Minor Hotels to Debut in Singapore With Avani Hotels & Resorts Lifestyle Brand
Avani Hotels & Resorts | September 3, 2024
Brandt Hospitality Group Getting Great Results From Accounting Software Partner
Aptech | June 5, 2024
Finance & Development
HFTP to Sponsor the 2016 OpenTravel Advisory Forum
HFTP | April 19, 2016
Forum brings together technology leaders from numerous verticals of the travel industry AUSTIN, TEXAS (April 19, 2016) – Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP®) announced today that it is a sponsor of the 2016 OpenTravel Alliance Advisory Forum. The event provides an opportunity for technology leaders from numerous verticals of the travel industry to connect. Air, hotel, car rental, cruise line, rail, leisure and more will be represented. The Advisory Forum is at Disney's Coronado Springs Resort in Orlando, Florida from May 16-19, 2016. "HFTP is proud to sponsor the 2016 OpenTravel Advisory Forum,"...
Top Cities in the World for Hotel Construction
Lodging Econometrics | April 15, 2016
April 15, 2016 – PORTSMOUTH, NH – According to the latest Global Construction Pipeline Trend Report from Lodging Econometrics (LE), the top five cities with the largest construction pipelines in the world by room count are: New York with 34,788 Rooms/204 Projects; Seoul with 28,223 Rooms/132 Projects; Dubai with 27,194 Rooms/94 Projects; Shanghai with 23,245 Rooms/115 Projects; and Jakarta with 22,463 Rooms/128 Projects. All of these pipelines showed room count increases in 2015, with the exception of Jakarta which was down slightly. ...
Hotel Equities and Scenic Capital Advisors Break Ground on Fairfield Inn & Suites in Terrell, Texas
Hotel Equities | April 14, 2016
Atlanta, GA and Terrell, TX–April 14, 2016– Atlanta-based Hotel Equities and Scenic Capital Advisors broke ground on the new-build Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott at 351 Market Center Drive in Terrell, Texas on April 7, 2016. Hotel Equities serves as the management company for the hotel under development by owner Scenic Capital Advisors. Thomas Chen, Principal of Scenic Capital Advisors, served as host along with representatives from Hotel Equities including Nahren Youkhana, Regional Director of Sales, and Yanbo Zhu, Regional Revenue Manager. Dignitaries at the event included The Honorable Hal Richards, Mayor of Terre...
Conrad Hotels & Resorts Signs Management Agreement with ASSETS for New Hotel in Doha, Qatar
Assets Real Estate Development | April 13, 2016
DOHA, Qatar and MCLEAN, Va. - 13 April 2016 - Conrad Hotels & Resorts, Hilton Worldwide's (NYSE: HLT) luxury hotel portfolio for the new smart luxury traveller, today announced the signing of a management agreement with Assets Real Estate Development Company for the 325 guestroom Conrad Doha, expected to open in early 2019. Carlos Khneisser, vice president of development, Middle East & North Africa, said, "Momentum for growth in Qatar's hospitality offering continues at a strong rate, owing to the significant focus being put on the country's future as a truly international destination, in line with Qatar's 2030 Vision. We ar...
Keynote Speakers for HITEC 2016 Announced
HFTP | April 7, 2016
The Hospitality Industry Technology Exposition and Conference adds world-renowned innovators to education program Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP®), producer of the Hospitality Industry Technology Exposition and Conference (HITECsm), has added three technology industry heavyweights to this year's education program. Jer Thorpe, co-founder of the Office for Creative Research; Josh Linkner, two-time New York Times bestselling author and founder and former CEO/chairman of ePrize; and Johnny Earl, founder of Johnny Cupcakes are set to present at HITEC's keynote sessions. Opening keynote, Jer Thorpe, will take the...
The Global Hotel Construction Pipeline Tops 11,000 Projects
Lodging Econometrics | April 6, 2016
April 6, 2016 – PORTSMOUTH, NH – According to the latest Global Construction Pipeline Trend Report from Lodging Econometrics (LE), the worldwide Pipeline is at 11,130 Projects/1.9 million Rooms, the highest level LE has ever recorded. The Global Pipeline is up 9% Year-Over-Year (YOY) by both projects and rooms, led by significant growth in the United States which has the world's largest pipeline. Globally there are 5,287 Projects/986,913 Rooms Under Construction, up 1% by projects and 3% by rooms. Projects scheduled to Start Construction in the Next 12 Months, at 3,041 Projects and 440,632 Rooms, increased significantly, up ...
