February 28, 2006

Hotel Online  Special Report The Holiday Inn Brand’s 11th Indoor Waterpark, the  60,000 sq.-ft. Fort Rapids,  Opens at the Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites Columbus (Ohio) East ATLANTA (May 22, 2006) – InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) [LON:IHG, NYSE:IHG (ADRs)], the world's largest hotel group by number of rooms, announces its latest indoor water park addition to the Holiday Inn Hotels & Resorts portfolio, in Columbus, Ohio. Themed “Fort Rapids,” this 60,000 sq.-ft. indoor waterpark is the largest of the eleven Holiday Inn Indoor Waterparks currently open across the Midwestern U.S., with several more in th...

John Burns and Jon Inge Inducted into the HFTP International Hospitality Technology Hall of Fame / May 2006

February 28, 2006

Hotel Online  Special Report John Burns and Jon Inge Inducted into the HFTP International Hospitality Technology Hall of Fame AUSTIN, TEXAS; May 25, 2006 - Two hospitality technology pioneers, both industry consultants, were selected for induction into the HFTP International Hospitality Technology Hall of Fame. John Burns, CHA and John Inge, CHTP, ISHC were chosen for their wide-spread involvement in the industry. Both Burns and Inge will be honored at this year's HITEC Opening General Session on June 20 at the Minneapolis Convention Center in Minneapolis, Minn. USA. HITEC 2006 will be held June 19-22 at the Minneapolis Con...

HEI Hospitality Acquires 360-Room Park Hyatt Hotel in San Francisco from a Subsidiary of Strategic Hotel Capital, LLC / May 2006

February 28, 2006

Hotel Online  Special Report  HEI Hospitality Acquires 360-Room Park Hyatt Hotel in San Francisco from a Subsidiary of Strategic Hotel Capital, LLC To Invest Approximately $10 Million to Upgrade, Convert to Le Meridien Brand NORWALK, Conn., May 10, 2006 — HEI Hospitality, a rapidly growing hospitality investment and operating company, today announced that it has acquired the 360-room Park Hyatt hotel in San Francisco, Calif., from SHC Park San Francisco LLC, for an undisclosed amount.    SHC Park San Francisco, LLC is a subsidiary of Strategic Hotel Capital, LLC, a private company whose principal shareholders ar...

HDTV Installations Accelerate as Hotel Operators Look To Current Needs, Future Opportunities; LodgeNet Customers Say HDTV Is Differentiating The Guest

February 28, 2006

Hotel Online  Special Report HDTV Installations Accelerate as Hotel Operators Look To Current Needs, Future Opportunities . LodgeNet Customers Say HDTV Is Differentiating The Guest Experience;  Smooth Adoption Hinges On Integration Of Content, Displays And Video-On-Demand System  SIOUX FALLS SD, May 10, 2006 – LodgeNet Entertainment Corporation (NASDAQ: LNET), the world’s largest provider of interactive television and broadband solutions to hotels, today offered insights into the accelerating deployment of high-definition TV (HDTV) solutions across the hospitality industry. “If what we’re seeing is any indicatio...

Benchmark Appoints Heath Carter Director of Sales & Marketing for Stonewall Resort Near Weston, West Virginia / May 2006

February 28, 2006

Hotel Online  Special Report  Benchmark Appoints Heath Carter Director of Sales & Marketing for Stonewall Resort Near Weston, West Virginia The Woodlands (Houston), Texas, May 8, 2006 - Benchmark Hospitality International has announced the appointment of Heath Carter as director of sales and marketing for Stonewall Resort, the 2,000-acre destination resort located near Weston, West Virginia.  Ken Jesina, Benchmark's general manager at the property, made the announcement.   "We are very excited to have a sales executive of Heath's caliber and energy joining Benchmark at Stonewall Resort," said Mr. Jesina.  "We welcom...

Hotel Booking Solutions Incorporated Selected by Unique Vacations to Provide Demand Management for Sandals and Beaches Resorts / May 2006

February 28, 2006

Hotel Online  Special Report  Hotel Booking Solutions Incorporated Selected by Unique Vacations to Provide Demand Management for Sandals and Beaches Resorts Atlanta, Georgia, (May 2, 2006) Hotel Booking Solutions Incorporated (HBSI) a leading provider of Demand ManagementSM technologies and services to the global travel industry, announced today that Unique Vacations Inc., the worldwide representatives for Sandals and Beaches Resorts, has signed an agreement to implement Demand Management technologies and services at 16 Sandals,  Beaches Resorts and Royal Plantation properties located across five of the most idyllic isl...

