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Walt Disney Co.‘s Theme Park Division Lays Off Three More Upper-Level Executives

November 19, 2013

Nov. 19--The Walt Disney Co.'s theme-park division has laid off three more upper-level executives, continuing a quiet restructuring that began earlier this year. Among the newest departures is Rick Continelli, the senior vice president of park sales and services for Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. Continelli oversaw Disney's meetings-and-convention business, plus youth, military, weddings and sports programs and the Disney Institute, a management-consulting unit. Continelli was Disney's liaison to Visit Orlando, the region's publicly subsidized tourism bureau. He is currently a member of the agency's board of directors. In addition, Disn

Owners of NJ’s Bankrupt Atlantic Club Casino to Accept Bids and Close a Deal by Spring 2014

November 19, 2013

Nov. 19--CAMDEN -- The owners of the Atlantic Club Casino Hotel said they plan to accept bids on the bankrupt casino next month and close the deal in late February or early March. Prospective buyers would make bids by Dec. 16, attorney Michael D. Sirota said in the hearing in federal bankruptcy court. The offers would be accepted Dec. 17, and a hearing to ratify any agreement would be held in front of federal Chief Judge Gloria M. Burns on Dec. 19. The actual closing would take place in early 2014, said Sirota, depending on the speed of state regulatory approvals. Sirota, of Cole, Schotz, Meisel, Foreman and Leonard of Hackensack, repre

Jekyll Island, Georgia Development Advances; $41 Million Westin Well Underway, Other Hotels Progress

November 19, 2013

Nov. 19--Construction of a $41 million, 200-room Westin hotel next to the Jekyll Island Convention Center is almost one-fourth of the way to completion. Staff and board members of the Jekyll Island Authority, which operates the island state park, toured the construction site Monday after the board's monthly meeting. The hotel is to open by September, and board members were intrigued by the amount of work done so far. The five-story hotel will feature a glass atrium, restaurant, tiki bar and exercise room, said Jim Baun, project superintendent for Pinkerton and Laws of Georgia, the general contractor. With workers preparing Monday to sta

Aventura Mall & The Fontainebleau Hotel Owners Propose Luxury Mall & Water Theme Park for Miami-Dade

November 19, 2013

Nov. 19--A few times a week, the vast protected zone of far west Miami-Dade County known as the Lake Belt is shaken by controlled explosions set off by miners to loosen lucrative limestone rock within the big, water-filled pits that define the area. All day long, trucks laden with tons of crushed rock bound for construction projects rumble through a dusty moonscape along Northwest 41st Street just west of the turnpike. That is where the owners of Aventura Mall and the Fontainebleau hotel propose to build an upscale shopping mall, IMAX theater and a five-acre water theme park. The push by Turnberry Associates, which would require moving

Two California Hotel Operators to Pay More than $183K in Back Wages to 69 Employees

November 19, 2013

Nov. 19--Two hospitality operators in Southern California -- including a Days Inn franchisee in San Bernardino -- have agreed to pay a total of $183,468 in back wages and liquidated damages to 69 employees, the U.S. Department of Labor announced Tuesday. Sahkar Hospitality Corp., of Corona, agreed to pay more than $123,678 in back wages and damages to 16 employees of Days Inn, located at 1386 E. Highland Avenue in San Bernardino, on grounds the housekeepers were being paid -- on average -- less than $5 per-hour from February 2010 through March 2013. The minimum hourly wage in California is $8. The other hotel operator of Miracle Springs

Being Vigilant & Aware: Hotels Must Continue to Help Fight Human Trafficking

November 18, 2013

Nov. 18--Something was just a little off with the man and girl in the elevator. The girl was looking down, timid and quiet. She was maybe 5 or 6, wearing dirty clothes. The man with the girl was talking to another man in the elevator. They exchanged emails. "It was just an eerie feeling," said Carmela Simmons, a lobby attendant at the DoubleTree by Hilton in downtown Chattanooga. "Most kids look around, play, try to press buttons on the elevator. This little girl was like no eye contact, no nothing." Then the door slid open and the man and girl were gone. Months later, Simmons, an employee of Chattanooga-based hotel company Vision Hospi

Florida’s Manatee River Hotel History: An 87-year Journey to the Bradenton Hampton Inn & Suites

November 18, 2013

Nov. 18--BRADENTON -- The Manatee River Hotel, set to reopen Tuesday as the Bradenton Hampton Inn & Suites, was conceived as a ritzy playground for the roaring '20s but saw its high-roller hopes go to the gutter when the Great Depression hit and never truly recovered. "Rendered in Italian Renaissance style it will be one of the most imposing structures in the entire state of Florida," read a July, 9, 1925, article in the Manatee River Journal-Herald announcing the hotel's plans. The project came on board thanks to investor H.C. Van Sweringen, half of the Van Sweringen brothers who established the affluent Shaker Heights suburb of Cl

Project Moves Forward, Development Deal Signed for Hamister Hotel in Niagara Falls, NY

November 18, 2013

Nov. 18--NIAGARA FALLS -- Plans held up over the summer for a $25.3 million downtown development project have taken another step forward. Officials from the Hamister Group, the state and the City of Niagara Falls signed a development agreement late Friday afternoon. The move means the developer, which is planning an upscale hotel, apartment and retail complex at 310 Rainbow Blvd., can seek out brands for its hotel, Hamister Group spokeswoman Andrea Czopp said. In September, Mark E. Hamister said he expected a groundbreaking for the project in the second half of 2014, though on Monday Czopp declined to offer any specific date. The Hamist







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