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Ruffin Properties Completes $5 Million Renovation for 294-room Wichita Marriott in Kansas
March 3, 2014
March 03--A $5 million renovation project at the Wichita Marriott hotel near east Kellogg and the Kansas Turnpike is complete. The 10-month-long project encompassed nearly the entire ground floor of the 11-story, 294-room hotel at 9100 Corporate Hills Drive, said general manager Michelle Ruffin-Stein. "We basically tore everything down and started from scratch," said Ruffin-Stein, who added that the hotel remained in operation throughout the renovation. She said it was the first extensive renovation of the hotel's ground floor since the hotel opened in 1987. It follows a renovation of the hotel's guest rooms about four years ago, she sa
Owner of West Bradenton, FL Farm Sows Seeds for Urban Village Development, Including Two Hotels
March 3, 2014
March 03--WEST BRADENTON -- In fields once famous for thousands of Gladiolus cultivated over the years, Whiting Preston is sowing seeds for an urban village -- housing, retail and hotels called Crossroads -- on 1,322 acres of his family's land. Until now, the Preston family kept its farming operation in an area surrounded by growth, unlike many other neighboring farmers who sold their land and moved their operation to East Manatee. Today, roads and sidewalks intersect through the fields still managed by the 122-year-old family farming company. Preston has decided to embrace the changing landscape but wants to hear from Manatee County re
Absolute Hotel Services Poised to Buy at Least 20 Hotels Abroad in the Next Five Years
March 3, 2014
March 03--Absolute Hotel Services Co, a local hotel management firm, is eyeing the purchase of at least 20 hotels abroad in the next five years. A new company will be established in London in the third quarter. Apart from Absolute Hotel Services, a venture fund with US$100 million in assets is already committed to be one of the key stakeholders. The company will raise funds from other sources in London as well. Chief executive Jonathan Wigley said Absolute is expected to list on the London Stock Exchange. "It's a big change for Absolute this year. We will start buying existing properties mainly in Southeast Asia around the third quarter
Are Fake Service Dogs Becoming a Growing Problem for Your Hotel?
March 3, 2014
March 03--SACRAMENTO -- Jim Power, a licensed trainer of guide dogs for the blind from San Rafael, was visiting a crowded Southern California theme park a week ago when he spied "a 20-something lady...with a Chihuahua on a leash." The small pooch wore a vest identifying it as a service dog. "It didn't particularly look...very legitimate," Power told a state Senate committee looking into what the disabled community, dog trainers and businesses call a growing problem: fake service dogs. Representatives of the California restaurant, retail, hotel, apartment and condominium industries testified that dog owners, who don't want to be separate
Growing Up Trump Means Learning to Thrive in Two Very Different Worlds
March 2, 2014
March 02--Eric Trump is a look-you-in-the-eye kind of guy. Most of the time, anyway. But there are moments when his gaze drifts, as he spots an object of particular interest. A piece of furniture, for instance. "What I'm looking at now -- the mattresses," Trump says while chatting in the master bedroom of a 3,000-square-foot suite on the 60th floor of Trump International Las Vegas. "I'm just reminded of when we were picking out the mattresses for the hotel collection, we went to every mattress company in the world and said, 'Give us your best mattresses.' We laid them out on an empty office floor, and we had 50 mattresses and we sat the
Developer Plans Hampton Inn & Suites on La Crosse, Wisconsin Warehouse Property
March 2, 2014
March 02--When Cliff LeCleir bought 3.62 acres in downtown La Crosse, he knew that a warehouse wasn't the property's best use. But the Great Recession ensued, and Central States Warehouse, in the 300 block of North Second Street, remained a warehouse. But if LeCleir's plans work out, demolition will begin in June to make way for a Hilton-Hampton Inn & Suites Hotel at the north end of downtown La Crosse. "It's located right at the apex of all this development that's coming," LeCleir said Saturday in a telephone interview, referring to the growth of downtown La Crosse to the south and the coming development of the former Mobil Oil pro
Planned Renovation Closure of HI’s Princess Kaiulani Delayed; New Owner to Keep Hotel Open Longer
March 1, 2014
March 01--Kyo-ya Hotels & Resorts LP, owner of the Sheraton hotels in Waikiki, has had a change of heart. After announcing just weeks ago that an ownership change would have no effect on a planned $500 million upgrade of the Princess Kaiu?lani Hotel, the company said Friday that the property will remain open through the end of the first quarter of 2015, and possibly longer, as it re-evaluates the project. The hotel was expected to close Aug. 1 for the largest ever investment in a single Waikiki property. "This is a very important decision and Kyo-ya is very committed to the community and what impact this project will have in Wai?kik
Kokua Hospitality Adds San Francisco’s The Powell Hotel to Portfolio
Kokua Hospitality, LLC | February 28, 2014
This month, Kokua Hospitality, LLC, a hotel management firm based in Chicago, celebrates its eighth anniversary with the addition of the eighth property under their umbrella, The Powell Hotel. The San Francisco hotel joins Kokua's roster of notable properties across the country, including DoubleTree by Hilton Chicago Magnificent Mile, The Allerton Chicago, Inn of Chicago, Aloft National Harbor, Embassy Suites Baltimore- Inner Harbor, and Hyatt Place Waikiki Beach. Kokua Hospitality was conceived in 2006 and today offers adaptive and transparent property management to eight hotels, boasting a total of more than 2,700 rooms nationwide. Th