Other News
Hilton Expands Global Headquarters in Fairfax County, Virginia Creating 350 New Jobs Over Next 5 Years
Fairfax County Economic Development Authority (FCEDA) | August 4, 2022
FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va.--Earlier today, Governor Glenn Youngkin announced that Hilton (NYSE: HLT), the leading global hospitality company, will retain its headquarters in Fairfax County, including significant upgrades to its facility at 7930 Jones Branch Drive in McLean. Hilton will re-imagine its space to create an even more vibrant place to convene and collaborate, fully integrating technology into the office experience to meet the needs of today’s workforce. “Northern Virginia has been Hilton’s home for more than a decade, and the region has played an instrumental role in helping us create the best, most inclusive home for our Team ...
Nobody Asked Me, But… No. 269 Hotel History: Paso Robles Inn (1891)
Stanley Turkel | August 2, 2022
By Stanley Turkel, CMHS For centuries, the local Salinan Indian tribe enjoyed the hot mineral water that bubbled up in what is now the center of Paso Robles. They named it “Heaven’s Spot” because of the curative powers of the sulphur springs. When the Franciscan padres arrived, the tribes’ population was greatly reduced in just four generations. The Spanish colonial government intended for their California missions to be temporary institutions which they mistakenly thought would quickly convert the Indians to Catholicism and teach them Spanish and farming methods. In 1857, James and Daniel Blackburn purchased land in El Paso de ...
Nominations Open for the ISHC Lori Raleigh Award for Emerging Excellence in Hospitality Consulting
ISHC | August 1, 2022
1 August 2022: The International Society of Hospitality Consultants (ISHC) announced that nominations are being accepted for the Lori Raleigh Award for Emerging Excellence in Hospitality Consulting. Launched in 2015 in honor of Lori Raleigh, founder of the Travers Group and executive director of ISHC 2000-2013, the award honors young, successful industry professionals with leadership qualities and a perceived bright future in hospitality consulting. Candidates for The Lori Raleigh Award must be 35 years of age or younger at the time of the award presentation and meet the criteria for ISHC’s associate membership including five years’...
Nobody Asked Me, But… No. 248: Hotel Theresa, New York, N.Y. (1913)
Stanley Turkel | May 11, 2021
by Stanley Turkel, CMHS Hotel History: Hotel Theresa, “The Waldorf of Harlem” (300 rooms) On September 18, 1960, four months before the United States severed diplomatic relations with Cuba, Fidel Castro arrived in New York City for the 15th session of the United Nations General Assembly. He and his staff first checked into the Shelburne Hotel at Lexington Avenue and 37th Street. When the Shelburne demanded $10,000 for alleged damage that included cooking chickens in their rooms, the Castro entourage moved to the Hotel Theresa in Harlem. Castro’s group rented eighty rooms for a total of $800 per day. The Theresa was the beneficiar...
Ronald McDonald House Charities® of Greater Washington D.C. Adds Amazon Echo Devices, Powered by Volara, to Make Stays Easier for Families
Volara | May 10, 2021
New York — May 10, 2021 — Ronald McDonald House Charities® of Greater Washington, D.C. (RMHCDC), has equipped its newly renovated rooms with Amazon Echo devices, powered by Volara, to provide families of locally hospitalized children with access to information and services on voice command. The goal of RMHCDC is to help families faced with pediatric illness to cope better and focus on the needs of their sick child. Volara — leveraging its real-time conversation management software and secure integrations hub — is helping RMHCDC meet that goal with Alexa. “We want to make the stays for families easier and more convenient,” s...
Hyatt Regency Austin hotel sells for $161 million
March 19, 2021
The 448-room Hyatt Regency Austin overlooking Lady Bird Lake has changed hands. Bethesda, Md.-based Host Hotels & Resorts said it purchased the hotel for about $161 million in cash. The acquisition came ahead of a planned foreclosure auction of the property, Host Hotels said. Host Hotels is the nation’s largest real estate investment trust in the lodging sector. The hotel's previous owner is listed as Tantallon Austin Hotel LLC by the Travis Central Appraisal District. The appraisal district valued the property at $90.8 million in 2020, down from $96.9 million in 2019. The hotel industry has been among the sectors of the econom...
117-year-old St. Francis Hotel hopes S.F. tourism rebounds this year: ‘I keep telling people to hang on’
February 17, 2021
Feb. 17—The tourists packing the lobby to check into one of the hotel's 1,200 rooms have almost entirely vanished. The locals visiting for a cocktail aren't venturing out much these days. Nobody's uttering that famous San Francisco phrase, "Meet me at the clock!" and finding their date for the evening at the hotel's huge timepiece. Wandering around the eerily empty St. Francis Hotel on San Francisco's Union Square the other day sparked memories of a joyful, thriving city, but was also somewhat depressing. The glass elevator had the same stunning views of the city skyline, but it was a lonely ride. To see one of the city's oldest, most...
Hotels in New Orleans expected a boost during Mardi Gras. Instead, they saw sharp drops in occupancy.