Dave Anderson of Famous Dave's Barbecue Restaurant Chain Building a 611-room Resort with 80,000 sq ft Water Park North of Chicago in Gurnee; Th

February 28, 2006

Hotel Online  News for the Hospitality Executive By Susan Kuczka, Chicago Tribune Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News May 10, 2006 - -- Gurnee is one of the top tourist destinations in Illinois, but it took a special tax-incentive package to persuade "Famous" Dave Anderson to build a $125 million hotel and indoor water park complex in the Lake County village rather than in Wisconsin. Ground could be broken this summer on the KeyLime Cove Resort and Water Park project. Gurnee officials landed it after offering Anderson, owner of the nationwide Famous Dave's barbecue cha...

Approximately 36 Companies Selected to Provide Technologies for HITEC's Guestroom 2010; Some Technologies Not Included Because they Lacked a Wor

February 28, 2006

Hotel Online  Special Report  Approximately 36 Companies Selected to Provide Technologies for HITEC's Guestroom 2010;  Some Technologies Not Included Because they Lacked a Working Model AUSTIN, TEXAS; May 26, 2006 - Today, Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP) provided a glimpse of the technologies to be featured in its GUESTROOM 2010 prototype hotel room and adjacent pavilion. The display will debut next month at HITEC (Hospitality Industry Technology Exposition and Conference) 2006, June 19-22 at the Minneapolis Convention Center in Minneapolis, Minn. Based on a worldwide, comprehensive study, more ...

Are We Teaching Our Guests that the Front Desk Cannot be Bothered? Getting Back to the Basics of Hospitality: Treating Our Guests as Friends / Kent Se

February 28, 2006

Hotel Online  Special Report Are We Teaching Our Guests that the Front Desk Cannot be Bothered?  Getting Back to the Basics of Hospitality: Treating Our Guests as Friends By Kent Sexton, Hamister Hospitality Group, May 2006 One of the oldest cannons of business is to know your customer.  The hotel industry has taken this piece of advice and made a science out of it.  Endless surveys and studies tell us that the majority of guests are male corporate clients whose main expectations are a quick check-in, a clean room, and a quick check-out.  We have had these facts drilled into all of our heads so much that...

Vienna Group of Hotels Select GuestCentrix from CMS Hospitality; Leading Australian Software Developer Selected by UK Hotel Group / May 2006

February 28, 2006

Hotel Online  Special Report Vienna Group of Hotels Select GuestCentrix from CMS Hospitality . Leading Australian Software Developer Selected by UK Hotel Group   Sydney, Australia – 24 May 2006 - CMS Hospitality, a leading supplier of software solutions to the hospitality industry, today announced that it’s GuestCentrix Property Management System (PMS) and GuestCentrix Point of Sale (POS) have been successfully installed at The Westminster Hotel, London. Part of the Vienna Group of Hotels, The Westminster Hotel underwent an exhaustive evaluation of more than ten suppliers for their next-generation PMS, prior to...

Demolition of the 12-story Grand Casino Island Hotel in Biloxi Clears Way for Harrah's $1 billion Casino and Resort Project / May 2006

February 28, 2006

Hotel Online  News for the Hospitality Executive By Karen Nelson, The Sun Herald, Biloxi, Miss. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News May 21, 2006 - BILOXI -- The skyline of Biloxi changed early Sunday with the demolition of the 12-story Grand Casino Island View Hotel. Mayor A.J. Holloway pushed the button on a series of a dozen explosions set by a professional demolition company out of Houston. The ground rippled, and the building folded in on itself at around 6:45 a.m. The crowd cheered. The event attracted people not only to the VIP stands set up for those wh...

The Grand America Hotels and Resorts Use Hospitality Call Center Training to Increase Reservations, Convert Calls; Lessons from Signature Worldwide Tr

February 28, 2006

The Grand America Hotels and Resorts Use Hospitality Call Center Training to Increase Reservations, Convert Calls;  . Lessons from Signature Worldwide Training Program Translate to Additional Customers  COLUMBUS, Ohio (May 30, 2006) —The Grand America Hotels and Resorts and its two Salt Lake City properties reported a 17 percent increase in reservation conversions following customized hospitality training by Signature Worldwide. Signature, the leading provider of training outsourcing and business-building solutions to the hospitality industry, was contracted by The Grand America Hotel to develop a call center training prog...

