Lodging Interactive Launches RFPLink.com Generates Group Leads for Hotel Websites / February 2007

January 30, 2007

Hotel Online News for the Hospitality Executive Lodging Interactive Launches RFPLink.com Generates Group Leads for Hotel Websites PARSIPPANY, NJ , February 12, 2007 – Lodging Interactive announced today that it has launched a new web service geared towards generating group leads for hotels. RFPLink.com is a free service which powers hotel websites with the ability to process group lead requests from consumers and meeting planners.   “RFPLink.com enables a hotel to capture more group requests on their website.  Our research indicates that over 90% of the hotel websites in North America do not have an online group RFP form...

Raymond Alexander Named Director of Food and Beverage at the Inn at Virginia Tech & Skelton Conference Center, Blacksburg, Virginia / February 2007

January 30, 2007

Hotel Online News for the Hospitality Executive Raymond Alexander Named Director of Food and Beverage at the Inn at Virginia Tech & Skelton Conference Center, Blacksburg, Virginia   BLACKSBURG, Va. (February 1, 2007) – Raymond Alexander has been named director of food and beverage at the Inn at Virginia Tech & Skelton Conference Center.   Alexander brings to the New River Valley 19 years of international experience in food service, culinary arts and restaurant management. He joins the Inn from the Provo Marriott Hotel and Conference Center in Utah, where he was the director of food and beverage for a 331-room hotel, 120...

FedEx, UPS and the Internet Bring About Big Improvements in the Procurement Function for Hotels / February 2007

January 30, 2007

Hotel Online  News for the Hospitality Executive By Christopher Boyd, The Orlando Sentinel, Fla.McClatchy-Tribune Business News Feb. 26, 2007 - Those who haven't stayed in a fine hotel lately might have a hard time imagining how luxuriant the whole experience has become. Giant vases from the Far East and African carvings adorn lobbies, while guest rooms are embellished with marble countertops and goose-down comforters. Increasingly affluent and well-traveled guests expect pampering, and hotels are eager to satisfy. As competition at the hotel industry's high-end grows, the em...

The Providence Group Manages The Sandhurst Hotel & Suites / February 2007

January 30, 2007

Hotel Online  Special Report  The Providence Group Manages The Sandhurst Hotel & Suites (February 2, 2007) DUXBURY, MASS. – The owner of a 70-room upscale resort in Florida chose The Providence Group to manage the property located on South Hutchinson Island. Located between Miami and Jacksonville, The Sandhurst Hotel & Suites rests on the mouth of the Fort Pierce Inlet to the Atlantic Ocean. The area is known as the “fishing capital of the world.”  “We were brought in as consultants and quickly developed a rapport with the owners,” says Jed Heller, CEO of The Providence Group. “They recognized the value we brought...

The Providence Group Announces Drake Sale / February 2007

January 30, 2007

Hotel Online  Special Report  The Providence Group Announces Drake Sale (February 21, 2007) DUXBURY, MASS. – The Wyndham Drake Hotel in Oak Brook, Ill., is up for sale, according to Jed Heller, CEO of The Providence Group. Heller is acting asset manager of the Wyndham Drake, located near Oak Brook Mall and downtown Chicago. “This property has tremendous untapped potential for the right group,” Heller says. “It has a history that is rich in tradition. In some cases, generations of families have celebrated their marriages at this wonderful facility.”  Heller says the owner wants to focus on his core capabilities. “He...

Hello, Front Desk? I Think I've Been Robbed / Nick Price / February 2007

January 30, 2007

Hotel Online Special Report Hello, Front Desk? . I Think I've Been Robbed! This article is from the Spring 2007 issue of Hospitality Upgrade magazine.To view more articles covering technology for the hospitality industry please visit the Hospitality Upgrade Web site or to request a free publication please call (678) 802-5307 or e-mail. . By Nick Price If memory serves it was during the late summer of 1980 that I experienced the first of what has now become many altercations with hotel staff over the cost of telephone calls. I was in Stockholm, Sweden in a hotel where I had stayed a number of times before. ...

