February 28, 2006

Hotel Online  Special Report Hotel Web Site Productivity…The New Way to Measure Your Site’s Effectiveness By: Neil Salerno – April 2006 The way I see it, search engines have become so convenient, user-friendly, and accurate that online consumers are being converted into search addicts. Search engines have become an essential part of the Internet. I feel bad for many hotel web sites that are not yet search-friendly and/or have not improved their site content to accommodate search requirements.  The way I see it, many hoteliers still don’t-get-it. While hotel sites are getting more attractive, many simply ignore t...

The Radisson Hotel at Waterfront Place, Morgantown, West Virginia Will Become the Waterfront Place Hotel, Disaffiliating With the Radisson Chain / Ap

February 28, 2006

Hotel Online News for the Hospitality Executive The Radisson Hotel at Waterfront Place, Morgantown, West Virginia Will Become the Waterfront Place Hotel, Disaffiliating With the Radisson Chain By Sarah K. Winn, The Charleston Gazette, W.Va. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News  April 20, 2006  - Spurred by growth in Morgantown’s Wharf district and customers’ comments, the Radisson Hotel at Waterfront Place will have a new name and expanded amenities, beginning June 1. “The customers want something that is unique and different,” said Joe Duperre, the hotel’s general manager. “This is going to be a destination.” ...

The Water Club Changes Name to San Juan Water & Beach Club Hotel; Many Perceived The Water Club As a Members-only Establishment / April 2006

February 28, 2006

Hotel Online  Special Report  The Water Club Changes Name to San Juan Water & Beach Club Hotel;  Many Perceived The Water Club As a Members-only Establishment SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico, April 10, 2006 - Acclaimed boutique hotel, The Water Club in Puerto Rico, has officially changed its name to San Juan Water & Beach Club Hotel. Distinguished as San Juan's only luxury beachfront boutique property, the stylish hotel is embracing its chic ethnic flair and paying homage to its pristine San Juan setting.      "It is important to distinguish our serene beachfront location in the heart of San Juan to encourage t...

Warmbrodt Hotel Investments Structures Sale of the Sleep Inn-Airport, Kansas City, Misssouri / April 2006

February 28, 2006

Hotel Online  Special Report Warmbrodt Hotel Investments Structures Sale of the Sleep Inn-Airport, Kansas City, Misssouri KANSAS CITY, Missouri, April 12, 2006- WARMBRODT HOTEL INVESTMENTS, INC. (“WHI”), announced today it advised in the sale and financing of the 107-room Sleep Inn-Airport in Kansas City, Missouri. The property is proximate to the Kansas City International Airport, Harley Davidson, and CitiGroup. WHI placed the financing for the acquisition with a Kansas City based regional bank. The ten-year old property was purchased by StayInn Kansas City, Inc., based in Riverside, CA for an undisclosed amount. The ...

February 28, 2006

Hotel Online  Special Report China’s Travel & Tourism Industry is Moving at the Speed of Light;  World Travel & Tourism Council Report on China,  China Hong Kong SAR and China Macau SAR  Beijing, PRC, 24 April 2006 - The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) presented today its brand new report on China, China Hong Kong SAR and China Macau SAR: The Impact of Travel & Tourism on Jobs and the Economy to China National Tourism Administration (CNTA) and Beijing Tourism Authority (BTA) as well as over 100 representatives from the Travel & Tourism and media community of Beijing.  Just three years after releasing its ground...

Wendy Little Named Chef de Cuisine at The Boulders Resort in Carefree, Arizona; Plans Include Transforming The Boulders Into an All Organic Resort, wi

February 28, 2006

Hotel Online  Special Report  Wendy Little Named Chef de Cuisine at The Boulders Resort in Carefree, Arizona;  Plans Include Transforming The Boulders Into an All Organic Resort, with Large Gardens on the Grounds Bringing More Than 14 Years of Experience in Organic Cooking, Chef Wendy Implements An All-Organic “Honest Food” Menu at the Resort’s Latilla Restaurant, With the Rest of the Resort to Follow Carefree, AZ – April 11, 2006 – Doug Zeif, vice president of food and beverage for LXR Luxury Resorts, is pleased to announce the appointment of Chef Wendy Little as Chef de Cuisine at The Boulders Resort & Golde...

