Trending Stories
The Tricycle of Guest Service Excellence: A Perfect Model For Remarkable Experiences
Doug Kennedy | October 4, 2024
Spokane Tribe Resort & Casino Partners With Travel Outlook to Elevate Guest Service Experience
Travel Outlook, The Premier Hotel Call Centerâ„¢ | October 2, 2024
CATEGORY NAME
Florida Development Group Acquires the 147-key Lauderdale Beachside Hotel in Florida for $17 Million
December 19, 2013
Dec. 19--A foreign investment group has paid $17 million for the Lauderdale Beachside Hotel and says it will renovate the rundown property in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea. Florida Development Group, a team of real estate developers from the Ukraine, bought the 147-room former Howard Johnson's in a bankruptcy auction. Comerica Bank moved to foreclose in 2011, but the owner filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection to stop the repossession. Florida Development also owns the hotel next door, Captain's Quarters. "It's an exciting change for the area," said Linda Worton Jackson, a lawyer for Florida Development. "Their intent is to improve the bea
Hotel Construction is Booming in Vancouver, Washington; Three New Hotels to Bring Nearly 300 Rooms
December 19, 2013
Dec. 19--Hotel construction is once again booming in Vancouver, with projects such as a Hampton Inn and Suites at the former Evergreen Airport under way in a local market that is just now returning to pre-recession occupancy rates. The 99-room Hampton is one of three east Vancouver projects expected to bring nearly 300 new rooms to the area within the next two years. Two other hotel proposals -- a 115-room TownePlace Suites by Marriott and an 83-room Candlewood Suites -- have been hailed as good signs of economic growth with the potential to create hundreds of construction jobs. However, plans for the three hotels to come online all at
Plant City, Florida’s Bankrupt 261-room Red Rose Inn Sells for $1.5 Million
December 19, 2013
Dec. 19--PLANT CITY -- An iconic hotel that has been closed for 17 months might be getting a new owner. Louis Spiro, who lists a Pinellas Park address in court records, has agreed to buy the Red Rose Inn and Suites for $1.5 million. He told bankruptcy court trustee Jerry McHale that he will close on the deal by Friday. Spiro couldn't be reached for comment on his plans for the 261-room hotel that Evelyn and Batista Madonia Sr. shuttered in May 2012 as their finances collapsed. Spiro's attorney, Donald J. Schutz of St. Petersburg, declined comment. The Madonias, who made a fortune in the tomato business but were best known for their hote
What’s Up with No Incentives for $46 million Downtown Kansas City Hotel Project?
December 18, 2013
Dec. 18--Ordinarily, the $46 million hotel planned by a Tennessee firm for the Crossroads Arts District would be considered a no-brainer for tax breaks from the city. It meets all the criteria developers cite for seeking tax-increment financing and/or property tax abatement incentives. To build its 10-story project northeast of 16th Street and Baltimore Avenue, Chartwell Hospitality will have to knock down an old car dealership, clean up the site and build a garage for 166 cars. These are classic infill development hassles, and those added costs are why other developers regularly say they need tax breaks to compete financially with proj
Developer of 47-story, $210 million Center City, PA Project Says Tax Abatement Crucial to Hotel Plan
December 18, 2013
Dec. 18--The sketches were drawn, and the vision of a 47-story, $210-million hotel and condominium in Center City was in place. Developer Carl Dranoff said financing would be 95 percent private -- the only exception being a block of money from the state. He's also counting on the city's 10-year abatement of property taxes. Then the author of a proposal to slash that abatement warned that the developer shouldn't count on it. "If they included abatements within their [financial] plans, then they have more work to do," said Councilman W. Wilson Goode Jr., who is sponsoring a bill that would slash tax abatements for new property owners by m
Bern’s Steak House & Mainsail Lodging Open the 137-room Epicurean Hotel in Tampa, FL
December 18, 2013
Dec. 18--TAMPA -- To celebrate the opening of the food- and wine-inspired Epicurean Hotel, officials swapped the traditional ribbon cutting for a "steak-cutting ceremony" using an aged strip steak cooked by the executive chef in the new culinary classroom. It was a fitting tribute to the late Bern Laxer, founder of the famed Bern's Steak House across the street whose legacy made the hotel possible. The Epicurean Hotel opens today at 1207 S Howard Ave., a partnership between the steak house and Tampa-based Mainsail Lodging and Development Group. Nearly a decade in the making, the 137-room hotel has a restaurant, rooftop bar, wine store,
Is the Historic 116-year-old Belleair, FL Biltmore in its Final Days?
December 18, 2013
Dec. 18--BELLEAIR -- If the Belleview Biltmore were still open, this would be its time to shine. Rows of elaborate gingerbread houses would line common areas. A massive Christmas tree with Victorian era-inspired ornaments would stand in the lobby, and Santa Claus would drop in for Sunday brunch in a round room with panoramic views of the town. Instead, the ceiling is caving in on the round room. The lively seasonal decor for which the resort was known has been replaced by mold, dead wires and bug carcasses. Amid cries for saving the 116-year-old wooden structure, town leaders are ruefully on their way to allowing the property owners to
Bandar Development Plans ‘Boutique’ Hotel and High-End Restaurant for Peabody, Massachusetts
December 18, 2013
Dec. 18--PEABODY -- The city believes a plan to establish a "boutique hotel" and upscale restaurant in Peabody Square's O'Shea Building will be a dramatic step toward the revitalization of the downtown. Bandar Development has announced its intention to establish the restaurant on the ground floor, with rooms and conference centers on the upper floors. The striking facade of the historic structure, at the corner of Main and Foster streets, would remain. "That building represents the cornerstone of our downtown," Mayor Ted Bettencourt said. The restaurant might be more important than the hotel in terms of attracting people downtown, he ad