The Carino Collection celebrates the Growth of its Brand, Looks Ahead to 2005 / January 2005

January 30, 2005

Hotel Online  Special Report The Carino Collection celebrates the Growth of its Brand, Looks Ahead to 2005 CARINO’s Annual Meeting in NYC Focuses on New Member Services,  Expanded Geographical Representation, Leisure Travel Capabilities and New Staff NEW YORK, January 25, 2004 – Solidifying its standing as the hotel industry’s leading sales representation company, close to 100 members and associates of the CARINO Collection celebrated the success and growth of the brand at the Company’s third annual meeting at The Yale Club in Manhattan.  The meeting included individualized sales calls for CARINO members; a re...

2004 Canadian Hotel Transaction Survey / Canadian Lodging Outlook – November 2004 Year-to-Date

January 30, 2005

Hotel Online  Special Report 2004 Canadian Hotel Transaction Survey CANADIAN LODGING OUTLOOK November  2004 Year-to-Date The Canadian Lodging Outlook is a joint monthly publication  of Smith Travel Research and HVS International,  Vancouver and Toronto, Canada . By: Monique Rosszell - HVS International - Canada In 2004, there have been 68 reported hotel sales with a total inventory of 7,228 guestrooms representing total  transaction value of $426-million. The average price was $59,000 per room which is slightly lower than the $62,000 average in 2003. In looking at the data 2004 appears to have had a significant i...

Consumer Preferences and Travel Trends Prompts Choice to Create New Brand – Cambria Suites; Cost Per Key Estimated at $63,000, Excluding Land an

January 30, 2005

Hotel Online  Special Report Consumer Preferences and Travel Trends Prompts Choice to Create New Brand - Cambria Suites;  Cost Per Key Estimated at $63,000,  Excluding Land and Soft Costs Los Angeles, CA (January 19, 2005) – Capitalizing on strong market demand for a lower-upscale lodging product as well as its own capacity to build brand loyalty in a highly competitive consumer marketplace, worldwide lodging franchise giant Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) today launched Cambria Suites, a lower-upscale, select-service all-suites hotel brand designed to maximize return on investment for developers. ...

Orlando, Fla.-based CNL faces $1.6 billion suit over REIT merger plans/January 2005

January 30, 2005

Hotel Online  News for the Hospitality Executive By Jerry W. Jackson, The Orlando Sentinel, Fla. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 13, 2005 --Already facing a class-action lawsuit over its hotel trust, Orlando-based CNL has now been sued in Texas over the company's proposed reverse merger with a Dallas-based restaurant real estate investment trust, a deal valued at more than $1.6 billion. The same law firm that sued CNL in Orlando last summer contends in the latest case, which also seeks class-action status, that the complex restaurant merger is bad financially for more than 45,000 l...

Kimpton Hotels Appoints Colin McBeath General Manager of the Mayfair Hotel & Spa in Coconut Grove, FL. / January 2005

January 30, 2005

Hotel Online  Special Report Kimpton Hotels Appoints Colin McBeath General Manager of the Mayfair Hotel & Spa in Coconut Grove, FL.  Miami, FL – January 31, 2005 – Colin McBeath has been named as the new General Manager of the Mayfair Hotel & Spa in Coconut Grove, FL.  Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants, the San Francisco-based hotel operator that will relaunch the hotel upon the completion of $10 million in renovations, hired McBeath to oversee the resurgence of the historic hotel property. “Colin is the ideal candidate to lead the hotel as it undergoes a major renovation and joins the Kimpton family of lifest...

Caribbean Hotel Association's Marketplace Attracts the Highest Number of Participants Ever; Strong Winter Season Predicted for Caribbean Tourism

January 30, 2005

Hotel Online  Special Report  Caribbean Hotel Association's Marketplace Attracts the Highest Number of Participants Ever; Strong Winter Season Predicted for Caribbean Tourism SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (January 19, 2005) – The huge success of the recently concluded Caribbean Marketplace predicts a very strong winter season for Caribbean tourism, according to Alec Sanguinetti, Director General and CEO of the Caribbean Hotel Association (CHA), organizer of the event. Held on January 9-11, 2005 at the Half Moon Resort in Montego Bay, the largest marketing event for Caribbean tourism attracted 1,500 delegates from around th...

