Wyndham Worldwide Re-flagging Bonnet Creek Timeshare Resort Under the Wyndham Banner / March 2007

January 30, 2007

Hotel Online  Special Report Wyndham Worldwide Re-flagging Bonnet Creek Timeshare Resort Under the Wyndham Banner ORLANDO, Fla., March 27, 2007 - Wyndham Vacation Ownership, the world's largest vacation ownership company and a member of the Wyndham Worldwide family of companies (NYSE: WYN), today announced it has re-flagged its premier Bonnet Creek Resort under the Wyndham banner. Bonnet Creek Resort, which is situated on 70 acres, is currently under expansion and when completed will include up to 1,596 proposed vacation ownership units -- the most of any of the company's vacation ownership resort properties. The comp...

Blue Square Studios wins HSMAI Adrian Awards For Excellence in Hospitality E-Marketing / March 2007

January 30, 2007

Hotel Online  Special Report Phoenix AZ (March 5, 2007) - The Hotel Sales & Marketing Association International has again selected Blue Square Studios (www.bluesqstudios.com) to receive Adrian Awards for developing exceptional web site solutions for two luxury hotels making the transition from chain to independent branding.     According to HSMAI, their Adrian Advertising, Public Relations and Web Marketing Awards Competition has grown to become the largest and most prestigious travel event of its kind in the world, attracting over 1,800 entries from 52 countries. The contest embraces virtually every area of the travel ind...

HSMAI Names the Frank W. Berkman Chapter Award Winners; HSMAI's Central Florida Chapter Receives New Chapter of the Year Award / March 2007

January 30, 2007

Hotel Online  Special Report   HSMAI Names the Frank W. Berkman Chapter Award Winners;  HSMAI's Central Florida Chapter Receives New Chapter of the Year Award  MCLEAN, VA (March 23, 2007) – The Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International’s (HSMAI) Annual Leadership Conference, held last week in Memphis, brought together an impressive mix of the organization’s top-level volunteer leadership for two days of strategic planning, discussions and brainstorming, as well as the presentation of the Frank W. Berkman Chapter Awards winners. Attending the conference were the HSMAI Americas board of directors, membe...

The Historic 248 room Berkeley Carteret Oceanfront Hotel in Asbury Park, New Jersey Acquired by the Chetrit Group for $16 million; Plan is to Refurb

January 30, 2007

Hotel Online  News for the Hospitality Executive By Nancy Shields, Asbury Park Press, N.J.McClatchy-Tribune Business News Feb. 28, 2007 - ASBURY PARK -- New York real estate investors Joseph and Jacob Chetrit bought the Berkeley-Carteret Oceanfront Hotel on Tuesday, paying $16 million for the historic 248-room building on the city's waterfront, the broker who handled the sale said. Patricia Kobble said she represented both the buyers and sellers -- Daniel and Ike Ahn -- in the deal. She said the Chetrit brothers want to get the hotel -- closed since late last fall -- refurbis...

Benchmark Hospitality's Top 10 Meeting Trends for 2007; Portals to Success, Package Rules, BlackBerries & More / March 2007

January 30, 2007

Hotel Online News for the Hospitality Executive Benchmark Hospitality's Top 10 Meeting Trends for 2007;  Portals to Success, Package Rules, BlackBerries & More The Woodlands (Houston), Texas, March 6, 2007 - Benchmark Hospitality International, which manages 31 award-winning resorts, hotels, condominium resorts and conference centers in locations throughout the United States and Asia, announces its annual "Top 10 Meeting Trends for the Year" as observed by its properties. 1.  Real-time Hospitality  More than ever before, the hospitality experience starts at the web address.  What's needed:  up-to-the-minute-current in...

Benchmark Hospitality Named Recipients of the 2007 Top Sales Executives Awards; Sales Executive of the Year Awarded to John Edwards, Scottsdale Resort

January 30, 2007

Hotel Online News for the Hospitality Executive  Benchmark Hospitality Named Recipients of the 2007 Top Sales Executives Awards  . Sales Executive of the Year Awarded to John Edwards,  Scottsdale Resort & Conference Center The Woodlands (Houston), Texas, March 2007 ... Benchmark Hospitality International has announced the recipients of the company's annual Top Sales Executives Awards.  The awards were presented at Benchmark's Annual Sales Training Conference held recently at the company's east coast flagship, Lansdowne Resort, located outside Washington, DC, near Leesburg, Virginia.  Award winners were selected from ...

