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Industry Happenings
TradeWinds Island Resorts to Rebrand Guy Harvey Outpost as RumFish Beach Resort by TradeWinds
TradeWinds Island Resorts | February 13, 2019
ST. PETE BEACH, Fla. (Feb. 13, 2019) – TradeWinds Island Resorts has announced a rebranding of their Guy Harvey Outpost property on St. Pete Beach, just down the street from their TradeWinds Island Grand flagship property. When the current five-year licensing agreement with Guy Harvey ends on March 13, the rebranded property will be known as RumFish Beach Resort by TradeWinds and will continue to be owned and managed by TradeWinds. The newly named RumFish Beach Resort will maintain its "Florida lifestyle" theme, with a focus on local marine artists such as Thomas Krause. All current and future reservations and rates at the hotel w...
RAR Hospitality Assumes Management of Wave Hotel, Crimson Hotel and Stay Tucson Inn and Suites
RAR Hospitality | February 13, 2019
San Diego–February 12, 2019— RAR Hospitality, leading hotel management firm announced today that the company has taken over management of Wave Hotel and Crimson Hotel in Manhattan Beach of Los Angeles County and Stay Tucson Inn and Suites, furthering RAR's California coast and Arizona expansion. With the added independent properties, RAR's hotel portfolio includes over 20 properties ranging from full-service to select-service hotels and boutique properties in Southern California, Arizona, and Colorado. The third-party hotel management company is set to manage strategic planning and hotel operations for all three independent ...
The Hotel Amenities Travelers Really Want
Kacey Bradley | February 13, 2019
By Kacey Bradley In the hospitality industry, there seems to be a disconnect between what hotels think guests want, what guests think they want and what they actually use. Because people are expecting services they're used to, some amenities aren't as novel as they once were, while others go unused. So, what makes travelers content during their stay at a hotel? Do guests need extra packaged toiletries or a pool to rave about the establishment? The following seven amenities are what guests hope for and take advantage of during their visit. 1. Outlets As travelers are stowing their electronics along for their trips, their charging...
Every Cloud Has a Silver Lining… but for Whom?
Georges Panayotis | February 13, 2019
Fostering, supervising, regulating, preserving the common heritage... these are the main missions of governments and agencies that must take them to heart. Create, develop, design, innovate, know your market, benchmark... these are the missions of the sector's professionals whom governments must trust in order to know how to act in order to preserve their market share. One might be tempted to step on others' turf. "However, it is by assuming each of our well-defined roles and by pushing the expertise, know-how and knowledge ever further that we will build a solid and sustainable tourism strategy." Through debate, by ch...
Shutters on the Beach and Hotel Casa del Mar Join Preferred Hotels & Resorts
Edward Thomas Collection | February 13, 2019
NEWPORT BEACH, CALIFORNIA – February 12, 2019 – Preferred Hotels & Resorts, the world's largest global provider of sales, marketing, and distribution services to independent luxury hotels, is proud to announce that two of the most celebrated hotels along the United States' Pacific Coast – Shutters on the Beach and Hotel Casa del Mar – have joined its brand portfolio as the newest experiences within its esteemed Legend Collection. The addition of these two world-renowned properties enhances the global scope of the Preferred Hotels & Resorts Legend Collection, which represents more than 90 of the world's fi...
Why Retail Owners Are Partnering With Hotels
Jim Butler | February 13, 2019
By Jim Butler and the Global Hospitality Group® Hotel Lawyers | Authors of www.HotelLawBlog.com 13 February 2019 - Recently, my partner, Guy Maisnik, and I spoke about hotel retail mixed-use development with Kelsi Maree Borland of GlobeSt.com. Her article, Why Retail Owners Are Partnering With Hotels ran with the subtitle, With retail evolving to be more experience-driven, retail owners are finding the benefits of adding boutique hotels to shopping centers. Retailers adding hotels to the mix is nothing new – but they may be more motivated than ever. The Hotel Law Blog has been covering hotel mixed-use projects — where th...
