Three Xanterra National Park Lodges Added to the Environmental Protection Agency's Environmental Performance Track Program / February 2004

January 30, 2004

Hotel Online  Special Report Three Xanterra National Park Lodges Added to the Environmental Protection Agency's "Environmental Performance Track" Program DENVER, February 20, 2004 - Three Xanterra Parks & Resorts national park operations are among the facilities added this year to the Environmental Protection Agency's "Environmental Performance Track" program. Zion Lodge in Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon Lodge in Bryce Canyon National Park and Grand Canyon Lodge on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park were selected as members this year. Last year, the EPA selected two other Xanterra operations - Mount Rushmo...

New Video from Educational Institute of AH&LA Teaches Hospitality Telephone Skills That Make a Strong First Impression / February 2004

January 30, 2004

Hotel Online  Special Report New Video from Educational Institute of AH&LA Teaches Hospitality Telephone Skills That Make a Strong First Impression ORLANDO, Fla., January 2004 — A voice on the other end of the phone line is often the first impression that prospective guests have of a lodging property, and that voice can make or break a sale. “Courtesy Rules! Better Telephone Skills Now,” a new video from the Educational Institute of the American Hotel & Lodging Association, presents an entertaining lesson in telephone courtesy for any employee at your property who uses the telephone.  This easy-to-follow 20-minute v...

Project Planet, Educational Institute of AH&LA Work Together to Offer Green Programs to Hoteliers / February 2004

January 30, 2004

Hotel Online  Special Report Project Planet, Educational Institute of AH&LA Work Together to Offer "Green" Programs to Hoteliers ORLANDO, Fla., February 2004 — The Educational Institute of the American Hotel & Lodging Association is working with Project Planet, the hospitality industry’s leader in environmental programs, to provide hoteliers with an eco-friendly linen and towel re-use program.  Hospitality professionals will now be able go to the Educational Institute’s web site and use its secure, online shopping cart to purchase Project Planet’s in-room materials that encourage guests to use their bed linens and t...

Thailand's Dusit Hotels and Resorts Signs Management Contract for Three New Hotels in Fiji and the Seychelles Islands / February 2004

January 30, 2004

Hotel Online  Special Report Thailand's Dusit Hotels and Resorts Signs Management Contract for Three New Hotels in Fiji and the Seychelles Islands February 16, 2004 - Dusit has signed a management contract recently, to manage three new hotels in Fiji and the Seychelles Islands.   Mr. Khampi Suwanarat, Chief Operating Officer of Dusit Hotels & Resorts remarked, “Following our success with Dusit Dubai, our first Middle East hotel property, we are pleased to welcome Fiji and Seychelles in the Dusit portfolio. We are looking forward to this new challenge and opportunity to show what we can do in the islands of the In...

HSIA to Be Standard at 160 Doubletree Hotels by Year-End 2004; Guest Access Charge Will Vary by Location / February 2004

January 30, 2004

Hotel Online  Special Report HSIA to Be Standard at 160 Doubletree Hotels by Year-End 2004; Guest Access Charge Will  Vary by Location BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. - Feb. 17, 2004  -- Doubletree® Hotels (NYSE:HLT) today announced that all of the brand's 160 locations will offer high-speed Internet access in every guestroom and meeting room by year-end 2004. Doubletree is poised to implement this technology across its brand with nearly half of the brand's 41,000 hotel guestrooms already offering high-speed Internet service. Doubletree also announced that they have selected PrinterOn® as their preferred hotel remote guest...

Johnson & Wales University Acquires the Doubletree® Hotel Charlotte from Bank of America; Hotel to Be Integrated in University's Curriculum /

January 30, 2004

Hotel Online  Special Report Johnson & Wales University Acquires the Doubletree® Hotel Charlotte from Bank of America; Hotel to Be Integrated in University's Curriculum Experienced Doubletree® and Hilton Management Team to Remain in Place CHARLOTTE, February 13, 2004 . . . Johnson & Wales University today announced it has purchased the Doubletree® Hotel Charlotte – Gateway Village from Bank of America.  The Doubletree hotel will continue to be managed by DT Management, Inc., and operated by Johnson & Wales University under a license agreement with Doubletree Hotel Systems Inc., the franchise subsidi...

