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
HITEC Houston Tuesday General Session Announced: “Technology and the Power of the C-Suite”
HFTP | June 14, 2018
AUSTIN, TEXAS, USA (June 14, 2018) — Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP®) added a new general session – "Technology and the Power of the C-Suite" – to the HITEC Houston education program. The session features C-level hospitality executives from brands, ownership groups and technology companies who will debate the future of emerging technology trends, funding for IT development and the nature of competition in a digital marketplace. The general session will take place from 8:30 to 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, June 19, 2018. Immediately before the session, Tammy Farley and Jing Zhu will be inducted in...
Baywood Hotels Opens 147-Room Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott in Alexandria, Virginia
Fairfield Inn & Suites | June 14, 2018
Alexandria, VA – June 14, 2018 – The 147-room Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott in Alexandria, Virginia is set to open today with its smart, inventive public space and guest room design, and its bright and inviting décor. Located at 6254 Duke Street, the former Comfort Inn Alexandria West - Landmark will operate as a Marriott franchise, owned and managed by Baywood Hotels of Greenbelt, Maryland. The property has gone through extensive renovations to all guest rooms, bathrooms, as well as public spaces. Located nine miles from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and 20 minutes from downtown Washington, D.C.,...
New Omni Boston Hotel at the Seaport Appoints Sean Reardon as Director of Sales and Marketing
Omni Hotels & Resorts | June 14, 2018
BOSTON (June 14, 2018) – Omni Hotels & Resorts is pleased to announce the appointment of Sean P. Reardon as director of sales and marketing for the new Omni Boston Hotel at the Seaport. Effective June 18, 2018, Reardon will lead the luxury hotel's sales team and will oversee all sales and marketing efforts including managing, developing and implementing sales and marketing strategies that drive group, catering, business and leisure travel revenue for the property set to open in early 2021. Executives from Omni Hotels & Resorts alongside Governor Charlie Baker, Mayor Martin J. Walsh, the Massachusetts Port Authority (Masspo...
The Rainmaker Group Partners with Torarica Group of Hotels
the Torarica Group | June 14, 2018
Company to Implement Rainmaker's Industry-Leading Revenue Optimization Solutions at All Three Properties ALPHARETTA, GA. — June 14, 2018 —The Rainmaker Group (Rainmaker), a leading provider of cloud-based hospitality revenue and profit optimization software, today announced that the Torarica Group has selected Rainmaker's guestrev®, revintel® and revcaster® solutions to drive revenue at all three of their Suriname properties: Torarica Hotel & Casino, Eco Resort, and Royal Torarica Hotel. The company was looking for a set of tools to help them formalize their revenue management processes and become more sophis...
HD Awards Honors Hospitality’s Best and Brightest
| June 14, 2018
New York, NY (June 14, 2018)—The winners of the 14th annual HD Awards were celebrated on Wednesday, June 6, at Cipriani, 25 Broadway, New York, NY. Hosted by Hospitality Design magazine, HD Awards honor the owners, designers, architects and manufacturers behind hospitality's most impressive projects and products. This year's awards generated the largest number of submissions and finalists to date, with more than 1,000 submissions received and nearly 200 finalists selected. "The record-breaking number of entries, inspirational finalists, and attendance at the event is a testament to the strength of the hospitality design community ...
After Strong First Quarter, CBRE Lifts 2018 U.S. Lodging Forecast and Expects Continued Growth
CBRE Group, Inc. | June 14, 2018
Los Angeles – June 14, 2018 – Based on better than expected first-quarter performance, CBRE Hotels' Americas Research (CBRE) has enhanced its outlook for 2018. According to STR, U.S. hotels enjoyed a 3.5 percent increase in revenue per available room (RevPAR) during the first quarter of 2018, exceeding the 2.5 percent RevPAR gain expected by CBRE for the period. Accordingly, CBRE now is forecasting a 2.8 percent annual increase in RevPAR for U.S. hotels in 2018, a 0.3 percentage point enhancement over the 2.5 percent mark published in CBRE's March 2018 Hotel Horizons® report. Average daily rates (ADR) at Los Angeles area...
