Hospitality Research Group and Torto Wheaton Research to Produce a Lodging Industry Econometric Outlook Report for Major U.S. Cities / Mar 2001

January 30, 2001

Hotel Online Special Report Hospitality Research Group and Torto Wheaton Research  to Produce a Lodging Industry Econometric Outlook  Report for Major U.S. Cities BOSTON, MA.  March 16, 2001 - The Atlanta-based Hospitality Research Group (HRG), the research affiliate of PKF Consulting, and Boston-based Torto Wheaton Research (TWR) announced plans for a joint venture to produce an econometric Outlook report for major U.S. cities targeted to the needs of the lodging industry. In its initial stages, the venture will produce reports for the 25 largest Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) in the country.  The Outlook...

Hospitality Real Estate Counselors and Conventions, Sports & Leisure Form Strategic Alliance / Mar 2001

January 30, 2001

Hotel Online Special Report  Hospitality Real Estate Counselors (“HREC”) and  Conventions, Sports & Leisure (“CS&L”)  Form Strategic Alliance  March 23, 2001 - Denver, Colorado; Minneapolis, Minnesota - Hospitality Real Estate Counselors (“HREC”) and Conventions, Sports and Leisure (“CS&L”) have formed a strategic alliance to better serve the needs of the growing public assembly facilities industry.  Both companies are individually leading consulting firms respectively to the lodging and convention center businesses.  The synergism created from the strategic alliance will provide the public fac...

Herbert Pliessnig Appointed New General Manager of the St. Regis, New York / Mar 2001

January 30, 2001

Hotel Online Special Report  Herbert Pliessnig Appointed New General Manager  of the St. Regis, New York  WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., March 19, 2001 - Effective April 2001, Herbert Pliessnig, former General Manager of the Four Seasons Hotel in New York City has been named new General Manager of The St. Regis, New York which is owned and operated by White Plains, New York-based Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: HOT).  He succeeds Richard Cotter, who has been appointed Vice President of Operations, Starwood Hotels of New York.  Mr. Pliessnig has 35 years of luxury hotel industry experience including a 20-year car...

January 30, 2001

Hotel Online Special Report   Starwood Installing TopLine PROPHET Enterprise  Revenue Management System in 200 Properties  by Year’s End COLUMBIA, Md., March 6, 2001 - OPUS 2 Revenue Technologies, a wholly owned subsidiary of MICROS Systems, Inc.  (Nasdaq: MCRS - news), has completed the development of a new Enterprise Revenue Management System which will be installed on a global basis for Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: HOT - news). Starwood properties include the Sheraton, Westin, St. Regis, The Luxury Collection, W and Four Points by Sheraton brands. The TopLine PROPHET Enterprise Revenue Manageme...

Starwood Aligns with Cisco to Deliver High-Speed Internet Access / Mar 2001

January 30, 2001

Hotel Online Special Report  Starwood Aligns with Cisco to Deliver  High-Speed Internet Access SAN JOSE, Calif. & WHITE PLAINS, N.Y- March 5, 2001--Hotel giant Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc., and Cisco Systems, Inc., the worldwide leader in networking for the Internet, announced today that they have formed a strategic relationship to introduce broadband technology in Starwood’s hotels beginning in 2001 and that Starwood has selected Cisco as its preferred infrastructure provider for high-speed Internet access and other broadband services. This marks the first major deal inked by Starwood Technology and Revenu...

Host Marriott Corporation Reports RevPAR Up 6.6% for Year 2000; Continues to Improve Blue Chip Portfolio / Mar 2001

January 30, 2001

Hotel Online Special Report   Host Marriott Corporation Reports RevPAR Up 6.6% for Year 2000; Continues to Improve Blue Chip Portfolio Hotel Operational Data Development and Expansion Data Funds From Operations for 2000 Increases Nearly 15% BETHESDA, Md., March 6, 2001 - Host Marriott Corporation (NYSE: HMT - news) today reported record diluted Comparative Funds From Operations per share for 2000 of $2.01 per diluted share, an improvement of nearly 15 percent over 1999.  Fourth quarter diluted Comparative FFO per share increased over 18 percent to $.64 per diluted share versus fourth quarter 1999. The company also r...

