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
TripAdvisor Reveals the World’s Best Hotels With 2018 Travelers’ Choice Awards
TripAdvisor | January 23, 2018
NEEDHAM, Mass., Jan. 23, 2018 -- TripAdvisor®, the travel site that helps find the latest reviews and lowest prices, today announced the winners of its Travelers' Choice® awards for Hotels. Travelers' Choice award winners were determined based on the millions of reviews and opinions collected in a single year from TripAdvisor travelers worldwide. In the 16th year of the awards, TripAdvisor has recognized 8,095 properties in 94 countries and eight regions worldwide. The hallmarks of Travelers' Choice hotels winners are remarkable quality, service and value. The awards celebrate hotel winners in the categories of Top H...
Dubai Holding’s Jumeirah Group Launches New Brand Zabeel House by Jumeirah
Jumeirah Group | January 23, 2018
Dubai, UAE, 23 January 2018: Jumeirah Group, the global luxury hotel company and a member of Dubai Holding, today announced the launch of Zabeel House by JumeirahTM. This exciting second brand from Jumeirah Group, which already operates the award winning luxury Stay DifferentTM brand, has been created in response to the continuing and growing travel trend for exploration and enrichment through travel experiences. Zabeel House by JumeirahTM will have a strong appeal for this increasing segment of travellers, from across a broad demographic, who want to connect meaningfully with their travel destinations. With five management agreements a...
Hospitality Lodging Systems Signs Master Licensee for International Expansion of Budgetel and Haven Brands
Hospitality Lodging Systems | January 23, 2018
Atlanta-based Hospitality Lodging Systems (HLS) will expand its Budgetel and Haven economy brands internationally under a new master license agreement with Continent Hotels Worldwide (CHW) based in Istanbul, Turkey. The 15-year agreement covers Turkey and Russia plus countries in central Asia as well as east, central, and west Africa. "There is a strong demand in these areas for dependable lodging at affordable prices, so the names Budgetel and Haven offer our company a distinctive way to pursue the economy market," explains Ethem Zagikyan, Managing Partner and principal with CHW. CHW currently operates a portfolio of 27 properties in u...
Innovation in Hospitality: Change is Good
Georges Panayotis | January 23, 2018
by Georges Panayotis Each upheaval in the hotel industry offers an efficient response to the problems of the moment and these answers make it possible to reset the counters to zero and start over on sound foundations. About fifty years ago, hotel chains contributed to a major transformation in the sector by introducing strong innovations to the hotel product. They built a model that offered a better value for money and made the offer more reliable through standardization. The customer who booked a night in a hotel knew exactly what to expect in terms of products and services. This new way of looking at the hotel business has been accomp...
Strategic Property Partners, LLC Announces JW Marriott Hotels & Resorts Brand as Flag for New Hotel in Downtown Tampa Set to Open in 2020
Strategic Property Partners | January 23, 2018
TAMPA, Fla., Jan. 22, 2018 -- Strategic Property Partners, LLC ("SPP") today announced that it will bring Marriott International's JW Marriott Hotels & Resorts luxury brand for the first time to Tampa, within the Water Street Tampa neighborhood. The 519-room, 26-story hotel will rise steps from the Tampa Convention Center and Amalie Arena, where the National Hockey League's Tampa Bay Lightning play. Construction on the hotel will start in early 2018. SPP, which is developing downtown's $3 billion Water Street Tampa neighborhood, announced renovations are underway at the adjacent 727-room Tampa Marriott Watersid...
Choice Hotels Introduces Lodging Industry’s First Major Central Reservation System in 30 Years
Choice Hotels | January 23, 2018
ROCKVILLE, Md., Jan. 23, 2018 -- Building on a legacy of innovations, Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE: CHH), announced today the transition to choiceEDGE, the first new global reservation system (GRS) from a hotel company in over 30 years. The state-of-the-art distribution platform supports more than 6,500 Choice Hotels properties globally. The choiceEDGE platform leads the way for the industry's shift towards accelerated global digital communication and guest experience personalization through data analytics. choiceEDGE and its cloud-based, technically advanced design is built to effectively handle the current and future vo...
