Hotel Telecommunications in the 21st Century / Geoff Griswold / Hospitality Upgrade Magazine / March 2003

January 30, 2003

Hotel Online Special Report Hotel Telecommunications in the 21st Century This article is from Hospitality Upgrade magazine. To view more articles covering technology for the hospitality industry please visit the Hospitality Upgrade Web site or to request a free publication please call (678) 802-5303 or e-mail. . by Geoff Griswold No matter what telecommunications strategy a property takes, one thing is for certain, it needs to be a different one from the past. The early 1980s marked the beginning of an era of profitable hotel telephone departments.  The advent of call accounting systems (thanks to deregu...

Tory Waterman Named Senior Vice President & Controller for Crestline Hotels & Resorts, Inc. / March 2003

January 30, 2003

Hotel Online  Special Report Tory Waterman Named Senior Vice President & Controller for Crestline Hotels & Resorts, Inc.  McLean, VA – March 5, 2003 – David L. Durbin, President & CEO, Crestline Hotels & Resorts, Inc. announces the promotion of Tory Waterman to Senior Vice President & Controller.  In his new role, Waterman is responsible for the entire accounting discipline for property operations and is based at the company headquarters in McLean, Virginia. Mr. Waterman served as Vice President & Controller for Crestline Hotels & Resorts, Inc. since March 2000. A graduate of the State University of New York at ...

Wilkes-Barre, Pa., Hotel Owner Sues Mayor for More Than $1 Million / March 2003

January 30, 2003

Hotel Online News for the Hospitality Executive Wilkes-Barre, Pa., Hotel Owner Sues Mayor for More Than $1 Million By Michael McNarney, The Times Leader, Wilkes-Barre, Pa. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News  Mar. 4--WILKES-BARRE, Pa.--Hotelier Tom Torbik says Mayor Tom McGroarty should pay him more than $1 million because the mayor has damaged his personal and professional reputation.  In a suit filed in Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas on Monday, Torbik disputes McGroarty's claims that he benefited as a hotel partner from a loan used to help build the hotel.  Torbik also claims in the suit that McGroarty intrude...

TIA Travel Outlook – Focusing U.S. Travel and Tourism in the Context of War / March 2003

January 30, 2003

Hotel Online  Special Report TIA Travel Outlook - Focusing U.S. Travel and Tourism in the Context of War ISSUE #1 - DOMESTIC LEISURE TRAVEL MARCH 26, 2003  This TIA Travel Outlook is the first in a planned series focusing on important market segments in U.S. travel and tourism in the context of war and a continuing soft economy. Additional outlooks will focus on business travel and inbound international travel to the U.S.  Leisure travel has been the relative “star” in the U.S. domestic travel constellation, although its luster has dulled in recent months. While domestic leisure travel increased 1.7 percent in 2...

Sunburst Hospitality Completes $6.5 million Renovation on the Former Quality Hotel MainGate; Converts Property to Clarion Anaheim Resort / Mar 2003

January 30, 2003

Hotel Online Special Report Sunburst Hospitality Completes $6.5 million Renovation on the Former Quality Hotel MainGate; Converts Property to Clarion Anaheim Resort  Silver Spring, MD – March 10, 2003 – Sunburst Hospitality announced today that the Clarion Anaheim Resort, located just 2 blocks south of Disneyland Park and adjacent to the Anaheim Convention Center, will open March 14. The 284 guestroom, full-service hotel, which is owned and operated by Sunburst Hospitality, formerly operated as the Quality Hotel MainGate. The Clarion Anaheim Resort is set in the heart of Anaheim’s entertainment and convention ce...

South Dakota Based Summit Group Inc Planning Twin Falls, Idaho, Hotel / March 2003

January 30, 2003

Hotel Online News for the Hospitality Executive South Dakota Based Summit Group Inc Planning Twin Falls, Idaho, Hotel By Virginia S. Hutchins, The Times-News, Twin Falls, Idaho Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News  Mar. 21, 2003 --TWIN FALLS, Idaho -- Ask Idaho leaders where the economy is healthy right now, and you'll consistently hear Twin Falls among the answers, says the regional manager for a hotel operator.  "Twin Falls has enjoyed some pretty exceptional growth over the last five years. It's arguable that that's the main point of growth in the entire state," said John Sanders, regional manager of operations for Th...

