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Industry Happenings
Winegardner & Hammons Hotel Group Opens 171-Room AC Hotel in Downtown Cincinnati at The Banks
Winegardner & Hammons Hotel Group, LLC | October 30, 2017
CINCINNATI, Oct. 30, 2017 -- The AC Hotel Cincinnati at the Banks officially revealed its sophisticated European style today during a ribbon-cutting celebration attended by Mayor John Cranley, Hamilton CountyCommissioners and area business leaders. Situated across from the Great American Ball Park, the design-led property resides in The Banks development – a premier mixed-use office, retail and residential development that serves as home to the Cincinnati Reds, the Cincinnati Bengals, GE's Global Operations Headquarters and the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center. Located at 135 Joe Nuxhall Way, the hotel was develope...
Golden Entertainment Appoints Ned Martin as Chief Administrative Officer and Phyllis Gilland as General Counsel
Golden Entertainment, Inc. | October 30, 2017
LAS VEGAS-- Golden Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:GDEN) ("Golden" or the "Company"), announced today the appointment of Ned Martin as Chief Administrative Officer and the appointment of Phyllis Gilland as General Counsel. Ned Martin joins Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Blake Sartini, Chief Operating Officer Steve Arcana, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Strategy Officer Charles Protell, and Chief Legal Officer Sean Higgins on Golden's senior management team. In his new position, Mr. Martin will leverage his 23 years of experience in gaming and other industries to assist in the integration of the Company's four newly acquired propert...
AHLA Presents $500,000 Youth Grant to Community-Based Organizations to Open Career Pathways in High-Demand Markets
AHLA | October 30, 2017
WASHINGTON, D.C.- Monday, October 30, 2017– Katherine Lugar, President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) today presented a national non-profit career development organization, Grads of Life, with a commitment to provide $500,000 in grants to community-based organizations to recruit and develop "Opportunity Youth" in high-demand markets, such as Washington D.C., Los Angeles, Chicago and Baltimore. U.S. Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta joined Lugar and Grads of Life Principal Shawn Jacqueline Bohen to announce this investment for Opportunity Youth. Currently, six million youn...
Desbravador Integrates TravelClick’s iHotelier Central Reservations System into its Property Management System
Desbravador | October 30, 2017
Integration Provides Real-Time Transmission of Rates and Inventory While Facilitating Seamless Communication for Hoteliers to Maximize Revenue NEW YORK, N.Y. October 30, 2017 – TravelClick, a global provider of innovative, cloud-based and data-driven solutions for hotels to maximize revenue, and Desbravador, a leader in lodging industry Property Management Systems (PMS) with a commercial presence in Brazil, Argentina and Europe and more than 3,500 clients across six other countries, have come together to integrate TravelClick's iHotelier Central Reservations System (CRS) into Desbravador Intelligent Management Software's PMS. This...
The Riu Palace Paradise Island Reopens in the Bahamas After a Complete Renovation and Conversion to an “Adults Only” Hotel
RIU Hotels & Resorts | October 30, 2017
RIU Hotels & Resorts has just reopened in the Bahamas the Riu Palace Paradise Island, a 24-hour All-Inclusive hotel that, after a complete renovation, has also been converted to an establishment exclusively for guests over the age of 18. The hotel, property of the RIU chain since 2005, is located on Paradise Island, the best beach in Nassau, and it provides free WiFi in all areas of the hotel, an extensive gastronomic offer, and concierge and 24-hour room service, in addition to the exclusive customer service of RIU Hotels & Resorts. The 379 rooms of this hotel on Paradise Island are equipped with a wealth of amenities, like a m...
HMC to Manage Newly-Opened Four Points by Sheraton Houston Intercontinental Airport
Hospitality Management Corporation (HMC) | October 30, 2017
Dallas, TX – Leo Spriggs, President and CEO of Hospitality Management Corporation (HMC), is pleased to announce the addition of this 123-room Four Points® by Sheraton in Houston, TX, to their portfolio of managed hotels. The company continues its ongoing business expansion which is made up of full service, conference center, select service and limited service hotels. HMC is one of the country's largest third-party privately held hotel management companies, ranked in the top 40 of all third party and owner operated hotel management corporations. Ideally located just six miles from George Bush Intercontinental Airport and a shor...