Angie Hospitality Selected to Present “Tech Talk” at HITEC Houston on Benefits of Purpose-Built Hotel Technologies
Angie Hospitality | June 14, 2018
Pioneer of voice command technology for hotel industry to present 15-minute session on the importance of purpose-built solutions for the hospitality environment SAN JOSE, Calif. – June 14, 2018 – Angie Hospitality, developer of the world's first enterprise-class, cloud-managed interactive guest room assistant, built specifically for the hospitality environment, announces that its CEO, Ted Helvey, has been selected to present a "Tech Talk" session at HITEC Houston, taking place June 18-21 at the George R. Brown Convention Center. The presentation, entitled "Purpose-Built vs. Off-the-Shelf Technology for Hotels," will take pla...
Owned by The Javelin Group and Managed by Aimbridge Hospitality, Canopy by Hilton Dallas Uptown Set to Open in Texas
Canopy by Hilton | June 14, 2018
DALLAS, Texas and MCLEAN, Va. (June 14, 2018) – Today, Canopy by Hilton, Hilton's (NYSE: HLT) lifestyle hotel brand, revealed the first look inside the brand's newest Texas property, Canopy by Hilton Dallas Uptown. Scheduled to open in late June 2018, Canopy by Hilton Dallas Uptown's 150 "Just Right" rooms will offer a modern hotel experience in Dallas' most walkable district featuring more than 100 shops, restaurants and entertainment. With Canopy by Hilton's emphasis on neighborhood offerings and thoughtfully local choices, Canopy by Hilton Dallas Uptown will tell the story of the Uptown district throughout the hotel including a...
Guest Facing Chat and Task Management All-In-One at HITEC Houston With Guestware
Guestware | June 14, 2018
At HITEC in Houston Visit Guestware in Booth #1118 JUNE 18-21, 2018 George R. Brown Convention Center Learn Why Guests Prefer Both SMS and App to Communicate with Hotels, but Only When Hotels Have a Robust Task Management System with Staff Mobile App to Automate Back of House Processes June 14, 2018 – Guestware, the leading cloud-based guest-service and rapid response solution provider for hotels and resorts, will demonstrate its all-in-one Guest Experience Platform with guest-facing SMS Texting and live Chat solution at HITEC booth #1118. Guestware's guest-facing solution is integrated with its robust task management including a ...
Marriott, AccorHotels and IHG Top Asia Pacific Construction Pipeline, Excluding China
Lodging Econometrics | June 14, 2018
June 14, 2018 – PORTSMOUTH, NH – According to the most recent Asia Pacific Construction Pipeline Trend Report from Lodging Econometrics, the top global hotel companies in the Asia Pacific Construction Pipeline, excluding China, are: Marriott International with 204 Projects/48,003 Rooms, AccorHotels with 215 Projects/45,086 Rooms, InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) with 122 Projects/28,186 Rooms, Hilton Worldwide with 82 Projects/17,750, and Best Western with 34 Projects/6,146 Rooms. The largest brand in the Pipeline for each of these companies is: Marriott's Sheraton Hotel with 29 Projects/7,069 Rooms, Accor's Ibi...
W Hotels Returning to Sydney in 2020 Through Deal With Grocon
W Hotels Worldwide | June 14, 2018
Harbouring a long-held crush, W Hotels Worldwide, part of Marriott International, today announced its grand re-entry to the iconic harbour city with the highly-anticipated signing of W Sydney. Built and developed by Grocon and funded by Greaton Group, W Sydney will make waves with its debut slated for 2020. The new-build hotel will be part of 'The Ribbon', an electrifying development designed by the award-winning architect HASSEL that will transform Sydney's skyline on Darling Harbour. With its game-changing Whatever/Whenever service and bold design, W Sydney will shake up the city's social scene, turning traditional luxury on its head....
Koridor Announces New Hotel Room Self-Selection Platform: MyRoom
Koridor | June 14, 2018
Technology Pioneers Next Generation of Personalization for Global Hotel Industry, Starting with the Room Selection Process ATLANTA – June 14, 2018 – Koridor, a hospitality technology company pioneering the next generation of guest personalization, today announces the launch of the MyRoom platform. A first of its kind software solution, MyRoom enables hotels to market rooms more effectively and curate features using dynamic content and analytics, while empowering guests to self-select their room, upgrade, or choose features that best suit their preferences. Koridor will debut the MyRoom technology while attending HITEC Housto...