Summerfield Suites Waiving Franchise Fees and Discounting Royalty Fees to Spur Growth / March 2003

January 30, 2003

Hotel Online News for the Hospitality Executive Summerfield Suites Waiving Franchise Fees and Discounting Royalty Fees to Spur Growth By Suzanne Marta, The Dallas Morning News Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News  Mar. 6, 2003 - Wyndham International Inc. is looking for ways to make its brand a household name.  The Dallas-based company has pledged to add its flag to a dozen hotels this year.  But when it comes to its extended stay hotel brand -- Summerfield Suites -- Wyndham is taking a more aggressive tack. Joe Champ, Wyndham's executive vice president of development and chief investment officer, wants the 38-property...

Study Funded by Texas Taxpayer Watchdog Group Claims Tax-subsidized Convention Center Hotels a Bad Deal / March 2003

January 30, 2003

Hotel Online News for the Hospitality Executive Study Funded by Texas Taxpayer Watchdog Group Claims Tax-subsidized Convention Center Hotels a Bad Deal By Mary Mckee, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Texas Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News  Mar. 6, 2003 - DALLAS -- A tax-subsidized convention center hotel is a bad deal because it will not spur an increased demand for hotel rooms and will take business away from existing hotels, according to a study funded by an Austin-based taxpayer watchdog group.  Source Strategies Inc. of San Antonio, which analyzes hotel occupancy rates and taxes for the Texas Department of Commerce, wa...

Patented Process Confirmed to Restore Marble Surfaces in Hotels; Ideal for Guest Bathrooms / March 2003

January 30, 2003

Hotel Online  Special Report Patented Process Confirmed to Restore Marble Surfaces in Hotels; Ideal for Guest Bathrooms U.S. Patent Granted for Process to Restore Polished Stone New York, NY, March 11, 2003 - U.S. Patent has been granted for a process to restore and protect polished stone called Stone-Sentinel™. Patent No. 6,423,381 acknowledges Stone-Sentinel™ as an invention, which has significantly advanced the prior state of the art.  This unique treatment is designed to enhance stone surfaces such as guest bathroom vanities, shower surrounds, floors, bar tops, registration desks, walls and more.  Prior to t...

Staybridge Suites Hotels Breaks Ground in Three New Jersey Cities; Eatontown, Cranbury and Mt. Laurel / March 2003

January 30, 2003

Hotel Online  Special Report  Staybridge Suites Hotels Breaks Ground in Three New Jersey Cities; Eatontown, Cranbury and Mt. Laurel ATLANTA, (March 20, 2003) – Staybridge Suites Hotels announced today that it has broken ground on three new hotels in New Jersey. The new 131-room all-suite hotel in Eatontown, NJ; a 99-room all-suite hotel in Mt. Laurel; and the 87-room all-suite hotel in Cranbury, NJ, will be the 60th, 61st and 62nd additions to the brand’s growing portfolio of extended-stay hotels, once completed. The mayor of Eatontown, Jim Anhut, Staybridge Suites, SVP of Brand Marketing were in attendan...

Vail's Sonnenalp Resort plans $50 million Luxury-condominium and Fractional- Ownership Project in Vail Village / March 2003

January 30, 2003

Hotel Online News for the Hospitality Executive Vail's Sonnenalp Resort plans $50 million Luxury-condominium and Fractional- Ownership Project in Vail Village By Jason Blevins, The Denver Post Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News  Mar. 16--Vail's Sonnenalp Resort plans a $50 million luxury-condominium and fractional- ownership project in Vail Village.  The plan calls for leveling the 1970s-era Swiss Haus -- a 59-room hotel -- and developing a 22-unit, 50,000-square-foot luxury condo project adjacent to the award-winning Sonnenalp hotel.  The new Swiss Hotel & Spa would feature three penthouse suites, 14 fractional-owne...

Time and Again, Studies Conclude Smoking Bans Do Not Cause Decline in Bar, Restaurant Sales / March 2003

January 30, 2003

Hotel Online News for the Hospitality Executive Time and Again, Studies Conclude Smoking Bans Do Not Cause Decline in Bar, Restaurant Sales By John P. McDermott, The Post and Courier, Charleston, S.C. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News  Mar. 4, 2003 - A stack of economic impact studies have reached similar conclusions: Overall, bar and restaurant owners do not see a decline in sales when smoking is banned in their establishments.  In a 1998 report, for example, researchers examined tax data from certain North Carolina counties that have passed public smoking bans.  "Conclusion: Smoke-free ordinances do not affect rest...