Club Med Buccaneer's Creek, the First Club Med Village in the Americas, Opening in 1971, Receiving Multi-million dollar Rebuilding and Renovation

January 30, 2005

Hotel Online  Special Report Club Med Buccaneer's Creek, the First Club Med Village in the Americas, Opening in 1971, Receiving Multi-million dollar Rebuilding and Renovation January 31, 2005 - An official ceremony commemorating the laying of the first stone of the new Club Med Buccaneer's Creek village took place on the island of Martinique on Saturday January 8, 2005.  Club Med Chairman and CEO Henri Giscard d'Estaing and Club Med Americas CEO John Vanderslice hosted the capacity crowd of local dignitaries and tourism officials, who hailed the rebirth of Club Med on the island as a crucial component of efforts...

New York Marriott at the Brooklyn Bridge Undergoing $77 million, 280 room Expansion / January 2005

January 30, 2005

Hotel Online  Special Report New York Marriott at the Brooklyn Bridge Undergoing $77 million, 280 room Expansion Will Benefit Tourism and Businesses in Downtown Brooklyn Brooklyn, New York (January 20, 2005) - Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg today joined Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, Joshua Muss, president and CEO of Muss Development Company, and Steve Sharple, senior vice president, Marriott Northeast Region, to break ground for the expansion of the New York Marriott at the Brooklyn Bridge in Renaissance Plaza and to salute the growing convention and tourism business in Downtown Brooklyn. The planned 2...

Hotels Continue To Increase Incremental Revenues With BringYourPet.com / January 2005

January 30, 2005

Hotel Online  Special Report Hotels Continue To Increase Incremental Revenues With BringYourPet.com KNOXVILLE, TN. – January 19, 2005 – With an estimated 36 million households that include pets, and pet friendly travel becoming an increasingly popular trend over the past decade, many hotels have extended their market reach and found success with BringYourPet.com.  The Web site (www.bringyourpet.com) features color photos, complete descriptions, amenities and rates. Detailed area information maps out locations and announces promotional discounts and last minute specials.  Some of the many benefits to Web site visitors ...

Suspect in Colorado Casino-development Fraud Arrested in Spain / January 2005

January 30, 2005

Hotel Online  News for the Hospitality Executive By Will Shanley, The Denver Post Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 21, 2005 -- Graham Gill's two-year game of "catch me if you can" has ended. Gill was captured in Spain last week and is awaiting extradition to Colorado from a prison in Madrid, Colorado officials said Tuesday. Gill was indicted in 2002 on charges of racketeering and fraud in connection with a Black Hawk casino development in which dozens of Colorado residents lost $2.5 million. Colorado investigator Bob Brown, who had tracked Gill after he fled to Europ...

Benchmark's Top Ten Meeting Industry Trends for 2005 / January 2005

January 30, 2005

Hotel Online  Special Report Benchmark's Top Ten Meeting Industry Trends for 2005 THE WOODLANDS (HOUSTON), TEXAS, January 2005 - Benchmark Hospitality International, which manages 28 award-winning resorts, conference centers and hotels in the United States and Japan, announces its annual "Top Ten Meeting Industry Trends" for the new year, as observed by its properties. TREND #1  Wired! Companies have rethought wireless Internet technology due to heightened security and privacy concerns.  Requests are for high-speed "wired" Internet access via T-1 lines, etc., for use with meetings and conferences.  Although tethe...

Belmonte Expands Services Offering Through Hospitality Solutions LLCMulti-faceted consulting firm adds Market and Feasibility Studies, Onsite Analysis

January 30, 2005

Hotel Online  Special Report Belmonte Expands Services Offering Through Hospitality Solutions LLC - Multi-faceted consulting firm adds Market and Feasibility Studies,  Onsite Analysis, and Ownership/Development Assistance to its impressive list of services Randolph, N.J. — Jan. 11, 2005 —You can’t have too much of a good thing. That’s why Steven J. Belmonte, Founder, President and C.E.O. of Hospitality Solutions LLC, has expanded his professional hospitality services offerings to now include Market and Feasibility Studies, On Site Analysis, and Ownership and Development Assistance. These services complement the ne...

