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Industry Happenings
Richard Bussiere Named Managing Director of The Langham, Boston
The Langham, Boston | August 21, 2013
BOSTON -- August 21, 2013 -- The Langham, Boston is proud to announce the appointment of Richard Bussiere as the hotel's new Managing Director. As a 35-year veteran of the hospitality industry, this appointment is a homecoming for the New England native, who has spent the majority of his career managing hotels overseas in Asia, Australia and the South Pacific. Bussiere succeeds longtime Managing Director Serge Denis, who retired after 20 years at the iconic hotel located in the heart of the city's bustling Downtown neighborhood. "Returning home to New England to join such a celebrated luxury hotel is an honor," Said Bussiere. "After 27 ...
Video release: Recap from the 2013 HSMAI ROC – Takeaways and Gamechangers to Watch
Hospitality Upgrade | August 21, 2013
Atlanta, Ga. - Hospitality Upgrade interviewed HSMAI's President Bob Gilbert and several other hospitality revenue management experts at the 2013 HSMAI ROC (Revenue Optimization Conference). This event is a mashup of corporate revenue managers from all the major hotel brands, management companies and ownership groups. Boasting the largest event in it's history, 110 hotel companies joined in Minneapolis, Minn. this past June for this annual event celebrating its 10th anniversary. Vice President, Revenue Management for Evolution Hospitality Scott Roby said, "It has been fun to watch the growth of this conference over the years. The topics co...
HeBS Digital Announces Webinar on 2014 Hotel Digital Marketing Budget Planning
HeBS | August 21, 2013
Join HeBS Digital, the hospitality industry's leading full-service digital technology and marketing firm, as we guide you on how to structure your 2014 digital marketing budget. The Smart Hotelier's Guide to Digital Marketing Budget Planning Webinar will take place Tuesday, September 10th from 2pm-3pm EST (11am- 12pm PST). New York, NY (August 21, 2013) - HeBS Digital today announces it will host The Smart Hotelier's Guide to Digital Marketing Budget Planning Webinar on Tuesday, September 10th from 2pm-3pm EST (11am-12pm PST). Designed to guide hoteliers in structuring 2014 digital marketing budgets, the webinar also will cover importan...
RLJ Lodging Trust Acquires Georgia’s Residence Inn Atlanta Midtown Historic
RLJ Lodging Trus | August 21, 2013
BETHESDA, Md.-- August 21, 2013 --RLJ Lodging Trust (the "Company") (NYSE: RLJ) today announced that it has acquired the 78-room Residence Inn Atlanta Midtown Historic (the "Hotel") located in Atlanta, GA. In November 2009, the Company purchased a mortgage loan collateralized by the Hotel for approximately $5.0 million, or approximately $64,000 per key. The Company initiated and successfully acquired the asset through a foreclosure sale after the borrower defaulted on the loan in early 2013. The successful bid, which was equal to the Company's basis in the mortgage loan, represents a significant discount to the Hotel's value. The Hotel ...
Niki Nanavati Appointed as Sales Manager at the 485-room Royal Sonesta Hotel Houston in Texas
Sonesta | August 21, 2013
HOUSTON, TX - August 21, 2013 - Niki Nanavati has joined the Royal Sonesta Hotel Houston as Sales Manager. Nanavati brings nearly a decade of experience in the luxury sector to her new role and rejoins several former co-workers at the landmark Galleria/Uptown area property, which is currently in the midst of a multi-million-dollar enhancement. Prior to Sonesta Collection, Nanavati was employed by Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, serving as Group Sales Manager at the Four Seasons Hotel Houston. In this capacity, she managed sales for both domestic and international markets, including Europe, Australia, Asia and Africa. Nanavati, who join...
Benchmark Names Jerry Jensen Director of Sales & Marketing for Scottsdale Resort & Conference Center
Scottsdale Resort & Conference Center | August 21, 2013
The Woodlands (Houston), Texas, August 21, 2013 - Benchmark Hospitality International®, a leading US-based hospitality management company, has named Jerry Jensen director of sales and marketing for Scottsdale Resort & Conference Center. Brenda Weskamp, general manager for the property, a Benchmark Resort® located in Scottsdale, Arizona, made the announcement. "I am so pleased to welcome Jerry to our resort," said Ms. Weskamp. "He brings with him an impressive background of success in sales leadership, and extensive knowledge of our group and individual guest markets. We look forward to his active contributions as part of our execu...