Paramount Lodging Advisors Assist in Two Auburn Area Hotel Transactions
Paramount Lodging Advisors | April 4, 2016
Paramount Lodging Advisors (PLA) announced today the sale of the Holiday Inn Express and the La Quinta Inn & Suites located in Auburn, Indiana. PLA Managing Directors Bennett Webster and Brent Clemens represented the seller on the two property, 135-room portfolio located adjacent to Interstate 69 and 20-miles north of Fort Wayne, IN. Webster noted, "We were pleased to run an efficient process with the transaction going from execution of the contract to the closing in approximately 30-days." Clemens continued, "This deal marks PLA's eighth and ninth successful transaction in Indiana in the preceding five months and we look forwar...
Knowland Releases New Groups and Meetings Market Analytics Platform
Knowland | April 4, 2016
Groups and meetings intelligence company introduces dynamic new product to help hotel enterprise-level management teams see the big picture of the group market. Washington, DC (April 2016) – Knowland today announced the global release of Insight Enterprise Market Analytics, a business intelligence platform that gives hotel sales organizations, sales operations teams, revenue management professionals, and hotel owner/asset managers deeper analytic data on market, brand, and portfolio performance within the meetings and group ecosphere. Market Analytics aggregates the meetings and events data Knowland collects daily through its exte...
HFTP Celebrates Success of First Annual Digital Learning Day
HFTP | March 31, 2016
16 different countries participated in the digital education event AUSTIN, TEXAS (March 31, 2016) – A total of 254 registrants representing 16 countries joined Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP®) for the organization's first Digital Learning Day on March 23, 2016. The completely online event offered a full day of digital education programming completely free of charge for anyone who wanted to participate. "HFTP's first Digital Learning Day event was a huge success with participation from 16 different countries," said HFTP CEO Frank Wolfe, CAE. "The well-rounded Digital Learning Day event featured sp...
Meet the Money® 2016 – May 2-4, 2016: 26th National Hotel Finance & Investment Conference in Los Angeles
March 31, 2016
By Jim Butler and the Global Hospitality Group® Hotel Lawyers | Authors of www.HotelLawBlog.com 31 March 2016 Getting to the winner's circle – marathon, sprint or obstacle course? LOS ANGELES – The 26th annual edition of Meet the Money®, the national hotel finance and investment conference, will be at the Sheraton LAX May 2-4, 2016. The conference will host hotel owners, developers, operators, brands, lenders, investors and other capital providers. Conference speakers will explore financing, re-financing, development, and deals, as they try to answer the questions: what part of the investment cycle are we in? And wha...
Hotel Equities Names Jemel Jones as General Manager for DoubleTree DFW Arlington South
Hotel Equities | March 30, 2016
Atlanta, GA–March 30, 2016 – Atlanta-based Hotel Equities announced Jemel Jones as the General Manager of the all-new DoubleTree by Hilton DFW Arlington South, in Arlington, Texas. Mr. Jones has responsibility and oversight for the operations, food & beverage, sales & marketing and revenue management strategies. The hotel is located at 1507 N. Watson Road in Arlington, just south of the Dallas-Ft. Worth metro area and within close proximity to all the Arlington area has to offer. "Jemel brings expertise in full service hotel management to this hotel that is currently completing a full renovation and conversion to the...
GE to Sell its U.S. Hotel Franchise Loan Portfolio for $1.4 billion to Western Alliance
GE | March 30, 2016
FAIRFIELD, Conn. - March 30, 2016 - GE (NYSE:GE) has reached an agreement to sell GE Capital's Franchise Finance U.S. hotel business to Western Alliance Bank, a wholly owned subsidiary of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE: WAL). The sale includes approximately $1.4 billion in ending net investment (ENI) and the majority of the hotel business employees. The business provides real estate financing to owners of limited service hotel properties. Separately, GE also reached an agreement to sell its Canadian Franchise Finance business, including most employees, to a different buyer, representing about $0.3 billion in ENI. The business pro...
