'Performance Metrics,' 'Turnover' and 'Defining Value Drivers' Subjects of HSMAI Foundation/ July 2001

March 30, 2001

Hotel Online Special Report   “Performance Metrics,” “Turnover” and  “Defining Value Drivers” Subjects of  HSMAI Foundation  Research Projects  Corporate Membership Funds Initiative WASHINGTON, DC (July 23, 2001) – The HSMAI Foundation has commissioned the first three research projects to be funded by its new Corporate Membership.  “Performance Metrics,” “Turnover” and “Defining Value Drivers” will be the subjects of the initial research projects to receive funding via the program, in keeping with the agenda set earlier this year by the FoundationÂ’s Research Advisory Council (RAC).  Â...

New HSA/Statability System Ties On-line Reporting of Mystery Call Results to On-line Learning for Immediate Impact on Employee Behavior / July 2001

March 30, 2001

Hotel Online  Special Report      .  New HSA/Statability System Ties On-line Reporting  of Mystery Call Results to On-line Learning for  Immediate Impact on Employee Behavior Ft. Lauderdale, FL – July 10, 2001 - HSA International, in conjunction with strategic alliance partner Statability, which currently provides web-based reporting on mystery call results for over 1,200 hotels and 25 reservations centers with brands such as Starwood, Wyndham, Inter-Continental, Crowne Plaza, Residence Inns, Holiday Inn Select and Staybridge Suites, has developed a new system for linking on-line reports with on-line learning exper...

The New York Market Hurts Starwood's 2nd Qtr Results; REVPar Falls 6.8% for all Company-owned Hotels / July 2001

March 30, 2001

Hotel Online Special Report     The New York Market Hurts Starwood's  2nd Qtr Results; REVPar Falls 6.8% for  All Company-owned Hotels Hotel Results Second Quarter 2001 Eps $0.55 WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., July 26, 2001 - Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: HOT) today reported results for the second quarter of 2001. Second Quarter Financial Highlights Total Company EBITDA reached $401 million benefiting from strong cost containment initiatives. Total Company EBITDA margin for the second quarter declined approximately 50 basis points to 36.1%.  Excluding the investment spending for Six Sigma, t...

The 42 Year Old HMBA Changing Name to Hotel Brokers International / July 2001

March 30, 2001

Hotel Online Special Report   The 42 Year Old HMBA Changing Name to  Hotel Brokers International  New Logo, Setting Sites on Global Markets KANSAS CITY, Mo - July 20, 2001-- HMBA: America's Hotel Brokers today announced that it has changed its name to Hotel Brokers International and introduced a new logo to reflect the expansion of the organization's market and mission. "The growing globalization of hotel real estate makes it imperative that brokers expand beyond their traditional markets to stay on the cutting edge," said Tony DeGeorge, CHB, president of Hotel Brokers International (HBI). "Since our f...

Hilton Reports 2nd Qtr Net Income Equal to Last Year Despite 5.8% REVPar Decrease and Occupancy Declining 4.3 points / July 2001

March 30, 2001

Hotel Online  Special Report   Hilton Reports 2nd Qtr Net Income Equal to Last Year  Despite 5.8% REVPar Decrease and  Occupancy Declining 4.3 points Hotel Statistics EPS of $.23 equals prior year quarter in a challenging RevPAR environment  Cost containment programs, timeshare, lower interest costs, benefit EPS  All brands increase market share  BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. - July 24, 2001-- Hilton Hotels Corporation (NYSE:HLT) today reported results for the second quarter and six months ended June 30, 2001. The company reported net income for the second quarter of $86 million, compared to $8...

March 30, 2001

Hotel Online  Special Report    HI - TECH in the USA Spanning Two and a Half Days and Two Halls at Orlando’s  Vast Convention Centre, HITEC 2001 Was Not Disappointing By Terence Ronson - July 2001 When I decided to attend HITEC 2001 in Orlando Florida, apart from the people networking aspect, there were two areas I was most interested in; the first being emerging (hi-tech) products, ones that would revolutionize processes and improve service to the guest. The second, seeing which companies had weathered the IT shake-out, and still be in businesses. Spanning two and a half days and two halls at Orlando’s vast c...