Donbass Palace Creating Hotel Employee Training Benchmarks in Ukraine / February 2004

January 30, 2004

Hotel Online  Special Report  Donbass Palace Creating Hotel Employee Training Benchmarks in Ukraine February 24, 2004 - With the Donbass Palace being the first hotel in Ukraine of its kind, the Management Team paid special attention to attracting young people who can be introduced to an absolutely new world of hotel business from the very beginning which gives them excellent career opportunities.    More than 2,000 persons have submitted their applications for employment at the Donbass Palace, the first five star hotel in Donetsk, Ukraine, among which only 390 will be chosen.  The Application procedure i...

Disney Hotel Housekeepers Approve Contract; On Heavy Days with More than 10 Checkouts, Their Room Quota Reduces from 14 to 13 Rooms / February 2004

January 30, 2004

Hotel Online News for the Hospitality Executive Disney Hotel Housekeepers Approve Contract;  On Heavy Days with More than 10 Checkouts, Their Room Quota Reduces from 14 to 13 Rooms By Michele Himmelberg, The Orange County Register, Calif. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News  Feb. 20, 2004 - Hotel housekeepers know a good vacation when they see one.  Trash strewn all over the room, wet towels on the beds, cans of soda spilled on the floor, children's handprints streaking the glass closet doors and sticky food residue on the furniture.  Miriam Gonzalez can handle that. The housekeeper at the Paradise Pier Hotel scrubs...

The Top Ten Performing International Hotel Markets – Highest Occupancy, Average Room Rate and RevPAR in 2003 / Deloitte / February 2004

January 30, 2004

Hotel Online  Special Report  The Top Ten Performing International Hotel Markets -  Highest Occupancy, Average Room Rate and RevPAR in 2003 February 20, 2004 - With award ceremonies galore this week in London, we felt it only right that the hotel industry should not miss out. In a year that has seen a number of markets across the world reporting record revenue per available room (revPAR) declines in 2003, it is all too easy to lose sight of those that are doing well. The HotelBenchmark Survey by Deloitte tracks the performance of over 320 markets globally. The tables below show the top ten markets reportin...

Hotel Online News – Day by Day / February/March 2004

January 30, 2004

Inside Hotel Online today Day by Day Index February / March 2004 Emails October 2003 November 2003 December 2003 January 2004 February 2004 March 2004 April 2004 Top Read Articles November 2003 December 2003 January 2004 February 2004 March 2004 April 2004 March, 2004 Top Read Articles High Speed Internet Access in Hotels; A New Amenity Opens Up New Liabilities Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Billionaire to Sell Hotel Chain, Pocket $185 Million Customers, Professionals Offer Tales of Good, Bad Very Ugly Service 2004 Rankings of the 10 Largest International Hotel Groups and the 20 Largest...

Dallas CVB Testing a New Strategy for Winning the Attention of Conventions: Food / February 2004

January 30, 2004

Hotel Online News for the Hospitality Executive Dallas CVB Testing a New Strategy for Winning the Attention of Conventions: Food By Suzanne Marta, The Dallas Morning News Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News  Feb. 20, 2004 - Dallas tourism officials are testing a new strategy for winning the attention of conventioneers: food.  Mayor Laura Miller, two high-profile chefs from the area and executives with the Dallas Convention & Visitors Bureau will visit with editors from leading food and travel publications today during an annual sales blitz in New York.  "We're going to tell them the unknown and untold story of Dallas,...

Detroit Native Don Barden On a Roll, Owns Four Casinos, But a Casino in his Hometown Not In the Cards / February 2004

January 30, 2004

Hotel Online News for the Hospitality Executive Detroit Native Don Barden On a Roll, Owns Four Casinos, But a Casino in his Hometown Not In the Cards By Tina Lam, Detroit Free Press Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News  Feb. 23, 2004 - LAS VEGAS -- Last week was a very good week for Don Barden. The spotlight shone on him on three different stages.  In Las Vegas, the chairman and CEO of Barden Cos. was treated like a movie star as he hosted concerts, cocktail parties and award ceremonies in a three-day celebration at his casino, the first ever owned by an African American in Las Vegas.  On Saturday, the TBS cable netwo...

