HFTP® Acquires Leading Hospitality Industry Brands: Hospitality Upgrade, Hotel-Online, The CIO Summit and The Executive Vendor Summit
Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals | June 25, 2024
Industry Happenings
Cost Controls Perpetuate U.S. Hotel Profit Growth In 2017
Robert Mandelbaum | July 17, 2018
By Robert Mandelbaum U.S. hoteliers enjoyed an eighth consecutive year of increasing profits in 2017 despite another slowdown in the rate of revenue growth. According to the 2018 edition of Trends® in the Hotel Industry, total operating revenue increased by 2.0 percent in 2017 for the average hotel in its survey sample. Fortunately, by limiting the growth in operating expenses to 1.9 percent, managers at the Trends® properties realized a 2.2 percent increase in gross operating profits (GOP) for the year. Trends® in the Hotel Industry is the CBRE Hotels' Americas Research's annual survey of operating statements from thousands...
Golden Entertainment to Acquire Edgewater Hotel & Casino Resort and Colorado Belle Hotel & Casino Resort from Marnell Gaming
Golden Entertainment, Inc. | July 17, 2018
LAS VEGAS--Golden Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ: GDEN) ("Golden" or the "Company") today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement with Marnell Gaming LLC, to acquire the Edgewater Hotel & Casino Resort and the Colorado Belle Hotel & Casino Resort in Laughlin, Nevada. The purchase price will be based on an 8.0x multiple of the combined trailing twelve months adjusted EBITDA of both properties as of November 2018, with a minimum price of $168 million and a maximum price of $190 million. Including expected cost synergies and cash acquired, the purchase price is expected to represent an implied trailing twelve months ...
ISHC WorldView: Compensation and Career Advancement Are the Keys to Attracting Employees
ISHC WorldView | July 17, 2018
What does the hospitality industry need to attract future employees to properly compete in the workplace? 43% of ISHC members surveyed see better compensation (i.e. higher salaries and performance-based pay) as a key to improving our industry's employment outlook, followed by 30% touting career advancement as critical according to the ISHC WorldView study. Benefits, Flexibility, Training, and Recruitment were also noted as key factors. ISHC's Aurora Dawn Reinke, Founder of Astrapto LLC, weighed in, "A spectrum of dignity and equality matters to future generations - from living wages and benefits for the lowest line staff to opportunity...
Laurens Zieren Appointed as General Manager of The Diplomat Beach Resort Hollywood, Curio Collection by Hilton
The Diplomat Beach Resort | July 17, 2018
Hollywood, Fla. – July 17, 2018 – Laurens Zieren has been appointed general manager of The Diplomat Beach Resort Hollywood, Curio Collection by Hilton in Hollywood, Florida, according to Hilton senior vice president, Leslie Pchola, effective immediately. A veteran Hilton leader for almost 20 years, Zieren returns to Hilton after a regional vice president role for a hotel management company. In his new role, he will oversee operations of the iconic oceanfront hotel with 1,000 guest rooms and suites, 10 different culinary destinations, two sun-drenched pools, 26 poolside cabanas, a deluxe spa and fitness center, and 209,000 sq...
RLH Corporation Closes Sale of Hotel RL Spokane at the Park for $35 Million
RLH Corporation | July 17, 2018
DENVER (July 17, 2018) — RLH Corporation (NYSE:RLH) announced today the sale of Hotel RL Spokane at the Park, for $35 million. The hotel is the ninth of 11 hotels being marketed for sale previously disclosed in October 2017. RLH Corporation's total gain on the sale is expected to be approximately $14.8 million. Together with the other eight previously announced sales, RLH Corporation's gain on sales is approximately $42.2 million. "With the completion of the Spokane sale we have now completed nine of the 11 targeted real estate sales," said RLH Corporation President and Chief Executive Officer Greg Mount. "We continue to see stron...
BENCHMARK® Appoints Lloyd Van Horn General Manager of Topnotch Resort, Stowe, Vermont
Topnotch Resort | July 17, 2018
The Woodlands (Houston), Texas, July 2018 … BENCHMARK®, a global hospitality company, has named Lloyd Van Horn general manager of Topnotch Resort, a Gemstone Collection property located in Stowe, Vermont. This represents a return to the resort for Mr. Van Horn, who served as resort manager from 2006-2009. Cedric Fasbender, Benchmark's vice president of operations, made the announcement. "We are very pleased to welcome Lloyd back to Topnotch Resort and to Stowe," said Mr. Fasbender. "He brings a wealth of expertise in the hospitality industry, and in luxury hotel management, to his new role at Topnotch Resort. We look forward ...