The Hidden Benefits of Tasting Events
Larry Mogelonsky | February 13, 2019
By Larry Mogelonsky, MBA, P. Eng. (www.hotelmogel.com) Finding myself away at a mountain resort for a food and wine festival last year, it was the perfect opportunity to not only participate in a wine tasting conducted by a vintner from a prominent Oregon winery as well as reflect upon the staying power of these types of events. For the two dozen participants, it was a chance to get close and personal with the wine. Here, we were guided through the nuances of several wines of the same grape variety, allowing us to understand the nuances created by the vintage and cellaring processes as well as furthering our knowledge and appreciation o...
Sales and RM – Why Can’t We Be Friends?
Matt Curry | February 13, 2019
By Matt Curry According to the 2019 AMEX Global Meetings & Events Forecast,1 the meetings industry is in a period of consistent growth, with small but meaningful increases projected in meeting sizes, length, and number of attendees. And although trend data2 supports that room night share, guest-paid RevPAR, and group ADR have been relatively flat, the group/meetings customer segment remains a strong and steady source of hotel business. Business meetings, conventions, sports tournaments, educational gatherings, and others all provide lucrative opportunities for hotels. They are sources of repeat business, fill rooms during off-peak t...
All-In-One Facebook Messaging & What It Means for the Hospitality Industry
Lodging Interactive | February 13, 2019
Last week, Facebook announced it is reportedly working to develop a single, unified messaging infrastructure and increasing the connection between several of their apps. The integration will allow users to communicate cross-platform even while using the individual apps of Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, and Instagram's messaging, combining the world's 3 largest messaging platforms. Thousands of Facebook employees are supposedly hard at work, with the goal being to make the integration complete by the end of 2019 or early 2020, though Zuckerberg has said that the functionality likely wouldn't be possible until sometime in 2020 at the lates...
Bahia Hotel & Beach House Takes Service and Operations From ‘Great to Excellent’
ALICE | February 13, 2019
Adopting ALICE means that all staff and guest communication at Bahia Hotel and Beach House is now harmonized under one roof. Bahia Hotel and Beach House has chosen ALICE to streamline internal and guest communication, and keep track of historical information that will serve as guidelines for improvements year over year on service, offerings, and overall guest experience. ALICE is the hospitality industry's leading operations technology, connecting every department of the hotel with one platform for all staff communication and guest requests. Prior to implementing ALICE, staff at Bahia Hotel used a variety of different channels to commun...
Marriott Expands Across Africa With Hotel Signings in Morocco, Ghana and Liberia
Marriott International | February 12, 2019
MARRAKESH, Morocco, February 12, 2019 -- From the Forum de l'Investissement Hôtelier Africain in Marrakech, Marriott International (www.Marriott.com) announced three new deal signings across North and West Africa, reinforcing the company's commitment to expanding its presence across the continent. The new deal signings highlight the company's growth in Morocco and Ghana, while marking its debut in Liberia. Organised by Bench Events, Forum de l'Investissement Hôtelier Africain is a gathering that unites North and West African countries in a bid to develop their economies and support hospitality investment. The forum c...
PolyU Study Advises Hotels to Look Ahead Accurately Basing on Publicly Available Data
February 12, 2019
Given that tourism is a global industry consuming a diversity of goods and services, the prediction of future trends needs to take account of the wider economic context, according to Professor Brian King and Dr Stephen Pratt of the School of Hotel and Tourism Management (SHTM) at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and a co-author. In a recently published study, the researchers use publicly available data to improve predictions about hotel occupancy rates in different classes of Hong Kong hotels. Their method can be adopted by individual hotels that have insufficient resources to collect expensive data, or for employing consultants, to...