HFTP Underwrites Accounting Text for Club Operations / Mar 2001

January 30, 2001

Hotel Online Special Report HFTP Underwrites Accounting Text for Club Operations AUSTIN, TX, March 2, 2001 — The recently published textbook, Accounting for Club Operations, is a new resource for club industry managers and financial executives. The textbook’s production was underwritten by Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP®) in collaboration with the Educational Institute of the American Hotel & Motel Association.  The book, written by Raymond S. Schmidgall, Ph.D., CPA, Michigan State University, and James W. Damitio, Ph.D., CMA, Central Michigan University, explains accounting concepts and how th...

HFTP Co-Sponsors Survey Defining Key Trends in Hospitality E-Business / Mar 2001

January 30, 2001

Hotel Online Special Report  HFTP Co-Sponsors Survey Defining Key Trends  in Hospitality E-Business  AUSTIN, TX, March 1, 2001 — Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP®), along with Arthur Andersen LLP and New York University’s Center for Hospitality, Tourism and Travel Administration, have published the results to its most recent survey in the Hospitality 2000 Research Series, Hospitality E-Business: The Future.  The latest survey is designed to define the key trends in the e-business world as they relate to the hospitality industry. Particular focus has been placed on the current and likely futur...

Global Distribution Systems Report 11.4% Increase in Hotel Bookings for the Year 2000; Net hotel reservations delivered by GDSs totaled 48,787,000 / M

January 30, 2001

Hotel Online Special Report Global Distribution Systems Report 11.4% Increase in Hotel Bookings for the Year 2000;  Net hotel reservations delivered by GDSs totaled 48,787,000  ALEXANDRIA, Va. - March 14, 2001--The Hotel Electronic Distribution Network Association (HEDNA) reported today that hotel bookings made through Amadeus, Galileo, Sabre, Sahara and Worldspan grew 11.4% in 2000. These results are part of HEDNA’s 7th annual poll conducted to determine the net hotel reservations generated by Global Distribution Systems (GDSs). Net hotel reservations delivered by GDSs totaled 48,787,000 bookings in 2000...

Accor to Manage Great! Keppel Island Resort; To Be Rebranded Mercure Resort After $3 million Refurbishment / Mar 2001

January 30, 2001

Hotel Online Special Report   Accor to Manage Great! Keppel Island Resort;  To Be Rebranded Mercure Resort After  $3 million Refurbishment 22 March 2001: Accor has been appointed managers of the popular north Queensland resort, Great! Keppel island. The resort will be rebranded a Mercure Resort following an extensive $3 million refurbishment programme.  The resort, owned since 1998 by local entrepreneurs Ron Hancock and Bevan Whittaker, will undergo a major upgrade of all rooms, public areas and landscaping. It is anticipated that the island will be officially relaunched in October 2001, after the upgrade is complete...

Great Eagle Holdings Set to Sell London's Langham Hilton

January 30, 2001

Hotel Online News for the Hospitality Executive Hong Kong-Based Corporation to Sell London Hotel By Matthew Goodman, Sunday Business, London Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News  Mar. 27--London's Langham Hilton -- next to the BBC in Portland Place -- is about to come on to the market with a price of up to UKpound 250 million.  The site is owned by Hong Kong property company Great Eagle Holdings and leisure group Hilton has a contract to run the hotel. But it is understood Great Eagle is preparing to sell the site, which it acquired five years ago for UKpound 100 million from Hilton. Property experts say it could be...

Travel Intelligence Opens Global Watch Center; Firm to Monitor the Globe for Travel Problems / March 2001

January 30, 2001

Hotel Online Special Report Travel Intelligence Opens Global Watch Center;  Firm to Monitor the Globe for Travel Problems ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- March 16, 2001--Travelers face a world of potential trip disruptions, from disease outbreaks that close tourist areas and earthquakes that shut down airports to unreliable phone systems and dangerous train lines. Until now, business and leisure travelers had no one-stop resource for identifying and managing such travel interruptions. iJET Travel Intelligence, based in Annapolis, MD, today opened the world’s first Global Travel Intelligence Operations Center dedicated to monitoring the...

