Executive Group of Companies | March 4, 2015
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - March 4, 2015 - The arrival of the next-generation urban boutique Executive Hotel Le Soleil into the Herald Square/Bryant Park hotel district of Midtown Manhattan promises a unique 21st century recreation, socializing, networking, and business hotel for the burgeoning neighborhood. The Executive Group announced today it plans to open the Executive Hotel Le Soleil New York in June 2015 (www.hotellesoleilny.com); a 163 suite boutique luxury hotel which will be a sister hotel to its already successful Executive Hotel Le Soleil Vancouver. Building off the popularity of the Executive Hotel Le Soleil brand and style of de...