CYBER SALES — Hotel Sales in an Internet World is the New Reality / Carol Verret / February 2004

January 30, 2004

Carol Verret Consulting  and Training Consulting Training Seminars . CYBER SALES Hotel Sales in an Internet World is the New Reality . Carol Verret / February 2004 February 2004 Hotel bookings through the Internet, whether on franchise web sites or electronic distribution channels, have risen exponentially. As reported by Travel Click in a recent article in Hotel Online, GDS bookings increased in 2003 3.3% while the Consumer Internet Channel bookings increased by 34.7%. This has led many hotels and hotel companies to re-allocate sales and marketing resources to managing and manipulating their positioning o...

Hotel Operators Must Make Difficult Choices to Exploit Their Most Profitable Asset: How They Get the Best Return on Their Known Customers / February 2

January 30, 2004

Hotel Operators Must Make Difficult Choices to Exploit Their Most Profitable Asset: How They Get the Best Return on Their Known Customers January 2004 - When it comes to building on what appears to be a sustained, though slow, US economic recovery, hoteliers face a tough challenge in attracting what growth in customer expenditure there is.  What are the latest tools and trends available to hotels to maximize the valuable commodity of the repeat guest, and what can you do to make sure you get more than your fair share? Hotel operators invest in renovations, new technology, staff training and other aspects of their business for o...

Utah-based Crystal Inns Double Branding 13 Limited-service Hotels with the Rodeway Inn & Suites Brand / February 2004

January 30, 2004

Hotel Online  Special Report  Utah-based Crystal Inns "Double Branding" 13 Limited-service Hotels with the Rodeway Inn & Suites Brand  SILVER SPRING, MD. (Feb. 19, 2004) – Utah-based Crystal Inns, a 11-unit chain of deluxe, limited-service hotels serving both business and leisure travelers, along with two Best Rest Inns, has joined the Rodeway Inn & Suites brand, one of eight brands franchised by Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH).   Crystal Inn hotels in California, Colorado, Maryland, Mississippi, Montana and Utah will be rebranded as Crystal Inn, Rodeway Inn & Suites and two Best Rest Inns -...

Midscale Franchisor Hands Franchisees 22% Increase in Internet Bookings; Country Hearth Inn Fuels 22% Growth in 2003 with New Internet Booking Technol

January 30, 2004

Hotel Online  Special Report Midscale Franchisor Hands Franchisees 22% Increase in Internet Bookings - Country Hearth Inn Fuels 22% Growth in 2003 with New Internet Booking Technology, Branding Strategy for Franchisees; Projects 28% Growth in 2004 February 10, 2004 - Franchisors have a responsibility to their franchised property owners to create value, drive revenue, and provide good business practices.  Among the companies that take this responsibility seriously, 12-year old midscale chain Country Hearth Inns works especially hard to put its 50 plus franchisees first.   The company offers site-specific local marketi...

Battle for Conventions Turns Frenzied; 160 Cities Pitch Strengths, Quirks to Woo Future Meetings at the Religious Conference Management Association Co

January 30, 2004

Hotel Online News for the Hospitality Executive Battle for Conventions Turns Frenzied; 160 Cities Pitch Strengths, Quirks to Woo Future Meetings at the Religious Conference Management Association Conference By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News  Feb. 2, 2004 - Omaha, Nebraska, is going after the convention business in a big way.  There's the new $300 million convention center on the banks of the Missouri River with an attached 17,000-seat sports arena, offering groups, organizations and trade shows a whopping 1 million square feet of space.  Nearby is a new 450-room headquarters h...

Majestic Resorts Inc. Appoints Conrad® Hotels to Manage 378-suite Hotel in Las Vegas / February 2004

January 30, 2004

Hotel Online  Special Report  Majestic Resorts Inc. Appoints Conrad® Hotels to Manage 378-suite Hotel in Las Vegas LAS VEGAS / BRUSSELS, February 18, 2004 - Conrad® Hotels, the luxury brand of the Hilton Family of Hotels, announced today that it has signed an agreement with Majestic Resorts Inc., to operate and manage a newly built, luxurious all-suite Conrad hotel that will be located on the world-famous Las Vegas Strip.  Groundbreaking for the 378-suite hotel project, along with an accompanying collection of high-end residences and an upscale dining, shopping and entertainment complex that will make up...