Crescent Hospitality Names William F. Driscoll Vice President of Business Development / April 2006

February 28, 2006

Hotel Online  Special Report  Crescent Hospitality Names William F. Driscoll Vice President of Business Development WASHINGTON, D.C., April 18, 2006 — Crescent Hospitality Corporation, a rapidly growing hotel and resort management and ownership company, today announced that it has named William F. Driscoll vice president of business development.  In his new role, Driscoll will oversee the company’s business development strategy, which includes hotel management, investment and acquisition opportunities. “Bill Driscoll has played an instrumental role in the growth of a number of prominent hospitality companies, and we e...

Visual One Systems to Install Integrated Suite of Products at the 1500-room Rosen Shingle Creek in Orlando Florida / April 2006

February 28, 2006

Hotel Online  Special Report Visual One Systems to Install Integrated Suite of Products at the 1500-room Rosen Shingle Creek in Orlando Florida Rosen Shingle Creek to use V1’s PMS, POS, Sales & Catering, Spa, Accounts Receivable and GolfPro Rockville, MD (USA) – April 17, 2006 – Visual One Systems, a leading supplier of management software to the hospitality industry, is pleased to announce that Rosen Hotels and Resorts, based in Orlando, Florida, have chosen Visual One’s suite of integrated software products for their premier site, Rosen Shingle Creek.  Rosen Hotels also uses V1’s software at the 800-room Ro...

Victoria J Wilkins Named GM of Hilton Garden Inn-Harbison, Columbia, SC / April 2006

February 28, 2006

Hotel Online  Special Report Victoria J Wilkins Named GM of Hilton Garden Inn, Harbison, Columbia, South Carolina  Williamsburg, Virginia, April 14, 2006 - Newport Hospitality Group is announced the appointment of Victoria J. Wilkins to general manager. Ms. Wilkins joins Newport Hospitality from the Hilton Garden Inn, State College, PA. The Hilton Garden Inn-Harbison is scheduled to open October 2006.  Ms. Wilkins brings a wealth of hospitality experience to her new position. Prior to her position with the Hilton Garden Inn of State College, Vicki served as CFO for the Toftrees Resort & Conference Center in...

Developer Plans for Ute Lake in New Mexico Include a Jack Nicklaus Design Golf Course, a Marina and Up to Five Hotels / April 2006

February 28, 2006

Hotel Online  News for the Hospitality Executive By Julie Dunn, The Denver Post Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Apr. 20, 2006 - Forget heading for the hills. Centennial developer Barry Freedman is hoping some Colorado buyers of second homes would prefer lakefront living -- in New Mexico. Freedman is developing Ute Lake Ranch, a high-end resort community about 400 miles southeast of Denver, outside Logan, N.M. The 25,000 acres are around part of 13-mile-long Ute Lake. Plans call for a gated community with at least 12,000 single-family homes, a Jack Nicklaus D...

Golden Tulip, with One Franchised Hotel in the U.S., Preparing an Initiative to Re-enter the U.S. Market / April 2006

February 28, 2006

Hotel Online  Special Report  Golden Tulip, with One Franchised Hotel in the U.S., Preparing an Initiative to Re-enter the U.S. Market Amersfoort (NL) / Lausanne (CH) / New York; Memphis (US), April 13th 2006; Golden Tulip Hospitality announces the preparation of an initiative to re-enter the US market.  Golden Tulip retained the American based Hospitality Consulting Group, Inc. to study the US market potential and strategy that would assure the superior delivery of its products, services and investment results to its customers, investors and partners in the U.S.A.    Golden Tulip Hospitality currently ranks as the 1...

February 28, 2006

Hotel Online  Special Report Nobody Asked Me, But… No. 8 . Bathtubs, Smokefree Hotels, Maps, Saving Water, Nevada Revenues,  H.P. Rama, Ritz-Carlton, Statler Service Code, Mother’s Day by Stanley Turkel, MHS, ISHC April 24, 2006 1.  After my one-man crusade to eliminate unused bathtubs from hotel guest bathrooms, Marriott is building shower-only rooms for its new Marriott and Renaissance hotels.  Tubs also have no place in Indigo, the new boutique brand by the InterContinental Hotels Group.  When LXR Luxury Resorts took over Fort Lauderdale’s Hyatt Regency Pier 66, it left the tubs out of most of the 100 rooms i...