Glen Ivy Hot Springs Spa, Riverside County, Calif., Getting a $20 million Renovation / March 2001

January 30, 2001

Hotel Online News for the Hospitality Executive Glen Ivy Hot Springs Spa, Riverside County, Calif., Getting a $20 million Renovation By Joseph Ascenzi, The Business Press, Ontario, Calif. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News  Mar. 19--Glen Ivy Hot Springs Spa is getting a facelift.  The venerable spa and mud baths, located between Corona and Lake Elsinore, will make major additions during the next five to six years, said John Gray, chief executive officer.  The centerpiece of the $20 million renovation will be a boutique hotel of 40 to 50 rooms, which Gray said he hopes to have built by 2006 or 2007.  "It will be a sm...

In 2000, the Greater Pittsburgh Convention & Visitors Bureau Convention Sales Team Booked 457 Conventions for 2001 and Beyond / March 2001

January 30, 2001

Hotel Online News for the Hospitality Executive PITTSBURGH, March 20, 2001 - The Greater Pittsburgh Convention and Visitors  Bureau (GPCVB) held its Annual Meeting Tuesday, March 20, at the Byham Theater Pittsburgh and presented its year-end report to its board of directors and membership. The 2000 calendar year was marked by the launch of the GPCVB’s new e-commerce Web site, www.visitpittsburgh.com; continued success in marketing the new David L. Lawrence Convention Center; record-breaking publicity placements; three national customer service awards; and preparations for the first trade show owned and managed by RiverPoint T...

Fortis Properties Corporation Building a $15 million Four Points by Sheraton in Halifax, Nova Scotia / Mar 2001

January 30, 2001

Hotel Online Special Report  Fortis Properties Corporation Building a $15 million  Four Points by Sheraton in Halifax, Nova Scotia St. John’s, Newfoundland - March 7, 2001 - Fortis Properties Corporation announced today that its hotel property currently under construction in Halifax, Nova Scotia will be branded a Four Points by Sheraton, under a franchise agreement with Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. This will be the first Four Points by Sheraton property in Atlantic Canada.  The Four Points by Sheraton Halifax, will be a 178 room full service hotel, which will include 18 suites. Other features and service...

Fontainebleau Owner, Stephen Muss, and Turnberry Associates Building a $200 million 36-story Condominium Hotel – The Tower Residences at the Fon

January 30, 2001

Hotel Online Special Report Fontainebleau Owner, Stephen Muss, and Turnberry Associates  Building a $200 million 36-story Condominium Hotel -  The Tower Residences at the Fontainebleau MIAMI BEACH, Fla., March 9, 2001 - For nearly 50 years, the 1,200-room Fontainebleau has stood as the crown jewel of Miami Beach welcoming presidents, celebrities, upscale conventioneers and millions of well-heeled sun worshippers from around the world to its famed beachfront.  Now, for the first time, discerning home buyers will have the opportunity to purchase a piece of this international landmark. The Fontainebleau Hilt...

Major International Hospitality Chains Report On Conversion to New European Currency / Mar 2001

January 30, 2001

Hotel Online Special Report   Major International Hospitality Chains Report  On Conversion to New European Currency EURHOTEC 2001 Paris, March,  2001 – Euro project managers of major international hospitality chains reported on their progress in preparing the conversion to the new European currency at EURHOTEC 2001, the International Hotel & Restaurant Association’s (IH&RA) European Hospitality Technology Show & Conference, held in Paris from 19 to 21 February.   Panellists, representing Bass Hotels & Resorts, Marriott International and Starwood Hotels & Resorts, are all members of the IH&RA EuroT...

OSHA Requires All Employers To Provide An Ergonomic Workplace / The Global Hospitality Advisor / JMBM / March 2001

January 30, 2001

Hotel Online  Special Report The Global Hospitality Advisor OSHA Requires All Employers To Provide An Ergonomic Workplace   March 2001 Ergonomics is the science of fitting the physical characteristics of a person to the work or other activity he or she is performing. OSHA has recently focused on this as a critical area for employers with new rules effective October 2001. A Program Standard recently promulgated by OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) which becomes effective October 14, 2001 (less than eight months from now), requires employers to improve ergonomics in the workplace.  The ...

