Human Capital Crisis in Hospitality / John R Hendrie / January 2006

January 30, 2006

Hotel Online  Special Report Human Capital Crisis in Hospitality by John R. Hendrie, January 4, 2006 Every year the pundits and hospitality leaders project challenges for the coming year, and, like clockwork, one issue is always TURNOVER OF EMPLOYEES.  How do you attract and retain employees, your Human Capital, your Ambassadors to the Visitor and Guest?   We know we run a tight margin business, where payroll costs are our largest expense.  In the US, we know that we do not really want the minimum wage to increase, although many States now exceed the Federal level.  We know that we do not want the Tip Credit to disapp...

Ending Hotel Room Boredom: Finer Hotel Rooms Looking More Like Something Out of a Fabulous Home / January 2006

January 30, 2006

Hotel Online  News for the Hospitality Executive By Eils Lotozo, The Philadelphia Inquirer Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 13, 2006 - Not so long ago, high-end hotel rooms seemed to come in two flavors: blandly tasteful or, thanks to hotelier Ian Schrager and designer Philippe Starck, surreal and cutting-edge. But these days, hotels seeking crucial repeat business are focusing on comfort and high style that's neither off-putting nor cookie-cutter. In fact, in many of the finer spots, hotel rooms are looking less like hotel rooms -- and more like something out of a fabu...

The Employee Selection Process; Seeking Talent vs Seeking Warm Bodies / John R Hendrie / January 2006

January 30, 2006

Hotel Online  Special Report The Employee Selection Process;  Seeking Talent vs Seeking Warm Bodies by John R. Hendrie, January 17, 2006 Darwin Was Right; A Good Employee Selection Process Will Make You the Fittest! Beset with Turnover, a less than reliable labor pool which is shrinking, changing and alarming, and facing rising costs and expectations, Hospitality Businesses are between that proverbial “rock and a hard place”.  Seeking Talent has been replaced by the “warm body” count mentality, untrained, unmotivated and unprepared employees thrust into the spotlight as our delivery point for service excellence....

Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc. Acquiring the 444 room Hilton Times Square, New York City for Approximately $242.5 million / January 2006

January 30, 2006

Hotel Online  Special Report  Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc. Acquiring the 444 room Hilton Times Square,  New York City for Approximately $242.5 million SAN CLEMENTE, Calif., Jan. 26, 2006 - Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc. (NYSE: SHO) announced today that it has signed a purchase and sale agreement to acquire the Hilton Times Square located in New York City on 42nd Street a half block west of Times Square for a purchase price of approximately $242.5 million, or a 12.8x multiple on projected 2006 EBITDA (see reconciliation of EBITDA to net income below).  The hotel is currently managed by Hilton Hotels. The acquisition...

Portman Holdings and Phelps Development, Co-developers of the 1,190-room Hilton San Diego Convention Center, Set to Start Construction; $348 million P

January 30, 2006

Hotel Online  Special Report  Portman Holdings and Phelps Development, Co-developers of the 1,190-room Hilton San Diego Convention Center, Set to Start Construction; $348 million Project Completely Financed with Private Capital ATLANTA, Ga./GREELEY, Colo., January 23, 2006 -- Officials of Portman Holdings and Phelps Development, co-developers of the 1,190-room Hilton San Diego Convention Center, today announced that construction financing has been completed on the $348 million project with San Diego National Bank.  The hotel is the result of a team effort between Portman Holdings, Phelps Development, ING Clarion Partne...

Hilton Hotels Kicks Off $1 billion Re-ignition Campaign; Includes Physical Improvements, New Ads and Developing Partnerships with Companies Such as St

January 30, 2006

Hotel Online  Special Report  Hilton Hotels Kicks Off $1 billion Re-ignition Campaign; Includes Physical Improvements, New Ads and Developing Partnerships with Companies Such as Starbucks BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. - Jan. 12, 2006 -- Consistently recognized as one of the most powerful brands in the industry, Hilton Hotels (NYSE:HLT) is in the midst of a $1 billion re-ignition campaign. Guided by the mission to make the guest experience the absolute best it can be, the campaign focuses on three core elements: physical enhancements to its properties; an advertising campaign capturing the concept that travel should facilitate me...