Hugh Osmond's Offer of $8.8 Billion for Six Continents PLC Rejected / March 2003

January 30, 2003

Hotel Online News for the Hospitality Executive Hugh Osmond's Offer of $8.8 Billion for Six Continents PLC Rejected By Leon Stafford, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News  Mar. 4, 2003 - The owner of the Holiday Inn and Crown Plaza hotel chains rejected an unsolicited $8.8 billion takeover bid Monday.  The board of London-based Six Continents PLC, whose North American headquarters is in Atlanta, turned down the offer from Capital Management and Investment, saying the proposal "gives shareholders nothing they do not already own except significant risk."  "CMI's offer will enrich its dire...

January 30, 2003

Hotel Online  Special Report   Loews Hotels Installs Onity’s SensorStat® DDC II Energy Management System at the Luxurious 790-room Loews Miami Beach Hotel Energy savings averaging 30-35% at 3 Universal Orlando resorts prompt the company to install Onity EMS solutions a 4th time; Loews New Orleans Hotel, opening fall 2003, next in line  ATLANTA / MIAMI — MARCH 31, 2003 — Loews Hotels, the founding division of the Loews Corporation, and an owner/operator of 17 prestigious properties throughout the U.S. and Canada, for the fourth time has installed Energy Management Systems manufactured by Onity/Senercomm — most...

Hotels Stepping Up Security; Learning to Live with the Threat of Terrorism as Part of Conducting Everyday Business / HOTEL Asia Pacific Survey / March

January 30, 2003

Hotel Online  Special Report Hotels Stepping Up Security; Learning to Live with the Threat of Terrorism as Part of Conducting Everyday Business It’s your responsibility By Steve Shellum, Publisher/Editor, HOTEL Asia Pacific March 2003 Hotels need to urgently – and, in many cases, drastically – step up security arrangements and learn to live with the threat of terrorism as part of conducting everyday business. With many properties in Asia Pacific carrying the well-known and easily identifiable brands of US and other international brands, they present prime potential targets to terrorists seeking to grab the wor...

SECURE-RES.com and Hotel Booking Solutions Team Up to Introduce Cost-Effective Reservation Solution with 2-way PMS Interfaces / March 2003

January 30, 2003

Hotel Online  Special Report SECURE-RES.com and Hotel Booking Solutions Team Up to Introduce Cost-Effective Reservation Solution with 2-way PMS Interfaces Low fixed monthly cost does away with booking transaction fees to Hoteliers Jacksonville and New Orleans - March 31, 2003 - Technologists at Hotel Booking Solutions (HBS) and SECURE-RES.com announced the successful implementation of a two-way interface between hobooBox™ channel management solution and the SECURE-RES.com CRS.  The interface will allow reservations booked on property websites of SECURE-RES customers to be transferred directly and securely to the ho...

Sceptre Partners With Blizzard Internet To Strengthen Client Web Sites, Online Traffic / March 2003

January 30, 2003

Hotel Online  Special Report   Sceptre Partners With Blizzard Internet To Strengthen Client Web Sites, Online Traffic Global reservation-distribution provider teams with Internet marketing group to provide Web site design, content and promotion enhancements that increase online bookings Denver, Colo. — March 24, 2003 — Sceptre, a SWAN solution that provides global-distribution system representation services to hotels, has recently teamed with Glenwood Springs, Colo.-based Blizzard Internet Marketing Inc. to provide Web site design, hosting and promotional services to Sceptre customers. Blizzard has assisted more...

Sanford, Maine the Focal Point of Bid by the Penobscot and Passamaquoddy Indian Tribes to Build a $650 million Resort Casino and Golf Course; Local Bu

January 30, 2003

Hotel Online News for the Hospitality Executive Sanford, Maine the Focal Point of Bid by the Penobscot and Passamaquoddy Indian Tribes to Build a $650 million Resort Casino and Golf Course;  Local Businesses Consider Impact By Tux Turkel, Portland Press Herald, Maine Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News  Mar. 18, 2003 - SANFORD, Maine -- If an Indian resort casino is built on the outskirts of town here, Don LeClair will have hit the jackpot.  For the past year, LeClair has owned Airport Variety, a convenience store and gasoline station on Route 109, next to the Sanford Regional Airport.  He's doing OK, staying open fr...