Best Western® Hotels & Resorts Launches Third Soft Brand, BW Signature Collection by Best Western
Best Western Hotels & Resorts | October 30, 2017
PHOENIX – (October 30, 2017) – Best Western Hotels & Resorts today announced its eleventh brand – and newest soft brand – BW Signature Collection by Best Western. With the arrival of this new product, Best Western now offers soft brand options to hotel owners in most chain scale segments - upper economy and midscale (SureStay CollectionSM by Best Western), upper midscale (BW Signature Collection by Best Western) and upscale and upper upscale (BW Premier Collection®). "An increasing number of hotels in North America and overseas are going independent because they want flexibility and freedom from brand req...
Hospitality Financial Leadership – Using EFTEs
David Lund | October 30, 2017
By David Lund If You Can't Measure It, You Can't Improve It. Management thinker Peter Drucker is often quoted as saying, "You can't manage what you can't measure." Drucker means that you can't know whether or not you are successful unless success is defined and tracked. In the hotel business payroll is the number one cost. STR recently reported that labor made up 50 percent of revenues for a sample of over 4,000 hotels of all types and sizes. Having an efficient and reliable way to measure payroll is critical in any business. In hotels, the impact of payroll is amplified considerably and the need to have so...
Duetto Brings True Personalization to Booking Process with Launch of PlayMaker
Duetto | October 30, 2017
With Hospitality's Only Revenue Strategy Platform and PlayMaker, Hotels and Casinos Can Increase Conversion Through Customized Merchandising San Francisco, October 30, 2017 — Duetto, hospitality's only Revenue Strategy Platform in the cloud, has introduced PlayMaker, the industry's first application tackling true personalization of the booking path. The new cloud application addresses the industry's greatest challenge by providing consumers a better and more personal shopping experience, increasing their likelihood to convert. By serving both known and unknown shoppers customized merchandising content on direct channels, PlayMaker...
Global OTA Customer: The Value of the International Booker for U.S. Hotel Properties
Expedia | October 30, 2017
Global customer reach is invaluable for hotels. The many advantages that come with an international booker include a higher average daily rate, and longer length of stay. And while this may seem more advantageous for independent hotels and small chains, since global hotel chains also have a worldwide reach, when you factor in international packages, it's clear that all hotels stand to benefit from international guests who book through OTAs. Companies like Expedia are helping hotel partners not only reach incremental travelers, but identifying those that provide the highest value to properties in any market. Expedia looked at 2016-2017 b...
PolyU Study Reveals Surprising Source of Unethical Tourist Behaviour
October 30, 2017
Judgements about ethically unacceptable behaviour may vary amongst cultures, and Western tourists are more likely to engage in such behaviour when on holiday, find Dr Denis Tolkach, Dr Stephen Pratt of the School of Hotel and Tourism Management (SHTM) at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and a co-researcher in a recently published study. Their investigation of international and mainland Chinese tourists and Hong Kong residents reveals some surprising findings that should prove useful for academics, policymakers and industry practitioners seeking to develop "mitigation strategies to reduce anti-tourism sentiment" in Hong Kong and othe...
EMV Smart Card Payment Security is Available for Independent Hotels
Lodge Tools | October 30, 2017
Lodge Tool's Property Management System (PMS), InnTender, has been EMV certified by Heartland Payment Systems, a leading worldwide provider of payment technology services. Princeton, NJ and Kansas City, MO – October 30, 2017 – Lodge Tools Inc., an inventive hospitality SaaS company that provides leading-edge property management solutions, has integrated its property management system InnTender with Heartland's Pax S300 terminal processing reader providing full EMV secure payment processing for the independent hotel market. Independent hotels can benefit from the reduction of in card-present card fraud resulting from cou...