Hersha Hospitality Trust Acquiring Two Hilton Branded Hotels and a Marriott Branded Hotel for Approximately $76 million / January 2006

January 30, 2006

Hotel Online  Special Report  Hersha Hospitality Trust Acquiring Two Hilton Branded Hotels and a Marriott Branded Hotel for Approximately $76 million PHILADELPHIA - Jan. 19, 2006--Hersha Hospitality Trust (AMEX: HT ), a real estate investment trust (REIT) and owner of 50 nationally franchised, upscale and midscale hotels, today announced the signing of separate agreements to purchase hotels in Philadelphia, metro-New York City and metro-Washington, D.C. for approximately $76 million. The Company entered into an agreement with Metro JFK Associates, LLC, a related party hotel developer, to purchase the Hilton ...

Hilton Hotels Corporation Designates Hotwire.com as Accredited Online Distributor / January 2006

January 30, 2006

Hotel Online  Special Report Hilton Hotels Corporation Designates Hotwire.com as Accredited Online Distributor BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. – January 9, 2006 – Hilton Hotels Corporation (HHC) announced today that it has accredited Hotwire.com, effective December 29, 2005, as an online opaque distributor of participating Hilton Family of Hotels room inventory. Hotwire, an operating company of Expedia, Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPE), is a leading value-oriented travel site that works with suppliers to distribute excess inventory to consumers.  Hotwire, which had received temporary HHC Accreditation through 12/31/05, is now part of a growin...

The Board of Directors of Hilton Hotels Corporation Approves Several Key Executive Appointments / January 2006

January 30, 2006

Hotel Online  Special Report  The Board of Directors of Hilton Hotels Corporation Approves Several Key Executive Appointments BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. - Jan. 30, 2006 -- The Board of Directors of Hilton Hotels Corporation (NYSE:HLT) has approved the appointments: Robert M. La Forgia to executive vice president and chief financial officer. La Forgia is located in the Beverly Hills World Headquarters office and reports to Stephen F. Bollenbach, co-chairman and chief executive officer. James T. Harvey to executive vice president and chief information officer. He is located in the Memphis office and reports to...

Hilton Concord's $1 million+ Renovation Focuses on Tech and Recreation / January 2006

January 30, 2006

Hotel Online  Special Report  Hilton Concord's $1 million+ Renovation Focuses on Tech and Recreation CONCORD, CA (January 19, 2006) – Curtain-raising its extensive renovation this fall, the Hilton Concord has tripled the size of its fitness center, expanded and added more robust connectivity to its business center, and added luxurious new bedding to its guestrooms. The Hilton Concord, a leading business and leisure destination in San Francisco’s East Bay region, is at the center of Northern California’s fastest-growing economic region. It is just minutes by BART or freeways from Walnut Creek, Oakland, ...

Columbia Sussex Now Owns the Hilton Anchorage and the Anchorage Marriott Downtown / January 2006

January 30, 2006

Hotel Online News for the Hospitality Executive By Sarana Schell, Anchorage Daily News, Alaska Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News  January 6, 2006 - The holidays meant sudden job loss for a dozen employees of the Hilton Anchorage after the hotel was purchased by the owners of the Anchorage Marriott Downtown.  Alan Budahl, general manager of the Anchorage Marriott, said cuts were mainly in the human resources department of the hotel, which has about 330 employees. New owner Columbia Sussex Corp. handles most human resources work for the more than 80 hotels it owns at its headquarters in Fort Mitchell, Ky., Bud...

Dallas Investor Tom Hicks Expecting to Partner with Developer Marty Collins on Several W Hotel and Condominium Projects / January 2006

January 30, 2006

Hotel Online  News for the Hospitality Executive By Steve Brown, The Dallas Morning News Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 20, 2006 - Dallas investor Tom Hicks is joining forces with the largest independent developer of luxury W Hotels and condominiums. Mr. Hicks' Hicks Holdings LLC and Dallas-based Gatehouse Capital Corp. will do projects together in California, Texas and elsewhere. Hicks Holdings was already a partner in the W Dallas Victory Hotel & Residences project. The 251-room hotel and 148 condominiums northwest of downtown Dallas will open in June. Gat...