Three Secrets Your CMBS Banker Does Not Want You to Know
Brian Holstein | March 28, 2016
By Brian Holstein Navigating the CMBS market can be a confusing and challenging process. Here are three CMBS secrets that will strengthen your negotiating position and ensure that you leave nothing on the table. #1 – EVERYTHING is Negotiable! Remember, this is not a car loan, or even a home loan for that matter. If your attorney or broker does not have at least 30-50 individual comments to a loan agreement (not including the swapping of "sole and absolute" for "reasonable"), you are leaving money and excess risk on the table. Just like the legal system, the key to a well negotiated loan agreement is "precedent." If it's been done...
Hotel AG Closes 169-Room San Francisco Airport Hotel
Hotel AG | March 22, 2016
ATLANTA – March 22, 2016 – Hotel Assets Group, LLC (Hotel AG) is pleased to announce that it has arranged the sale of the Comfort Inn & Suites San Francisco Airport in South San Francisco, California. Eric Gunderson, a partner in the firms Los Angeles office exclusively represented the Buyer and Seller in the transaction. The Comfort Inn & Suites San Francisco Airport is located just north of the main terminal of San Francisco International Airport (SFO) and adjacent to the South San Francisco Caltrain Station. The hotel sits on approximately 2.91 acres of fee simple land. 2015 marked a record year for SFO with over ...
Hotel Equities Names Roger Miller Vice President of Sales & Marketing
Hotel Equities | March 21, 2016
Industry veteran brings multi-brand full service, resort expertise and relationships to firm's leadership ATLANTA, GA (March 17, 2016) – Atlanta-based Hotel Equities (HE) recently named Roger A. Miller the Vice President of Sales & Marketing for the firm. A veteran of more than 20+ years in multi-unit hotel sales and marketing, Mr. Miller brings full service and select service brand expertise and leadership to his new position including a background in training, coaching and mentoring. In addition, he has a solid history of building collaborative business partnerships with owners, lenders, investors, asset managers and multip...
U.S. Clears Marriott to Engage in Business Development in Cuba
Marriott International, Inc. | March 21, 2016
Company in Discussions to Pursue Hospitality Agreement BETHESDA, MD and HAVANA, CUBA, March 21, 2016 – Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAR) said today that the the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the U.S. Department of the Treasury has approved Marriott International's application to pursue a business transaction in Cuba, and that the company is in discussions to develop a hospitality relationship with potential partners. The announcement was made during President Obama's historic trip to Cuba, marking the first time in more than 80 years a sitting U.S. president has visited the country. Marriott President and Chie...
Marriott Counters – Starwood Accepts
Marriott International, Inc. | March 21, 2016
BETHESDA, Md. and STAMFORD, Conn., March 21, 2016 -- Starwood's Board of Directors determined that revised terms from Marriott constitute a superior proposal compared to previously announced offer by Consortium led by Anbang Insurance Group. Increased cash consideration to $21.00 for each share of Starwood common stock. Revised exchange ratio of 0.80 shares of Marriott common stock for each share of Starwood common stock. Targeted annual G&A synergies increased to $250 million run-rate. Marriott and Starwood special stockholder meetings to be held on April 8, 2016 with transaction closing planned for mid-2016. Marriott ...
Marriott International Responds to Starwood’s Notice of Merger Termination
Marriott International, Inc. | March 18, 2016
Bethesda, MD, March 18, 2016 – Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ: MAR) has been informed by Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide (NYSE: HOT), and Starwood has announced publicly, that the Starwood Board of Directors has determined that it considers an Anbang consortium proposal to acquire Starwood to be a "Superior Proposal" to Marriott's existing merger agreement with Starwood. Starwood has further informed Marriott that it intends to terminate the merger agreement with Marriott unless Marriott and Starwood agree on revisions to their merger agreement that Starwood's board of directors determines to be superior to the Anbang ...
