February 28, 2006

Hotel Online  Special Report  Adding an "I" for Interaction to “Management By Wandering Around”  By Mark Hamister, CEO and Chairman, The Hamister Group, Inc.  June 2006 . MBWA, “Management By Wandering Around,” has been my favorite business acronym since the early 80’s, when Tom Peters and Robert Waterman made this Hewlett-Packard hallmark famous in In Search Of Excellence.  I eagerly began teaching it to all of my management staff as soon as I read the book.  Just as I had requested, my managers started spending less time in their offices and more time out and about in our properties.  I was seriously disappo...

Benchmark Appoints Marcia Abel as Director of Human Resources for The Northland Inn, Brooklyn Park, Minnesota / June 2006

February 28, 2006

Hotel Online  Special Report Benchmark Appoints Marcia Abel as Director of Human Resources for The Northland Inn, Brooklyn Park, Minnesota The Woodlands (Houston), Texas, June 23, 2006 - Benchmark Hospitality International has appointed Marcia Abel as director of human resources for The Northland Inn, located near Minneapolis, Minnesota.  Charles Nehme, general manager, made the announcement.   "It is my great pleasure to welcome Marcia to The Northland Inn, said Mr. Nehme.  "She brings significant experience in our market and in the industry to her new role and we look forward to her leadership in the human resource...

Holiday Inn Hotels Begins Multi-million-dollar Marketing Campaign that Asks Guests to Look Again at the Brand / June 2006

February 28, 2006

Hotel Online  Special Report  Holiday Inn Hotels Begins Multi-million-dollar Marketing Campaign that Asks Guests to "Look Again" at the Brand . Campaign Targets Generation X and Baby Boomers ATLANTA, June 7, 2006 - Holiday Inn® Hotels and Resorts, the world's most recognized hotel brand, announces a comprehensive multi-million-dollar integrated marketing campaign that asks guests to "Look Again" at the brand. Through independent research conducted by strategic brand consultancy Landis Global Market Research, Holiday Inn found that the four features most important to business travelers are  free High Speed Internet,Â...

Some Long-term Trends that Might be Adverse to the Future of the Hotel Industry / Steve Rushmore / Canadian Lodging Outlook – April 2006 Year

February 28, 2006

Hotel Online  Special Report Some Long-term Trends that Might Be Adverse to the Future of the Hotel Industry CANADIAN LODGING OUTLOOK April 2006 The Canadian Lodging Outlook is a joint monthly publication  of Smith Travel Research and HVS International,  Vancouver and Toronto, Canada . Reprint - By Steve Rushmore, CRE, MAI, CHA Sunny Times, But Clouds On Horizon Looking around the world, with only a few exceptions, it appears the hotel industry is doing very well. Global travel is up, particularly from some of the emerging markets such as India and China. The general feeling at most of the hotel investment conferen...

LodgeNet Connecting Guests with New In-Room Solutions for Entertainment, Information and Productivity; Company Goes Live With Entertainment 2GoSM Cont

February 28, 2006

Hotel Online  Special Report LodgeNet Connecting Guests with New In-Room Solutions for Entertainment, Information and Productivity .. Company Goes Live With Entertainment 2GoSM Content Download Service  While Developing Solutions For Multi-Device Connectivity, Network-Enabled Video Games SIOUX FALLS SD, June 20, 2006 – LodgeNet Entertainment Corporation, the world leader in interactive TV and broadband solutions to hotels, today commented on the “Guest Connectivity” solutions they are showcasing at Booth 301 of the HITEC 2006 trade show in Minneapolis, today through Thursday June 22. “For today’s travelers it’s n...

LodgeNet Reports on Successes in High-Speed Internet Access / June 2006

February 28, 2006

Hotel Online  Special Report LodgeNet Reports on Successes in High-Speed Internet Access .. Company Receives Highest Satisfaction Ranking Among Major HSIA Providers  Entertainment 2Go Content Download Service Launched  User Interface Upgrade Brings Consistency Of Experience Between HSIA, TV  SIOUX FALLS SD, June 20, 2006 – LodgeNet Entertainment Corporation, the world leader in interactive TV and broadband solutions to hotels, today opened its appearance at HITEC 2006 by announcing the following highlights relative to its high-speed Internet access (HSIA) business:  As part of the company’s C...