Hospitality eBusiness Strategies (HeBS) Wins Three Prestigious HSMAI Golden Click Awards; Two Silver and one Bronze award for Hotel Website entries th

January 30, 2006

Hotel Online  Special Report  Hospitality eBusiness Strategies (HeBS) Wins Three Prestigious HSMAI Golden Click Awards , Two Silver and one Bronze award for Hotel Website entries that measure both metric-based business strategy and design excellence New York, NY – January 30, 2006, Hospitality eBusiness Strategies, (HeBS), NYC, today announced receipt of two Silver and one Bronze Merit Award in the Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI) Golden Click and Adrian Web Awards Competition. These 2005 awards recognize the very best of hospitality and travel Web sites for results-driven, customer f...

Developer David Gostfand Names Kimpton Hotels as Operator for 138 unit Condo Hotel in West Palm Beach, Florida – The Harrick / January 2006

January 30, 2006

Hotel Online  Special Report Developer David Gostfand Names Kimpton Hotels as Operator for 138 unit Condo Hotel in West Palm Beach, Florida - The Harrick    SAN FRANCISCO (January 11, 2006) – Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants Group, LLC, the leader in the boutique/lifestyle hotel segment, today announced plans to operate The Harrick, an all-suite luxury boutique hotel being developed in downtown West Palm Beach, Florida.  Owned by residential developer David Gostfand, the property marks Kimpton’s fourth project in South Florida.   The Harrick, West Palm Beach, will stand over 20 stories in the center of...

Harrah's Entertainment Plans to Invest More than $1 billion to Build Two Casinos in Biloxi / January 2006

January 30, 2006

Hotel Online  News for the Hospitality Executive By Tom Wilemon, The Sun Herald, Biloxi, Miss. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 10, 2006 - BILOXI -- Harrah's Entertainment, the world's largest gambling company, will invest more than $1 billion to build two casinos in Biloxi, said Mayor A.J. Holloway, who expects the city's economy to be moving at "full speed in three years." Other casino companies and condominium developers are also approaching the city with waterfront projects, but so far no one has proposed any apartment complexes to house tourism workers. Inflated land pri...

The Harp Group Acquires The Ambassador East and Pump Room in Chicago and the Courtyard Cleveland Beachwood by Marriott / January 2006

January 30, 2006

Hotel Online  Special Report  The Harp Group Acquires The Ambassador East and Pump Room in Chicago and the Courtyard Cleveland Beachwood by Marriott CHICAGO—(January 19, 2006)—The Harp Group, a Chicago-based development company specializing in hospitality and retail projects, announced today the recent acquisition of two prominent hotels, the Courtyard Cleveland Beachwood by Marriott in Beachwood, Ohio, and The Ambassador East and Pump Room in Chicago, Ill. In partnership with Mid-America Development Partners, The Harp Group purchased the 113-room Courtyard Cleveland Beachwood by Marriott in December 2005...

Hospitality Properties Trust Acquires the 195 room Harbor Court Hotel in Baltimore for Approximately $60 million; Signs Agreement with IHG to Manage t

January 30, 2006

Hotel Online  Special Report Hospitality Properties Trust Acquires the 195 room Harbor Court Hotel in Baltimore for Approximately $60 million - Signs Agreement with IHG to Manage the Hotel under the InterContinental Hotels and Resorts Brand NEWTON, Mass. - Jan. 6, 2006--Hospitality Properties Trust (NYSE: HPT) today announced that it has acquired the Harbor Court Complex in Baltimore Inner Harbor for $78 million. The Harbor Court Complex is a mixed use development comprised of the five star, five diamond Harbor Court Hotel, a 72,042 square foot office building, and a 530 space seven story parking garage....

Vista Host Named Management Company for the Under Construction Hampton Inn & Suites in Jackson, TN / January 2006

January 30, 2006

Hotel Online  Special Report  Vista Host Named Management Company for the Under Construction Hampton Inn & Suites in Jackson, TN JACKSON, TN — January 13, 2006  — Tennessee business developers announced today that a new Hampton Inn & Suites hotel is under construction in Jackson, TN. The hotel is part of the Campbell Street Shops development in the southwest quadrant of the Campbell Street Exit 83 on Interstate 40, Jackson’s most recent I-40 exit. The hotel will be built across the highway from the new upscale food store, Old Medina Market, at 150 Campbell Oaks Drive. It is the first new construction hot...