ProfitSword Promotes Maureen Allen to Newly Created President Position
ProfitSword | October 30, 2017
Orlando, Florida – October 30, 2017 – ProfitSword, LLC, a leader in business intelligence and data analytics solutions, announces the promotion of Maureen Allen to President. Formerly in the role of Director of Client Services, Ms. Allen has been with ProfitSword since 2008. Prior to her tenure at ProfitSword, she spent more than 30 years in the hospitality industry in both operations and accounting. As President, Allen will oversee ProfitSword's sales and marketing initiatives, product development, client services and human resources teams. With her decades of experience in operations, co-owners Mike Patton and Tili Findley...
Tambourine Shares: Win More Group Business by Being a Good Loser
Tambourine | October 27, 2017
Welcome to the Friday Freebie! Each week we share one, FREE impactful hotel marketing tactic that you can implement immediately to drive more conversions and more revenue. This Week's Freebie: Win more meeting and event business by conducting a loss analysis and figuring out what went wrong with your failed bids. Winning is easy. Get the deal, pop the champagne. When you win, you think every move you made in the sales process was genius. And then you replicate that winning formula on future deals. But what happens when you lose deals? A majority of hotel sales teams fail to ponder why certain groups chose another property. Whenever one ...
Owned and Managed by Daly Seven, New Fairfield Inn & Suites Opens in Raleigh, North Carolina
Fairfield Inn & Suites | October 27, 2017
Raleigh, NC – October 25, 2017 – The 88-room Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott in Raleigh, North Carolina is scheduled to open today with its smart, inventive public space and guest room design, and its bright and inviting décor. Located at 6408 Capital Boulevard, the Fairfield Inn & Suites Raleigh North will operate as a Marriott franchise, owned and managed by Daly Seven, Inc. of Danville, Virginia. Located across from the Triangle Town Center and 17 miles from the Raleigh-Durham International Airport, the Fairfield Inn & Suites Raleigh North offers guests convenient access to the WRAL Soccer Park, PNC ...
Christopher Damskey Appointed as Executive Chef of Montage Kapalua Bay
Montage Kapalua Bay | October 27, 2017
KAPALUA BAY, Hawaii (October 27, 2017) - Montage Hotels & Resorts has announced the appointment of Christopher Damskey as executive chef of Montage Kapalua Bay. A respected chef with more than two decades of experience in both luxury hotels and stand-alone restaurants, Damskey will oversee all culinary operations including menu creation and kitchen operations for Montage Kapalua Bay's five dining outlets. "We are excited to have Christopher Damskey join Montage Kapalua Bay as executive chef," said Richard Holtzman, vice president and managing director, Montage Kapalua Bay. "Christopher's expertise, familiariza...
Trump Hotel Group Welcomes Mike Cowell as Vice President of Acquisitions and Development
October 27, 2017
NEW YORK (October 27, 2017) – Trump® Hotel Group, a global hospitality enterprise with an unparalleled history of providing extraordinary customer experiences, today announced the addition of Mike Cowell as vice president of acquisitions and development. With over 30 years of industry experience, Cowell will be responsible for expanding the Trump Hotel Group portfolio which includes the Trump Hotels™, American IDEA™ Hotels and SCION™ Hotels and Resorts brands. "I have worked with Mike for many years and am happy to see him join us here at Trump Hotel Group," said CEO Eric Danziger. "With his extensive hotel d...
In Town Hospitality and Hyatt Open Hyatt House Düsseldorf/Andreas Quartier, a Brand First in Europe
Hyatt House | October 27, 2017
CHICAGO (October 27, 2017) – Hyatt announced today the opening of Hyatt House Düsseldorf/Andreas Quartier, marking the entry of the Hyatt House brand into the European market, and the fourth Hyatt House branded hotel to open outside the U.S. in 2017. The Hyatt House brand offers casual, authentic hospitality and purposeful service in a smartly designed, high-tech and contemporary environment. It allows guests to feel at home, whether they are staying for a night or a month. The design is rooted in extensive consumer insights which indicate that guests seek stylish, comfortable and seamless experiences that accommodate their l...