Shaner Hotel Group Takes Over Management of Sebring’s Château Élan Hotel & Conference Center
June 14, 2018
SEBRING, Fla. (June 14, 2018) - Officials of the 123-room Château Élan Hotel & Conference Center today announced that the award-winning Shaner Hotel Group, one of the hospitality industry's leading owner-operators of full- and select-service hotels, will take over operations of the hotel beginning Saturday, June 16. "We plan on leaning on Shaner to use their experience and contacts in the hospitality industry to bring new and creative ideas to Château Élan," said Rick Humphrey, vice president, IMSA Properties. "They are associated with a variety of brands and bring a wealth of experience to the property. "T...
Cloud5 Introduces the Hospitality Dashboard Experience (HDX) at HITEC 2018 Booth #2519
Cloud5 Communications | June 14, 2018
Innovative "Dashboard of Dashboards" Concept Leverages Automation and Self-Healing Network Technology to Proactively Manage the Guest Experience CHICAGO (June 14, 2018)— In the hospitality industry, current business dashboards provide little holistic value to decision makers and measure availability and performance from a limited, static perspective. Today, Cloud5 introduces a new concept that will provide the industry with access to real-time predictive insights by expanding the traditional dashboard to include all networked systems that affect the guest experience. Members of its now-forming HDX Advisory Board will have exclusi...
Owned by 263 Hotel Group and Managed by Prestige Hotel Group, Courtyard by Marriott Wayne Fairfield Opens in New Jersey
Courtyard by Marriott | June 14, 2018
Wayne, NJ – June 14, 2018 – Courtyard by Marriott Wayne Fairfield is scheduled to open its doors in Wayne, New Jersey today. Featuring an innovative lobby space as well as Courtyard's latest contemporary room design, the new hotel provides flexibility and choices that allow guests to optimize and elevate their travel experience. Located at 263 Route 46, the 122-room hotel will operate as a Marriott franchise, owned by 263 Hotel Group, LLC and managed by Prestige Hotel Group of Albany, New York. Whether traveling for business or pleasure, the Courtyard Wayne Fairfield offers guests convenient access to the Willowbrook Mall, M...
ALICE and Samsung Unveil First-Ever Hospitality Industry Smartwatch with Viceroy Hotel Group
ALICE | June 13, 2018
Launching at Viceroy L'Ermitage Beverly Hills, ALICE Hotel Operations Platform on Samsung Gear S3 Creates Wearable Solution To Improve Hotel Staff Communications, Guest Experiences Ridgefield Park, N.J. – June 14, 2018 – Samsung Electronics America, Inc., and hotel operations platform ALICE today announced a new hotel management solution that uses smartwatches to improve staff communications, speed responsiveness to guests, and enhance customer service. With connected, LTE-capable smartwatches easily accessible on their wrist, hotel employees in key operations – such as housekeeping, maintenance, and bellman servic...
Hotel Capital Acquires The Tremont Chicago Hotel at Magnificent Mile and Mike Ditka’s Restaurant
Hotel Capital, LLC | June 13, 2018
Hotel Capital LLC, a private equity real estate investment firm, is excited to announce a direct equity investment and acquisition of The Tremont Chicago Hotel at Magnificent Mile located in Chicago, Illinois. The Tremont Chicago Hotel and Mike Ditka's Steakhouse was acquired by Hotel Capital from seller Marriott International, Inc. The Tremont Chicago Hotel is a 16-story, 122-room, boutique hotel and is located in the heart of the Gold Coast between the world-renowned Magnificent Mile and Rush Street. The hotel will retain The Tremont name and undergo a multi-million dollar renovation which will include upgrades to the lobby, all new g...
The 2018 International Toilet Tourism Award Winners Crowned
MyTravelResearch.com | June 13, 2018
Six toilets popular with tourists around the world have officially been crowned and are ascending their thrones for 2018. Winners include a James Bond themed loo on a mountain top, a toilet that makes you feel you're in a forest, and an airport where guide dogs can poop indoors in comfort Six toilets in tourism destinations around the world have won coveted titles in the 2018 International Toilet Tourism Awards. Submissions were received from tourism destinations across North America, Europe, Asia and Australia. The toilets were judged for their design, quirkiness, location, accessibility, and economic contribution to their locality...
