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Industry Happenings
AJ Capital Partners Acquires President Hotel Apartments to Be Converted to Graduate Palo Alto
AJ Capital Partners | June 13, 2018
Palo Alto, Ca. – AJ Capital Partners announced today that it has acquired the President Hotel Apartments, formerly Hotel President, in Palo Alto, California. The six-story building is located on University Avenue, in the heart of downtown Palo Alto. Completed in 1929, the iconic Hotel President was named to honor then-President Herbert Hoover, who was one of the first students to enroll at Stanford University. Currently a mix of retail and apartments, the building will undergo an historic renovation to convert to Graduate Palo Alto, part of the Graduate Hotels® collection, and open in 2020. Following the renovation, the hotel ...
Karma Group Acquires Two New Resorts in the Heart of the Normandy Countryside in France – Karma Manoir Des Deux Amants and Karma Residence Norma
Karma Group | June 13, 2018
Karma Group has announced the acquisition of Karma Manoir des Deux Amants and Karma Residence Normande on the banks of the river Seine in the heart of picturesque Normandy in the French countryside. Comprising 49 apartments between them, the resorts are superbly situated just an hour and twenty minutes from central Paris. The spectacular location in Normandy offers guests the opportunity to unwind and discover lush landscapes, medieval towns, castles and beaches. The resorts are just outside the charming village of Connelles, deep in Impressionist country, and close to the medieval town of Rouen with its historic castles and cathedrals....
Bittel to Debut MODA, a Smart Device for Hotel Guestrooms, at HITEC Houston
Bittel | June 13, 2018
Designed by Jacob Jenson, MODA is a beautifully designed, stackable, smart device that offers flexible configurations of Charging, Alarm/Clock, Bluetooth Speaker, Phone, Casting and Voice-Recognition modules; Visit Bittel in Booth 1839 at HITEC, June 19 to 21 at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston San Jose, Calif. — June 13, 2018 — Bittel Americas is on a mission to become the hospitality industry's leading provider of smart devices, including charging solutions, casting products, and Bluetooth Audio / Alarm Clock amenities for hotel guestrooms. Next week at HITEC, Bittel will unveil a modern, modular and stylis...
Noble Investment Group Acquires The Westin Reston Heights in the Washington, D.C Metropolitan Area
Noble Investment Group | June 13, 2018
Atlanta, GA – June 13, 2018– Noble Investment Group ("Noble") today announced the acquisition of the 191-room Westin Reston Heights located in Reston, Virginia. The hotel will undergo a comprehensive guest room and public area upgrade and renovation. Reston is one of the leading business centers in the nation and was named as the Best Place to Live in Virginia by Money Magazine. Located less than five miles from Dulles International Airport, the area is home to a wide range of corporate and regional headquarters who occupy more than 14 million square feet of office surrounded by more than 4 million square feet of r...
Cachet Hospitality Group Appoints Industry Veteran Ash Bhasin as General Manager of Cachet Boutique NYC Hotel
Cachet Boutique NYC Hotel | June 13, 2018
New York, New York (June 2018) – Ash Bhasin, an accomplished hospitality veteran with over two decades of luxury hotel experience, has been named General Manager of Cachet Boutique NYC Hotel. The 105-room lifestyle property looks to Bhasin's extensive experience in the luxury sector with its official debut this summer. Located a few blocks from Hudson Yards, Gotham West Market, Highline, Javits Center, and Times Square, the hotel is poised to be a leader in the gentrification of the neighborhood. Bhasin brings a wealth of knowledge to this position, with a background including executive roles at Four Seasons Hotel New York, SoHo G...
Hilton San Francisco Union Square Announces Garrett Parker as New Hotel Manager
Hilton San Francisco Union Square | June 13, 2018
SAN FRANCISCO, CA – June 13, 2018 – Terry Lewis, Complex General Manager, has announced the appointment of Garrett Parker as the property's new Hotel Manager. Lewis comments, "Garrett is an amazing asset to the Hilton San Francisco Union Square team. He has been such a great influence on our complex of the two hotels and will bring all his strengths and leadership capabilities from the 1,024-room Parc 55 to the 1,921 -room Hilton San Francisco Union Square." Most recently, Parker served as Hotel Manager for San Francisco's Parc 55 – A Hilton Hotel where he facilitated all facets of hotel operations, sales and marketing...
