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Industry Happenings
Colombia’s 99-room Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites Bogota Zona Financiera Opens
Holiday Inn Express Hotels | December 16, 2014
MIAMI (Dec. 16, 2014) - InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), one of the world's leading hotel companies, announces the opening of the Holiday Inn Express® Hotel & Suites Bogota Zona Financiera. The new-build, 99-room hotel is a LEED Gold certified property and is located in the heart of Bogota's financial district at Carrera 7 N. 67-39. The hotel is part of a mixed-use development comprised of two towers, one of which houses the hotel and a second offices and retail stores. The new Holiday Inn Express & Suites Bogota Zona Financiera hotel is the fifth IHG-branded hotel in Bogota and is 15 miles from El Dorado International Airp...
InnLink Certified as TripConnect Premium Partner by TripAdvisor
InnLink Central Reservation Services (an IHS company) | December 16, 2014
Continues Providing Hotels with More Low Cost Distribution Options Hendersonville, TN - December 16, 2014 - InnLink Central Reservation Services today announced that is has been certified as a TripConnect Premium Partner offering direct booking connectivity for independent hotels on TripAdvisor through the new TripConnect® instant booking feature. TripConnect instant booking allows travelers to make a hotel reservation on TripAdvisor without leaving the site experience. The reservation is delivered directly to the property via InnLink and includes all guest information. This is a powerful and competitive new tool for independent hotels...
The 458-room Sanya Marriott Hotel Dadonghai Bay Opens on China’s Hainan Island
Marriott Hotels | December 16, 2014
Sanya, December 15, 2014 – Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ: MAR) is proud to announce the opening of its third hotel under the flagship Marriott Hotels brand in Hainan Province, China – Sanya Marriott Hotel Dadonghai Bay. The 458-room resort hotel sits at the foot of the picturesque Luhuitou Mountain and overlooks the beachfront and ocean. The hotel features two iconic buildings landscaped around four outdoor pools including one infinity-edged pool, luxuriant tropical gardens and a grand seafront lawn, plus the debut of an exciting new Marriott dining concept in China. Known as the 'Hawaii of China', Sanya is China's most popul...
Revenue Management Between Displacement Calculation and Analysis
Ahmed Mahmoud | December 16, 2014
By Ahmed Mahmoud It's usually a safe bet to assume that any hotel would like to increase its revenue and acquire more profits. High-performing hotels foster a culture of constant improvement and regularly ask, "How can we grow and sustain increasing levels of income?" Revenue growth and exploring new revenue resources is the aim for everyone and it is everyone's business, so why can't we make it part of everyone's daily work routine. Every employee wants to be part of a company's growth agenda, but most don't know how. Hotel management needs to provide them with both information and tools, starting with making revenue growth an inherent...
Dublin Set for Hotel Growth as Ireland’s Recovery Continues Reveals HVS Report
HVS | December 16, 2014
December 16 2014, London: With Dublin's economic recovery well underway the city is now offering exciting opportunities for hotel developers, particularly in the luxury and economy sectors, according to a new report from global hotel consultancy HVS London. Hotel values continue to rise in Dublin as investment gains momentum. This year saw nine hotels with a value of over €7.5 million gaining new owners compared with just two sales at that level in 2012. Furthermore, the average room value of Dublin's hotels rose by 6.6% in 2013 to €179,400 with values expected to rise further to €212,000 by 2018. Ireland's hotel sector experience...
Softscribe Inc. Signs Revcaster
Softscribe Inc. | December 16, 2014
Award Winning Tech PR Firm Leads by Example, Signs New Clients, Launches Fresh, Mobile-Optimized Website Atlanta - December 16, 2014 - Softscribe Inc., an award-winning technology PR firm, announced it signed Revcaster, the trusted leader in real-time hotel rate shopping tools. Revcaster's competitive rate shopping tools for hotels are easier to use, friendlier, and more flexible than other options. Softscribe Inc. is a top PR firm respected for delivering significant business growth for its best-in-class technology clients. Julie Keyser-Squires, CEO, Softscribe Inc. "Revcaster's impressive installed base of 5,000 properties is due, in ...