HSMAI Recognizes Lifetime Achievements of Ed Fuller and Terry Gallagher
HSMAI | January 23, 2018
(McLean, VA, January 23, 2018) The Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI) proudly announces the recipients of the 2017 HSMAI Lifetime Achievement Awards. Edwin "Ed" Fuller, President, Laguna Strategic Advisors, will be honored with the 2017 Albert E. Koehl Award and Terence "Terry" Gallagher, President, Lou Hammond Group, will be recognized with the 2017 Winthrop W. Grice Award for Public Relations. HSMAI will celebrate the achievements of Fuller and Gallagher at the Adrian Awards Dinner Reception and Gala on February 20, 2018, at the New York Marriott Marquis. The HSMAI Lifetime Achievement Awards honor indiv...
Pebblebrook Hotel Trust Presents the 6th Annual Pebby Award Nominations
Pebblebrook Hotel Trust | January 23, 2018
HOLLYWOOD, Calif.--Pebblebrook Hotel Trust (NYSE: PEB) (the "Company") today announced the nominations for its Sixth Annual Pebby Awards. The Pebby Award nominees were chosen for their outstanding accomplishments in 2017, as determined by the Company. The Academy's nominations are notably diverse this year, and while Skamania Lodge received four nominations, multiple hotels earned three nominations each, including: Hotel Zoe San Francisco; Hotel Zelos San Francisco; LaPlaya Beach Resort & Club; The Nines, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Portland and Union Station Hotel Nashville, Autograph Collection. The fierce competition amongst the p...
Lodging Interactive Announces Rosella Virdo as Its Chief Operating Officer
Lodging Interactive | January 23, 2018
PARSIPPANY, NJ – January 23, 2018 - Lodging Interactive, an award winning digital marketing and social media engagement agency exclusively serving the hospitality industry, today announced the promotion of Rosella Virdo as its Chief Operating Officer. Ms. Virdo joined Lodging Interactive in 2009 and most recently served as Managing Director of CoMMingle, the company's Social Media and Reputation Management Division. "Rosella continues to demonstrate her skills and passion for our company and has displayed her unwavering commitment in mentoring her team members and to the success of our company," stated DJ Vallauri, Founder & C...
Hyatt Centric Ginza Tokyo Opens Marking Asia-Pacific Debut of the Hyatt Centric Brand
The Hyatt Centric Experience | January 23, 2018
CHICAGO--Hyatt Hotels Corporation (NYSE: H) announced today the opening of Hyatt Centric Ginza Tokyo, the first Hyatt Centric hotel in the Asia-Pacific region. Located on the fashionable Namiki-dori street in cosmopolitan Ginza, the 164-room full-service lifestyle hotel offers travelers a home base in a neighborhood where even the most avid explorers can stay entertained for days on end. Designed for a growing segment of millennial-minded travelers seeking curated, yet authentically local experiences, Hyatt Centric hotels provide insider knowledge and resources to put guests comfortably at the center of action. Cosmopolitan Ginza has be...
Opening Doors and So Much More
the Author | January 23, 2018
By Magnus Friberg CEO, Zaplox In today's modern landscape, constantly evolving with increased technological innovation and demand, we all have a world of choice at our fingertips. Businesses are constantly breaking new ground, embracing rapid marketplace change and redefining the consumer experience. With this realization, comes an increased competitive demand to remain ahead of the curve for each emerging trend, and the hotel and travel industry is no exception. After all, if you're late to embrace a trend that proves to be a defining factor in a positive customer experience, you could lose that customer entirely. So, ask yourself: Wha...
The Carnegie Hotel Modernizes its Business Center Solution with Microsoft Surface Pro Tablets
The Carnegie Hotel | January 23, 2018
January 23, 2018 – New York, NY – The use of tablet computers has exploded in recent years, with good reason: Tablets are fantastically powerful business tools, which is why more and more businesses are turning to them for their everyday IT needs. Tablets such as the Microsoft Surface Pro also provide space saving technologies and a pleasing user experience; which is why they are the platform of choice at the Carnegie Hotel in New York City. The Carnegie Hotel is a modern and intimate boutique NYC hotel for the discerning business traveler. With an atmosphere of polished elegance, fine architecture, and custom designed Itali...