Harrah's Entertainment Views Stock Slide as Overreaction / July 2001

March 30, 2001

Hotel Online News for the Hospitality Executive Harrah's Entertainment Views Stock Slide as Overreaction By Dave Berns, Las Vegas Review-Journal Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News  Jul. 18--When Harrah's Entertainment announced on July 5 that its second-quarter earnings would not meet the expectations of Wall Street analysts, Harrah's shares plummeted 17 percent in value the following day.  The financial community was apparently concerned that national economic woes and troubles at the Rio's table games had taken a sizable bite out of the casino giant's day-to-day business.  But Harrah's executives viewed the stoc...

Harrah's Entertainment Inc. Reports Second-Quarter Results; Adjusted Earnings Per Share Rise 22.5 Percent; Record Revenues, Property EBITDA Achie

March 30, 2001

Hotel Online Special Report    Harrah's Entertainment Inc. Reports Second-Quarter Results;  Adjusted Earnings Per Share Rise 22.5 Percent;  Record Revenues, Property EBITDA Achieved LAS VEGAS - July 18, 2001-- Harrah's Entertainment Inc. (NYSE:HET) today reported second-quarter Adjusted Earnings Per Share of 49 cents, up 22.5 percent from 40 cents per share reported for the second quarter of 2000. Diluted earnings per share were 40 cents, matching the 40 cents before extraordinary items reported in the year-ago quarter. The company posted record second-quarter revenues of $914.0 million, up 4.3 percent from reve...

Hoyt Bacon Promoted to Chief Marketing Officer at MeriStar Hotels & Resorts / July 2001

March 30, 2001

Hotel Online  Special Report     Hoyt Bacon Promoted to Chief Marketing Officer at  MeriStar Hotels & Resorts WASHINGTON, D.C., July 5, 2001-- MeriStar Hotels & Resorts (NYSE: MMH), the nationÂ’s largest independent hotel management company, today announced that Hoyt Bacon has been promoted to chief marketing officer.  Previously, he was executive vice president, sales and marketing. In his newly created position, Bacon will be responsible for the marketing activities of the companyÂ’s 219 managed hotels and 4,000 BridgeStreet Corporate Housing Worldwide units, including sales, advertising and public relations.Â...

Kimpton Hotel & Restaurant Group Installs GuestWare to Improve Guest Loyalty Program / July 2001

March 30, 2001

Hotel Online  Special Report  Kimpton Hotel & Restaurant Group Installs GuestWare  to Improve Guest Loyalty Program Seattle, WA - July 31, 2001 - Diversified Computer Corporation, a leading provider of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software for the lodging industry, is pleased to announce their product GuestWare will be installed in the Hotel Monaco New Orleans in August. The installation marks the 25th GuestWare installation for Kimpton Group this year. Additionally, GuestWare will also be installed in new Kimpton Group managed hotels as they open.  Kimpton Group hotels are implementing GuestWare’s Guest Re...

Flat Franchise Fee Lures Five California Properties to Change Brand Name to GuestHouse International Inns & Suites / July 2001

March 30, 2001

Hotel Online News for the Hospitality Executive Flat Franchise Fee Lures Five California Properties to change Brand Name to GuestHouse  International Inns & Suites By Adam Eventov, The Press-Enterprise, Riverside, Calif. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News  Jul. 25--SAN BERNARDINO, Calif.--Five Inland Empire hotels are changing their brand names in an effort to upgrade their properties and their affiliations.  Hotels in San Bernardino, Fontana, Norco, Hemet and Ontario are converting to GuestHouse International Inn & Suites hotels as part of a nationwide expansion by the Atlanta-based hotel chain.  The company, which...

Marriott and Elizabeth Arden Open the $47 Million Mystic Marriott and Spa Open, Groton, CT / July 2001

March 30, 2001

Hotel Online Special Report Marriott and Elizabeth Arden Open the $47 Million  Mystic Marriott and Spa Open, Groton, CT Wollman Construction Finds Effective Solutions to Mystic Marriott Hotel & Spa Design and Environmental Challenges  WATERFORD, Conn., July 2, 2001 - Marriott International and Elizabeth Arden Salon Holdings, Inc. have opened the doors at their latest full-service, premier property. Officiating at the opening ceremonies for the $47-million Mystic Marriott Hotel and Spa were Connecticut Governor John G. Rowland along with Bill Munck from Marriott International and Teresa McKee from Elizabeth Arde...