On the Hunt to Keep Rank
Georges Panayotis | June 13, 2018
By Georges Panayotis In this age of here and now, the customer wants to spend as little time as possible looking for and buying the right product. In the age of big data and the exponential development of algorithms, we know our customers better and better, and can even begin to anticipate their needs and expectations. In order to meet the same needs for the same customer, it seems clear that we must work on synergies and build a real path where we can respond better. The timing is right, everything converges to give meaning to this bold and necessary position that is in line with customer expectations, needs and habits. It will also s...
Giving Your Concierge A Digital Upgrade
Larry Mogelonsky | June 13, 2018
By Larry Mogelonsky, MBA, P. Eng. (www.hotelmogel.com) With the modern traveler glued to his or her phone, why would such a guest bother to consult the concierge instead of simply performing a Google search or looking on a resourceful travel website like TripAdvisor or Yelp? With mobile apps capable of offering a similar amount of information about the local area as any single person can, does this not make the concierge obsolete? This topic stems from a grievance that multiple general managers have brought to my attention with no clear answer in sight. The concierge is a core operation for any hotel in the upscale or luxury segments as...
IMH Financial Appoints Rubén Cambero as General Manager of MacArthur Place Hotel & Spa
MacArthur Place | June 13, 2018
SONOMA (June 13, 2018) – IMH Financial announces the appointment of Rubén Cambero as general manager to lead MacArthur Place Hotel & Spa. Cambero will draw upon his nearly two decades of hospitality experience honed at his family's revered Hotel El Peregrino in Spain and his tenure with Relais & Châteaux to transform the historic property, with a promise to bring authenticity, exclusivity and individuality into every guest interaction. "Ruben brings an impressive pedigree and timeless approach to the service industry," said Lawrence Bain, chairman and CEO of IMH Financial. "He understands how to deliver genuin...
Stonebridge Companies Set to Open Courtyard by Marriott Denver Airport at Gateway Park
Courtyard by Marriott | June 13, 2018
DENVER – June 13, 2018 – Courtyard by Marriott Denver Airport at Gateway Park is scheduled to open its doors on Tuesday, June 19, 2018. Featuring an innovative lobby space as well as Courtyard's latest contemporary room design, the new hotel provides flexibility and choices that allow guests to optimize and elevate their travel experience. Located at 4343 Airport Way, the 192-room hotel will operate as a Marriott franchise, owned and managed by Stonebridge Companies of Denver, Colorado. Whether traveling for business or pleasure, the Courtyard Denver Airport at Gateway Park offers guests convenient access to Denver Internati...
Sleek, Fresh, and Improved = ProSolutions
ProSolutions | June 13, 2018
By Jana Love Hey, check out what's "new" with ProSolutions! Over the course of 2 years (much longer than we thought), we have been working on a re-brand. This is the second re-branding experience that we have taken ourselves through in our "almost" 30-year run. These experiences give you permission, and require you, to explore the "what if's." What if we told our story in a different way, what if we brought in fresh new colors into our look, what if we changed our logo, what it we simplified, what if…. Having been here for the last 30 years, constantly testing my entrepreneurial skills as a business person, what has been in my re...
Virtua Partners and Hotel Equities Break Ground on Fairfield Inn & Suites in Tolleson, Arizona
Virtua Partners | June 13, 2018
PHOENIX, June 13, 2018 -- Virtua Partners and co-developer Hotel Equities celebrated the groundbreaking of a 116 room Fairfield Inn & Suites in Tolleson (West Phoenix), Arizona. The Marriott flagged hotel is scheduled to open late Summer 2019. The hotel is part of a mixed-use site that Virtua is developing at the corner of 91st Avenue and McDowell, fronting the I-10 freeway. Tofel Dent Construction is the general contractor for the project. Virtua Partners Co-Founder Quinn Palomino, and Mayor of Tolleson, Anna Tovar, welcomed distinguished members from the Tolleson City Council, Marriott International, local media, partnering compan...