StayNTouch Brings PMS Mobility to Hotel Van Belle and Hotel Queen Anne in Belgium
StayNTouch Inc. | January 23, 2018
Bethesda, MD – JANUARY 23, 2018 – StayNTouch, an innovator in mobile technology and Property Management Systems (PMS) for hotels, is pleased to announce it has partnered with the Queen Anne Hotel and the Hotel Van Belle, both in Brussels, Belgium, with the deployment of its Rover PMS™ and Zest™ products. "Our hotels have been owned and continuously run by our family for many years. In fact, the Hotel Van Belle has been running for 112 years," said André Hermans, owner and General Manager of both properties, "Recently we have made a push to upgrade our outdated technology systems. We not only wanted to brin...
Hospitality Innovators to Converge at Sixth Annual RSS This July
Kalibri Labs | January 23, 2018
Hotel Industry Leaders Meet to Confront Challenges of Evolving Consumer Trends and Increasing Complexity in Distribution and Technology Washington, D.C., January 23, 2018 — Hoteliers and industry thought leaders will come together July 10 to identify the major trends transforming hospitality and share best practices for facing them at the annual RSS in Washington, D.C. The sixth RSS will be held at The Newseum on Pennsylvania Avenue, just a few blocks from The White House. "The Newseum is a perfect venue for RSS in its sixth year, because it seems like it's a new story in this industry every day," said Patrick Bosworth, Co-Founder...
IBC Launches ‘ILES: A Year of Learning Webinar Series’ for Independent Hoteliers
IBC Hospitality | January 23, 2018
Online education forum to provide more value in less time without big cost or time commitment Phoenix (January 23, 2018) – Hospitality events are growing by leaps and bounds, and as a result, it is becoming more difficult for hoteliers to choose one conference over another – if they can even make time or find the resources to travel at all. Therefore, IBC Hospitality Technologies is launching the InnDependent Lodging Executive Summit: A Year of Learning Webinar Series and "Meetings in Meetings" designed to provide relevant information to hospitality owners and operators in a convenient and cost-effective format. Companies su...
Digital Signage Expo 2018 to Offer Educational Opportunities in Digital Signage for Hotel Operators, System Administrators, Marketers and Technologist
DSE | January 23, 2018
Atlanta – Digital Signage Expo (DSE), the world's largest international trade show and educational conference dedicated to digital displays, interactive technology and digital communications networks will present new educational opportunities designed specifically for hotel operators system administrators and technologists March 27-29, 2018, at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The seminar programs are part of DSE's Educational Conference designed to help attendees learn about the newest technologies available, how successful digital signage strategies are being implemented, and how to best take advantage of them to strengthen gues...
Owned and Managed by Ascent Hospitality Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott Set to Open in Fairburn, Georgia
Fairfield Inn & Suites | January 23, 2018
The 87-room Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott in Fairburn, Georgia is scheduled to open this Friday, January 26, 2018 with its smart, inventive public space and guest room design, and its bright and inviting décor. Located at 7775 Ella Lane, the Fairfield Inn & Suites Atlanta Fairburn will operate as a Marriott franchise, owned and managed by Ascent Hospitality of Buford, Georgia. Located 15 minutes from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and 20 minutes from downtown Atlanta, the Fairfield Inn & Suites Atlanta Fairburn offers guests convenient access to World of Coca-Cola, CNN Center and the Georgia Aqu...
Skyline Hotel and Casino Chooses Agilysys Hospitality Solutions to Deliver a Superior Guest Experience at Newly Opened Hotel
Agilysys | January 23, 2018
Nevada Casino and Hotel Property Implements Agilysys POS and PMS Solutions ALPHARETTA, GA. — January 23, 2018 — Agilysys, Inc. (Nasdaq: AGYS), a leading global provider of next-generation hospitality software solutions and services, today announced that Skyline Hotel and Casino in Henderson, Nevada is implementing Agilysys InfoGenesis® POS and Visual One® PMS solutions for their newly opened hotel. The point-of-sale and property management solutions from Agilysys will help optimize food and beverage operations, and assist staff in delivering extraordinary guest experiences at the new hotel. More than 50 years old, t...
