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Industry Happenings
HMB Management Opens New Homewood Suites by Hilton Allentown Bethlehem Center Valley in Pennsylvania
Homewood Suites by Hilton | November 14, 2017
CENTER VALLEY, Pa. and MCLEAN, Va. - Homewood Suites by Hilton, part of Hilton's (NYSE: HLT) All Suites portfolio, announced today its newest property, Homewood Suites by Hilton Allentown Bethlehem Center Valley. Designed for guests who want to travel on their own terms, Homewood Suites by Hilton Allentown Bethlehem Center Valley offers guests all the comforts of home, whether they are traveling for work or enjoying a well-earned getaway. With 114 new suites, the hotel's opening complements rising tourism in Pennsylvania, where spending by tourists grew for the sixth straight year*. "Located a short distance from Stabler Co...
Hospitality Is and Will Remain a Heartfelt Industry
Georges Panayotis | November 14, 2017
by Georges Panayotis In Ancient Greece, intelligence, known as noús was originally the organ that was used to mobilize our capacity to escape from a dangerous situation by elaborating a strategy and plan of action. This is precisely what artificial intelligence will have to do to help us take on the massive changes that are currently underway in our society. Our accommodations are becoming more ecological, more economical, more entertaining, friendlier and more competitive. We are now faced with an infinite set of possibilities. The range of our products will be constantly redefined by the predictive model, which will enable us t...
Radisson Blu Opens in Ajman, United Arab Emirates Led by General Manager Siddhartha Sattanathan
Radisson Blu | November 14, 2017
BRUSSELS/DUBAI - November 14, 2017 - Radisson Blu, the iconic hotel brand driven by innovation and design, is proud to announce the opening of its first hotel in Ajman, United Arab Emirates (UAE). Located just a few minutes from the city center and close to the Hamriyah Free Zone, the Radisson Blu Hotel, Ajman is also home to the Emirates' newest entertainment destination, with seven distinctive, diverse restaurants and bars to experience. Mark Willis, Area Senior Vice President, Middle East, Turkey and Africa, Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group said, "We are delighted to bring the iconic Radisson Blu brand to Ajman, and increase our presence ...
Nobu Hotels Partners with Simon for New 150-Room Nobu Hotel Atlanta at Phipps Plaza
Phipps Plaza | November 14, 2017
Globally established luxury lifestyle brand Nobu Hotels, founded by Nobu Matsuhisa, Robert De Niro and Meir Teper is delighted to announce the arrival of a new Nobu Hotel and Nobu Atlanta Restaurant, at Southeast's premier mixed-use development at Atlanta's Phipps Plaza. Partnering with Simon, a global leader in premier shopping, dining and entertainment destinations, Nobu Hotels will intuitively blend its hotel and restaurant as one – with 150 rooms, a striking rooftop pool, corporate conference space and spa facilities. Nobu Atlanta restaurant, revered for its signature new style Japanese cuisine, will operate in a 10,000 square...
New Boutique Hotel, SOPHY, to Open Summer 2018 in Chicago’s Hyde Park Neighborhood
Olympia Hotel Management | November 14, 2017
Chicago, IL– November 14, 2017. SOPHY, the new 98-room boutique hotel in Chicago's popular Hyde Park neighborhood, is under construction and scheduled to open in summer 2018. Developed by SMART Hotels and managed by Olympia Hotel Management, SOPHY is located at 53rd Street and Dorchester Avenue on Chicago's South Side, close to the site of the future Barack Obama Presidential Library, the University of Chicago campus and the Museum of Science and Industry. SOPHY will feature a bar, a restaurant with al fresco dining and a fitness center. Designed as a four-diamond property and engineered to achieve LEED Silver certification, SOPHY...
Concord Hospitality Plans Early 2018 Opening for New AC Hotel Gainesville Downtown, Florida
Concord Hospitality | November 14, 2017
MIAMI — November 2017 — The new AC Hotel Gainesville Downtown, a chic and modern 144-room property in the heart of Gainesville, F.L., is nearing completion and is slated to open in early 2018. Located just a Heisman's throw from Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, more popularly known as "The Swamp," the property will be managed by Concord Hospitality and marks the third AC Hotel in Florida and the first outside of Miami. Just steps from the University of Florida, consistently ranked among the top 10 public universities in the U.S., AC Hotel Gainesville Downtown features 144 European-inspired guestrooms. Designed with AC Hot...