Lawsuit over bed tax dismissed against San Bernardino, Calif./January 2005

January 30, 2005

Hotel Online  News for the Hospitality Executive By David Schwartz, San Bernardino County Sun, Calif. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (Jan. 13, 2005) -- The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed a lawsuit against the city that sought damages from its former bed tax because the attorney failed to file the proper paperwork, said City Attorney James F. Penman. "In short, the city won the case," said Robert L. Simmons, senior assistant city attorney. A lawsuit seeking damages for the city's earlier transient bed tax which was deemed illegal in 1998 has...

Beau Rivage Building $30 million Tom Fazio Golf Course in Biloxi / January 2005

January 30, 2005

Hotel Online News for the Hospitality ExecutiveBy Lisa Monti, The Sun Herald, Biloxi, Miss.Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 26, 2005 - BILOXI -- Workers have begun moving dirt and trees for Beau Rivage's long-planned golf course, which will be open to the casino resort's guests and the public early next year. The course is being built at a cost of more than $30 million on 510 acres adjacent to the DeSoto National Forest on Mississippi 15. The 18-hole, par-72 course, designed by golf architect Tom Fazio and named Fallen Oak, was in the casino resort's original plans but was put on the back burner for the past few years while t...

Reno, Nev. Bartender Fails to Live up to "Personal Best"/January 2005

January 30, 2005

Hotel Online  News for the Hospitality Executive By Lisa Carricaburu, The Salt Lake Tribune Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 10, 2005 --Working women concerned about the gender wage gap, sexual harassment and other persistent workplace problems now have something even more basic to worry about. A new federal appellate court ruling means women can be fired for refusing to wear makeup or for failing to tease, style or curl their hair. Groups working to foster equity in the workplace are understandably enraged by a three-judge panel's 2-1 decision in a case before the 9th U.S. C...

Bartech Bolsters Organization with Three New Customer-focused Positions

January 30, 2005

Hotel Online  Special Report       Bartech Bolsters Organization with Three New Customer-focused Positions - -- Additional customer training and sales positions support unprecedented client growth in 2004 and provide auxiliary value -added minibar services -- BWI CORRIDOR, MD (January 5, 2005) – Bartech Systems International, a premier provider of minibar solutions and the leader in automatic minibar technology, today announced that it has added three experienced hospitality professionals to its organization to support 2004 growth and posi...

Brian Parker Named Vice President, Emerging Markets and New Business Development at Choice Hotels / January 2005

January 30, 2005

Hotel Online  Special Report Brian Parker Named Vice President, Emerging Markets and New Business Development at Choice Hotels Silver Spring, MD (Jan. 10, 2005) — Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) announced the promotion of Brian Parker to vice president, Emerging Markets and New Business Development, where he will focus on expanding and diversifying Choice Hotels’ customer base by selling franchises to minority developers and successful entrepreneurs outside of the lodging industry. In his new role, Parker reports to David Pepper, senior vice president, franchise development. “Brian has a proven history of p...

Passkey Names Bob Orlando Chief Financial Officer / January 2005

January 30, 2005

Hotel Online Special Report Passkey Names Bob Orlando Chief Financial Officer Quincy, MA - Jan 19, 2005 - Passkey International, Inc., the leading provider of group reservations management solutions, has appointed Bob Orlando as its new senior vice president and CFO. "We are extremely fortunate to have Bob join our executive team," said Greg Pesik, Passkey's president & CEO. "In the 20 years working in the technology sector, Bob has acquired hands-on experience in building and managing companies to bring them to profitability, and has a substantial record of developing investor relations and securing strategic financing. B...