Lodging Interactive Announces LinkedIn Marketing Services for Hotels
Lodging Interactive | July 17, 2018
Lodging Interactive, an award-winning digital and social media engagement agency exclusively serving the hospitality industry, today announced the launch of its fully managed CoMMingle LinkedIn marketing service for the hospitality industry. CoMMingle LinkedIn Marketing manages all aspects of a hotel's LinkedIn presence and community engagement. "LinkedIn presents enormous branding and business opportunities for hotels and has been mostly ignored by property marketing teams. With over 560 million LinkedIn monthly users, hoteliers must maintain a presence and aggressively build and engage with their LinkedIn community as they have done f...
The Pavilions Hotels & Resorts Deploys Infor HMS and SunSystems to Streamline Operations and Expand Global Reach
Infor | July 17, 2018
SINGAPORE & HONG KONG, CHINA -- July 17, 2018 - Infor, a leading provider of industry-specific cloud applications, today announced that The Pavilions Hotels & Resorts has deployed Infor Hospitality Management System (HMS) for its hotel operations, and Infor SunSystems for its financial operations in its Bali, Phuket, Madrid, and Amsterdam properties. The Hong-Kong based company owns and operates luxury hotels, resorts and manages experiential travel across Asia and Europe. The Pavilions Hotels & Resorts deployed Infor HMS and SunSystems to streamline processes and establish a unified system across the brand's global prop...
The Secret Sauce to Profitability for All-Inclusives: Understanding Total Guest Value
Dan Skodol | July 17, 2018
By Dan Skodol, Vice President of Revenue Analytics at Rainmaker The evolution of all-inclusive resorts reads a lot like the fairytale of Cinderella. From humble beginnings catering to a dollar-stretcher crowd – with mediocre buffet food, mid-level accommodations, and events centered around boisterous pool activities – to today's transformation into a bright, rising star in the hotel industry. From 2011 to 2014, demand for all-inclusives rose from 8 to 14 percent,1 and now they are one of the fastest growing segments in vacation lodging. Hundreds of all-inclusive resorts now span the globe, moving beyond beachside havens to i...
Crescent Hotel and Resorts Appoints Jason Gold as SVP Business Development
Crescent Hotels & Resorts | July 17, 2018
Washington, DC (July 17, 2018) – Michael George, Chief Executive Officer of Crescent Hotels & Resorts, announced today that the hotel and resort management company has added, Jason Gold, as Senior Vice President of Business Development to its leadership team. Crescent, based in Fairfax, Virginia is a nationally recognized operator of premier hotels and resorts throughout the United States, Canada & Caribbean. "Jason has a passion for client relations and strategic collaboration that is consistent with Crescent's culture, as well as a robust hotel investment background which will compliment Crescent's business development t...
Sweet Inn Partners With Fornova, Taps Machine Learning to Dynamically Price Its 500 Apartments
Fornova | July 17, 2018
Sweet Inn builds its own Dynamic Pricing tool combining internal BI and Distribution Intelligence from Fornova to optimise pricing, at scale. Tel Aviv and London, 17 July 2018 - Sweet Inn and Fornova have announced that they are teaming up, as Sweet Inn builds its own Revenue Management System (RMS), leveraging Distribution Intelligence from Fornova. Sweet Inn's newest digital crown, a data-driven software platform, will enable company to automatically optimize the pricing of its properties, as Fornova extends it Distribution Intelligence platform scan the rapidly growing vacation rental market. Phocuswright research1 reported that mor...
El Conquistador Tucson Names Michael K. Platt as New General Manager
| July 17, 2018
El Conquistador Tucson, A Hilton Resort, in Tucson, Ariz., has named Michael K. Platt the new General Manager of its 428-room resort that just completed the largest renovation in its 35-year history. Bringing more than 25 years of experience in the hospitality industry to the El Conquistador team, he most recently was the general manager of the four-star, four-diamond Royal Park Hotel, in Rochester, Mich. when it received WorldHotels' award for "Best Experience Creator" for the third consecutive year, the only American hotel in the more than 500 WorldHotels international and luxury portfolio to receive this honor, as well as recognition...