Daylight Savings Time (DST) Begins Early this Year – Look Out for Hiccups in Guest Service if Not Effectively Planned For / February 2007

January 30, 2007

Hotel Online  Special Report  Daylight Savings Time (DST) Begins Early this Year - Look Out for Hiccups in Guest Service if Not Effectively Planned For Daylight Savings Time (DST) begins early this year and is expected to cause some hiccoughs in guest service if not effectively planned for.  While none of these glitches are likely to endanger guests or staff, they could prove to be an inconvenience for them and an embarrassment for you.  Recap To recap the issue, in 2005 Congress passed the Energy Policy Act which changed the start both the start and end dates of DST. This year, DST begins on March 11, 20...

Prague Hotels: Paying the Price / Barry Napier / February 2007

January 30, 2007

Hotel Online  Special Report  Prague Hotels: Paying the Price by Barry Napier, February 2007 Prague is a favourite destination for UK short-break travellers. Hen and buck parties galore! It is also a romantic city, and full of surprises. I have never seen so many glorious architectural masterpieces in one place. Most fine hotels are housed in beautiful baroque buildings once owned by very wealthy bankers and traders. It is obvious that Prague was once a very rich and influential city. Across the river, directly opposite the Jewish Quarter, is the palace (or more correctly a collection of them) on top of the hill, wi...

Porto Mariccio – The Development of Luxury on the West Coast of Istria, Croatia; A Kempinski Hotel and a Nicklaus Golf Course at Center of Devel

January 30, 2007

Hotel Online  Special Report Porto Mariccio - The Development of Luxury on the West Coast of Istria, Croatia . A Kempinski Hotel and a Nicklaus Golf Course at Center of Development  by Barry Napier, February 2007 Porto Mariccio is a new development, to be built on the west coast of Istria, Croatia, with an opening date of 2009. Consisting of a Kempinski-run hotel, apartments, a 350-berth marina, and a Jack Nicklaus golf course, this is an ambitious investment of EUR 207.6 million.  . Masterplan Plan - Porto Mariccio . Nicklaus course engineers are already on site, working on the design of the 18 hole course, w...

Metro, the Regional Government Authority Serving the Portland, Oregon Area, Takes Steps to Building and Owning a $150 million, 600-room Convention C

January 30, 2007

Hotel Online  News for the Hospitality Executive By Dylan Rivera, The Oregonian, Portland, Ore.McClatchy-Tribune Business News Feb. 9, 2007 - The Metro regional government took its first step Thursday toward building and owning a $150 million, 600-room convention center hotel. But even as the Metro Council voted unanimously to take on the hotel, several councilors expressed skepticism and indifference about whether the project, considered a high priority for 18 years by the Portland Development Commission, would ever become a reality. At a public hearing Thursday, doze...

PlumpJack Group Announces the Appointment of Rick Riess as President and CEO / February 2007

January 30, 2007

Hotel Online News for the Hospitality Executive PlumpJack Group Announces the Appointment of Rick Riess as President and CEO SAN FRANCISCO (March 1, 2007) - Hilary Newsom, vice president of The PlumpJack Group, today announced that Rick Riess has been named as the President and CEO. With many years of success in the hospitality industry and a passionate love for impeccable service, great wine and memorable food, Riess is perfectly suited to lead The PlumpJack Group.  "The PlumpJack Group is honored to bring on board one of the hospitality industry's most respected individuals," said Newsom. "PlumpJack is one of the country...

Pink Shell Beach Resort & Spa Makes Key Appointments / February 2007

January 30, 2007

Hotel Online News for the Hospitality Executive Pink Shell Beach Resort & Spa Makes Key Appointments   Ellis J. Etter named Director of Sales, Sarah Cardenas named new Catering Manager ESTERO ISLAND, Fla. – February 21, 2007 – Pink Shell Beach Resort & Spa, the premier resort destination in Southwest Florida, has named Ellis J.Etter as its new Director of Sales and Sarah Cardenas as its new Catering Manager. The two veterans join Pink Shell as it concludes its multi-phase, multi-million dollar transformation with the completion of its new condo-hotel, Captiva Villas, in March 200...