Benchmark Adds Lakeside Resort & Residences on Lake Grapevine in Flower Mound, Texas to Portfolio; Project Being Developed by Hines Includes 289 Guest

January 30, 2007

Hotel Online News for the Hospitality Executive  Benchmark Adds Lakeside Resort & Residences on Lake Grapevine in Flower Mound, Texas to Portfolio; Project Being Developed by Hines Includes 289 Guest Rooms and 64 Condominiums March 16, 2007 - The Woodlands (Houston), Texas, March 2007- Benchmark Hospitality International, which manages 31 resorts, conference centers, hotels and conference resorts throughout the United States and in Japan, has announced the addition of Lakeside Resort & Residences to its management portfolio.  Lakeside Resort will be built on Lake Grapevine in Flower Mound, Texas, within the Dallas-Fort W...

Following $120 million Facelift, the Bedford Springs Resort's Historic Character Mostly Preserved; The South-central Pennsylvania Resort Expect

January 30, 2007

Hotel Online  News for the Hospitality Executive By Marylynne Pitz, Pittsburgh Post-GazetteMcClatchy-Tribune Business News Mar. 9, 2007 - To residents of Bedford County, for the past 17 years she has been a grand old lady with a sad but noble air of genteel decrepitude. Following her $120 million facelift, the Bedford Springs Resort, which hosted seven U.S. presidents and countless captains of industry, including Henry Ford and John Wanamaker, will reopen in June. Even the original glass windows, where honeymooning brides once used their diamond rings to etch their nam...

Asha Cos., Developing a Complex Called the Grand Isle Resort Near Baltimore's BWI Airport; Plans Include a 300 room Crowne Plaza, 82,000 sq ft

January 30, 2007

Hotel Online  News for the Hospitality Executive By Jamie Smith Hopkins, The Baltimore SunMcClatchy-Tribune Business News Mar. 13, 2007 - Developers plan to break ground this fall on a 300-room Crowne Plaza hotel near BWI Marshall Airport, one of more than 20 hotels proposed or already under construction in Anne Arundel County. The Crowne, which focuses on the corporate-meeting niche, will be part of a complex called the Grand Isle Resort that by itself is slated to have four hotels -- plus an indoor water park, a conference center, a day spa and 10 restaurants. The co...

Barrett De Santos Named General Manager of the Outrigger Aina Nalu Resort on Maui / March 2007

January 30, 2007

Hotel Online  Special Report Barrett De Santos Named General Manager of the Outrigger Aina Nalu Resort on Maui HONOLULU, OAHU, HAWAII — March 2, 2007 - Steve Winter, vice president of operations for Outrigger's Condominium Collection, is pleased to announce the promotion of Barrett De Santos to the position of General Manager of the Outrigger Aina Nalu resort condominium on the island of Maui.  In his new role, De Santos is responsible for day-to-day operation of the property overseeing all departments, including housekeeping, maintenance, and front office.  Owner relation is also a key component of his new posi...

Aztec Arranges the $70 million Refinancing for the Sheraton Miami Mart and the Sheraton Orlando Downtown / March 2007

January 30, 2007

Hotel Online  Special Report Aztec Arranges the $70 million Refinancing for the Sheraton Miami Mart and the Sheraton Orlando Downtown  Miami, Florida -- March 19, 2007 - Aztec Group, Inc., Florida's leading real estate investment and merchant banking firm based in Miami, is pleased to announce the placement of a $70,000,000 first mortgage on the Sheraton Miami Mart and the Sheraton Orlando Downtown hotels. Located just south of the Miami International Airport and connected to the Miami International Merchandise Mart, the 334-room Sheraton Miami Mart includes 24,000 square feet of meeting space, a restaurant, swimming p...

Rehabilitation of Fire-damaged Hotel into a Shining New Downtown Atlanta Hotel Can Take a While / March 2007

January 30, 2007

Hotel Online  News for the Hospitality Executive By Leon Stafford, The Atlanta Journal-ConstitutionMcClatchy-Tribune Business News Mar. 19, 2007 - Transforming a dilapidated building that was the scene of one of the city's biggest and deadliest fires into a shining new downtown hotel can take a while. Officials with the Ellis, the new name for the downtown hotel formerly known as the Winecoff, had hoped to have the historic building ready for guests by next month. But after construction crews got into the building last April and began to pry apart decades-old de...