The Radisson Inn-Tulsa Airport Extensively Damaged by Tornado / April 2006

February 28, 2006

Hotel Online  News for the Hospitality Executive By Shaun Epperson, Tulsa World, Okla. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Apr. 3, 2006 - --A small tornado touched down Saturday night at Tulsa International Airport, extensively damaging a hotel and dozens of vehicles, and pivoting a few regional jets on the ground, officials said. No serious injuries were reported. "It damaged some aircraft, and there was some minor damage to the terminal, but the biggest problem was the hotel and the parking lot," said an airport spokeswoman, Mary Smith. The small twister brie...

Tucson to Get a 'Boutique Hotel'; Aloft Label May Add Hip New Facility in 2007 / April 2006

February 28, 2006

Hotel Online News for the Hospitality Executive  Tucson to Get a 'Boutique Hotel';  Aloft Label May Add Hip New Facility in 2007 By Levi J. Long, The Arizona Daily Star, Tucson Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News  April 6, 2006 - A hip new hotel, offering urban-style loft guest rooms, is coming to Tucson. The Old Pueblo is among five metropolitan areas that will be the first homes of the new Aloft brand when the hotel debuts in early 2007, according to hotel spokesmen with Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. The company operates several chains including the Sheraton, Westin, Four Points and luxury W Hotel brands. A...

Raleigh, Durham North Carolina Area Adding Up to 2,500 New Hotel Rooms / April 2006

February 28, 2006

Hotel Online  News for the Hospitality Executive By Dudley Price, The News & Observer, Raleigh, N.C. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Apr. 24, 2006 - Like any growing family, the Triangle needs an extra room. Make that 2,566 rooms. That's the number of new hotel rooms under construction or being planned in Wake and Durham counties, as innkeepers begin their biggest expansion in nearly a decade. "The market is good right now," said Pat Daly, marketing director for Daly Seven, a Danville, Va., chain that is investing $24 million to build two hotels in the Tria...

Web Marketing Association Awards TravelCLICK iHotelier Website Booking Engine with 2006 Best Interactive Application for Hotel and Lodging Industry

February 28, 2006

Hotel Online  Special Report Web Marketing Association Awards TravelCLICK iHotelier Website Booking Engine with 2006 Best Interactive Application for Hotel and Lodging Industry CHICAGO (April 6, 2006) The Web Marketing Association has awarded the TravelCLICK iHotelier website booking engine the "Best Interactive Application" for the Hotel and Lodging Industry in the 2006 Internet Advertising Competition (IAC) Awards.  TravelCLICK won for its compelling online hotel reservations booking system, OneScreen, used by Wynn Las Vegas, the world-famous Las Vegas destination resor...

Luxury Resort Achieves Dramatic Results with Integrated Distribution Solution from TravelCLICK; Case Study: Kapalua Villas Increases Website Bookings

February 28, 2006

Hotel Online  Special Report Luxury Resort Achieves Dramatic Results with Integrated Distribution Solution from TravelCLICK .> Case Study: Kapalua Villas Increases Website Bookings and Web ADR CHICAGO – (April 20, 2006)  The Kapalua Villas is part of Maui Land & Pine, Maui’s largest property owner.  Along with white-sand beaches and world-class golf and tennis, the 23,000-acre resort offers over 20 unique shops and restaurants.  In 2005, it was named among the Top 25 Hawaii hotels by Travel + Leisure magazine. “We experienced immediate results after implementing iHotelier,” Dean Yamashita, Director of Sales and M...

TravelCLICK iHotelier Selected by CHIP Hospitality for Central Reservation System Solution / April 2006

February 28, 2006

Hotel Online  Special Report TravelCLICK iHotelier Selected by CHIP Hospitality for Central Reservation System Solution  .> Trendsetting management company moves to iHotelier for integrated distribution solution to increase online bookings CHICAGO (April 18, 2006) – TravelCLICK Inc., a leading provider of hotel business process management (BPM) solutions, announced today that CHIP Hospitality, a leading Canadian hotel and resort management company, will implement the TravelCLICK iHotelier Central Reservation System (CRS) for website and GDS reservations, online advertising, as well as the call center interface at thei...