West Belmont Place in Leesburg, Virginia Announces “Christmas In July” Holiday Party Ideas and Incentives
West Belmont Place | July 17, 2018
For Events Booked by September 1 LEESBURG, VA July 2018 … West Belmont Place Event Center at The National Conference Center creates a unique holiday party package to celebrate the upcoming holidays. According to Tony Roberts, the author of "Learn the 7 Forces of Business Mastery," holiday parties are still popular. According to one study, about 90% of companies throw a holiday party for their employees. It's yet another way many companies show their appreciation for — and retain — their employees. With so much competition for "star players" and the ever-rising threat of a rival company poaching top talent, these sort...
Artyzen Hospitality Group Expands Revenue Strategy Partnership With Duetto
Artyzen Hospitality Group | July 17, 2018
GameChanger, ScoreBoard apps integral to growth of Artyzen and citizenM brands in China and beyond Hong Kong, 17 July, 2018 — Artyzen Hospitality Group and Duetto, hospitality's only Revenue Strategy Platform, have announced plans to extend their partnership as the Hong Kong-based hotelier grows beyond its base in China and opens more branded properties across Asia. Artyzen has used GameChanger, Duetto's flagship Open Pricing application, since 2015 at its two resort properties in Macau: Grand Lapa and Grand Coloane. With this most recent deal, Artyzen will roll out GameChanger to its other two operating hotels, Artyzen Habitat in...
Shelter Suites & Hotels Appoints Amine Saad as General Manager of Hawthorn Suites by Wyndham Abuja
Shelter Suites & Hotels | July 17, 2018
Abuja, Nigeria (7/18/2018) – Hawthorn Suites by Wyndham Abuja at 1 Uke St, Garki Abuja Nigeria today announced that Amine Saad, has been appointed as the hotel's General Manager by the hotel owners Shelter Suites & Hotels Ltd. "It is my pleasure to appoint Amine Saad as the GM of our Abuja property as I feel it's managers like him that will help ensure our hotel's continued success," said Faruk Aliyu, Managing Director of hotel's ownership company Shelter Suites and Hotels Ltd. Prior to joining Shelter Suites and Hotels Ltd Mr. Saad worked as a Night Manager at Hilton Hotel Hotel, Beirut Lebanon for 4 years subsequently leavin...
Inntopia Launches Cloud Express to Give Key Staff One-Click Access to Guest Profiles
Inntopia | July 16, 2018
STOWE, VT, July 17, 2018 - Inntopia announced today the release of Cloud Express, a system that gives front-desk and call-center agents one-click access to complete guest profiles directly from their CRS or PMS. Built as a bridge between Inntopia's award-winning Marketing Cloud and Commerce technologies, Cloud Express takes the complete guest profiles once reserved only for the marketing team and puts them into the hands of a hotel's or resort's entire team. "We put a huge amount of focus on data cleansing, deduping, and integrating every data source possible, so the guest profiles that exist in Marketing Cloud are second to none," said...
RLJ Lodging Trust Completes Sale of 205-Room Embassy Suites Napa Valley for $102 Million ($498K Per Key)
RLJ | July 16, 2018
BETHESDA, Md.--RLJ Lodging Trust (the "Company") (NYSE: RLJ) today announced that the Company has closed on the sale of the 205-room Embassy Suites Napa Valley ("Embassy Suites Napa") for $102.0 million or approximately $498,000 per key. "The sale of the Embassy Suites Napa is another example of how we seek to unlock shareholder value through both non-core and opportunistic sales," commented Ross H. Bierkan, President and Chief Executive Officer. "The premium multiple on this sale is indicative of the strong investor appetite for properties in resort-like locations, which allowed us to capture the embedded redevelopment value in this as...
NAVIS Reveals Strategies for Maximizing Peak Season Revenue
NAVIS | July 16, 2018
Peak Season Success Program helps hotels leverage NAVIS sales performance technology, best practices to drive profits during peak season and fill demand year round BEND, Ore. (July 16, 2018) – NAVIS, the leader in reservation sales and marketing technology for hotels, resorts, and vacation rentals, today announced the launch of their exclusive 'Peak Season Success Program', which consists of best practices, case studies, and interactive webinars featuring industry experts and NAVIS clients that explore the elements of a successful peak season strategy. The new educational resources are designed to help lodging operators drive incr...