Facebook Success for Your Hotel in Three Steps
Incite Response | November 14, 2017
You know your customers or guests expect you to be on Facebook and so you post three times a week every week whatever comes to mind as you sit at your computer. However, you don't get many (if any!) likes or comments and you may have even noticed that little number under the posts telling you how many people your post reached never lists a number higher than 25! No worries – you can turn your page around. Here's the fix: 1. Curate and create great content. Social media content strategies that work center around providing useful or entertaining content to people at the right time. Choose topics that are relevant to your customers a...
Tricia Eschle Named Director of Sales & Marketing at The Westin South Coast Plaza
| November 14, 2017
COSTA MESA, CA, Nov. 14, 2017 – Tricia Eschle has been named the director of sales and marketing at The Westin South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa. Conveniently situated in Orange County's commercial and cultural center, The Westin is one of the area's most popular hotels for business and leisure travelers. Eschle returns to the hotel after most recently serving its associate director of sales until last November when she became director of sales for The Inn at Laguna Beach and The Laguna Beach House. She originally joined The Westin in 2010 as the business travel sales manager, and later became business travel account director. Her o...
HEI Hotels & Resorts Appoints David Friederich as Managing Director of The Whitley Opening Soon in Atlanta’s Buckhead Neighborhood
The Whitley | November 14, 2017
ATLANTA – November 14, 2017 – The Whitley – the iconic Luxury Collection® hotel soon to welcome guests in the heart of Atlanta's urban chic Buckhead neighborhood – proudly announces David Friederich as Managing Director of the upcoming hotel. In this role, Friederich will be responsible for managing the hotel's day-to-day success and overseeing all operational aspects of the 507-room property, introducing guests to the hotel's welcoming combination of southern hospitality and chic sophistication. "As we bring The Whitley to life and usher in a new generation for one of Buckhead's most storied addresses, we're...
HMP Properties Acquires Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott Quantico Stafford in Virginia
Denton Realty Company | November 14, 2017
Virginia Beach, Virginia – November 14, 2017 – Denton Realty Company, a hospitality and commercial real estate brokerage and consulting firm, announces the sale of the Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott in Stafford, Virginia. The seller was an individual owner/operator who developed the hotel in 2013. HMP Properties, a Williamsburg, Virginia based hotel development and management company purchased the hotel through an affiliate. Denton Realty Company procured the off-market investment opportunity and represented the purchaser in the real estate transaction. Hitesh M. Patel, president of HMP Properties said, "This is a we...
Summit Hotel Properties EVP & CFO Greg Dowell to Retire in 2018; Jonathan Stanner, Current EVP and Chief Investment Officer, to Succeed
Summit Hotel Properties | November 14, 2017
AUSTIN, Texas, Nov. 14, 2017 -- Summit Hotel Properties, Inc. (NYSE: INN) ("Summit" or the "Company") today announced that Gregory A. Dowell, its EVP and Chief Financial Officer, plans to retire from the Company on March 31, 2018. Mr. Dowell has been with Summit for over three years and has led the Company's finance and accounting functions through periods of substantial growth and improvement. He has played a key role in the long-term succession planning for the Company and will continue to work closely with his successor during the upcoming transition period. Mr. Dowell said, "The past three years have bee...
trivago Awards 2018: Top-Rated Hotels in the US
trivago Hotel Manager | November 14, 2017
Düsseldorf, 14 November 2017. Hotel search website trivago releases the results of its annual trivago Awards, using over 175 million aggregated hotel reviews to determine the best-rated hotels in the US. This year, the top-rated hotels have been awarded across six different categories: 5-star, 4-star, 3-star, Alternative Accommodation, Value for Money and Chain Hotel. "As an independent source of hotel information with data on over 175 million guest reviews, we are well-positioned to identify the top-rated hotels that excel at delivering exceptional guest experiences," says Johannes Thomas, Managing Director of trivago N.V. "The tr...