Ken Daugherty Returns to Skamania Lodge in Stevenson, Washington as General Manager
Skamania Lodge | August 21, 2013
STEVENSON, Wash. (August 21, 2013) - Longtime Northwest hospitality executive and consultant Ken Daugherty was hired as the new general manager of Skamania Lodge, an all-season resort and conference center nestled in the Columbia River Gorge. Daugherty is returning to Skamania Lodge after serving as its general manager from 1999 to 2005, and helping it achieve financial and legislative backing to get built in 1993 with developer John Gray. Daugherty then took on various executive positions at Dolce Hotels & Resorts: as western region area director, North American director of development, and general manager of Zermatt Resort & S...
Interstate Hotels & Resorts Appoints Carrie McIntyre as Chief Financial Officer
Interstate Hotels & Resorts | August 21, 2013
ARLINGTON, Va. - August 21, 2013 - Interstate Hotels & Resorts -- the leading U.S.-based global hotel management company -- today announced the appointment of Carrie McIntyre as chief financial officer. Most recently serving as the Company's executive vice president and treasurer, McIntyre's new position reports directly to the chief executive officer and encompasses the oversight of corporate and hotel accounting, treasury, tax, financial planning and analysis, asset management, internal audit and risk management functions. "Interstate's extensive and talented bench strength translates directly into the Company's success, and indiv...
Mantra Group Opens the 172-room Mantra Nusa Dua Bali in Indonesia
Mantra Hotels, Resorts and Apartments | August 21, 2013
August 21, 2013 - Mantra Nusa Dua Bali has completed final touches to the brand new resort in readiness for holidaymakers, conference groups, wedding parties and honeymooners. The first hotel in Asia for the Mantra Group, it marks an ongoing expansion in the region for the Australian hotel brand. "The resort offers a great experience to guests who know and love the Mantra style and service," said Mantra Group CEO, Bob East. "We are proud to see the Mantra name in Bali, combining a brand and a destination already popular with the Australian and New Zealand market." Having partially opened with the first wing of accommodation in March, Ma...
TradeWinds Island Resorts Leverage Lucrative Voice Channel; Increase Revenue, ADR
TradeWinds Island Resorts | August 21, 2013
Florida's Largest Beach Resort Boosts Voice Call Conversions 13%; Savvy Call Center Sales Team Uses Call Center Tools to Power The Bottom Line August 21, 2013 - The TradeWinds Island Resorts on St. Pete Beach, Florida is a premier family destination with something for everyone. The TradeWinds' Island Grand and Guy Harvey Outpost properties, with 788 rooms between them, comprise the largest resort on Florida's west coast. The resorts are continually adding activities including high-flying JetLev rides and a three-story beach water slide that keep their offerings exciting. But even at the best properties nothing happens until someone sell...
Completing Renovation and Conversion, the 149-room DoubleTree by Hilton Port Huron Opens in Michigan
DoubleTree By Hilton | August 21, 2013
August 21, 2013 PORT HURON, Mich. - DoubleTree by Hilton today announced the opening of DoubleTree by Hilton Port Huron. Formerly the Thomas Edison Inn, the property reopens following a 12-month, multi-million dollar renovation. The hotel's transformation will continue with the development of the new 40,000 square foot Blue Water Area Convention Center, on which the hotel will break ground in October in partnership with St. Clair County. The hotel is owned by JB Real Estate Development, LLC and managed by Illinois-based management company, Hospitality Specialists, Inc. The 149-room hotel presents a contemporary design incorporated throu...
China Becomes World’s Biggest Travel Spender According to Hotels.com Report; 2012 Spending Up by 40%
August 21, 2013
DALLAS - August 21, 2013 - China has overtaken the U.S. and Germany as the world's biggest spenders on travel, with Chinese travelers spending $102 billion on international travel in 2012, an increase of over 40 percent from 2011*. The second annual Chinese International Travel Monitor (CITM) released today by Hotels.com, the world's leading hotel booking website, reveals significant insights into the changing behaviors of Chinese travelers and how the global hotel industry is adapting. Surveying more than 3,000 Chinese international travelers and more than 1,500 hoteliers around the world, the Hotels.com report found 75 percent of glob...