Tourism Tidbits: Working With Meeting & Convention Planners
Dr. Peter Tarlow | February 12, 2019
By Dr. Peter Tarlow Meeting & Convention Planners (MCPs) play a vital part of the tourism industry. Not only do they often decide what community will receive a lucrative convention but their opinions also matter in the way a community is perceived and as such they act as part of a community's unofficial marketing team. Not only do their opinions matter, but tourism convention and meeting cities would be wise to remember that perceptions are often more powerful than facts and style all too often takes precedence over substance. Additionally there is a growing trend of conventioneers using the pre or post-convention period as a way t...
Supply Growth in Top 25 U.S. Markets to Accelerate
Lodging Econometrics (LE) | February 12, 2019
February 12, 2019 – PORTSMOUTH, NH – Analysts at Lodging Econometrics (LE) report that in 2018, new supply growth was 2.0%, the first time it has reached 2.0% in eight years. The top 25 markets had new supply growth of 2.7% while the remainder of the country showed growth at 1.7%. Demand growth was 2.5% for both the top 25 markets and for the remainder of the country as well. Last year, 12 of the top 25 markets had supply growth in excess of demand growth. With the exception of Houston, Seattle, and Orlando the variances were modest. As the economy settles into the "new normal" of slower growth and low inflation, LE expects ...
Managing Overtourism
Peter Varga | February 12, 2019
By Peter Varga and Aline Terrier What, for you, makes an ideal vacation? Being alone in a beautiful spot or sharing the experience with loved ones? More likely than not you prefer to avoid the 'madding' crowd but you may already have had first-hand experience of the increasing numbers of tourists visiting major destinations such as Machu Picchu, Angkor Wat, the Taj Mahal and Venice. Growth in tourism: facts and figures According to the latest statistics from the United Nations World Tourism Organisation: International tourist arrivals rose by six percent to 1.4 billion in 2018, the second strongest year since 2010. UNWTO expects the num...
The Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL) Signs Two Hotels in Goa
Fomento Resorts and Hotels Ltd. | February 12, 2019
Mumbai, 11 February, 2019: The Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL), South Asia's largest hospitality company signed a management contract for two hotels in Goa adding 506 rooms to its pipeline. The Company will take over the management of the legendary 207 key Cidade de Goa which will form a part of the SeleQtions portfolio – a named collection of hotels and resorts with a distinct character. An additional 299 rooms which are under construction, will be added to the same complex under the Taj brand scheduled to open by the end of this year. Commenting on the signing of this agreement, Mr. Puneet Chhatwal, Managing Director and Ch...
Snow King Resort Hotel in Jackson, Wyoming, Purchased by KDG Capital
KDG Capital | February 12, 2019
BENCHMARK® will continue to operate popular destination resort. The Woodlands (Houston), Texas, February 2019 … KDG Capital, a Florida-based real estate private equity firm, has purchased the Snow King Resort Hotel in Jackson, Wyoming. BENCHMARK®, a global hospitality company, will continue to operate and market the 230-room property, located at the foot of Snow King Mountain in the Grand Teton mountains, just minutes from the center of Jackson Hole, Wyoming. KDG plans to invest $5 million in capital improvements to the property. Snow King Resort Hotel is part of Benchmark's signature Benchmark Resorts & Hotels brand....
Radisson Hotel Group Partners With Zaghloul Holdings for Six-Hotel Portfolio in Egypt
Radisson Hotel Group | February 12, 2019
Brussels/Cairo - February 12, 2019 -- Radisson Hotel Group is proud to announce the signing of six new hotels in Egypt as part of a portfolio deal across a number of its brands. The agreement was signed with existing business partner Zaghloul Holdings, a Cairo-based business conglomerateoperating in real estate, contracting, tourism, commercial retail, entertainment and sports investment industries. The six hotels: Radisson Collection Hotel Cairo Heliopolis, Radisson Blu Serviced Apartments Cairo Heliopolis, Radisson Blu Hotel Cairo Golf City, Radisson Hotel New Cairo, Radisson Hotel & Resort Ain Sokhna and Radisson Blu Hotel & ...