Owner Lend Lease Corp Selling Salishan Lodge to Oregon Based Spring Capital Group / March 2003

January 30, 2003

Hotel Online News for the Hospitality Executive Owner Lend Lease Corp Selling Salishan Lodge to Oregon Based Spring Capital Group By Edward Russo, The Register-Guard, Eugene, Ore. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News  Mar. 11, 2003 - Salishan Lodge, a well-known coast resort north of Newport, is returning to Oregon ownership.  Eugene-based Spring Capital Group has signed a contract to buy the hotel and golf course in Gleneden Beach.  "It's in great shape now," said David Connor, chief executive of Spring Capital's hospitality division. "It's gorgeous. Opportunities like this don't come around very often."  Spring Cap...

Interstate Hotels & Resorts Names Steve Jorns Chief Investment Officer / March 2003

January 30, 2003

Hotel Online  Special Report  Interstate Hotels & Resorts Names Steve Jorns Chief Investment Officer WASHINGTON, D.C., March 31, 2003—Interstate Hotels & Resorts (NYSE: IHR) today announced that Steven D. Jorns will become chief investment officer of the company, effective April 1.  Jorns will retain his position as vice chairman of Interstate’s board of directors. In his new position, Jorns will be responsible for all acquisition activity, including real estate and management contracts, as well as managing joint venture relationships.  Jorns joined the company when American General Hospitality (AGHI) merged w...

January 30, 2003

Hotel Online  Special Report Russian Hotel Industry Business Women and Men Will Receive Training Session at UNH’s New England Center in Durham, March 31, 2003 DURHAM, N.H. - March 28, 2003 - When a country moves from state-sponsored communism to an entrepreneurial capitalist society, who provides the business training?  Eleven Russian business women and men from the hotel and hospitality industry are visiting New Hampshire and Maine for 17 days through April 13, as part of an experiment in cross-cultural learning and business management training. They are traveling from places as far away as Siberia and as histor...

A Logical Pairing: Fractional Condominiums and Fractional Jets / March 2003

January 30, 2003

Hotel Online News for the Hospitality Executive A Logical Pairing: Fractional Condominiums and Fractional Jets By Linda Rawls, The Palm Beach Post, Fla. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News  Mar. 24, 2003 - It's a logical but luxurious pairing: fractional jets and fractional condominiums.  The Ritz-Carlton Club, which operates upscale timeshare resorts called fractionals, has teamed with Marquis Jet Partners to offer club members the convenience and cachet of private jets.  The program is designed for people who want private-jet travel without the expense of the long-term commitment most fractional jet programs require...

Kansas City's Top Convention Salesman, Rick Hughes, Ready to Make Things Happen / March 2003

January 30, 2003

Hotel Online News for the Hospitality Executive Kansas City's Top Convention Salesman, Rick Hughes, Ready to Make Things Happen By Rick Alm, The Kansas City Star, Mo. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News  Mar. 11, 2003 - Rick Hughes has been in town only a couple of weeks, but he's already picked up a nickname.  Waitresses at the Marriott Downtown hotel know the new president of the Convention and Visitors Bureau of Greater Kansas City simply as "the banana man."  He's living in the hotel until his family in Indianapolis joins him after the school year ends. Every morning Hughes' daily run through downtown invariably ...

South Beach Resort Development, LLC Selects Regent to Manage 80 room $67 million Hotel Being Designed by Arquitectonica in South Beach (Miami) / March

January 30, 2003

Hotel Online  Special Report South Beach Resort Development, LLC Selects Regent to Manage 80 room $67 million Hotel Being Designed by Arquitectonica in South Beach (Miami) The Regent South Beach (Miami) scheduled to 0pen in 2005  MINNEAPOLIS, Minn.  (March 19, 2003) – Regent International Hotels today announced plans to manage a new luxury condominium hotel to be built along Ocean Drive in the heart of Miami’s world-famous South Beach.  The focal point of the $67 million dollar development will be the 80-unit, six-story luxury hotel—The Regent South Beach—offering breath-taking views of the Atlan...