Arash Azarbarzin Named President of SBE Hotel Group / January 2005

January 30, 2005

Hotel Online  Special Report Arash Azarbarzin Named President of SBE Hotel Group Los Angeles, January 20, 2005 - Sam Nazarian, CEO and founder of SBE Entertainment Group, is pleased to announce the appointment of Arash Azarbarzin to President of SBE Hotel Group. Azarbarzin will bring his extensive hospitality knowledge and expertise to guide the successful management of SBE’s hotel and restaurant properties. This is a first-time appointment for SBE and in this role Azarbarzin will lead a major acquisition ramp-up for SBE Hotel Group.  “Arash is a seasoned operator with vast experience in numerous arenas o...

Astrodome Redevelopment Corp. Proposing a 1,000-room Convention Hotel at the 40-year-old Astrodome / January 2005

January 30, 2005

Hotel Online News for the Hospitality ExecutiveBy Bruce Nichols, The Dallas Morning NewsKnight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 22, 2005 - HOUSTON -- Long an icon of the innovative spirit and sports passion of Texas' biggest city, the Astrodome has become a problem. What do you do with the world's first air-conditioned stadium after it's been replaced by newer facilities? After football's Oilers left in 1996, baseball's Astros in 2000 and Rodeo Houston in 2003, notions have included making it a casino, a ski slope, a parking garage or a transit center. One dreamer envisioned a whole neighborhood inside, its chief attraction being cl...

January 30, 2005

Terrorists, SARS, Iraq, Tsunami in Asia... What lies ahead for the hospitality industry?  Can it survive? by Juston Parker, Vice President, Partner for Aspire On December 26, 2004 at approximately 7:58 AM local time, the strongest earthquake in 40 years and the fourth largest in recorded history struck deep in the Indian Ocean off Indonesia.  This quake spurred one of the most devastating Tsunamis known to man, leaving in its wake an unfathomable loss of life and complete devastation.  Areas from Indonesia to Kenya across the Indian Ocean basin were affected, and reports are still coming in indicating the death toll is...

Hotwire Revenue Improvement Powered by Aspire Will Be Presented to Hotel Managers in 30 Cities in 2005 / January 2005

January 30, 2005

Hotwire Revenue Improvement Powered by Aspire Will Be Presented to Hotel Managers in 30 Cities in 2005 San Francisco, CA – January 12, 2005 – Discount travel site Hotwire.com announced that it has selected Phoenix-based Aspire as their partner for a groundbreaking educational program designed to foster cooperative partnerships with hotels and resorts around the world. Hotwire Revenue Improvement Powered by Aspire will be presented to hotel and resort managers in 30 cities globally in 2005.  The Hotwire program will utilize Aspire’s expertise in the area of revenue maximization/management and will provide education on ...

HPL Hotels & Resorts Launching Asia’s third Hard Rock Hotel / January 2005

January 30, 2005

Hotel Online  Special Report HPL Hotels & Resorts Launching Asia’s third Hard Rock Hotel-- Hard Rock Hotel Port Dickson to Open End 2006 -- Singapore (Jan. 19, 2005) – HPL Hotels & Resorts (HPLHR), a Singapore-based hospitality management company and a wholly owned subsidiary of Singapore main- board listed Hotel Properties Limited (HPL), announces the management of Asia’s third Hard Rock Hotel, Hard Rock Hotel Port Dickson, located on the coastal city of Port Dickson, in the state of Negeri Sembilan on the west coast of Peninsula Malaysia. Scheduled to open in...

Ashford Hospitality Trust to Acquire 21-Hotel Portfolio for $250 Million; Transaction Increases Management's Ownership Interest in Ashford / Janu

January 30, 2005

Hotel Online  Special Report Ashford Hospitality Trust to Acquire 21-Hotel Portfolio for $250 Million;  Transaction Increases Management's Ownership Interest in Ashford December 31, 2005 - Ashford Hospitality Trust, Inc. announced the signing of a definitive agreement to acquire for $250 million, a 21-property, 4,094-room hotel portfolio from entities controlled by affiliates of the Fisher Brothers, the Gordon Getty Trust, and George Soros collectively as majority partners, and certain members of Ashford's senior management team as minority partners. The Company also announced the execution of a purchase agreement f...