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Jonas Chorum | April 17, 2024
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Sonesta Resorts Sint Maarten Select STS Cloud, ProposalPath and e-Signature to Enhance Group Business Across Oceanfront Properties
SalesAndCatering.com | June 14, 2022
Sonesta Resorts features a duo of stunning oceanfront properties that have experienced great success leveraging SalesAndCatering.com’s suite of hotel sales solutions to drive group business and growth Charleston, SC – (June 14, 2022) - Sonesta Resorts in Sint Maarten has partnered with SalesAndCatering.com to equip their luxury properties with best-in-class sales and catering technology. When considering ways to scale and enhance their industry-leading brand and support growth across both oceanfront properties, Sonesta Resorts selected STS Cloud, ProposalPath, and e-Signature as their platforms of choice. “When vetting prospective...
Four Seasons Resort Langkawi Welcomes New General Manager Ivan Giles
June 13, 2022
From Mexico and Hawaii to Maldives and Malaysia, Ivan Giles brings a wealth of experience in luxury resorts to his new role as General Manager of Four Seasons Resort Langkawi. His international sensibility is complemented by a genuine passion for Langkawi’s unique offerings, making him ideally positioned to reintroduce this one-of-a-kind destination to travellers as Malaysia reopens its borders after nearly two years. Arriving at Four Seasons Resort Langkawi is something of a homecoming for Ivan, who served as the property’s Resort Manager from 2015 to 2017. Now at the helm of this jungle-cloaked hideaway, he is excited for guests t...
Embracing the Efficiency of AI Powered Tech
John Smallwood, President of Travel Outlook | June 9, 2022
How AI Can Facilitate Better Interactions Between Hotel Guests and Employees By John Smallwood, President of Travel Outlook June 2022 Whether management likes to admit it or not, hotels are riddled with inefficiencies. Hotel staff and guests’ interactions are vital in the hospitality industry. Premium service must be hands-on, friendly, and executed with a personal touch. But at times, these interactions can slow down or hinder guests during their stay. Front desk staff may be doing their best to focus on the guests in front of them, but when the phone rings, they must show the caller the same level of service and respect that they...
Why Hotels Must Pay Attention to the Longevity Revolution
Larry and Adam Mogelonsky | June 8, 2022
By Larry and Adam Mogelonsky Behind stagflation, crypto collapses and Ukraine, this news story may not have reached your ears, but it represents one of the most lucrative opportunities to expand your business. Without getting into the science of it, let’s just say that there is a multitude of humble and supremely intelligent doctors around the globe who are working on various life-extension procedures, many of which can find a suitable place in your hotel to offer guests a profound reason to visit as well as a veritable profit center. This has already started with the traditional spa evolving into a wellness center. As these advanced ...
The Dewberry Charleston Sees Monumental ADR Growth & Time-Savings With IDeaS: A Case Study
IDeaS | June 8, 2022
Inside and out, The Dewberry Charleston is a manifestation of founder John Dewberry’s vision of “Southern Reimagined™.” The 155-room independent hotel was brought to life by a team of architects and designers who shared Dewberry’s mission to present Charleston, South Carolina from a uniquely personal perspective. The result is a thoughtfully imagined juxtaposition of past and present that redefines what is possible when historic preservation is paramount. A Revenue-Minded GM Dewberry’s general manager Kristie Rasheed originally joined the property as director of revenue & profit optimization during the hotel’s pre-open...
Hotel Sales: When Product, Process, Place, and Price Are the Same, People Make the Difference
Doug Kennedy | June 7, 2022
By Doug Kennedy Despite the efforts of brand leaders to create meaningful differentiation of hotel flags, when I speak with both professional and social meeting planners, they generally express seeing very little difference, at least within any given market segment. In other words, a core branded Marriott feels an awful lot like a Hilton, Hyatt, or Intercontinental. A Ritz-Carlton seems very similar to a Fairmont or Four Seasons. A Hilton Garden Inn mirrors a Courtyard or Hyatt Place, and a Home2Suites, Residence Inn and Staybridge Suites don’t feel that much different either. It is not just the rooms. When it comes to amenities and s...