Mobile Websites vs. Apps: The Final Showdown – Part Two
Mike Murray | November 14, 2017
By Mike Murray I hope my articles (like this one and this one), are providing you with some insight into mobile as a critical component of your booking and distribution strategy. Especially, if you are trying to boost bookings with the world's largest generation, Millennials. In the last article, we started comparing and contrasting mobile websites and apps, outlining the pros and cons of mobile websites. Here's a quick recap… Pros: Mobile websites are readily accessible to anyone with a cell phone (the majority of people worldwide), which gives your property/brand the opportunity to reach more potential customers (than using mob...
Nigeria, Senegal And Cape Verde Dominate the West African Hotel Pipeline with 77% of the Total Planned Hotel Rooms
API Events | November 14, 2017
W Hospitality Group's 2017 Hotel Chains Pipeline report shows that hotel groups need to tackle lengthy development periods in West Africa JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, November 14, 2017 -- West Africa has been at the heart of the continent's growth and economic transformation in recent years. Notwithstanding the sharp slowdown experienced in 2016 and 2017, the region's economy is expected to rebound in 2017 onwards. Commodity-based economies, like Nigeria, are slowly recovering from the fall in oil prices and oil production, while countries like Côte d'Ivoire, Mali, and Senegal have shown economic resilience and sustained growth. As...
Summit Hotel Properties to Acquire Four Hotels Totaling 652 Guestrooms for $164 Million, or Approximately $252,000 Per Key
Summit Hotel Properties | November 14, 2017
AUSTIN, Texas, Nov. 14, 2017 -- Summit Hotel Properties, Inc. (NYSE: INN) ("Summit" or the "Company") today announced that it has entered into definitive agreements to acquire four hotels totaling 652 guestrooms for an aggregate purchase price of $164 million, or approximately $252,000 per key. The portfolio includes the 207-guestroom Courtyard New Haven at Yale, the 148-guestroom Hilton Garden Inn Boston/Waltham, the 175-guestroom Residence Inn Cleveland Downtown, and the 122-guestroom Homewood Suites by Hilton Tucson/St. Philip's Plaza University. The aggregate purchase price represents a 12.1x multiple on the ...
Dr. Peter Ricci Scholarship Celebrates Its 5th Year; HSMAI South Florida Chapter Honors Two Graduate Students with the Award
November 14, 2017
November 14, 2017 - HSMAI South Florida continued the awarding of its Dr. Peter Ricci Scholarship at the 2017 Annual GALA held at the Turnberry Isle Resort and Club in Aventura, Florida. Dr. Peter Ricci, Director of the Hospitality Management Program at Florida Atlantic University (FAU) presented two checks to students Juan Tamayo and Francine Coker. Juan is pursuing a Master of Science (MS) degree at Florida International University's Chaplin School of Hospitality Management. Francine is pursuing an MBA degree in hospitality & tourism management at Florida Atlantic University. Each student received a $2500 contribution to their edu...
Three Tips to Maximize RevPAR and Increase Guest Love Scores this Fall
Adam Glickman | November 14, 2017
By Adam Glickman What started as a Pumpkin Spice Latte favorite at Starbucks, pumpkin spice has morphed into nearly every aspect of consumer goods. The U.S. pharmacy company CVS even offers pumpkin spice cough drops. With fall in full swing, should small hospitality brands or hotels jump on the bandwagon (or should they keep as far away as possible)? Let's start here: Why does this craze even exist? It starts with this simple fact... U.S. Consumers love the arrival of fall. Consumer good consumption in the fall is more than just the pumpkin spice latte. It's the combination of back to school, fall flavors, lots of sports and Hallowe...
Angie Hospitality Selected to Present Voice-Assistant’s Hotel Guest Wi-Fi Innovation at WBA Wireless Global Congress
Angie Hospitality | November 14, 2017
Developer of world's first 24-hour interactive hotel guest room assistant to present innovative, secure and personal guest room Wi-Fi feature set at leading wireless technology conference SAN JOSE, Calif. – November 14, 2017 – Angie Hospitality, creator of the world's first voice-based guest room assistant and in-room Wi-Fi access solution developed specifically for hotels, has been selected by WBA (Wireless Broadband Alliance) to present at this year's Wireless Global Congress in New York City. During the four-day event, which is scheduled to take place November 13-16 at The Roosevelt Hotel, Angie Hospitality's CEO, Ted Hel...
Hotel Direct Booking Pushes Are Working. What Next?