Saunders Hotel Group Finds An Innovative Way To Stay One Step Ahead Of A Potential Energy Crunch / March 2001

January 30, 2001

Hotel Online Special Report Saunders Hotel Group Finds An Innovative  Way To Stay One Step Ahead Of A  Potential Energy Crunch 2,800 light bulbs replaced at The Lenox Hotel, The Copley Square Hotel and The Comfort Inn & Suites is the latest example of the Saunders Hotel Group’s commitment to “doing well by doing good” in environmental protection Boston, MA, March 14, 2001 - The Saunders Hotel Group (SHG), one of the country’s premier independent hotel companies, isn’t waiting for California’s energy problems to spread east. As part of a decade-long commitment to environmental management leadership, SHG is rep...

Edward Mace, Vice Chairman of Fairmont Hotels & Resorts Resigns / Mar 2001

January 30, 2001

Hotel Online Special Report Edward Mace, Vice Chairman of Fairmont Hotels & Resorts Resigns March 1, 2001 - Fairmont Hotels & Resorts and Edward Mace, Vice Chairman have announced that Mr. Mace is resigning from the Company.  Mr. Mace has agreed to remain as an advisor to the Company for a transitional period. Mr. Mace was President and CEO of Fairmont at the time of the merger with Canadian Pacific Hotels in 1999 at which time he assumed responsibilities for Fairmont properties in the United States and Mexico before becoming Vice Chairman. “Ed was instrumental in positioning Fairmont as a significant luxury brand in th...

A High Roller in the Game of System Integration / Elizabeth Lauer / Hospitality Upgrade Magazine / Spring 2001

January 30, 2001

Hotel Online Special Report A High Roller in the Game  of System Integration 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 (770) 953-2300 or email. This article is from the upcoming Spring 2001 issue of Hospitality Upgrade, formerly the Hotel & Restaurant Technology UPDATE magazine. This article is from the upcoming Spring 2001 issue of Hospitality Upgrade, formerly the Hotel & Restaurant Technology UPDATE magazine. By Elizabeth Lauer Could it be a Mirage, or does Glenn Bonner’s Grand...

Four Seminars from the Educational Institute of the AH&MA Provide the Tools to Help Hotel Managers Achieve Goals / Mar 2001

January 30, 2001

Hotel Online Special Report Four Seminars from the Educational Institute of the AH&MA  Provide the Tools to Help Hotel Managers Achieve Goals ORLANDO, Fla., February 2001—Hospitality industry professionals want to find good employees, develop productive teams, and lead their organizations to success. Four newly-updated seminars from the Educational Institute of the American Hotel & Motel Association provide the tools to help managers achieve these goals.  Based on feedback from a survey of lodging industry managers, EI has revised the following titles in its line of Ready-to-Lead Seminar Kits:  “Success from the Star...

$20 million Enhancement Project at Don Cesar Beach Resort & Spa Included New Beds / Mar 2001

January 30, 2001

Hotel Online Special Report $20 million Enhancement Project at Don Cesar Beach  Resort & Spa Included New Beds ST. PETE BEACH, Fla. -- March 30, 2001 - According to the Bay Area Sleep Diagnostic Center, The Don CeSar Beach Resort & Spa, Florida’s Legendary Pink Palace since 1928, boasts the best night’s sleep while on vacation.  To reflect a new Mediterranean look and provide an atmosphere perfect for resting peacefully, each guest room recently experienced a $65,000 grand makeover as part of the $20 million enhancement project.   Every guest room features new Sealy 700 posturepedic beds complete with goose...

Dolce International Initiates New Branding Campaign to Differentiate Itself From Hotels / Mar 2001

January 30, 2001

Hotel Online Special Report  Dolce International Initiates New Branding Campaign  to Differentiate Itself From Hotels MONTVALE, NEW JERSEY (March 25, 2001). –  Two months after announcing its partnership with Soros Real Estate Investors (SREI), leading conference center company Dolce International announced its new branding campaign at a press conference at the annual meeting of the International Association of Conference Centers (IACC) in Houston, Texas.  Says Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Andy Dolce, “We recognized that with the tremendous growth the company is experiencing, and our aggressiv...