Ramada Inn Governor House in Olympia, Washington Severs Ramada Affiliation; The 119 room Hotel Will Operate Independently as the Governor House / Ma

February 28, 2006

Hotel Online  News for the Hospitality Executive By Jim Szymanski, The Olympian, Olympia, Wash. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News May 26, 2006 - OLYMPIA -- Downtown's Ramada Inn Governor House will end its relationship with the national Ramada hotel chain this summer. The move means the 119-room hotel, at 621 Capitol Way S., will independently market itself, change its name and offer customers a new Web site to make reservations, general manager Sandra Miller said Thursday. She expects the changes to take effect July 5. At that time, the hotel will take The G...

February 28, 2006

Hotel Online Special Report Global Update: Who’s Where and Doing What May 2006 Heads Above the Rest The Newsletter of The Boutique Search Firm   The Americas Cornell hotelman Richard Cotter has left his position of Executive Vice President Hotel and Food and Beverage for Wynn Las Vegas after two and a half years to launch his own advisory boutique. A luxury specialist, he had been the Managing Director of New York's St. Regis, the New York Palace and the Beverly Hilton.  Mark Huntley has been appointed Senior Vice President Operations at Las Vegas' MGM Grand Hotel and Casino. The Englishman was most recentl...

Benchmark's Glen Cove Mansion Salutes the Community, Launches Operation Clean Up! / May 2006

February 28, 2006

Hotel Online  Special Report  Benchmark's Glen Cove Mansion Salutes the Community,  Launches Operation Clean Up! Benchmark's Nationwide Hometown Hospitality Initiative in Glen Cove, NY   Glen Cove, New York, May 2006 - Benchmark's Glen Cove Mansion Hotel and Conference Center launched  'Operation Clean Up ' along Lattingtown and East Beach Roads in Glen Cove, Long Island, New York, during their recent recognition of Earth Day.     As part of Benchmark's "Hometown Hospitality Caring for our Communities" program, a national outreach initiative, 15 employees hit the roads armed with grappler sticks, trash bags and...

City of Anchorage Back on Track with Plans for a Four Season Resort on City-owned Land; Proposed Winner Creek Resort Includes Golf Course, Nordic an

February 28, 2006

Hotel Online  News for the Hospitality Executive By Anne Aurand, Anchorage Daily News, Alaska Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News May 1, 2006 - GIRDWOOD -- The city is set to pay $400,000 to a group of Girdwood resort developers after bungling a deal that sought to transform Girdwood into a year-round resort. In fact, says an ombudsman's report issued last year, the city could have owed Glacier Valley Development Corp. as much as $2 million. Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich characterized the proposed $400,000 settlement with Glacier Valley as a small amount to...

Germany the Conventions and Meetings Market Leader in Europe; Many New Hotels and Convention Centres in Germany / May 2006

February 28, 2006

Hotel Online  Special Report Germany the Conventions and Meetings Market Leader in Europe;  Many New Hotels and Convention Centres in Germany Frankfurt/Main, 17 May 2006. -  Germany is still the most popular destination for meetings and conventions in Europe. According to the new International Association Meetings Market 2005 survey by the International Congress & Convention Association (ICCA), Germany has defended its leading position in Europe. And world-wide, Germany still ranks second for congresses behind the USA. In the ICCA's world-wide city ranking the capital Berlin also maintained its excell...

InterContinental Hotels Group Appoints Guillermo Valencia to General Manager of the Holiday Inn Resort Aruba / May 2006

February 28, 2006

Hotel Online  Special Report InterContinental Hotels Group Appoints Guillermo Valencia to General Manager of the Holiday Inn Resort Aruba MIAMI, FL (May 10, 2006) – InterContinental Hotels Group has appointed Guillermo Valencia as General Manager of the Holiday Inn Resort Aruba. Guillermo will also continue his role as the Regional Director of Operations for the Caribbean, responsible for operations in Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, St.Thomas and Jamaica. In his new position as General Manager, he will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Holiday Inn Resort Aruba as well as the properties’ renovations. ...