The Hotel Employee Curiosity and its Effect on Differentiation of Hotel
| August 21, 2013
by Osvaldo Torres Cruz August 21, 2013 One of the advantages which the Hotel obtains from experiential hospitality is to perceive the guest in a different way, achieving to get to his emotional world where never before anyone had searched and hence, discover what never before anyone had found out: his hopes and aspirations, therefore, the Hotel will be able to offer what no other hotel had never before offered: his emotional balance. The knowledge of the emotional universe of the guest, i.e. their stimuli, sensations, perceptions, emotions and feelings, lead to establish a system of links and relationships where the empathetic factor pl...
The 92-suite Home2 Suites by Hilton Jackson/Ridgeland Opens in Mississippi
Home2 Suites by Hilton | August 21, 2013
RIDGELAND, Miss. - August 21, 2013 - Home2 Suites by Hilton, the award-winning mid-tier, all-suite hotel brand by Hilton Worldwide designed for modern business travelers and extended-stay guests, today announced the opening of its 21st U.S. hotel, Home2 Suites by Hilton Jackson/Ridgeland. The first guest to check-in yesterday received a gift bag filled with Home2 merchandise. "Jackson and its surrounding communities are a growing hub for major businesses and recreational attractions, making it an ideal location to grow our presence in Mississippi," said Bill Duncan, global head, Home2 Suites by Hilton. "Home2 Suites offers a unique exte...
The New-build 320-key Aloft Kiev to Open in Ukraine in 2015
Aloft Hotels | August 21, 2013
STAMFORD, Conn.-- August 21, 2013 -- Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:HOT) today announced the signing of Aloft Kiev, which will mark the entrance of Aloft Hotels into Ukraine when it opens in 2015. Created to shake up the staid and traditional mid-market hotel sector, Aloft is redefining the category with its different by design approach to style and a vibrant social guest experience, at an affordable price point. "We are excited to grow Starwood's presence in Eastern Europe as we bring the Aloft brand to Ukraine," said Michael Wale, President, Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Europe, Africa and Middle East. "As one of...
MICROS and PayPal Collaborate Globally to Deliver Better Mobile Experiences
MICROS Systems, Inc. | August 21, 2013
Columbia, MD - August 21, 2013 - MICROS Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MCRS), a leading provider of information technology solutions for the hospitality and retail industries, and PayPal, a leader in online and mobile in store payments, announced today a new strategic global collaboration to integrate PayPal into MICROS' widely deployed POS platforms to enable better payments experiences for consumers - whether using a card, online, mobile phone, checking in to pay, or by simply typing in a mobile number and PIN . Central to this collaboration, multiple MICROS hospitality and retail point-of-sale (POS) platforms used in hundreds of thousands of ...
Dennie Matthews to Head Educational Institute’s India Operations
American Hotel & Lodging Educational Institute | August 20, 2013
Mumbai, India, August 2013-The American Hotel & Lodging Educational Institute (EI) has promoted Dennie Matthews to Chief Managing Officer for its India operations, following the retirement of EI vice president K.V. Simon in June. Mr. Matthews has worked as part of EI's Mumbai office since June 2004, when he came on board as manager, accounting and administration. He was promoted to director operations and country manager in May 2008, working closely with Mr. Simon to promote the EI brand to Indian hospitality schools and industry organizations. Prior to joining EI, Mr. Matthews worked for three years with a chartered accountant firm...
The Boutique & Lifestyle Lodging Association (BLLA) Names Four New Award Categories for 2013 Event
The Boutique & Lifestyle Lodging Association (BLLA) | August 20, 2013
WINNERS & FINALISTS to be announced at the annual conference being held in Los Angeles, Oct. 21-23, 2013 Los Angeles, CA, August 20, 2013 - The hospitality industry's top boutique, lifestyle and luxury hotels and supplier vendors are competing for the top spots in the BLLA 2013 Awards. The new categories this year include the following: 1 - WORKPLACE SAFETY AWARD, 2 - ADAPTIVE REUSE OF A HISTORIC STRUCTURE AWARD, 3 - VOICE RESERVATIONS - BEST PRACTICES AWARD and 4 - PROPERTY GUEST ENGAGEMENT OF THE YEAR AWARD. These categories are in addition to the PERSON OF THE YEAR AWARD given at last year's conference as well as HOTELIER OF THE ...