Stayntouch PMS Integrates With GoTab POS, Delivering Enhanced Dining Experience for Guests and Increased Revenue for Hotels
Stayntouch | June 7, 2022
Integrated mobile PMS and POS delivers a personalized, flexible and contactless guest experience for hotel guests BETHESDA, Md. — June 7, 2022 — Stayntouch, a global leader in cloud hotel property management systems (PMS) and guest-centric technology, announced a partnership and direct integration with GoTab, an innovative cloud-based platform that helps savvy hoteliers optimize their food and beverage operations using cost-effective, agile and contactless technology. GoTab allows hotels to optimize their dining operations, reduce operating costs and drive incremental F&B revenues. Whether they use GoTab for in-room service or o...
Nobody Asked Me, But… No. 266: Hotel History: The Palace Hotel, San Francisco, California
Stanley Turkel | June 1, 2022
by Stanley Turkel, CMHS Hotel History: The Palace Hotel (1909), San Francisco, Ca (556 rooms) San Francisco and the Palace Hotel have shared a common heritage for more than 140 years. Inspired by a visionary developer, William Chapman Ralston, the Palace Hotel was known as the “Grande Dame of the West”, a hotel of timeless elegance and unprecedented opulence. It was designed by architect John P. Gaynor as the largest, costliest and most luxurious hotel in the world. To finance its $5 million cost, Ralston exhausted his Bank of California which collapsed in late August 1875. Soon thereafter, Ralston’s body was found floating in San...
The Carver Companies Launches Industry First, CARVER the App
Carver Companies | May 25, 2022
ATLANTA, GA – May 25, 2022 – Carver Hotel Group and the Carver Companies, the hospitality infrastructure powerhouse with more than 3,500 task force consultants, is the first in the hospitality world to provide an all-inclusive app designed to support both clients and consultants. CARVER the app will be available for download to both Apple and Android devices beginning May 25, 2022. The first launch of CARVER the app will focus on consultants and will help them easily manage their schedules, update their profiles and present current information to numerous hospitality clients. With this tool, consultants can also efficiently submit invo...
Strength in Average Daily Rate Now Expected to Drive 2022 RevPAR Above 2019 Levels
PwC Hospitality Directions | May 23, 2022
Despite an initial pullback in the recovery timeline caused by a surge in infections from a new omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus in December and January, continued improvement in top-line metrics for US hotels is expected for the remainder of this year and next. While leisure travel continued to drive much of lodging’s demand in Q1, individual business travel and group business have started to emerge as we head into the warmer months. Strong leisure business is expected to cause demand compression over the summer, driving room rates and resultant RevPAR levels to new highs. If tensions ease in Ukraine and immunity levels continue to in...
Guest Loyalty Is Not Dead – It’s Just Really Boring
Ellis Connolly | May 19, 2022
Hey Siri… play Loyalty by Kendrick Lamar By Ellis Connolly Let’s talk about loyalty. We write songs about it; we study it; we try to identify it in friends, potential suitors, colleagues, and customers – loyalty is an omnipresent force in our lives, whether it exists in abundance or, in some cases, is perceivably lacking. Specifically, loyalty has gleaned no shortage of attention over the last few years in the business world. Across industries, marketers and business owners find themselves ruminating over the same question – is loyalty dead? Are modern customers incapable of exhibiting loyalty to the brands they purchase from? I...
Before Covid and After Covid
Larry and Adam Mogelonsky | May 18, 2022
By Larry and Adam Mogelonsky The terms BC (Before Christ) and AD (Anno Domini) define the numerical labels of the Gregorian Calendar that is in use in most of the Western World. For hoteliers, we need to adapt this approach to the world of ‘Before Covid’, which ended in 2019, and ‘After Covid’ which is unfurling before our eyes right now in 2022. The effects of the pandemic were of such significance that making comparisons of AC business to BC results are almost irrelevant. Given that the effects of the coronavirus can be seen as a direct result of the increasing globalization of the world, travel, hotels, restaurants, cruises a...