Summit Hotels & Resorts Bringing Sales Management Technology for Member Independent Hotels / July 2001

March 30, 2001

Hotel Online Special Report    Summit Hotels & Resorts Bringing Sales Management Technology to Member Independent Hotels AccessSummit - Online Corporate & Consortia Programme  July 18, 2001 - International luxury brand Summit Hotels & Resorts has introduced a new online system, AccessSummit, to go live in the 2002 contracting season, enabling Summit's independent hotel members to directly target the corporate and consortia markets on a global scale.  AccessSummit is Summit's latest technology innovation provided as part of the brand strategy to boost independent hotels' competitiveness with the major internati...

Houston's $285 million Hilton Americas hotel and $165 million Expansion of the George R. Brown Convention Center will be Complete in the Fall of

March 30, 2001

Hotel Online Special Report Houston's $285 million Hilton Americas Hotel and $165 million  Expansion of the George R. Brown Convention Center will be  Complete in the Fall of 2003 HOUSTON, June 28, 2001 - -- The following was released today by Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau: Mayor Lee P. Brown announced Thursday that the city will break ground next month on the expansion of the George R. Brown Convention Center and on the Hilton Americas -- the city's new 1,200-room convention hotel.  The free, public celebration will also serve as a salute to Houston's spirit and the volunteers who have aided i...

Gerald Wolsborn Named General Manager at the 1,800 Room Adam's Mark in Dallas / July 2001

March 30, 2001

Hotel Online Special Report    Gerald Wolsborn Named General Manager at  the 1,800 Room Adam's Mark in Dallas ST. LOUIS, July 11, 2001 - Gerald Wolsborn has joined Adam's Mark Hotels & Resorts as general manager of the Dallas hotel.   With more than 25 years management experience in the hotel industry, Wolsborn will manage the daily operations of the luxury hotel chain's Dallas location.  The Adam's Mark in Dallas has over 1,800 guest rooms and 230,000 square feet of meeting space, making it the largest hotel in the state.  Wolsborn succeeds Danna Holck, who held the position on an interim basis while the sear...

Philadelphia Chef, Georges Perrier, Two Employees Face Sexual-Discrimination Suits / July 2001

March 30, 2001

Hotel Online News for the Hospitality Executive Philadelphia Chef, Georges Perrier, Two Employees Face Sexual-Discrimination Suits By Joseph A. Slobodzian, The Philadelphia Inquirer Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News  Jul. 11--Georges Perrier, the Philadelphia chef who led the vanguard of the city's restaurant renaissance three decades ago, was sued yesterday by two women who said they were regularly groped and propositioned by Perrier and other male employees at his Brasserie Perrier restaurant.  The sexual-discrimination and -harassment lawsuits, filed in federal court in Philadelphia by Suzanne Moses, a former m...

Regal Hospitality Management, LLC Changes Name to French Quarter Hospitality, LLC / July 2001

March 30, 2001

Hotel Online Special Report  Regal Hospitality Management, LLC Changes Name  to French Quarter Hospitality, LLC Atlanta, GA…July 23 2001…Ernest J. Catanzaro, Senior Vice President of Sales & Marketing of French Quarter Hospitality, LLC, announced today a name change of the company “Regal Hospitality Management, LLC” to “French Quarter Hospitality, LLC”.  In addition to the new name change, the company is also launching (anticipated completion date mid-September) a new web-site which will include information such as; The companies vision statement, Information on hotel management services (which can be...

Expansion of the Fort Worth Convention Center Luring Major Groups Back to the City / July 2001

March 30, 2001

Hotel Online News for the Hospitality Executive Expansion of the Fort Worth Convention Center Luring Major Groups Back to the City By Bob Mahlburg, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Texas Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News  Jul. 14--FORT WORTH, Texas--The first phase of a $70 million remodeling and expansion of the Fort Worth Convention Center is months from completion, but it's already luring major business to the city, officials say.  The construction has sparked a surge of interest and bookings, including from upscale groups that spend more money and for an event that could be the largest in the center's history.  "It...