Integration Partnership Between Crave Interactive and Quore Is Enabling Hotels to Deliver World-Class Digital Hotel Services
Crave Interactive | February 12, 2019
LEED-certified Hotel Indigo® San Diego Gaslamp Quarter is the first to benefit from this joint technology that optimizes response times to guests' requests for personalized service Las Vegas and Franklin, Tenn. – Feb. 12, 2019 – What happens when two of hospitality's top-rated technologies align? It raises the bar on service delivery and sets new industry standards for guest engagement. Today, the world leading developer of cloud-based digital guest service solutions for hotels, Crave Interactive, and housekeeping/engineering management software provider, Quore, are announcing an integration partnership that is taking gu...
Shiji Helps Marriott International to Complete Successful System Switch in China
Shiji | February 12, 2019
Working with Shiji Group Professional Services teams, Marriott International successfully completed a full system migration of 167 former Starwood hotels in China in late December 2018. The project was managed by Marriott in conjunction with Shiji teams using efficient project management methods and exclusive tools built to ensure the process happens smoothly. The migration of 167 hotels across China realized successful Opera system switch and connection with Central Reservation System to Marriott International Group standards. The migration was completed from start to finish in three months and was started in September 2018. It is part...
TownePlace Suites by Marriott to Open in San Diego, California
The Sage Agency | February 12, 2019
Get ready to be real and be you on long stays. Marriott International's TownePlace Suites by Marriott San Diego Central is scheduled to open for business this Friday, February 15, 2019. On average, a TownePlace Suites opens every six days. Built for travelers looking for a simple and friendly place where they can settle-in, keep their routine, and easily connect to the San Diego area. The new hotel located at 8650 Tech Way, will operate as a Marriott franchise, owned and managed by Excel Hotel Group of San Diego, California. "We are excited with the continued growth of the TownePlace Suites brand in the San Diego area," said Diane Mayer...
La Alhambra Apart Hotel in Santa Catarina Sees 20% Growth in Its Revenue With Hotelogix
Hotelogix | February 12, 2019
Hotelogix, a leader in cloud-based Property Management Systems has announced that the adoption and efficient use of its PMS have helped La Alhambra Apart Hotel in Santa Catarina, Brazil witness a 20% increase in its revenue. This considerable growth in its revenue is a result of 30% boost in OTA booking and 10% increase in direct booking coming via its brand website. Located in Florianópolis, the capital of Brazil's Santa Catarina state, La Alhambra Apart Hotel is a 14-year old family-owned property with 27 rooms. Right on the sands of Cachoeira do Bom Jesus beach, this independent hotel offers pleasant accommodations to leisure ...
Hospitality Financial Leadership: City/Region Wide Supply and Demand Analysis
David Lund | February 11, 2019
By David Lund When you are preparing your budgets, an incredibly valuable tool is what I refer to as the "citywide supply and demand analysis." I didn't come up with this, however, I am going to explain how it works, why it's so important to complete it at least annually and how to analyze it. In a previous post, I wrote about how to calculate your RevPAR index and how to measure this against your competitive set, sort of a manual version of what STR supplies. This concept is similar, but one does not replace the other and vice versa. The "citywide" report allows you to see where you are relative to your entire market, where you histori...
Holiday Inn Los Angeles-LAX Airport Completes Extensive Renovation and Renewal Project Led by General Manager Israel Mora
Holiday Inn Los Angeles-LAX Airport | February 11, 2019
LOS ANGELES, Feb. 11, 2019 -- Get ready to propel your L.A. adventure to a new level as Holiday Inn Los Angeles-LAX Airport completes an extensive renovation and renewal project. With a convenient location close to Los Angeles International Airport and countless Los Angeles attractions, the property has infused a sleek new design throughout the hotel, with modern versatile meeting spaces, and expanded food and beverage areas. This extensive, multi-phase renovation is set to be completed this month, and will serve to upgrade the Holiday Inn LAX location to be one of the premiere destinations of one of the largest hotel chains in the worl...