Magnolia Lodging Opens the 114-room Hampton Inn & Suites Dallas/Plano-East in Texas
Hampton Hotels | December 16, 2014
December 16, 2014 - PLANO, Texas and MCLEAN, Va. - Hampton Hotels, Hilton Worldwide's global brand of more than 1,900 mid-priced Hampton Inn, Hampton Inn & Suites, and Hampton by Hilton hotels, today announced the official opening of its newest property, the 114-room Hampton Inn & Suites Dallas/Plano-East located at 2813 E. President George Bush Highway in Plano. The hotel is owned and managed by Magnolia Lodging, LLC. It is the 18th Hampton property in the Dallas area. "Our new property is a perfect choice for travelers who are visiting the Dallas/Plano area," said Jeff Dillard, general manager. "In addition to our convenient l...
IHG Signs Two InterContinental® Hotels in Europe; In Dublin, Ireland and in Baku, Azerbaijan
IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) | December 16, 2014
16 December, 2014 - From 1 January, 2015 InterContinental Dublin will operate under a franchise agreement with Ballsbridge Hotel Limited, an affiliate of London & Regional Properties. It will be located in the former Four Seasons Hotel Dublin, one of Ireland's top-rated hotels. Situated in Dublin's prestigious neighbourhood Ballsbridge, the hotel features 197 guest rooms inclusive of 58 suites, an indoor swimming pool, spa & fitness centre, two restaurants and two bars. It also boasts impressive meeting and event space with two ballrooms totalling more than 15,000 square feet (over 1,400 square meters). Meanwhile InterContinenta...
Mandarin Oriental, Boston Gives Guests Real-Time Holiday Travel Information from Flyte Systems
Flyte Systems | December 16, 2014
Guests Confirm Travel Plans on Their Guestroom Television before Leaving for Logan International Airport; FlyteChannel Keeps Guests Comfortable during Delays CHICAGO, IL - December 16, 2014 - Mandarin Oriental, Boston gives guests the gift of more comfortable - and confident - travel this holiday season by implementing FlyteChannel onto all of their guestrooms televisions. FlyteChannel, developed by Flyte Systems, provides real-time airline flight information for Boston's Logan International Airport. Flyte Systems is the leading provider of cost effective airport travel information displays and digital signage content for the hospitali...
JLL’s Hotels & Hospitality Group Promotes Nicholas Meli to Vice President
JLL's Hotels & Hospitality Group | December 16, 2014
In order to fully meet our clients' needs across our multiple business lines, JLL has expanded our presence in Florida and promoted Nicholas Meli to Vice President, Investment Sales in JLL's Miami office. Mr. Meli will focus primarily on expanding our select service/middle market investment sales practice throughout the southeast region, with a specific focus on the state of Florida, by continuing to work with Managing Directors Al Calhoun and Mark Fair in Atlanta, as well as with Managing Director Gregory Rumpel in Miami. Having completed a variety of national and regional assignments with a cumulative value of nearly $2 billio...
IHG Agrees to Acquire Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants for $430 Million
IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) | December 16, 2014
16 December, 2014 Highlights: IHG has agreed to acquire Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants ("Kimpton") for $430 million in cash. Kimpton is the world's largest independent boutique hotel operator and a sophisticated food and beverage operator. Kimpton is a fully asset-light business that manages 62 hotels in the most attractive cities and resorts in the US with a further 16 hotels in the pipeline. It operates 71 hotel-based destination restaurants and bars. Acquisition makes IHG the clear market leader in the boutique segment, the fastest growing segment in the industry. Highly complementary with IHG's Hotel Indigo and EVEN Hotels b...
2014: A Year of Digital Innovation and Success for HeBS Digital & Client Portfolio
HeBS Digital | December 16, 2014
NEW YORK, NY December 16, 2014 - As the year comes to an end, HeBS Digital, the industry's leading digital technology, full-service hotel digital marketing, website design and direct online channel consulting firm, once again demonstrated its ability to drive results and innovative strategies for its hospitality clients. With multiple established best practices and new revenue-driving digital technologies released this year, clients were set up for success in 2014 and the results speak for themselves. This year, HeBS Digital and its hospitality clients took home 29 major industry awards that ranged across the hotel digital marketing spe...