TravelCLICK iHotelier Selected by Hotel Arena for Central Reservation System Solution / April 2006

February 28, 2006

Hotel Online  Special Report TravelCLICK iHotelier Selected by Hotel Arena for Central Reservation System Solution  .> Trendsetting European Independent Hotel Uses TravelCLICK’s Integrated Distribution Solution to Increase Revenue CHICAGO (April 25, 2006) – TravelCLICK Inc., a leading provider of hotel business process management (BPM) solutions, announced today that Hotel Arena, one of the Netherlands most popular hotels, has implemented the TravelCLICK iHotelier Central Reservation System (CRS) for website and GDS reservations.  Hotel Arena also uses a range of TravelCLICK solutions including market intelligence, ...

The 2006 Ranking of the Top 10 Hotel Groups Worldwide / April 2006

February 28, 2006

Hotel Online  Special Report  The 2006 Ranking of the Top 10 Hotel Groups Worldwide Ranking positions haven’t changed much… but supply is in full growth! Paris, 7 april 2006 - The 2006 edition of the ranking of the top 10 hotel groups worldwide marks a turnaround in the development of the supply of the biggest hotel companies. While the top 10 groups showed 1.2% growth in their supplies at the beginning of 2005, this growth is up by 6.9% at the beginning of 2006. After several years of moderation, the giants of the hotel industry worldwide (68% of hotel chains worldwide last year) have shifted into high gear….  I...

February 28, 2006

Hotel Online  Special Report Thomas D. Smith, GM of the Hyatt Regency Hill Country, Named Hyatt Hotels Corporation’s General Manager of the Year San Antonio - April 18, 2006 - Thomas D. Smith, general manager of the Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort and Spa has been awarded the Donald M. Pritzker Award for Excellence as Hyatt Hotels Corporation’s  General Manager of the Year. Eleven general managers from 124 U.S.-based hotels were nominated for this prestigious award. The award was presented to Smith at the Annual General Managers Meeting held in Chicago over the April 9th weekend. Smith, who has been with the Hyatt Hi...

The Tipping Point – Touch Points Make a Difference in Customer Service Training / Carol Verret / April 2006

February 28, 2006

Carol Verret Consulting  and Training Consulting Training Seminars . . . . The "Tipping Point" . Touch Points Make a Difference in Customer Service Training by Carol Verret, March 2006 (This is the first article in a series of two – the next one will speak to the “Tipping Point in Sales”.) Malcolm Gladwell’s book “The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference” has tremendous applications in the hospitality industry in terms of customer service! Ours is an industry of ‘little things’ – identifying which ones will ‘tip’ our guests positively or negatively is the challenge! Ther...

John G. Marshall Named General Manager of Te Tiare Beach, an Outrigger Resort in French Polynesia / April 2006

February 28, 2006

Hotel Online  Special Report John G. Marshall Named General Manager of Te Tiare Beach,  an Outrigger Resort in French Polynesia HONOLULU, OAHU, HAWAII - April 6, 2006 - John G. Marshall has been named general manager of the Te Tiare Beach, an Outrigger Resort, on Huahine Island in French Polynesia, announced Barry Wallace, executive vice president of hospitality services for Outrigger Enterprises, Inc. Marshall is a veteran hotelier well-known throughout the South Pacific region having served as general manager and director of operations for a variety of resorts, including Pacific Explorer Hotels (Vanuatu), ...

Tom Petot Named Named General Manager Inn By The Sea in Cape Elizabeth, Maine / April 2006

February 28, 2006

Hotel Online  Special Report Tom Petot Named Named General Manager Inn By The Sea in Cape Elizabeth, Maine Ongoing Education for Staff Integral to Success Cape Elizabeth, April 10, 2006  - Inn owner Maureen McQuade announced that Tom Petot has joined the staff as General Manager of the Four Diamond Inn By The Sea on Crescent Beach.  An industry veteran with a Masters degree from The Cornell School of Hotel Administration Petot comes to the Inn with 20 years of experience in Hospitality Management, including positions as GM, Controller, Director of Food and Beverage and Restaurant Manager.   According...