Eleven Delivers Smart Wi-Fi Management to Over a Half Million Hotel Guest Rooms Worldwide
Eleven | June 13, 2018
6/13/18, Portland, Ore. — Eleven, the pioneer in cloud-based guest Wi-Fi management software, enables hoteliers around the globe to deliver seamless connectivity that guests love. Their unprecedented growth in recent months is a testament to the value the hospitality industry places on improving guest connectivity. "Wi-Fi continues to be a top priority for many hotel guests, who expect fast, automatic connectivity just like they get at home," said Eleven CEO, Peri Pierone. "The reality is, hotel networks are complex and many brands struggle to deliver a seamless, homelike Wi-Fi experience across all properties. That's where ElevenOS come...
Teneo Hospitality Group Names Tony Aslanian Vice President of Sales and Membership
Teneo Hospitality Group | June 13, 2018
Eden Prairie (Minneapolis), MN, June 13, 2018 … Teneo Hospitality Group, the premier global firm representing 300+ independent and luxury branded hotels, resorts and DMCs, has named Tony Aslanian Vice President of Sales and Membership. A veteran hospitality sales and marketing executive, Mr. Aslanian joins the Teneo team as it continues its strategic expansion of staff, client services and portfolio. As part of Teneo's senior leadership team, Mr. Aslanian will strategically develop and lead Teneo's expanding sales force and support its member portfolio of hotels, resorts and DMCs worldwide. "I have had the privilege of working wi...
RLH Corporation Promotes Amanda Marcello to Senior Vice President of Brand Strategy
RLH Corporation | June 13, 2018
DENVER (June 13, 2018) — RLH Corporation (NYSE:RLH) announced today the promotion of Amanda Marcello to Senior Vice President of Brand Strategy. Marcello has been with RLH Corporation since 2015, most recently leading the development and rebrand of Signature and Signature Inn. In her new role, Marcello will lead all RLH Corporation brands, building and evaluating programs and performance including standards and design guidelines to ensure relevancy and value within the marketplace. Marcello has had several progressive roles at RLH Corporation, including two years as Vice President of Food & Beverage. In her role, she developed...
Strand Hospitality Services Names Tom Rost as Regional Director of Operations
Strand Hospitality | June 13, 2018
Myrtle Beach, S.C.) June 13, 2018- Strand Hospitality Services, a leading provider of hospitality operations, consulting and advisory services, recently announced that Tom Rost II has been hired as a Regional Director of Operations. "I am very excited to join Strand Hospitality Services," said Rost. "This is a wonderful opportunity for my career and I look forward to building new relationships at each of the hotels in my region." Prior to joining Strand Tom served as the Regional Vice President of Operations for TPI Hospitality. As the Regional VP, he was responsible for overseeing eight hotels, including the construction on t...
Bartech Demonstrates Advances in Hotel Minibar Revenue-Enhancing Technology at HITEC 2018
Bartech | June 13, 2018
Hospitality's leader in minibar design to showcase C32, eTray and DD46 solutions, alongside company product line recognized for efficiency and style. Houston — June 13, 2018 — Bartech, a world leader in profit-generating automatic minibar solutions for the hospitality industry, is set to exhibit the latest developments in minibar technology and design at HITEC 2018, taking place June 18 - 21, at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, Texas. Located at booth #1420, Bartech will demonstrate how solutions such as the C32, eTray and DD46 can simultaneously maximize in-room revenues by appealing to guest impulse buying...
Roxy Voice-Activated Assistant Pairs with GrayMatter Networks to Replace the Hotel Phone
Roxy | June 13, 2018
GrayMatter Networks, (www.graymatternetworks.com) provider of the BrainBox intelligent VoIP system, is integrating with hotel voice platform with Roxy (www.roxydevice.com), the speech enabled device designed specifically for hospitality that provides fully customizable in-room concierge services. This partnership will enable hotels to consolidate their in-room devices and make calls directly through Roxy's voice-activated virtual assistant device. The integration of Roxy with GrayMatter Networks' intelligent voice platform comes following the largest year of growth ever in the smart speaker market. Strategy Analytics reports that in 201...