Avi Brosh's Palisades Development Group Storms Hotel Industry with Debuts of Palihouse and Custom Hotel in Los Angeles in 2007 / February 2007

January 30, 2007

Hotel Online News for the Hospitality Executive Palisades Development Group Enters Los Angeles Lodging Market with Two Branded Projects; Palihouse and Custom Hotel .  Palihouse West Hollywood to Reinvent Long-Stay Hotel in Primary Urban Markets   Custom Hotel to Provide Budget-Minded, Style-Conscious Travelers with New Destination in West L.A. LOS ANGELES, Feb. 13 -- Palisades Development Group unveils plans for its first foray into the hospitality industry with the debut of two hotel brands in Los Angeles in 2007. Palihouse West Hollywood, a new concept in urban, boutique, long-stay hotel and residences, and Custom Hote...

January 30, 2007

Hotel Online News for the Hospitality Executive PhoCusWright’s Founder Philip C. Wolf to Keynote HSMAI's 8th Travel Internet Marketing Strategy Conference, April 4, 2007, Las Vegas -- Event to be Held in Conjunction with TIA’s TravelCom -- MCLEAN, VA (Feb. 22, 2007) – PhoCusWright’s Founder, President & CEO Philip C. Wolf will kick-off the Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International’s (HSMAI) 8th Travel Internet Marketing Strategy Conference with what promises to be a spirited and thought-provoking keynote address themed “Travel 2.0 Confronts the Establishment.”  Once again partnering with the Travel ...

January 30, 2007

Hotel Online  Special Report  As Goes the Economy, So Goes the Hospitality Industry —  the Ineluctable Elasticity of Demand! By Jim Butler, Hotel Lawyer | Author of www.HotelLawBlog.com - February 13, 2007 One of the things that has fascinated me about the hospitality industry for more than 20 years now, is the close — almost intimate — relationship of industry performance to the U.S. economy’s performance. Some might say this is intuitive, that when the economy does well, all business does well. But that is not always true. There are some businesses which do better in hard times, like discount and bargain sto...

Pat Larson, GM of the Sleep Inn and Suites, Emmitsburg, Maryland Named Hotelier of the Year by the Maryland Hotel and Lodging Association / February

January 30, 2007

Hotel Online  News for the Hospitality Executive By Ed Waters Jr., The Frederick News-Post, Md.McClatchy-Tribune Business News Feb. 1, 2007 - EMMITSBURG -- When Pat Larson was working his way through college by working nights at a hotel, he may not have planned to enter that field as a profession. Larson, general manager of the Sleep Inn and Suites off U.S. 15, was named Hotelier of the Year by the Maryland Hotel and Lodging Association. The Emmitsburg Sleep Inn and Suites earned the 2005 Inn of the Year award for the entire United States from Choice Hotels Internatio...

Philippe C. Eversdijk Named General Manager at the Clearwater Beach Marriott Suites on Sand Key, Florida / February 2007

January 30, 2007

Hotel Online News for the Hospitality Executive  Philippe C. Eversdijk Named General Manager at the Clearwater Beach Marriott Suites on Sand Key, Florida Cincinnati, OH., February 22, 2007 - Winegardner & Hammons, Inc's., Senior Vice President of Operations and Human Resources, Kent Bruggeman, recently announced the appointment of Philippe C. Eversdijk to General Manager at the Clearwater Beach Marriott Suites on Sand Key. The hotel was developed by The Cedarwood Companies, with offices in Akron, OH, Ft. Lauderdale, FL and Houston, TX,   and managed by Cincinnati, OH based, Winegardner & Hammons, Inc. "This seasoned hoteli...

PAS Launches Hotel Financial Reporting Initiative to Assist Owners/Operators in Compliance with USALI 10th Revised Edition / March 2007

January 30, 2007

Hotel Online  Special Report  PAS Launches Hotel Financial Reporting Initiative to Assist Owners/Operators in Compliance with USALI 10th Revised Edition . Service Offering Improves Transparency of Hotel Financial Reporting Ratios and Statistics Rockville, MD, March 21, 2007 – Professional Accounting Solutions, Inc., PAS, a global provider of hotel back office accounting and technology services, announced today the launch of a new business service providing integrated core design, financial reporting and operating analysis to hotels and resorts based on the Uniform System of Accounts for the Lodging Industry (USALI) 1...