February 17, 2021
The chance that New Orleans might see a modest boost to tourism during this year's final days of Carnival, still a hope among some hotels and business owners earlier this month, has faded. A little more than a week ago, the city's biggest hotels were expecting that bookings would reach as high as 60% on the season's most popular weekend just ahead of Fat Tuesday. But outrage across the city over large crowds on Bourbon Street in recent weeks, and the response by Mayor LaToya Cantrell to step up enforcement, shutter the city's bars until Ash Wednesday and restrict access to popular gathering spots, appears to have dissuaded any last-minu...
Generation Hospitality Acquires Sheraton Metairie New Orleans Hotel
February 17, 2021
Feb. 17—The Sheraton Metairie New Orleans Hotel, one of the largest hotels in Jefferson Parish, has been sold to an Atlanta-based family of hoteliers. The hotel, which is located across the street from the 22-story Galleria office complex by the I-10 clover junction at North Causeway Boulevard, was sold to Jamal and Shereza Tajuddin, whose firm Generation Hospitality will operate it, according to HREC, the brokerage firm that handled the transaction. The seller was Indianapolis-based Hotel Capital, a private equity real estate investment firm that bought the 181-room hotel in 2017 from a consortium comprised of JDC Holdings, Songhy Hi...
Uphill battle for Singapore hotels despite boost from staycations in December
February 17, 2021
SINGAPORE (The Straits Times/ANN) — Hotels may have experienced a boost during the December break thanks to the tourism vouchers and the school holidays, but they continue to face an uphill struggle this year without international travellers. Yet they remain cautiously hopeful, with some looking to events and new concepts to draw locals in. The Singapore Hotel Association noted that although official figures for December are not out yet, its member hotels have reported an increase in bookings due to the school holidays and redemption of SingapoRediscovers Vouchers. The association has about 160 member hotels. "Given the sustaine...
Once creepy ‘Silence of the Lambs’ house to become a bed and breakfast
February 15, 2021
It rubs the lotion on its skin — then everyone goes out back to enjoy a swim. The once-frightening Pennsylvania house that serial killer Buffalo Bill called home in “Silence of the Lambs” is being converted to a bed and breakfast, featuring an in-ground pool and only steps from the Youghiogheny River. There’s also a vintage railroad caboose in the backyard which, according to Trib Live, could be turned into a pool house. New York City native Chris Rowan — a theatrical art director who purchased the property last month — says his plans to spruce up the 111-year-old house includes decor that will appeal to “Lambs” fans. ...
Hotel Investing in the Uncertain Pandemic Climate
Marcus & Millichap | April 8, 2020
As we commence a new quarter in 2020, facing heavy headwinds in the face of the new decade, it is more important than ever to develop a plan to work through this pandemic. There is still so much uncertainty, yet it is our responsibility as business professionals to develop a plan to prepare ourselves for the worst-case scenario. The good news is however, that our economy is taking action to assist our business. The U.S Small Business Administration 504 program is providing loans with the same type of long-term, fixed-rate financing enjoyed by larger firms, denoted by interest rates equivalent to favorable bond market rates. Businesses are el...
MGM Resorts’ Entertainment Partners Unite in Unprecedented Support for Company’s Employees During COVID-19 Crisis
MGM Resorts | April 8, 2020
LAS VEGAS (April 8, 2020) – MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM) today recognized the support of many of its resident entertainment partners who generously donated to the company’s Employee Emergency Grant Fund in support of those impacted economically by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. David Copperfield, Jay Leno, Bill Maher, Kathleen Madigan, David Spade, Boyz II Men, Brad Garrett, Carrot Top, Terry Fator, Ray Romano, Jabbawockeez, Shin Lim, Thunder from Down Under, Hans Klok, Australian Bee Gees, Fantasy and Bill Blumenreich Presents each showed their support for the MGM Resorts family this week with a donation to the fund....
MGM Resorts Statement on Departure of Governor Sandoval
MGM Resorts International | April 1, 2020
LAS VEGAS, April 1, 2020 - MGM Resorts International ("the Company" or "MGM Resorts") (NYSE: MGM) today announced that former Governor and MGM Resorts President of Global Gaming Development Brian Sandoval will be leaving the company to pursue the position of President of the University of Nevada, Reno. "We are grateful to Governor Sandoval for all that he has accomplished in his time at MGM Resorts. He helped to advance our efforts in Japan, in jurisdictions where we were seeking expanded access, and areas where we pursued sports betting opportunities," said Acting CEO and President Bill Hornbuckle. "We wish him the very best in pursuit ...
The Guestbook CEO James Gancos Chosen to Join Expert Panel at HSMAI Marketing Strategy Conference
The Guest Book | January 16, 2020
Founder of cash back rewards innovator The Guestbook to participate in educational panel at leading hotel industry marketing forum next week LOS ANGELES — January 16, 2019 — The Guestbook, the world's largest rewards program for independent and boutique hotels, today announces that the company’s CEO and founder, James Gancos was selected by Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI) to participate in a panel of hotel industry thought leaders at its 2020 Marketing Strategy Conference, taking place next week in New York. The panel discussion, entitled, “The Evolving Loyalty Landscape” will be held Wednes...
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Today's News
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