Nobody Asked Me, But…No. 197: Hotel History: Ralph Hitz (1891-1940)
Stanley Turkel | June 13, 2018
by Stanley Turkel, CMHS Hotel History: Ralph Hitz (1891- 1940) The hotel business has seen many fine promoters and salesmen but perhaps none as creative as Ralph Hitz. His two favorite expressions "Contact the hell out of 'em" and "Give 'em walue and you get wolume", spoken in his thick Viennese accent, were a key to his philosophy of business. And it worked. Hitz does not rank with the other great hotelmen in the sense that he built an empire or left an estate. He did neither. His period in the limelight lasted only 10 years, a period when the hotel business was at its low ebb in American history. Hitz was a sales and promotion phenome...
Asia Pacific’s Top Countries and Cities for Hotel Construction Excluding China
Lodging Econometrics | June 13, 2018
June 13, 2018 – PORTSMOUTH, NH – According to analysts at Lodging Econometrics (LE), the top countries in the Asia Pacific Construction Pipeline, excluding China, by project count are: Indonesia with 394 Projects/66,154 Rooms, Japan with 228 Projects/46,356 Rooms, India with 206 Projects/33,501 Rooms, Malaysia with 137 Projects/36,244 Rooms and Thailand with 134 Projects/31,964 Rooms. Cities with the largest pipelines by project count are: Jakarta, Indonesia with 101 Projects/19,010 Rooms; Seoul, South Korea with 80 Projects/15,738 Rooms; Tokyo, Japan with 73 Projects/16,885 Rooms; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia with 58 Pr...
Israel’s Hoteliers Look Forward to Another Year of Bumper Growth in Tourism, Says HVS
HVS | June 13, 2018
13 June 2018, London: Israel's hotel sector is likely to see a second year of strong growth in 2018 as the number of tourists visiting the country continues to rise. According to a new report from global hotel consultancy HVS, launched in London yesterday in conjunction with the Israel Ministry of Tourism, the country received more than 3.6 million visitors in 2017, a year-on-year increase of nearly 25%, boosting hotel occupancy across the country from 67% to 73%. The majority of tourists to Israel come from the US, Russia and France, while German visitors as well as those from China, Poland and Romania are growing in import...
RAR Hospitality Assumes Management of SureStay Plus Hotel by Best Western El Cajon
RAR Hospitality | June 13, 2018
San Diego – June 13, 2018— RAR Hospitality is proud to announce that it has acquired the hotel management contract for SureStay Plus Hotel by Best Western El Cajon. The management contract for SureStay Plus Hotel by Best Western El Cajon brings RAR Hospitality's portfolio to 19 hotels serving Southern California, Arizona and Colorado. Headquartered in San Diego, the hotel management firm is overseeing the conversion of the property from a Best Western Courtesy Inn to a Best Western SureStay Plus. "RAR Hospitality is proud to grow its local presence in San Diego County with the addition of the SureStay Plus Hotel by Best West...
ASSA ABLOY Hospitality Brings Cloud-Based Security to the Hotel Market With New Vostio Access Management System
ASSA ABLOY Hospitality | June 13, 2018
Provider of security solutions for hospitality industry debuts first cloud-based access management system developed specifically for hotels Stockholm – June 13, 2018 – ASSA ABLOY Hospitality, provider of advanced security technologies for the hospitality industry, announces the launch of its cloud-based access management system, Vostio. The first cloud-based system of its kind designed for the hotel space, Vostio is a maintenance-free and universally accessible system that requires no local servers, providing staff with a user-friendly solution that allows them to efficiently manage all areas of a property from any location....
Pinnacle Hotel Management Integrates Accounting, Budgeting/Forecasting and Business Intelligence to Support Growth
Pinnacle | June 13, 2018
At HITEC in Houston Visit Aptech in Booth # 1519 JUNE 18-21, 2018 George R. Brown Convention Center 24-Property Pinnacle Automates Data Gathering and Input from Multiple Flag PMSes; Daily Revenue vs Expense Trends Deliver 'Ah Ha' Moments for Management June 13, 2018 – Monica Nichols, Director of Finance for Pinnacle Hotels says, "After 14 years in the hotel industry I have seen an incredible evolution in the hospitality business intelligence we utilize. Transitioning from basic financial statements to much more detailed variance and analytical reports has had a very positive influence on how Pinnacle manages and operates its prope...