RLJ Lodging Trust Names Sean M. Mahoney Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer
RLJ | July 16, 2018
BETHESDA, Md.--RLJ Lodging Trust (the "Company") (NYSE: RLJ) today announced that Sean M. Mahoney will join the Company as Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer, effective August 1, 2018. Mr. Mahoney will report directly to Leslie D. Hale, the Company's incoming President and Chief Executive Officer. "We are excited to welcome Sean to the RLJ team. Sean is a seasoned REIT executive with broad industry experience and deep financial knowledge with a proven track record of prudent balance sheet management. He is well-respected by the investment community and will be a great addition to RLJ," stated Leslie D. Hale....
Dual Performance Review: Reporting to Your Owners & Guests
Kirk Pederson | July 16, 2018
Kokua Hospitality has extensive experience in hotel and resort management, purchasing, finance, and ever-evolving information technology. We spoke with Kokua Hospitality President Kirk Pederson about the constant balancing act of a management group and exceeding the expectations of both the owners and guests. How do you stabilize the constant balancing act working within a management group? "It's definitely is a balancing act," said President of Kokua Hospitality, Kirk Pederson. "It depends on the owner. Some owners only care about cutting costs and maximizing the Net Operating Income," said Pederson. "Every product is different, ever...
Hotel Equities Opens 96-Room TownePlace Suites by Marriott in Mesquite, Texas
Hotel Equities | July 16, 2018
Atlanta, GA – July 16, 2018 – Hotel Equities (HE) announced the official opening of the new TownePlace Suites by Marriott-Dallas/Mesquite. The all-suite hotel owned by Profound Hotel Group, LLC is located at 500 Rodeo Center Boulevard. HE was brought on board in the preliminary phases of the project to ensure the project's success. Matt Saumer serves as General Manager and Thyme Ford serves as Director of Sales for the hotel. Connor Reyer serves as Assistant General Manager. HE's recent opening of a Texas regional office, based in Houston, was part of a strategic growth plan to provide optimal support for the firm's growing ...
Park Hotels & Resorts Completes $9 Million Transformation of Hilton Short Hills in New Jersey
Hilton Short Hills | July 16, 2018
SHORT HILLS, NJ - Hilton Short Hills, a AAA Four Diamond-rated property part of Hilton Hotels and Resort's fast-growing global portfolio of upscale, full-service hotels, just placed the finishing touches on a $9 million hotel transformation project. The renovation includes a modern restoration to create a hometown-luxury experience of 314 guestrooms and suites, exclusive Executive Lounge and 16,000 sq. ft. of meeting space. The transformation includes a rooftop expansion, with the addition of The Balcony, an all-new open-air rooftop for weddings and private events with strung garden lights surrounded by serene woodlands. Additionally, l...
Hilton Sandestin Beach Golf Resort & Spa Appoints New Executive Chef Lee Guidry
July 16, 2018
SOUTH WALTON, Fla. (July 16, 2018) – Hilton Sandestin Beach Golf Resort & Spa, the largest full-service beachfront resort hotel on Northwest Florida's Gulf Coast, has appointed Lee Guidry as the new executive chef of Seagar's Prime Steaks & Seafood, the resort's AAA Four-Diamond restaurant. "With more than 11 years of experience in the culinary industry, Chef Guidry will continue delivering an experience unique to Seagar's," said Gary Brielmayer, general manager of Hilton Sandestin Beach. "With his expertise in authentic Italian techniques and his extensive time spent exploring the flavors of the coast, Chef Guidry will co...
IHG Signs With Pearl Grand Tower Hotel for InterContinental® Colombo Slated for 2019 Opening in Sri Lanka
IHG | July 16, 2018
India ,16th July 2018: InterContinental Hotels Group® (IHG), one of world's leading hotel companies, has signed a management agreement with Pearl Grand Tower Hotel (Private) Limited, to bring back the InterContinental brand to the Sri Lankan capital. Due to open in 2019, InterContinental® Colombo will feature 307 rooms including 47 suites. This iconic development will be spread across 480,000 sq. ft. and the luxury hotel is expected to be the tallest hotel tower comprising 42 floors, in Colombo 3, an important and established commercial area of the city. InterContinental® Colombo will be located centrally along Galle Road, o...