Voyat | November 14, 2017
By Sara O'Brien Everyone in hospitality has an opinion about 2016's direct booking campaigns. Some hailed them as a long-overdue blow against aggressive intermediaries; others voiced concern that discounting tactics would put long-term downward pressure on rates. So who was right? Thanks to a report from Kalibri Labs, we have a convincing answer: the campaigns' backers called it correctly, at least in the short term. According to Kalibri, on a transactional basis the 2016 activity achieved a shift away from OTAs and towards Brand.com – and that shift helped deliver a net revenue benefit of $9,000-$33,000 per hotel. Tha...
IDeaS G3 RMS Gives New Revenue Opportunity to Resorts and Hotels with Component Room Optimization – an Industry First
IDeaS | November 14, 2017
Resorts and hotels with component rooms can now automate pricing decisions, reduce the burden of managing complex room types and tailor the guest experience Tweet this: @IDeaS_RevOpt #RevenueManagement system is first to allow hotels & resorts to automate component room pricing. www.ideas.com/about/news MINNEAPOLIS – November 14, 2017 – Though ubiquitous in resorts and hotels today, component rooms and flexible inventory are a tricky business for revenue managers. These unique rooms have traditionally required manual pricing and constant oversight – and are often undersold because of their complexity compared to s...
Mirror Image and KEYPR Announce Strategic Partnership
KEYPR | November 13, 2017
Two Industry Leaders Team up to Introduce REMi to Hospitality LOS ANGELES, Nov. 13, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- KEYPR®, the leading cloud-based technology platform for the hospitality industry providing an integrated end-to-end experience for guests and staff through embedded and mobile devices, announced today they have formed a strategic partnership with Mirror Image to create the industry's first cloud-based smart mirror, REMi. REMi is a "virtual butler" for the hospitality industry powered by the expansive KEYPR platform. REMi, which launched yesterday at BDNY, is the industry's most comprehensive guest experience hos...
Shinhwa Theme Park at Jeju Shinhwa World Selects InvoTech Systems to Manage Employees’ Uniform Inventory
InvoTech Systems, Inc. | November 13, 2017
InvoTech Uniform Management System Increases Efficiencies and Reduces Operating Costs at New 280,000 Square Meter Shinhwa Theme Park at Jeju Shinhwa World LOS ANGELES, CA – November 14, 2017 – InvoTech Systems, Inc. announced that the Shinhwa Theme Park at Jeju Shinhwa World in Jeju, South Korea implemented a uniform management and control process with InvoTech's RFID Uniform System. InvoTech is a leading provider of software management and control systems for laundry, linens, and uniform operations that increase profitability for hotels, resorts, theme parks, sports arenas, and convention centers. InvoTech has implemented U...
Owned and Managed by Ram Hotels, 89-Room Fairfield Inn & Suites Wichita Falls Northwest Set to Open in Texas
Fairfield Inn & Suites | November 13, 2017
Wichita Falls, TX – November 13, 2017 – The 89-room Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott in Wichita Falls, Texas is scheduled to open on Friday, November 17, 2017 with its smart, inventive public space and guest room design, and its bright and inviting décor. Located at 1020 Central Freeway, the Fairfield Inn & Suites Wichita Falls Northwest will operate as a Marriott franchise, owned and managed by Ram Hotels of Amarillo, Texas. Located five miles from Wichita Falls Municipal Airport and just minutes from downtown, the Fairfield Inn & Suites Wichita Falls Northwest offers guests convenient access to Sheppar...
Widewaters Tempe Hotel Management Company Opens Dual-Branded 228-Room Hilton Garden Inn and Home2 Suites in Tempe, Arizona
Home2 Suites by Hilton | November 13, 2017
TEMPE, Ariz. and MCLEAN, Va. - Hilton (NYSE: HLT) today announced the opening of its newest hotel, the dual-branded Hilton Garden Inn Phoenix-Tempe ASU Research Park and Home2 Suites by Hilton Phoenix-Tempe ASU Research Park, bringing a total of 228 new rooms to the Arizona State University area. Located near the state's largest and most populous city, Hilton Garden Inn and Home2 Suites by Hilton Phoenix-Tempe ASU Research Park caters to the rising number of overnight visitors traveling to central Arizona annually*. "Whether you're here to enjoy the Mill Avenue District, try your luck at Casino Arizona or visiting one of th...