HFTP Adds the New Assistant Controllers Conference to its Education Schedule / March 2007

January 30, 2007

Hotel Online  Special Report  HFTP Adds the New Assistant Controllers Conference to its Education Schedule Austin, Texas; March 8, 2007 - Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP) is offering a brand new educational opportunity with its Assistant Controllers Conference. The two day conference will offer education sessions specifically relevant to financial professionals at the assistant controllers level. The conference is scheduled for August 19-20 at the Sheraton Charlotte Airport Hotel in Charlotte, N.C. "The HFTP Board has recently looked in to expanding its educational resources to financial pro...

Deal of the Year Awards Winners Announced at the International Hotel Investment Forum in Berlin, Germany / March 2007

January 30, 2007

Hotel Online  Special Report  Deal of the Year Awards Winners Announced at the International Hotel Investment Forum in Berlin, Germany BERLIN, Germany: March 7, 2007 - Hosts of the 10th International Hotel Investment Forum (IHIF) have announced the winners of the prestigious Deal of the Year Awards.  The awards were presented 7 March 2007 at the InterContinental Hotel in Berlin, Germany.  Winners were determined by a vote of the IHIF sponsors and were presented at IHIF by the respective chairs of each committee:  Single Asset chair, Philip Johnston, Director-Head of Hotels, Savills; New Development chair, Russel...

Built in 1982, the Lake Arrowhead Resort and Spa Completes $17 million Renovation; Operator Gemstone Adds Spa and Redesigned Restaurant, BIN189 / Marc

January 30, 2007

Hotel Online News for the Hospitality Executive Built in 1982, the Lake Arrowhead Resort and Spa Completes $17 million Renovation; Operator Gemstone Adds Spa and Redesigned Restaurant, BIN189 LAKE ARROWHEAD, Calif., March 6, 2007 - Lake Arrowhead Resort and Spa is pleased to announce the completion of its $17 million transformation with the March conclusion of all major construction. The largest luxury hotel in the Southern California mountain community, the property’s dramatic transformation included redesigned guestrooms, meeting and public spaces, a re-imagined restaurant and bar, BIN189, and the new 11,000 square foot,...

Argosy Riverside Casino Complex, Near Downtown Kansas City, Opens $66 million, 258-room Hotel; Aims to Also Attract Corporate Business with 22,000 s

January 30, 2007

Hotel Online  News for the Hospitality Executive By Rick Alm, The Kansas City Star, Mo.McClatchy-Tribune Business News Mar. 22, 2007 - For years an artist's rendering prominently displayed outside the general manager's office depicted a hotel as part of the Argosy Riverside Casino complex. A succession of casino GMs promised that the hotel was still on the drawing boards and coming soon. The picture disappeared from the wall several years ago. But the hotel has finally appeared, and it will open April 2. "It's been a long time coming," said Tom Burke, gen...

Aptech's ASP-Based Accounting Software in High Demand by Chains, Properties; Saves properties money, eliminates system responsibility / March 200

January 30, 2007

Aptech's ASP-Based Accounting Software in High Demand by Chains, Properties . Saves properties money, eliminates system responsibility PITTSBURGH, March 7, 2007 –   Aptech Computer Systems, Inc. announced today that Wesley Hotels & Resorts, Crowne Plaza Pittsburgh South and Danfords on the Sound have installed Aptech’s Profitvue ASP Back Office Accounting hospitality software.  The Profitvue ASP hotel software solution lowers system expenses because Aptech hosts the application at its data center – hotel operators require only a PC and Internet connection to manage all their property financials, corporate accoun...

January 30, 2007

Hotel Online News for the Hospitality Executive Dallas’ Hilton Anatole Hotel Begins $40 million Renovation;  Famed Stemmons Auditorium to be Transformed into 8,300 Sq Ft Ballroom  DALLAS – March 20, 2007 – Dallas’ legendary Hilton Anatole Hotel announces the dramatic transformation of the famous Stemmons Auditorium – known for being Dallas’ venue in the 1980s for famed musical performances and movie premiers – into the stylish Stemmons Ballroom.  The transformation marks the beginning of the property’s $40 million renovation and continued evolution to remain the region’s premier meeting and leisure hotel while ma...

