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Attracting and Catering to Chinese Travelers – It Takes More than Just a Free Breakfast

December 6, 2013

Dec. 06--Yu Chao Liang and his wife saved a few bucks recently by checking into a mid-price chain hotel in Santa Monica for a two-day business trip from Suzhou, China. But they were not impressed. In the room, they found no slippers, teakettles or complimentary toothpaste -- extras that come standard in Chinese hotels. The hot breakfast bar in the lobby was free but it didn't include any of the traditional Chinese breakfast dishes they get back home, like rice porridge. "I can eat almost anything," Yu said, referring to the breakfast at his hotel. "But I won't like it." In hopes of appealing to Chinese travelers like Yu and his wife, so

The 69-room Redbury Hotel Opens in South Beach, Miami Beach, Florida in the Former Fairfax Hotel

December 6, 2013

Dec. 06--The operators of the iconic Raleigh and glitzy SLS South Beach have a new addition in the neighborhood: The Redbury, an East Coast outpost of the Hollywood hotel. Officially open since Dec. 1, the 69-room boutique at 1776 Collins Avenue has a rock and roll vibe, with record players in every room and vinyl selections curated by Capitol Records. Lorenzo, the restaurant from James Beard Award-winning chef Tony Mantuano is also open on the main floor. Room sizes in the former Fairfax hotel, which sat vacant for the last several years, are generous for South Beach. There's a playful element to the look: While hallways have gray wall

Demolition of Flawed Harmon Tower at CityCenter in Las Vegas Delayed Again

December 6, 2013

Dec. 06--A judge has further delayed demolition of the Harmon Tower to allow the company behind its insurance policy to provide an update on its investigation of CityCenter's $393.8 million claim that the hotel is a total loss. The Harmon was once slated to be the 48-story centerpiece of the $8.5 billion CityCenter, which opened in December 2009. But developers topped off the tower at 26 stories after inspectors discovered flaws in the steel rebar running through its concrete. In a hearing today, Clark County District Court Judge Elizabeth Gonzalez delayed approving a demolition plan a week to give FM Global -- the company that wrote th

Pricing Systems 2.0 – Part Two

Jean Francois Mourier | December 5, 2013

By Jean Francois Mourier Last week, I wrote Part One of this article series, which provides a checklist for hoteliers to determine whether your revenue management system is up to par for 2014. As I'm sure you know, the online and mobile channels are growing rapidly so if your RMS is not optimized for both of these channels, you will be leaving money on the table. Let's take a look at some other items on the checklist! As a reminder, the first three were: 1 - Does your property analyze and provide rates based on historical data, AS WELL AS rate shopping market data? 2 – Does your RMS use pricing parameters to ensure that your rates he

Hilton Hotel Beside USF Sarasota-Manatee, Once Eyed for Student Housing, Sold for $10.8 million

December 5, 2013

Dec. 05--Hotel had been eyed by USF for student housing MANATEE -- A hotel once tabbed as a possibility to house University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee students is off the market. The Hilton Garden Inn on Tamiami Trail was sold for $10.8 million to a Fort Myers-area Hilton hotel developer Shoham Amin under his company Excel Sarasota 1 LLC. The sellers were George Dabney, Kim Gauthier and Carroll Warfield of Annapolis, Md., who bought the hotel for $11 million in 2005 with their company, Thayer Lodging Group, according to sales records. Details weren't released on whether there would be any changes at the hotel, but the developer's

Promise Hotels to Build Another Downtown Tulsa Hotel; Fourth New Property Revealed in Recent Weeks

December 5, 2013

Dec. 05--A local business will be bringing a 120-room hotel to be built in the next phase of One Place in front of the BOK Center, Tulsa Development Authority commissioners were told Thursday. Paresh "Pete" Patel, president of locally-owned Promise Hotels, said the $15 million development will provide about 50 jobs, not including construction work. "We'd like to get you checked in by early 2016," Patel said to a TDA commissioner. It's the fourth announcement of a downtown hotel development in recent weeks and the third by Pete Patel. The 86,000 square feet, 120-room hotel will connect to the other buildings at One Place and will not hav

Erie County Convention Center Authority Says $150M Proposed Hotel Project Won’t Affect Current Plans

December 5, 2013

Dec. 05--Scott Enterprises' proposed $150 million Harbor Place waterfront development can coexist with and even complement the Erie County Convention Center's plan to add a second hotel near the Bayfront Convention Center. That's the take of Casey Wells, the authority's executive director, who said that both projects, along with the multimillion-dollar redevelopment of the former GAF Materials Corp. property, will bring a boost to Erie's bayfront. "We encourage more development, and more hotel rooms, along the bayfront," Wells said. "We believe that the additional (Scott) development, and our project, can help develop critical mass that

Irvine, CA’s Hyatt Regency Irvine Rebranded as Hotel Irvine Jamboree Center

December 5, 2013

Dec. 05--The Irvine Co., which has owned the Hyatt Regency Irvine since 1986, now also manages the 536-room hotel as the rebranded Hotel Irvine Jamboree Center. The thinking behind the name change is that, in the age of online searching, a basic name can be just as good as a well-known brand. "We could all spend a lot of time with cute, creative names," said Ralph Grippo, president of the Irvine Co.'s resort properties. But search engines are king, so the company hopes that when individuals search for "hotels in Irvine," it will quickly rise to the top. The hotel is already busy, so the company's priority isn't necessarily to boost over







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