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Chamblee Hospitality & A.J. Capital Begin Development of 126-room Boutique Hotel in Oxford, MS
November 8, 2013
Nov. 08--OXFORD -- Fences surrounding the Oxford Downtown Inn seem perfectly poetic: Covered in black barrier fabric, they herald the motel's demise. But the half-century-old structures' demolition later this month also will lead to the construction of a new boutique hotel on the site, which is within sight of the downtown Square. Chamblee Hospitality Group of Flowood, which has owned the property since 2002, and A.J. Capital Partners of Chicago have begun development of a 126-room boutique hotel. "We are excited to get this project started. We are also excited to partner with a hospitality firm of A.J. Capital's caliber as they are one
Phuket, Thailand Resort Owner, Montara Hospitality Group Shifts Gears to Luxury Hotel Management
November 8, 2013
Nov. 08--Montara Hospitality Group, a local boutique resort owner, is expanding its business into hotel management, planning to manage at least 10 properties by 2017. Established in 1999, the group owns two luxury boutique hotels: Trisara Phuket and the Boathouse Resort on the Beach in Phuket. Its two brands for hotel management are Trisara for mixed-used properties and Montara for boutique hotels. The company prefers to focus only beach properties. Chairman Narong Pattamasaevi said the group decided to expand to the hotel management business because of strong demand from clients after visiting its hotels. Privacy and individual service
Pricing in a Social World by Kelly A McGuire, PhD and Breffni M Noone, PhD
SAS | November 7, 2013
The price transparency afforded by the advent of the OTAs changed the way that hotels think about pricing. Social media and online reviews are driving the next major shift in pricing - value transparency. Consumers now have easy access to detailed consumer opinion, along with price, through review sites, OTAs and even hotel websites. In order to continue to price effectively, revenue managers need to understand how consumers are using this user generated content (UGC) with price, to make a hotel purchase decision. To help hotel managers understand how value transparency will impact their pricing and positioning strategies, we conducted
Walt Disney Co. to Report Year-End Earnings; Attendance Growth Expected at Theme Parks
November 7, 2013
Nov. 07--The Walt Disney Co. reports fiscal year-end earnings this afternoon and analysts are once again expecting the company's theme parks and resorts to be a primary profit driver -- though not quite the catalyst they were earlier in the year. Analysts at Goldman Sachs, for instance, estimate quarterly that operating profit grew 8 percent from a year ago at Walt Disney Parks and Resorts on revenue that rose 7 percent. Disney's vacation businesses churned out operating income growth of 17 percent and revenue growth of 9 percent during the first nine months of the fiscal year. The growth rate is slowing in part because some of the comp
Valencia Group’s Hotel Sorella Opens in Houston, TX
November 7, 2013
Nov. 07--The Hotel Sorella opened for business Wednesday, the newest addition to the Country Club Plaza hospitality market and the last piece to complete the Plaza Vista development, formerly known as the West Edge. The seven-story luxury hotel is operated by the Valencia Group of Houston. Its 132 rooms include a presidential suite going for $2,500 per night; a full-service restaurant and bar on its top floor; a breakfast cafe and landscaped "serenity garden" on the ground floor, and a rooftop pool. Its design is described as "modern Italian contemporary," but with classic flourishes including chandeliers throughout the common spaces. T
After Years of Trying, Sale of St. Louis Renaissance Grand Hotel Pending for $26 million
November 7, 2013
Nov. 07--After years of trying, owners of the Renaissance Grand have found a buyer for the financially struggling convention hotel in downtown St. Louis. Bondholders who have owned the 917-room hotel since foreclosing on it in 2009 said Thursday they have a deal to sell the hotel to 800 Washington LLC. Haberhill LLC, of Potomac, Md., would serve as the hotel's operating partner, officials said. The $26 million deal excludes the hotel complex's suites portion in the former Lennox Hotel across Washington Avenue from the Renaissance Grand. But Paul Ricotta, the Boston lawyer for bond trustee UMB Bank, said that sale of the suites portion a
Maryland Approves $1 million to Maintain & Keep Open the Four Points by Sheraton BWI Airport
November 7, 2013
Nov. 07--The state Board of Public Works on Wednesday gave approval for the Maryland Aviation Administration to spend about $1.05 million to maintain the hotel on the airport grounds, said MAA spokesman Jonathan Dean. The manager of Four Points by Sheraton BWI Airport in September notified the MAA, which owns and operates the airport, that it would close the hotel when its 30-year lease expired at the end of this month. The manager previously noted the 201-room hotel needed updates that would likely cost more than $2 million. The MAA has reached out to the hotel industry to see if another company would be interested in managing the prop
Former Holiday Inn Hotels in Clarksville & New Albany, IN Convert to Best Western Plus & Clarion
November 7, 2013
Nov. 07--NEW ALBANY -- The former Holiday Inn hotels in Clarksville and New Albany are under new franchise agreements. The Holiday Inn at 411 W. Spring St., New Albany, will be the Best Western Plus Louisville West, as the official changeover is slated for Monday. "We have a few more amenities than a standard Best Western," said Monica P'Pool, general manager of the hotel. The national company now features three different categories of hotels from the standard Best Western to Plus and Premier establishments. The New Albany location features 135 rooms including four jacuzzi suites. The owner of the building is the same, and has embarked