DS Hospitality Taps Hotel Equities to Manage New Courtyard by Marriott in Dripping Springs, TX
Hotel Equities | March 16, 2016
Atlanta, GA–March 16, 2016 – Atlanta-based Hotel Equities announced its selection as the management firm for the new-build Courtyard by Marriott in Dripping Springs, Texas, just 25 miles west of Austin Texas. The Courtyard by Marriott will begin construction in April with opening expected in the second quarter of 2017. Hotel Equities will work directly with ownership and design and through the construction process to ensure a great hotel for this thriving market. HE will also work in market closely with Marriott and the community to ensure all pre-opening training and hiring are in place prior to opening. DS Hospitality, LLC...
Hotel Equities Names Jackie Edmonds Regional Director of Sales in Texas Office
Hotel Equities | March 7, 2016
ATLANTA, GA (Manager March 7, 2016) – Atlanta-based Hotel Equities (HE) named Jackie Edmonds the Regional Director of Sales to the firm's regional office in Plano, Texas. She will report to Drew Salapka, Vice President of Sales & Revenue Generation. Ms. Edmonds works with a defined number of properties in the Hotel Equities' portfolio to assist, support and direct the sales efforts in those hotels. She also conducts training for the Directors of Sales at their respective hotels. "Jackie brings both longevity and a proven record of success in sales to our firm," said Mr. Salapka. "She has a depth of knowledge and experience wit...
Cowart Hospitality Services, LLC Rebrands its Appraisal Division to Core Hospitality Advisors, LLP
Core Hospitality Advisors | March 7, 2016
BIRMINGHAM, AL‐‐Officials of Cowart Hospitality Services, LLC (CHS), a national appraisal/advisory and development/management company, today announced it has rebranded its appraisal/advisory division to Core Hospitality Advisors, LLP. This new name reflects the company's growth and direction. "Since 1994, Cowart Hospitality Services, LLC (CHS) has been known for its excellence in hotel appraising. In recent years, we have expanded into hotel development and management. As both sides of the business continue to grow, it is time to differentiate the two," said Adam Cowart, MAI, one of the Principals of Core Hospitality Advisors, LLP (...
Duetto Provides Revenue Strategy Solutions for Village Hotels
Duetto | March 7, 2016
Duetto Brings Open Pricing and a Deeper Understanding of Demand to one of the UK's Most Innovative Brands, with 28 Hotels and Close to 3,500 Rooms London, March 7, 2016 – Duetto, the market leader in hotel profit optimization technology, announced today that it will implement its revenue strategy solutions for Village Hotels, bringing new insights on pricing and demand to 28 Village Hotels and more than 3,500 rooms across the UK, in locations from Bournemouth to Edinburgh. Village Hotels is one of the UK's top chains, and is known as a leader in adopting new technologies to further enhance performance at its superior locations. "...
ALICE Adds Amsterdam Hospitality Group to its Growing Roster of NYC Clients
ALICE | March 4, 2016
2016 Hottest Hotel Tech startup signs NYC hotel group, adding 7 boutique hotels to its growing roster of clients. New York, NY - The Amsterdam Hospitality Group (AHG), one of NYC's premier boutique hotel ownership groups, has selected hotel communication system ALICE to "enhance guest service and [...] combine efforts and procedures across all of our diverse hotel properties in an effort to guarantee the best possible guest experience," according to Steven Goldman, Executive Vice President at AHG. Like many similar sized hotel groups, AHG was looking for the best automation of its processes to better execute guest requests across its is...
Hotel Innvestor Funds Salt Lake City Marriott
Hotel Innvestor | March 3, 2016
Newport Beach, CA – Reaching out from Southern California to the Great Salt Lake, Hotel Innvestor has successfully raised capital and invested in a minority ownership stake in the recently purchased Marriott University Park. The 217-room, seven-story hotel, located on the University of Utah campus boasts three food-and-beverage outlets, a heated indoor swimming pool and over 10,000 square feet of flexible meeting space. "Everything about this Marriott is exciting," said Hotel Innvestor Founder and President Tim L. Edgar. "Given the excellent location on campus and the premium branding, this investment is consistent with our primar...