American Property Management Corp. Acquires the 35-year-old Wyndham Albuquerque Airport Hotel (Originally the Airport Marina and later the Amfac); I

January 30, 2007

Hotel Online  News for the Hospitality Executive By Richard Metcalf, Albuquerque Journal, N.M.McClatchy-Tribune Business News Mar. 12, 2007 - Nearly every one of the Wyndham Hotel's 122 employees was present recently when new owner Michael Gallegos outlined plans for the 15-story hotel next to the airport. "Every time a property sells, you're nervous," said Gerald Martinez, who has worked at the hotel since before it opened in 1972. "They put us at ease within the first five minutes," he said. "They were friendly in their greetings -- down-to-earth people." ...

Hill Air Force Base Located in Northern Utah Plans to Build a Hotel/Condominium Project in Park City, Utah / March 2007

January 30, 2007

Hotel Online  News for the Hospitality Executive By Shane Farver, Standard-Examiner, Ogden, UtahMcClatchy-Tribune Business News Mar. 3, 2007 -HILL AIR FORCE BASE -- A large Department of Defense hotel/condominium project is in the works in Park City. Hill Air Force Base, Summit County and Park City officials met recently to discuss hopes for the facility to be built in the lower village of The Canyons ski resort. This was not the first choice for the location of the project. The Air Force had earlier planned to build at a site known as Red Maple. Congress grant...

January 30, 2007

Hotel Online  Special Report Agilysys Joins APC’s Certified Gold Partner Program BOCA RATON, Fla. – Feb. 28, 2007 – Agilysys, Inc. (Nasdaq: AGYS), a leading provider of enterprise computer technology solutions, today announced it recently joined APC’s Gold Certified Partner Program.  APC is a global leader in power, cooling, and management solutions.  The certification recognizes the Agilysys in-depth knowledge of APC products and solutions and commitment to revolutionize the way the world designs, builds and manages data centers.     As an APC Certified Gold Partner, the Agilysys technical sales professionals p...

Optimizing Hospitality Advertising Dollars / J Ragsdale Hendrie / March 2007

January 30, 2007

Hotel Online News for the Hospitality Executive Optimizing Hospitality Advertising Dollars by J. Ragsdale Hendrie, March 2007 An Advertising Executive with a significant Destination area   Newspaper declared recently, “Business is soft, and I do not think our advertisers would be interested in any new products to enhance their business”.  Well, this is of course bunk, because this is exactly when you need to differentiate your business and apply marketing clout.  She forgot that business is all about competition and the means to share with the Consumer our distinction and attract their business.  Tight times, flush tim...

Aqua Hotels & Resorts Appoints 3 to GM Posts in Waikiki / March 2007

January 30, 2007

Hotel Online News for the Hospitality Executive  Aqua Hotels & Resorts Appoints Three to GM Posts in Waikiki WAIKIKI BEACH, Hawaii – March 21, 5007 - Aqua Hotels & Resorts recently announced key operations appointments at several of its Waikiki hotels.  The appointments are comprised of new hires and promotions within the organization.   Joseph Yamaoka Yamaoka has been named general manager of the 262-room Aqua Palms & Spa where he oversees the overall operations of this AAA three-diamond hotel which consistently ranks in TripAdvisor’s top ten Waikiki hotels.  Yamaoka has been with Aqua since 2001 and was most recentl...

Accor Names 9 to General Manager Posts in China / March 2007

January 30, 2007

Hotel Online  Special Report  Accor Names 9 to General Manager Posts in China BANGKOK, 21 March, 2007 -  Accor is pleased to announce the following appointments to its hotel network in China. Laurent Chaudet is the new General Manager of Grand Mercure Xidan Beijing. He joined Accor in Paris in 1983 before later moving on to work in Asia. Following several assignments in both Europe and Asia Laurent relocated to China in 2005 where he was the pre-opening General Manager for Sofitel Suzhou. Kevin Qin has been promoted to General Manager of The Panorama Shanghai. Kevin first joined Accor in 1997, working at the former...