High Standards: Why Independent Hoteliers Need a PMS Tech Partner That Matches Their Service Culture
Warren Dehan | May 17, 2022
Growing importance of hospitality technology is extending the service culture reach beyond the front desk By Warren Dehan Hospitality is just not like other industries when it comes to giving and receiving customer service. This is a business that is built on patience and understanding, as well as an unwillingness to compromise on quality and effort. These elements are the secret sauce that make hospitality so profitable and rewarding, and it’s why hotels thrive when they share a service culture with like-minded partners. When it comes to technology partnerships, independent hoteliers often lack a safety net when providers fail to ...
Nomadix Appoints Mike Womack VP of Partner Sales, the Americas
Nomadix | May 17, 2022
Expert in wireless technology and customer engagement solutions, Womack will work with distributors and strategic business partners to bring the expansive Nomadix product line across multiple markets LOS ANGELES, Calif. – May 17, 2022 — Nomadix® Inc., a technology leader in the hospitality and multi-tenant industries, today announced the appointment of Mike Womack as vice president of partner sales, the Americas. He brings more than 25 years of sales management and business development experience in the wireless technology solutions and services space. He also has a comprehensive technology background that will enable the company to g...
Sonnenblick-Eichner Company Arranges $50,000,000 of First Mortgage Financing for the Cliffs Hotel & Spa, Pismo Beach, California
Sonnenblick-Eichner Company | May 11, 2022
Beverly Hills, CA – May 11, 2022 – Sonnenblick-Eichner Company has arranged $50 million of long term fixed rate first mortgage financing for the Cliffs Hotel & Spa, a 162-room, full-service, luxury boutique hotel located on a bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean in Pismo Beach, California. The non-recourse loan was funded by an investment bank and priced at 4.8 percent with interest-only payments for the entire term of the loan. Proceeds from the loan provided for a return of equity to the Borrower in order to purchase a partnership interest. Located along California’s central coast, the Cliffs Hotel & Spa features direct...
Invasivorism as the Next Food Trend for Hotels
Larry and Adam Mogelonsky | May 4, 2022
By Larry and Adam Mogelonsky The English language sure loves its neologisms. (Don’t look this one up in your dictionary. It’s not there…yet.) The one in the title adds an ‘ism’ onto ‘invasivore’ where this latter word is ascribed to species that have been accidentally or purposefully introduced into a foreign environment where there are no natural predators to keep their numbers in check, thus diminishing biodiversity. Foremost examples are the African cane toads that have ravaged the Australian continent and the zebra mussels that have similarly become endemic to the Great Lakes. Specific to you, it’s important for hote...
How High Labor Costs Are Taking a Toll on the Hospitality Industry
John Smallwood, President of Travel Outlook | May 4, 2022
The real impact on guests when hotels reduce services By John Smallwood, President of Travel Outlook May 2022 Over the last decade, labor costs have risen sharply. After the pandemic, labor shortages are plaguing businesses across the world, and the hospitality industry is no exception. Demand for workers has never been higher, yet universal labor shortages persist, causing problems for hotels, despite a sharp rise in travel. Two years removed from the pandemic; travel is back in a big way. Hotels everywhere are preparing for what is sure to be a record-breaking summer of travel, but they’re doing so with one hand tied behind their ...
Radisson Collection Hotel, Tallinn in Estonia, Opens Following Extensive 25 Million Euro Renovation
Radisson Hotel Group | May 2, 2022
First Radisson Collection hotel in the Baltics opens in the heart of Tallinn Radisson Hotel Group is proud to announce the debut of its luxury lifestyle, Radisson Collection brand in the Baltics with the opening of Radisson Collection Hotel, Tallinn in Estonia, following an extensive 25 million Euro renovation. Located on Rävala boulevard in Estonia’s charming capital city, Radisson Collection Hotel, Tallinn is the newest Radisson Collection property to open in the Baltics and Estonia’s charming capital city. The hotel’s prime location in the medieval cobblestoned Old Town, home to cafés and shops as well as the Kiek in de Kök,...