If Comcast Succeeds Taking Over Disney, the Ownership Change Likely to be Felt More in Orange County, Fla., than Orange County, Calif. / February 2004

January 30, 2004

Hotel Online News for the Hospitality Executive If Comcast Succeeds Taking Over Disney, the Ownership Change Likely to be Felt More in Orange County, Fla., than Orange County, Calif. The Orlando Sentinel, Fla. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News  Feb. 15, 2004 - Disney and Orlando have been together so long their names merge in people's minds, like some old married couple: JimandJanet. GregandSusan. OrlandoandDisney.  "It's one and the same -- 100 percent," said Marty Schluns, a 46-year-old mechanic from West Virginia who has been coming to Orlando every other year for 10 years.  It's the same relationship that othe...

KSL Recreation Corp. Intends to Sell the Claremont Resort & Spa in Oakland and Maintain the Management Contract / February 2004

January 30, 2004

Hotel Online News for the Hospitality Executive KSL Recreation Corp. Intends to Sell the Claremont Resort & Spa in Oakland and Maintain the Management Contract By Rick Jurgens, Contra Costa Times, Walnut Creek, Calif. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News  Feb. 7, 2004 - The strife-ridden Claremont Resort & Spa in Oakland is on the auction block, according to a hotel spokeswoman.  "The hotel is for sale," said marketing and communication director Annie Appel. The current owner -- a La Quinta-based company known as KSL Recreation Corp. -- intends "to sell the real estate and maintain a management contract" to operate the r...

Chef In a Suit; Christian Abell explains why he hung up his chef's whites and put on a suit and tie to take over as F&B director at the JW Marrio

January 30, 2004

Hotel Online  Special Report Chef In a Suit . Christian Abell explains why he hung up his chef's whites and put on a suit and tie to take over as F&B director at the JW Marriott Hong Kong By Steve Shellum, Publisher/Editor, HOTEL Asia Pacific / February 2004 When award-winning chef Christian Abell decided to hang up his chef's uniform and don a suit and tie to become F&B director of the JW Marriott Hong Kong, there were mixed reactions among his culinary contemporaries. Some of the old-word breed of chefs almost went as far as calling him a "traitor".   But, says Abell, most comments have been highly positive. "Th...

Choice Hotels, With 4,810 Franchised Hotels, Reports 2003 Net Income of $71.9 million, Compared to Prior Year Net Income of $ 60.8 million / Hotel Ope

January 30, 2004

Hotel Online  Special Report Choice Hotels, With 4,810 Franchised Hotels, Reports 2003 Net Income of $71.9 million, Compared to Prior Year Net Income of $ 60.8 million Brand Operating Statistics SILVER SPRING, Md. (February 11, 2004) – Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) today reported 2003 net income of $71.9 million, or $1.96 diluted earnings per share (EPS). Net income and diluted EPS for fourth quarter 2003 were $20.7 million and $0.57 per share, respectively. Both full year 2003 and fourth quarter net income and diluted EPS include a $3.4 million, or $0.09 per share, gain resulting from the De...

January 30, 2004

Hotel Online  Special Report  Choice Hotels’ Victor G. Trapani Award Awarded to Four Franchise Sales Directors: Robert O’Leary, Tesh Patel, Steve Waguespack and Guy Gridley SILVER SPRING, Md.  (Feb. 6, 2004) -- Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) recently honored its top-selling franchise sales and development team with awards for outstanding sales performance and dedication for the year 2003.  The awards celebrate record franchise development for the company in 2003, with 470 new contracts executed, representing more than 41,000 rooms.  This performance marks the first time the company has to...

Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group to Manage the 142 villa Mandarin Oriental Dhara Dhevi in Chiang Mai, Northern Thailand / February 2004

January 30, 2004

Hotel Online  Special Report Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group to Manage the 142 villa Mandarin Oriental Dhara Dhevi in Chiang Mai, Northern Thailand HONG KONG, Feb. 17, 2004 - Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group announced that it will manage a luxurious hideaway resort that is under development in Chiang Mai, the cultural and historical heart of Northern Thailand.  Designed to appeal to internationally sophisticated travelers in search of innovative ways to restore balance in their lives, the retreat will provide a holistic approach to the rejuvenation of body, mind and spirit.  At the same time, it will offer a series of a...