Owned by The Hanini Group & Managed by Crestline Hotels, 108-room Hotel Indigo Newark Downtown Opens
December 16, 2014
15 December, 2014 - ATLANTA – InterContinental Hotels Group's (IHG) Hotel Indigo® brand has opened its third hotel in the New York Metro area, the 108-room Hotel Indigo Newark Downtown. Located at 810 Broad Street, this unique hotel is in the historic National State Bank Building and sits on one of the busiest corners in New Jersey, at the intersection of business, retail and culture – making it easy to walk around the neighborhood and discover the local scene. The boutique hotel celebrates Newark's rich history of innovation and commerce, telling the story of modern innovation over time, including a young Thomas Edison's work to i...
Rethinking Products to Draw Closer Ties
Georges Panayotis | December 16, 2014
by Georges Panayotis Whether it's a car or a telephone, staging the launch of each new commodity heightens the consumer's anticipation of innovations. The idea is to create an emotional shock around a brand and stimulate closer ties with its followers. What is true for these sectors is true for all aspects of everyday life and the hotel industry is no exception. Forty years ago or so, its transformation was driven by the arrival of concepts, developed broad scale by inspired pioneers, resulting in a community of users seduced by innovation with each new arrival on the market. And then, years after, it became necessary to better manage a...
RIU Hotels & Resorts to Open Complex of Three Hotels on Mauritius through Renovation & Conversion
RIU | December 16, 2014
PALMA DE MALLORCA, Spain, December 16, 2014 - RIU Hotels & Resorts will add a new destination to its portfolio with the opening of three hotels making up the new RIU Resort located on the glorious Le Morne peninsula on the island of Mauritius. The complex includes the Riu Le Morne (Adults Only by RIU), Riu Creole and Riu Coral. The hotels are currently closed for refurbishment to adapt facilities to the RIU standard of service, involving a total investment of around 70 million Euros. The three hotels, which are on the beach front, all have four stars and offer the recognized RIU All Inclusive 24-hour service. The Riu Creole and Riu ...
Benchmark Names Edita Matic Director of Sales & Revenue Management for FL’s Marenas Beach Resort
Marenas Beach Resort | December 15, 2014
The Woodlands (Houston), Texas, December 15, 2014 - Benchmark Hospitality International®, a leading U.S.-based hospitality management company, has named Edita Matic director of sales and revenue management for Marenas Beach Resort, located in Sunny Isles Beach, Florida, north of Miami. Rikki Boparai, managing director of the Personal Luxury collection of Florida, made the announcement. "It is a pleasure to announce Edita's new position within our company and our resort," said Mr. Boparai. "She is a superbly talented professional who brings vast knowledge of our market and our property to her new role. We congratulate Edita on this new ...
New Castle Promotes Lou Gaudio to General Manager of the 124-room Hilton Garden Inn, Portland, Maine
New Castle Hotels & Resorts | December 15, 2014
SHELTON, Conn. - December 15, 2014 - Officials of New Castle Hotels & Resorts, a leading hotel owner, operator and developer, today announced the promotion of Lou Gaudio to general manager of the newly renovated and expanded Hilton Garden Inn, at Portland, Maine's International Jetport. Gaudio previously was assistant general manager at the Sheraton Tarrytown in Tarrytown N.Y. and has been with New Castle since 2006 when he joined the company as the rooms division manager at the Woodcliff Lake Hilton. Earlier in his career, Gaudio held varying management positions for Westin branded hotels in Times Square, Philadelphia and Princeton...
Aimbridge Hospitality to Manage Gatehouse Capital’s New Midlothian Marriott Courtyard in Texas
Aimbridge Hospitality | December 15, 2014
Dallas, Texas (December 15, 2014) - Aimbridge Hospitality has been awarded the management contract for the new Courtyard by Marriott Hotel in Midlothian, Texas, to begin construction this month. Developed by Gatehouse Capital Corporation of Dallas, the hotel is located adjacent to the Midlothian Conference Center and will feature 105 guestrooms, flexible meeting space, a multi sport play court, swimming pool and children's outdoor play area. An accelerated construction schedule will result in a late 2015 opening. "Aimbridge Hospitality is delighted to be awarded this opportunity in Midlothian. Gatehouse Capital will deliver an excepti...