Santa Fe Properties Select PAR Springer-Miller Systems' SMS|Host® Hospitality Management Solution; PAR's Solution will Integrate Multi-P

January 30, 2007

Hotel Online  Special Report Santa Fe Properties Select PAR Springer-Miller Systems’ SMS|Host® Hospitality Management Solution . PAR’s Solution will Integrate Multi-Property Group  New Hartford, NY ---January 4, 2007 —PAR Springer-Miller Systems Inc. (PSMS), a wholly owned subsidiary of PAR Technology Corporation (NYSE:PTC) --- and the leading provider of guest-centric hospitality management systems for hotels/resorts and spas--- is pleased to announce that Santa Fe, New Mexico properties; the Hotel Santa Fe, Las Palomas Hotel and the Inn on the Paseo have chosen SMS|Host Hospitality Management System as the techn...

January 30, 2007

Hotel Online  Special Report PAR Springer-Miller Systems’ SMS|Host® to Provide Guest Centric Solution for Mirbeau Inn & Spa . PAR’s Hospitality Management Solution will Integrate Operations New Hartford, NY ---November 27, 2006 —PAR Springer-Miller Systems Inc. (PSMS), a wholly owned subsidiary of PAR Technology Corporation (NYSE:PTC) --- and the leading provider of guest-centric hospitality management systems for hotels/resorts and spas--- is pleased to announce that the Mirbeau Inn & Spa in Skaneateles, New York (near Syracuse) has chosen SMS|Host Hospitality Management System as the technology of choice for their ...

The Fort Garry Hotel Selects PAR Springer-Miller Systems' SMS|Host® Hospitality Management System; Historic Property will Utilize PAR's

January 30, 2007

Hotel Online  Special Report The Fort Garry Hotel Selects PAR Springer-Miller Systems’ SMS|Host® Hospitality Management System . Historic Property will Utilize PAR’s Guest Centric Solution New Hartford, NY ---October 17, 2006 —PAR Springer-Miller Systems Inc. (PSMS), a wholly owned subsidiary of PAR Technology Corporation (NYSE:PTC) --- and the leading provider of guest-centric hospitality management systems for hotels/resorts and spas--- is pleased to announce that the Fort Garry Hotel in Winnipeg, Canada has chosen SMS|Host Hospitality Management System as the technology of choice for their hotel and spa. This fo...

SpaSoft Achieves CISP Payment Application Best Practices Validation / September 2006

January 30, 2007

Hotel Online  Special Report SpaSoft Achieves CISP Payment Application Best Practices Validation   TORONTO, ON. — SEPTEMBER 6, 2006 — PAR Springer Miller Systems Inc. (SMS) — the leading provider of guest-centric hospitality management systems— is pleased to announce that VISA® USA has validated SpaSoft Version 3.0 as compliant with it’s CISP (Card Information Security Program) Payment Application Best Practices.   VISA, in collaboration with MasterCard, has incorporated the CISP standards into an industry-wide approach, known as the Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standard.  The new standard applies ...

Outrigger to Manage New Luxury Resort to be Built on the island of Koror in the Republic of Palau; $40 million Project Being Developed by Micronesia I

January 30, 2007

Hotel Online  Special Report Outrigger to Manage New Luxury Resort to be Built on the Island of Koror in the Republic of Palau; $40 million Project Being Developed by Micronesia Investment and Development Corporation February 2, 2007 - Outrigger Enterprises Group today announced it has entered into an agreement with Micronesia Investment and Development Corporation (MIDCORP) and Agora Development Group (ADG) to manage a new luxury resort project to be built on the island of Koror in the Republic of Palau. The resort, to be called the Outrigger Palau Resort, Spa and Hotel, will be built on a beachfront site near Echang vil...

Insight into Revenue Trends – Other Hotel Revenue Sources / Robert Mandelbaum / February 2007

January 30, 2007

Hotel Online  Special Report Insight into Revenue Trends - Other Hotel Revenue Sources . by: Robert Mandelbaum, February 2007 As the lodging industry goes through its cycles, the major sources of revenue (room, food, beverage) for U.S. hotels fluctuate dramatically.  For example, rooms revenues during the recent industry recession declined 16.1 percent from 2000 to 2003.  On the other hand, some of the “minor” revenue sources for hotels show more stability over the long term.  During the same 2000 to 2003 period, the combined revenue from Other Operated Departments and Rental and Other Income declined j...