LodgeNet Facilitating the Move to HDTV as Interest, Implementation Increase Among Leading Hotels; Easy HD Program Brings All Components Together To Ma

February 28, 2006

Hotel Online  Special Report LodgeNet Facilitating the Move to HDTV as Interest, Implementation Increase Among Leading Hotels .. “Easy HD” Program Brings All Components Together To Manage The HDTV Transition,  Help Maximize ROI And Deliver A Superior In-Room Experience  SIOUX FALLS SD, June 20, 2006 – LodgeNet Entertainment Corporation, the world leader in interactive television and broadband solutions to hotels, is demonstrating how it makes HDTV easy for hoteliers at Booth 301 of the HITEC 2006 show in Minneapolis, today through June 22.  “Federal mandates, brand standards and guest expectations are driving H...

The Lodge at Rancho Mirage to be Closed on August 13, 2006 for Re-Development / June 2006

February 28, 2006

Hotel Online  Special Report The Lodge at Rancho Mirage to be Closed on August 13, 2006 for Re-Development   DENVER, June 13, 2006 - RockResorts, a subsidiary of Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE: MTN) reported today that The Lodge at Rancho Mirage in Rancho Mirage, CA, will close on August 13th, 2006.  The hotel has been part of the luxury collection since December 2001, and was sold by Vail Resorts in July 2005 while RockResorts retained management.  RockResorts received notice on June 9, 2006 that the owners of the hotel, GENLB-Rancho LLC ("GenLB"), plan to close the hotel in order to complete an extensive redevelopment o...

The Levante Parliament, Vienna: A Progressive Hotel Concept Uniting Art and Hospitality / June 2006

February 28, 2006

Hotel Online  Special Report The Levante Parliament, Vienna: A Progressive Hotel Concept Uniting Art and Hospitality Berlin, June 13, 2006 - Building on the stylistic principles of the original 1908 facade, rationalism and clean lines mix with contemporary art and design at The Levante Parliament. The result is both an homage to the Viennese Modernist movement as well an exciting new addition to the hospitality scene.  A team of international architects, designers and artists have transformed the historic building into a space that is both a gallery and a hotel. Black and white photographs by Curt Themessl as well as glas...

Leonardo Announces it Has Been Selected by Starwood Hotels & Resorts to Distribute its Online Rich Media Content / June 2006

February 28, 2006

Hotel Online  Special Report  Leonardo Announces it Has Been Selected by Starwood Hotels & Resorts to Distribute its Online Rich Media Content June 5, 2006 – LONDON – Leonardo Media, a world leader in travel-content management, e-marketing and distribution to the global travel industry, has been selected by Starwood Hotels & Resorts to provide rich, online media-content distribution (including static and moving property images, logos, maps, etc.) for its Sheraton, Four Points by Sheraton, St. Regis, The Luxury Collection, Le Meridien, W Hotels and Westin brands. Leonardo will provide Starwood with a “single point-of-e...

Leonardo to Provide Cultuzz with Rich Media Content for eBay Travel / June 2006

February 28, 2006

Hotel Online  Special Report  Leonardo to Provide Cultuzz with Rich Media Content for eBay Travel LONDON — 8 June 2006 — Leonardo Media, an international leader in managing and distributing rich media content has announced it has formed a commercial partnership with Cultuzz GmbH, the leading  seller of accommodation content on eBay.  Under the agreement, Leonardo will provide Cultuzz with a customised delivery of quality assured and up-to-date rich media content (static and animated images) for hotels featured within the eBay travel category.  “We are delighted to be partnering with Cultuzz to provide eBay with ric...

Lazer Lodging Debuts As Aggressive, Proactive Hotel Asset Manager / May 2006

February 28, 2006

Hotel Online  Special Report   Lazer Lodging Debuts As Aggressive,  Proactive Hotel Asset Manager Washington, DC – June 1, 2006 — Hospitality veteran Randall W. (Randy) Carroll, announced today that he has formed a hotel asset management and advisory company, Lazer Lodging Asset Management™. The new company delivers benefits to hotel owners through an experienced and dedicated hospitality asset management team which drives profitability and optimizes asset value. Primarily designed to serve hotel owners without professional asset managers on staff, Lazer Lodging Asset Management™ performs the complete array of asset...