Gary Mano Appointed General Manager of the Fairfield Hawaii at Waikiki Beach Walk / May 2006

February 28, 2006

Hotel Online  Special Report Gary Mano Appointed General Manager of the Fairfield Hawaii at Waikiki Beach Walk HONOLULU, OAHU, HAWAII - May 24, 2006 - Gary Mano has been appointed General Manager of the Fairfield Hawaii at Waikiki Beach Walk, announced Scott Candland, vice president of operations for Outrigger Enterprises' Condominium/Timeshare Division. Fairfield Resorts is the world's largest vacation ownership company with more than 500,000 owner families. In 2002, Outrigger and Fairfield entered into a strategic alliance whereby Outrigger provides on-site resort management services at all Fairfield properties operating...

February 28, 2006

Hotel Online Special Report Hotel Common Sense . A Bakers Dozen” of Strategies for Hotel General Managers by John Hogan, MBA CHA MHS CHE, May 2006 . We often see top ten lists, but this has been expanded to be certain that no one is “short-changed.”  In ancient times, bakers were subject to severe penalties for short-weighting their customers.  In Egypt, for example, bakers were sometimes nailed by the ear to their shop doors when caught selling light loaves. Bakers were “deafly” afraid, therefore, when the English parliament passed a law in 1266 that strictly regulated bread weight. Since it was difficult at th...

Gary Jutz Named General Manager of the Radisson Aruba Resort & Casino / May 2006

February 28, 2006

Hotel Online  Special Report  Gary Jutz Named General Manager of the Radisson Aruba Resort & Casino ARUBA, May 11, 2006 –  Carlson Hotels Worldwide has appointed Gary Jutz general manager of the Radisson Aruba Resort & Casino, which was a recent recipient of the American Automobile Association (AAA) Four Diamond® award for the fifth consecutive year.  He served as general manager of the Radisson Waikiki Prince Kuhio in Honolulu for the past five years before taking the helm at the brand’s flagship property on Aruba’s famed Palm Beach. The Radisson Aruba Resort & Casino is currently developing the $5.2 million Larim...

Gaylord Hotels Posts 1st Qtr 2006 Net Income of $13.2 million Compared to a Loss of $8.9 million in prior Year; Total RevPAR Surpasses $300 for Gaylor

February 28, 2006

Hotel Online  Special Report  Gaylord Hotels Posts 1st Qtr 2006 Net Income of $13.2 million Compared to a Loss of $8.9 million in Prior Year; Total RevPAR Surpasses $300 for Gaylord Hotels Hotel Operating Statistics NASHVILLE, Tenn. - May 2, 2006--Gaylord Entertainment Co. (NYSE:GET) today reported its financial results for the first quarter of 2006. For the first quarter ended March 31, 2006: Consolidated revenue increased 13.1 percent to $242.2 million from $214.0 million in the same period last year, led by strong revenue growth in the hospitality segment. Income from continuing operations was $11.4 million, o...

Greg Champion Named President of Noble House Hotels & Resorts / May 2006

February 28, 2006

Hotel Online  Special Report  Greg Champion Named President of Noble House Hotels & Resorts SEATTLE, WA (May 22, 2006) -- Greg Champion, an accomplished hospitality executive with more than 25 years of luxury hotel experience, has been named president of Noble House Hotels & Resorts, a privately held real estate development company which owns and manages 12 boutique resorts across the country.  Champion, who was most recently general manager of Noble HouseÂ’s recently renovated La Playa Beach & Golf Resort, a 189-room luxury property on the Gulf of Mexico in Naples, Florida, assumes his duties as president immediately.Â...

Top 5 States and Top 10 cities for Non Smoking hotels in the U.S.; www.freshstay.com adds 25 non-smoking properties during April -California is the nu

February 28, 2006

Hotel Online  Special Report . fresh ideas for hospitality The Pineapple has been a symbol of hospitality for centuries. According to legend, captains of New England would mount a pineapple on their fence posts when they had a safe return from sea.  This served as an invitation for family and friends to visit and share a meal together.  Today, the pineapple serves as a symbol for the highest quality in hospitality . . . Top 5 States and Top 10 cities for Non Smoking hotels in the U.S.  . www.freshstay.com adds 25 non-smoking properties during April;  California is the number 1 state and Seattle the numb...