Deloitte Survey Finds Airline Loyalty Programs Miss the Mark on Encouraging Real Loyalty
Deloitte's Travel, Hospitality and Leisure Practice | August 20, 2013
Survey Reveals 72% of High-Frequency Business Travelers Participate in Multiple Programs NEW YORK, Aug. 20, 2013 -- Deloitte today released "Rising above the Clouds: Charting a course for renewed airline consumer loyalty," an inaugural survey that provides insights into consumer travel behavior and loyalty program satisfaction in the airline industry. The survey indicates airline loyalty programs are not as effective as they could be in driving loyalty among their core audience of frequent travelers. A surprising 72 percent of "high-frequency" business travelers participate in two or more programs, while more than one-third participate ...
Mark Guthrie Named as Director of Sales & Marketing for the 216-room Park Hyatt Washington
Park Hyatt Washington | August 20, 2013
WASHINGTON (August 20, 2013) - Park Hyatt Washington and General Manager Andrew Davidson announce the appointment of Mark Guthrie as Director of Sales & Marketing. In his new role, Guthrie will be responsible for Park Hyatt Washington's sales and marketing strategy and will manage the 216-room, luxury hotel's brand positioning within the local, national, and international markets. Guthrie joins the sales & marketing team at Park Hyatt Washington with a vast knowledge working for Hyatt Hotels, having most recently served for five years as Director of Sales at the Hyatt Regency London - The Churchill. Prior to joining Hyatt Hotels...
Thomas Ruhs Appointed as General Manager for Eagle Ridge Resort & Spa in Galena, Illinois
Eagle Ridge Resort & Spa | August 20, 2013
GALENA, Ill. (Aug. 20, 2013) - Eagle Ridge Resort & Spa (www.eagleridge.com) is pleased to announce Thomas A. Ruhs as the new general manager for the renowned resort located in Galena, Ill. As general manager, Ruhs is responsible for all aspects of the resort including overseeing 63 holes on four award-winning golf courses, accommodations that range from quaint Inn rooms to more than 200 villas and distinctive homes, over 15,000 square feet of meeting space, award-winning restaurants, and spa. Prior to joining Eagle Ridge Resort & Spa, Ruhs was general manager of Lake Lawn Resort in Delavan, Wisc. and previously general manager ...
The $10 Million 124-room New-build Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites Cuernavaca Opens in Mexico
August 20, 2013
Cuernavaca, Mor. (Aug 20, 2013) - IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) and Inmobiliaria GEEMAJI, S.A. de C.V., today announces the opening of the Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites Cuernavaca. The ribbon cutting was by Mr. Graco Ram'rez, Constitutional Governor of the State of Morelos and the opening was attended by guests spanning the political and tourism sectors such as Lic. Jaime Álvarez, Ministry of Tourism of the State of Morelos; Dr. Jorge Morales Barut, Mayor of Cuernavaca; and media representatives. "We are very pleased to welcome this hotel to the Holiday Inn Brand Family and look forward to IHG's continued presence in Cue...
Atlantica Hotels International to Open the Radisson Hotel Rio de Janeiro in Brazil in January 2014
Atlantica Hotels International | August 20, 2013
RIO DE JANEIRO (Aug. 20, 2013) - Atlantica Hotels International today announced the signing of the Radisson Hotel Rio de Janeiro, scheduled to open January, 2014. The converted landmark beachfront hotel will offer 292 guestrooms and suites, and will be the eighth Radisson hotel in Brazil. Over the next five years, an investment of $5.5 in enhancements will be made to the hotel. "This is a fantastic addition to the Radisson portfolio. As a business destination, Rio de Janeiro is important to the Brazilian economy, and one of the largest leisure destinations in Brazil," said Thorsten Kirschke, president, Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group, Ameri...
RoamingAround Releases ‘Mobile Engagement’
RoamingAround | August 20, 2013
Hospitality's Mobile Expert is Offering a New Service That Creates Unique Mobile Experiences and Drives Desired Behaviors BOSTON, MASS. - AUGUST 20, 2013 - Gone are the days when hotels can take a shotgun approach to marketing and be effective. The name of the game today is "Mobile Engagement," and it's an exciting new service recently released by hospitality mobile expert RoamingAround. Mobile Engagement is the result of building one-on-one relationships between hoteliers and guests by offering mobile experiences that drive desired behaviors. With 27 custom Mobile Engagement technologies in its mobile toolkit, RoamingAround can assists...