A Group of Duluthians Building a 116 room $17 million Hotel on Duluth's Downtown Waterfront / June 2006

February 28, 2006

Hotel Online  News for the Hospitality Executive By Jane Brissett, Duluth News-Tribune, Minn. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jun. 14, 2006 - In August, the Canal Park Inn is expected to be razed and in less than a year, a new 116-room, $17 million hotel will replace it. With approvals by the Duluth Planning Commission Tuesday evening, the project is "99 percent" ready to roll, investor Terry Lundberg said. Construction at 250 Canal Park Drive is expected to begin Sept. 1, Ron Anderson, secretary of Canal Park Lodge LLC, told the Planning Commission. The ...

Windsor Management Services Names Brad Poncher and Amanda Frank as General Manager and Director of Sales for the Homewood Suites in La Quinta, Califor

February 28, 2006

Hotel Online  Special Report Windsor Management Services Names Brad Poncher and Amanda Frank as General Manager and Director of Sales for the Homewood Suites in La Quinta, California LA QUINTA, Calif., June 8, 2006 - Windsor Capital Group appreciates how successfully opening a property in a smaller and highly competitive market requires both a keen sense for the area's business culture and, almost more importantly, a little more sensitivity to nuance. Its hotel management division, Windsor Management Services (WMS), has inherited that tradition. In hiring Brad Poncher and Amanda Frank as general manager and ...

Linda Canina Named Editor of Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly / June 2006

February 28, 2006

Hotel Online  Special Report  Linda Canina Named Editor of Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly Ithaca, NY, June 26, 2006 – Linda Canina has been named the new editor of the Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, the award-winning academic journal published by The Center for Hospitality Research at the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration. Effective July 1, Canina will succeed Professor Michael Sturman, who has completed his three-year term in the position.  “Linda Canina is an extremely talented researcher, and a skilled writer and reviewer of practitioner based resear...

Hotelier Larry Broughton Survives Rough 2001 Start; Broughton Hospitality Group Runs 14 Hotels; $28M in Revenue / June 2006

February 28, 2006

Hotel Online  Special Report  Hotelier Larry Broughton Survives Rough 2001 Start . Broughton Hospitality Group Runs 14 Hotels; $28M in Revenue By Sandi Cain, Orange County Business Journal Staff June 2006 In 2001, Larry Broughton left his executive post at San Francisco-based boutique hotel operator Joie de Vivre Hospitality and started his own hotel management company. “In retrospect, it wasn’t a great time to start a hotel company,” Broughton said. The economic boom of the late 1990s still was in force when Broughton set out on his own with Huntington Beach-based Broughton Hospitality Group. Early in 2001, he pi...

Unique Partnership Moving Forward with Downtown Los Angeles Convention Center Hotel; 54 story Tower to Include 876 room Marriott Marquis, 124-room Rit

February 28, 2006

Hotel Online  Special Report  Unique Partnership Moving Forward with Downtown Los Angeles Convention Center Hotel;  54 story Tower to Include 876 room Marriott Marquis, 124-room Ritz Carlton and 216 Condominiums LOS ANGELES - June 13, 2006 --  Unique Partnership To Combine Convention Center 'Headquarters Hotel,' Luxury Hotel and Privately Owned Residences in One Landmark Tower  Prominent Interior Designers Peter Remedios, Cheryl Rowley Join Development Team  KB Urban, the high-density, mixed-use subsidiary of KB Home (NYSE:KBH), one of the nation's premier homebuilders and AEG, one of the leading sports and...

Top 5 Group Events – North America – May 2006 / June 2006

February 28, 2006

Hotel Online  Special Report Top 5 Group Events - North America - May 2006 Square Footage Meeting Space Occupied, Square Footage Catered, Estimated Number of Attendees . Data derived from reader board reports covering 384 hotels in 33 markets across 29 states* . . *Data are derived from the Knowland Group’s national reader board service. Hotels surveyed are determined by request from Knowland Group clients. Data does not represent a scientific study. Estimated number of attendees is based on size of meeting rooms occupied and, where possible to determine, configuration of rooms and does NOT necessarily correspo...