HUD Awards City of Reading, Pennsylvania $2.5 million in Grants and Loans for a 200 room Convention Hotel; Project Still Needs a Parking Garage and

January 30, 2006

Hotel Online  News for the Hospitality Executive By Don Spatz, Reading Eagle, Pa. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 19, 2006 - The 200-room convention style hotel proposed for the 700 block of Penn Street got $2.5 million in federal funding Wednesday but still needs funds for an adjacent garage -- as well as a hotelier. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced a $1 million brownfields grant and a $1.5 million federal loan for the hotel, which is expected to cost $32 million. "It's very good news indeed," Reading Mayor Tom McMahon said. "It...

HTNG Workgroup to Focus on Content Management for Distribution Channels; Global Hyatt Corp. and Starwood Hotels Among Initial Sponsors / January 2006

January 30, 2006

Hotel Online  Special Report HTNG Workgroup to Focus on Content Management for Distribution Channels;  Global Hyatt Corp. and Starwood Hotels Among Initial Sponsors -- First Europe-Based Workgroup Initiative for Global Association --    CHICAGO (January 16, 2006) -- Hotel Technology Next Generation (HTNG) today announced a new workgroup that will focus on content management for distribution channels.  This workgroup – the initial sponsors of which are Cendant Travel Distribution Services, Global Hyatt Corp., Lanyon, Leonardo Media, Pegasus Solutions, OpenTravel™ Alliance (OTA), and Starwood Hotels and Resorts Wo...

Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts Promotes Heiko Siebert and Francis Bertrand to Vice President Positions / January 2006

January 30, 2006

Hotel Online  Special Report Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts Promotes Heiko Siebert and Francis Bertrand to Vice President Positions January 31, 2006 - Two promotions within the Sales and Marketing Team of Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts (MH&R) were announced at the International Sales & Marketing Conference in Paris: Heiko Siebert and Francis Bertrand were appointed Vice President Distribution and Vice President Sales Europe respectively. German-born Heiko Siebert (41) joined Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts as Director Reservations and Revenue Management in July 2001. His duties include the management of the MH&R reser...

January 30, 2006

Hotel Online  Special Report    HSMAI Competition Reveals the Best of Travel and Hospitality’s Advertising, Public Relations and Web Marketing NEW YORK, NY (Jan. 31, 2006) – Marketing excellence in travel and hospitality was on display when the 49th Annual Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI) Adrian Awards for Advertising, Public Relations and Web Marketing were handed out in New York City last evening at a gala black-tie event, hosted by TV host, writer and comedian, Ross Shafer.  More than 800 travel and hospitality industry marketing leaders, advertising and public relations execut...

The 25 Most Extraordinary Sales and Marketing Minds in Hospitality & Travel / January 2006

January 30, 2006

Hotel Online  Special Report The 25 Most Extraordinary Sales and Marketing Minds in Hospitality & Travel Senior Execs Vote to Determine “Hot List”   MCLEAN, VA (Jan. 11, 2006) – Who are the most extraordinary sales and marketing minds in hospitality and travel today?  The Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI) polled senior executives throughout the marketplace to identify the “Hot List of Top 25 for 2005.”     “There is an amazing amount of creativity, intelligence and passion in our profession which all too often goes unrecognized,” states Robert A. Gilbert, CHME, CHA, president a...

Hospitality Properties Trust Agrees to Purchase 9 Hotels for $196.2 Million; Seven Hotels Are Being Purchased from FelCor Lodging Trust and Two from I

January 30, 2006

Hotel Online  Special Report Hospitality Properties Trust Agrees to Purchase 9 Hotels for $196.2 Million;  Seven Hotels Are Being Purchased from FelCor Lodging Trust and Two from InterContinental Hotels Group NEWTON, Mass - Jan. 25, 2006 -- Hospitality Properties Trust (NYSE: HPT) today announced that it has agreed to purchase nine (9) hotels for $196.2 million.  The 9 hotels to be purchased include five (5) upscale Crowne Plaza Hotels, one (1) full service Holiday Inn Select Hotel, two (2) upscale, extended stay Staybridge Suites Hotels and one (1) Holiday Inn SunSpree Resort Hotel. These hotels have 2,7...