IDeaS Breaks the Rules With New Superior Agile Pricing Approach
IDeaS | June 13, 2018
Agile Rates enables simultaneous dynamic pricing of independent and linked hotel products using deep learning to maximize profitability from all priceable products. Tweet this: @IDeaS_RevOpt expands dynamic pricing capabilities with introduction of Agile Rates. www.ideas.com/news MINNEAPOLIS—June 13, 2018—Hoteliers unanimously agree: the distribution landscape is more complicated than ever before. As the consumer buying experience evolves and adapts to new interfaces like voice-enabled artificial intelligence, hotels seek the same level of sophisticated innovation in their revenue technology. Dynamic pricing and personalize...
Welcome Group, Inc. Commences Construction on Southern California’s First AC Hotel by Marriott in El Segundo
Welcome Group Inc. | June 12, 2018
Construction for Marriott's new hotel, AC Hotel El Segundo/LAX has commenced, Welcome Group, Inc. announced today. The groundbreaking marks the third Southern California location by AC Hotels by Marriott, the company's boutique-lifestyle brand, and what will be a hotel unlike any other in the area. The design-centric hotel is set for completion in late spring of 2019 and will feature open-concept floorplans and aesthetic influenced by Spanish design. The project, led by Welcome Group, Inc., will consist of 180 rooms and span six floors. Amenities will include a rooftop bar, a craft beverage and food program, meeting space and multiple p...
Bulk TV & Internet Announces Merger with DCI Design Communications and EthoStream
Bulk TV & Internet | June 12, 2018
June 11, 2018 Bulk TV & Internet ("Bulk TV") a leading integrator of enterprise video, data and voice solutions is pleased to announce its acquisition by Marlin Equity Partners ("Marlin") and its merger with DCI Design Communications ("DCI"), a leader in data, voice and unified communications. The agreement will consolidate assets and operations of Bulk TV and DCI, as well as those of EthoStream, which was acquired by DCI in March 2017. This combined entity of network technology systems will deliver a true triple-play offering for converged video, data and voice solutions for the hospitality and healthcare industries. The newly comb...
Narven Enterprises Opens New TownePlace Suites by Marriott San Diego Downtown
TownePlace Suites by Marriott | June 12, 2018
SAN DIEGO – June 12, 2018 – Get ready to be real and be you on long stays. Marriott International's TownePlace Suites by Marriott San Diego Downtown is now open. 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 all-suite property located at 1445 Sixth Avenue, continues to exemplify the brand's rapid growth. The hotel will operate as a Marriott franchise, owned and managed by Narven Enterprises of San Diego, California. "We are excited to introduce the TownePlace ...
U.S. Travel Responds to Report that Trump Assisted U.S. Bid to Co-Host World Cup
The U.S. Travel Association | June 12, 2018
WASHINGTON (June 12, 2018)—U.S. Travel Association Executive Vice President Jonathan Grella issued a statement on a New York Times report on President Trump's assurances that his visa policies would not affect participants and spectators at prospective FIFA World Cup events in the U.S. in 2026: "Major events are a magnet for tourism and job creation, which is why competition to host them is so hotly contested. We applaud the president for embracing visa policies that support tourism and business objectives, which hold clear value for U.S. job creation and our trade balance—not to mention our standing on the world st...
Best Western Plus Executive Residency Fillmore Inn Opens in Colorado Springs, Colorado
June 12, 2018
COLORADO SPRINGS, CO., (June 12, 2018) - Best Western® Hotels & Resorts announced today the debut of the Best Western Plus Executive Residency Fillmore Inn, located at 3150 N. Chestnut Street in Colorado Springs. In a special private grand opening event, hotel owners Frank Day and John Gatto, welcomed local media and dignitaries including Colorado Springs Mayor, John Suthers, to celebrate the momentous occasion. The new dual-branded property features 40 Executive Residency by Best Western® guestrooms and 60 Best Western Plus® guestrooms, each complete with upscale sleeping and bath amenities - providing guests with the b...