The Knowland Group Presents Services to Southern California Embassy Suites Co-op; Market Intelligence Firm will Provide Group Sales Leads to Propertie

February 28, 2006

Hotel Online  Special Report The Knowland Group Presents Services to Southern California Embassy Suites Co-op . Market Intelligence Firm will Provide Group Sales Leads to Properties in San Diego, Los Angeles and Palm Springs Washington, DC (June 6, 2006) — The Knowland Group announced today that it will begin service for the Embassy Suites Southern California Co-Op. “The word on the street is we need to become familiar with your services” said the email in bold text from then chair of the Embassy Suites southern California co-op, Kim Schnell.  Starting the process for Dave McKean, director of sales for The Knowlan...

The Knowland Group Begins Service in San Francisco, CA / June 2006

February 28, 2006

Hotel Online  Special Report The Knowland Group Begins Service in San Francisco, CA .. Market Intelligence Firm Continues Solidifying Its West Coast Presence Washington, DC (June 21, 2006) - The Knowland Group announced today that it has begun service in the San Francisco, CA market.  The Knowland Group, whose reputation for excellence as a lead generation service for hotel group sales has made it the most sought after provider in the industry, will begin offering its services to hoteliers in San Francisco. The city, whose culture is a blend of the past and the present, is truly cosmopolitan. Visitors who come to San Fr...

Broadway Hospitality Chooses the Knowland Group for Group Sales / June 2006

February 28, 2006

Hotel Online  Special Report Broadway Hospitality Chooses the Knowland Group for Group Sales Leads .. Market Intelligence Firm Will Widen Its Customer Base By Providing Services To Properties In Pennsylvania, Georgia, Florida, Maryland, Tennessee, and North Carolina. Washington, DC (June 23, 2006) - The Knowland Group announced today that it will begin service for Broadway Hospitality hotels. The Texas-based hotel management firm currently operates 20 hotels in six states. Its properties include some of the most easily recognizable brand names in the industry such as Holiday Inns, Wyndham Hotels, and Marriott Hotels. T...

Florida Keys Tourism Tourism Officials Carefully Examine Effects on the Bed Tax as More then 2,400 Hotel Rooms Go Condo / June 2006

February 28, 2006

Hotel Online  News for the Hospitality Executive By Steve Sanoski, Florida Keys Keynoter, Marathon Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jun. 21, 2006 - The total number of condominium conversion projects in the pipeline in Monroe County has risen to nearly 40, encompassing more than 2,400 rooms throughout Monroe County. This number was revealed as the Monroe County Tourist Development Council released its updated study of condominium conversions aimed at better understanding how the increasing number of condos is affecting Keys tourists, coffers and industries. This st...

Key West Inns, Inc. Adds Brian Robinson as Franchisee Success Coach / June 2006

February 28, 2006

Hotel Online  Special Report  Key West Inns, Inc. Adds Brian Robinson as Franchisee Success Coach June, 2006, Birmingham, Alabama based Key West Inns, Inc. is providing new and enhanced services to its franchisees with the addition of Brian Robinson as Franchisee Success Coach (FSC). Brian Robinson, a 15 year hospitality industry veteran, has many successful years of hotel management experience, working with such brands as Choice, Intercontinental, Hampton, and Starwood, and will utilize his experience in providing training, guidance, and mentoring to the Key West owners/operators in multiple facets of hotel operations i...

Warnick & Company Advises on the Acquisition of the Outrigger Keauhou Beach Resort / June 2006

February 28, 2006

Hotel Online  Special Report Warnick & Company Advises on the Acquisition of the Outrigger Keauhou Beach Resort Kona, Hawaii, June, 9, 2006 – Warnick & Company, LLC, acting as an investment advisor, represented Bishop Holdings Corporation in the acquisition of the Outrigger Keauhou Beach Resort located on the world-renowned Kona Coast. This 311-room, full-service resort hotel is the centerpiece of the community of Keauhou and is expected to be renovated and repositioned in the near future.  The Hotel is operated by Outrigger Hotels & Resorts and offers two restaurants, a lounge, a health club, and an ocean-side pool.  ...