Using Soft Metrics to Guide Hotel Operations
Larry and Adam Mogelonsky | April 27, 2022
By Larry and Adam Mogelonsky There are some classic metrics that hotels use to benchmark performance – namely, RevPAR and ADR. If you’ve been reading our column, you’ll know that we are in favor of developing thoroughly connected tech stacks that will allow hotels to measure TRevPAR – total revenue per guest – in order to guide business intelligence and make better decisions about which customers to target. But with more granular operational data tied in, hotels can perhaps measure even more. These might be called ‘soft data’ or ‘soft metrics’ in years past, but now our industry’s systems are becoming advanced enough...
Traveler Trends and Hotel Guest Behavior – What’s Changed, What’s New, What’s Next?
Preetham Shetty | April 26, 2022
By Preetam Shetty There is no denying it – the COVID-19 pandemic inspired a global shift that very few of us saw coming, ushering in a period that was affectionately (and later, tirelessly) referred to as the new normal. For the better part of two years, the public stayed home, donned masks, limited social contact, traded in-person meetings for Zoom meetings, postponed events and celebrations, and, en masse, canceled travel plans for the foreseeable future. While the global economy was under immense pressure with each passing lockdown and new restrictions, few industries were more gravely impacted than travel and tourism. Seemingly ...
HFTP Announces PROVision Partners as Exclusive Sponsor of Entrepreneur 20X Orlando
PROVision Partners | April 21, 2022
The hospitality technology start-up pitch competition will present innovative solutions to a panel of judges and audience at HITEC Orlando on June 29, supported by PROVision Partners as this year’s sponsor. Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP®), producers of the Hospitality Industry Technology Exposition and Conference (HITEC®), is pleased to announce PROVision Partners as the exclusive sponsor of Entrepreneur 20X (E20X) Orlando. The successful E20X pitch competition, featuring pitches from hospitality technology start-ups, will take place as a HITEC Headliner presentation at HITEC Orlando on Wednesday, June 29 b...
Nobody Asked Me, But… No. 264: Hotel History: Palmer House (1871), Chicago, Illinois
Stanley Turkel | April 20, 2022
by Stanley Turkel, CMHS Hotel History: Palmer House, Chicago, IL (1,639 rooms) The original Palmer House was built in 1871 by Potter Palmer who began his career as a bank clerk in upstate New York. He later became a dry-goods store owner in Chicago where he revolutionized the retail trade. He was the first to make big window displays, to use big advertising spaces, to send goods on approval to homes and to hold bargain sales. He became a brilliant hotel man as he applied his successful department store methods to the operation of his hotel. He saw no reason why clerks, chefs and head waiters should not be subject to the same discipline...
Wedding Bells Are Ringing – Are Hotels and Venues Ready to Answer the Demand?
Ryan Hamilton | April 20, 2022
How to perfect your sales process to win more group business and become a sought-after wedding venue By Ryan Hamilton, Co-Founder, SalesAndCatering.com and Bluebuzzard Technology Group Lately, everywhere you turn, there seems to be a tangible shift in energy – an exciting buzz in the air as we await the change of season, with cool spring mornings soon to become warm summer nights. Of course, this isn’t just any seasonal transition; this marks the first ‘normal’ summer most of us will have had in two years due to the pandemic, and it’s easy to understand the anticipation we all feel. But there is, perhaps, no group of people mo...
The Don CeSar Provides “InnSpired” Luxury and Convenience With Guest Experience Mobile App and Integrated Technology Suite From InnSpire
InnSpire | April 19, 2022
Iconic Florida property teams up with leading hotel technology provider to empower guests with unrestricted access to luxury amenities through a comprehensive mobile-based Digital Guest Journey that provides convenience at every touchpoint St. Pete Beach, FL, USA – April 19, 2022 – InnSpire, the leading provider of a comprehensive technology suite that helps drive a seamless, world-class guest experience for some of the world’s most iconic hotels and brands, has partnered with The Don CeSar, a historic property located on Florida’s Gulf Coast, to provide a comprehensive suite of technology solutions designed to maximize and streaml...
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