Congress Reauthorizes Brand USA; News Welcomed by Hotel Industry
American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA) | December 15, 2014
Washington, D.C. - December 15, 2014 - The American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA) praised both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate for agreeing to reauthorize Brand USA as part of the omnibus spending bill to fund the government. As the sole national association representing all segments of the 1.8 million-employee lodging industry, AH&LA pressed Members of Congress to continue this critical program with letters, meetings and phone calls, and today welcomed the final Senate vote which sent the legislation to the President's desk for signature. "Consensus and partnership are two words not often uttered...
AH&LA Says NLRB Ambush Rule Unfairly Tilts Playing Field For Unions
American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA) | December 15, 2014
Washington, D.C. - December 15, 2014 - Today, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) released its final rule on governing representation-case procedures, also known as the "Ambush Rule." The rule significantly alters the timeframe for representation elections in the workplace, shortening it from the current median time of 38 days down to as few as 10 days. The NLRB decision also tilts the scale in favor of unions by forcing employers to provide a list of prospective voters with their job classifications, shifts and work locations to the NLRB and the union, and restricting communication between employers and employees prior to a union...
Dur Hospitality & IHG Sign Development Agreement to Expand Holiday Inn & Suites Footprint in KSA
IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) | December 15, 2014
15 December, 2014 - InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) has today announced the signing of a master development agreement (MDA) with Dur Hospitality Company (formerly Saudi Hotels and Resorts Co or SHARACO) for the franchise of a number of Holiday Inn & Suites across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). The agreement will see a number of Holiday Inn & Suites branded hotels developed across KSA over the next five years, significantly enhancing the brand's footprint in the Kingdom. Pascal Gauvin, Chief Operating Officer, India, Middle East & Africa, IHG, said: "We have been in Saudi Arabia nearly 40 years and as a key market for...
Owned by Terranum, the Newly Built 168-key W Bogota Opens in Colombia
W Hotels Worldwide | December 15, 2014
December 15, 2014 - BOGOTA, Colombia - W® Hotels Worldwide, part of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:HOT), today debuted in Colombia with the unveiling of W Bogota. The new hotel electrifies Bogota's hospitality scene by mixing the W brand's 24/7 attitude, distinct interpretation of modern luxury, and unprecedented insider access to what's new and next in design, fashion and music in South America's new capital of cool. "The opening of W Bogota is a milestone in Colombia's hotel landscape, setting the stage for a redefined luxury experience in one of the world's most vibrant destinations," said Paul James, Global Bra...
Starwood and Hoteli Dubrovacka Rivijera d.d. to Open Sheraton Dubrovnik Riviera in Croatia in 2015
Sheraton Hotels & Resorts | December 15, 2014
December 15, 2014 - DUBROVNIK, Croatia - Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:HOT) today announced that it has signed an agreement with Hoteli Dubrovacka Rivijera d.d. to open a new Sheraton hotel in Dubrovnik, one of the most popular tourist destinations in the Mediterranean. Scheduled to open in the second quarter of 2015, Sheraton Dubrovnik Riviera Hotel will mark Starwood's entry into Dubrovnik and the company's fourth hotel in Croatia. "We are pleased to expand into our third partnership with HUP Zagreb d.d. in Croatia and look forward to introducing the Sheraton brand into the growing European resort market of Dubro...
Accor and Huazhu Hotels Group Form Alliance in China with More than 2,000 Hotels
Accor | December 15, 2014
December 15, 2014 - Accor and Huazhu Hotels Group (also known as China Lodging Group) today sealed an extensive and long-term alliance to create the most prominent and diversified hotel company in China, with more than 2,000 hotels and the strongest pipeline in the country. "This ground-breaking collaboration will leverage the strengths of Accor's global brands with a leading player in Chinese hospitality," said Sebastien Bazin, Chairman and CEO of Accor. "Joining Huazhu's unparalleled local expertise with our brands will create a hospitality powerhouse which will deliver unprecedented value to both groups and to our customers." Huazhu ...