Margaritaville Resorts Bringing Brand to Bahamas with $250 Million Margaritaville at The Point in Nassau
Margaritaville | January 22, 2018
Orlando, Fla. – January 22, 2018 – Margaritaville Holdings today announced the brand is bringing its authentic lifestyle experience to the Bahamas' capital city with Margaritaville at The Pointe, a $250 million, six-acre development. Already under construction and expected to begin a phased opening in mid-2019, the development will feature a new 150-room Margaritaville Beach Resort, 150 luxury oceanfront residences – 100 of which will be branded One Particular Harbour at The Pointe – a marina, water park, spa, entertainment center, signature Margaritaville food and beverage concepts, retail shops, a kid's club an...
Ohana Real Estate Investors and The Robert Green Company to Develop Montage Healdsburg in Sonoma, California
Montage Hotels & Resorts | January 22, 2018
ORANGE COUNTY, CALIF. (January 22, 2018) - Montage Hotels & Resorts announces plans to manage and operate the new Montage Healdsburg. Owned by Ohana Real Estate Investors and developed by The Robert Green Company, the 130-room Montage Healdsburg will begin construction in spring 2018, and will open in the heart of California's world-renowned wine country in Sonoma County in spring 2020. A collection of Montage Residences are planned for a future phase of development, and will include single-family built homes as well as custom home sites. Montage Healdsburg will be settled among the oak trees and vine covered hills just a short ...
IDeaS Announces 2017 Cornell Revenue Management Scholarship Recipients
the School of Hotel Administration | January 22, 2018
IDeaS and Cornell Scholarships help advance careers of next-generation hotel leaders Tweet this: #RevenueManagement leader @IDeaS_RevOpt awards seven hospitality professionals with prestigious scholarships in partnership with Cornell University. http://bit.ly/2Bkqnas MINNEAPOLIS – January 22, 2018 – IDeaS Revenue Solutions, a leading provider of revenue management software solutions and advisory services, today announced the 2017 IDeaS Cornell Management Scholarship winners. Offered in partnership with the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration within the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business, the scholarship pre...
In Memoriam: A Tribute to Dennis Blyshak (1950 – 2018)
| January 22, 2018
The Woodlands (Houston), Texas, January 2018… Dennis Blyshak passed away peacefully on January 4th, 2018. Though he had retired from Benchmark in 2012--a company he was instrumental in helping grow into one of the largest privately-held, independent hospitality companies in the US--his spirit and presence never left Benchmark. Dennis last served the company as Chief Corporate Officer. Burt Cabañas, founder & chairman of Benchmark said upon Mr. Blyshak's retirement in 2012, "Dennis is one of the finest persons I've had the pleasure to work with over many decades within hospitality, initially with Stouffer Hotel...
Michael Jerlecki Appointed Vice President and General Manager for Hollywood Casino St. Louis
Hollywood Casino | January 22, 2018
MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. (January 22, 2018) – Hollywood Casino St. Louis, a Penn National Gaming property in Maryland Heights, has hired Michael Jerlecki as its new Vice President and General Manager. Jerlecki is in the process of relocating to St. Louis from Las Vegas. He has more than twenty-four years of gaming and hospitality industry experience with publicly traded and privately held companies and in Native American gaming in the areas of Executive Administration, Marketing, and Operations, including nine years with MGM and, most recently, nine years with Station Casinos. He last served as Vice President and General Manager of B...
Mainsail Lodging & Development Appoints Jim Swaim General Manager of Ramada Plaza Fort Walton Beach Resort/Destin
Mainsail Lodging & Development LLC | January 22, 2018
FORT WALTON BEACH, Fla. (January 22, 2018) – Mainsail Lodging & Development announced today the appointment of Jim Swaim as general manager of the 335-room Ramada Plaza Fort Walton Beach Resort/Destin. Swaim will oversee the hiring of new staff and day-to-day operations of the Ramada Plaza, located directly on the Emerald Coast in the Panhandle of Florida. With 20 years of hospitality industry experience, Swaim comes to the Ramada from the Marriott St. Petersburg Clearwater, where he worked for seven years, acting as director of hotel operations for the past two years. While at Marriott, Swaim held a variety of positions, incl...