Food Industry Aims to Turn Profit, Please Palates with New Items / July 2001

March 30, 2001

Hotel Online News for the Hospitality Executive Food Industry Aims to Turn Profit, Please Palates with New Items By Ameet Sachdev, Chicago Tribune Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News  Jul. 2--Tony Mantuano, executive chef of Spiaggia, one of Chicago's finest Italian restaurants, is known as a painstaking craftsman with a passion for pure Italian cooking.  His menu has included pancetta-wrapped rabbit loin served with crisply sautéed artichoke hearts drizzled in aged balsamic vinegar, and potato gnocchi with wild mushrooms.  Mantuano's latest creation, though, won't be found on Spiaggia's menu. Instead, it will be...

Fairmont Hotels & Resorts Inc. Purchases 50% Stake in Copley Plaza Boston / July 2001

March 30, 2001

Hotel Online News for the Hospitality Executive Fairmont Hotels & Resorts Inc. Purchases 50% Stake in Copley Plaza Boston By Michael Rosenwald, The Boston Globe Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News  Jul. 25--Fairmont Hotels & Resorts Inc., which has been been running the Copley Plaza Boston hotel since 1996, said yesterday it had purchased a 50 percent stake from the storied landmark's owner.  The $23 million transaction with Saudi Arabian Prince Alwaleed bin Talai bin Abdulaziz Alsaud will allow North America's largest hotel chain to manage the property for the next half century. It also gives Alwaleed, whose fortune i...

Lake County, Fla. Struggles to Carve out Ecotourism Market, Explosive Growth Threatens Image / July 2001

March 30, 2001

Hotel Online News for the Hospitality Executive Lake County, Fla. Struggles to Carve out Ecotourism Market, Explosive Growth  Threatens Image  By Monica Scott, The Orlando Sentinel, Fla. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News  Jul. 16--Lake County, like other communities, latched onto the concept of "ecotourism" in the 1990s as part of a plan to target a select group of tourists who travel to wildlife areas where they often stay longer and spend more than the typical sightseer.  But in the last decade, while the county has seen revenues from tourism grow, it has struggled to carve out an ecotourism market. And the task ...

Fairmont Hotels & Resorts Inc. Reports Market Weakness Evident In the 2nd Qtr, Negatively Impacting Revenues and EBITDA; Operating Statistics for Fair

March 30, 2001

Hotel Online Special Report   Fairmont Hotels & Resorts Inc. Reports Market  Weakness Evident In the 2nd Qtr, Negatively  Impacting Revenues and EBITDA Operating Statistics for Fairmont and Delta TORONTO, July 20, 2001 - Fairmont Hotels & Resorts Inc. ("FHR"), a leading owner and operator of luxury hotels and resorts and a subsidiary of Canadian Pacific Limited ("CP" - TSE symbol: CP; NYSE symbol: CP), today reported its results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2001. Total revenues under management for the quarter increased $8.4 million to $440.3 million compared to $431.9 million for the second quar...

March 30, 2001

Hotel Online  Special Report    .  FelCor’s Second Quarter Performance Impacted  Quickly by Economic Slowdown;  Occupancy Decreases About 6.0 Percentage Points to 69%,  Compared to the Same Period for 2000 IRVING, Texas...July 9, 2001 - FelCor Lodging Trust Incorporated (NYSE:FCH), the nation’s second largest hotel real estate investment trust (REIT), today announced that it is lowering its second quarter earnings guidance citing that the economic slowdown and a sharp decline in business travel has negatively impacted lodging demand.   The Company estimates second quarter Funds From Operations (“FFO”) ...

Food & Beverage Mistakes & How to Correct Them / Harry Nobles / July 2001

March 30, 2001

Hotel Online  Special Report Food & Beverage Mistakes  & How to Correct Them E-mail:  hospsvc001@aol.com Harry Nobles,  July 2001 One of my many personal quirks has nothing do to with F&B service; it actually concerns the check.  When I pay $100.00 or more for an excellent dinner in  a world class restaurant, I really dislike seeing a separate charge of $1.50 for a cup of coffee.  This is purely personal, and I never allowed it to influence my official rating of a restaurant.    A more serious service flaw is interruption by the server.  Sometimes it seems the server patiently waits until we are engaged...