Homeland Security Warns Against Threats to US Infrastructure
Jim Butler | October 27, 2017
By Jim Butler and the Global Hospitality Group® Hotel Lawyers | Authors of www.HotelLawBlog.com 27 October 2017 Cybersecurity breaches and risk management continue to be a concern for businesses of all sizes and types. A recent warning distributed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the FBI regarding targeted hacks in several critical industries is an illustration that anyone can be vulnerable such tactics, including the hospitality industry. My partner Bob Braun, senior member of JMBM's Global Hospitality Group® and co-chair of JMBM's Cybersecurity and Privacy Group, summarizes the recent report and its conclusions ...
28 Hospitality LLC and Best Western Break Ground on Dual Branded Best Western Plus® and Executive Residency by Best Western® in Austin, Texas
October 27, 2017
PHOENIX (October 26, 2017) – Best Western Hotels & Resorts today announced the groundbreaking of its new dual-branded hotel in Austin, Texas, bringing the Best Western Plus® and Executive Residency by Best Western® brands to travelers searching for accommodations in Texas' capital city. The property will be constructed, owned and managed by 28 Hospitality LLC and will become the company's sixth Best Western hotel. Located just minutes from Downtown Austin, Best Western Plus Austin/Executive Residency by Best Western will consist of 86 rooms – 39 of which will offer well-appointed kitchenettes for business and lei...
Hotel Sina Villa Medici Joins Autograph Collection Following Nine Month Refurbishment
Autograph Collection Hotels | October 27, 2017
Former 19th Century Residence Marks the Brand's Fourth Hotel in Italy Autograph Collection Hotels, Marriott International's distinctive collection of passionately independent hotels, today announced its fourth hotel in Italy with the opening of Hotel Sina Villa Medici, located in the historic heart of Florence. The hotel joins a diverse portfolio of more than 125 Autograph Collection Hotels around the world – all one-of-a-kind properties that champion values of vision, design and craft. "We are delighted to see this historic residence in the heart of Florence reimagined for our guests," said John Licence, VP Premium & Select B...
Hard Rock International Appoints Ed Tracy CEO of Asia
Hard Rock International | October 27, 2017
Orlando, FL – October 27, 2017 – Hard Rock International – with presence in more than 73 countries – announces the promotion of Edward Tracy to chief executive officer, Asia. Currently, Tracy is focused on Hard Rock Japan LLC in its efforts to develop a signature Hard Rock Integrated Resort (IR). Tracy's recent appointment is a strategic move designed to support the company's growth plans in the region. With the latest addition to the Hard Rock Hotel portfolio, Hard Rock Hotel Shenzhen, China, and 30 years of Hard Rock Cafe operations in Japan, Hard Rock showcases its proven track record of developing and managin...
Interstate Hotels & Resorts Adds Three Branded Hotels to Its Management Portfolio
Interstate Hotels & Resorts | October 27, 2017
ARLINGTON, Va. October 27, 2017 –Interstate Hotels & Resorts– the leading global hotel management company – announces continued momentum within its Asia Investment group with three newly awarded management agreements: a dual-branded Hyatt House and Hyatt Place SeaTac, Wa., developed by Seattle-based Lou Development; and a luxury resort in Southern California's Temecula wine region, tentatively named Twelve Oaks Resort, developed by Standard Portfolio. With these additions, Interstate's Asia practice team continues to strengthen its dedicated resources providing extraordinary hotel management services to its partner...
OTAs Are Under Pressure — Time to Show Why Direct Is Best
Clare Hutchison | October 27, 2017
By Clare Hutchison OTAs hit the headlines in the UK today as authorities unveiled a major investigation into their practices. The British competition watchdog is examining booking sites' "clarity, accuracy and presentation of information" and even questioning whether they break consumer law. It's great news for consumers, but hoteliers should welcome it with open arms too. After all, it's a very public acknowledgement that OTAs may not always offer travellers the best possible deal — a myth that has been around for far too long and one that we've been aiming to bust since we first launched the Direct Booking Movement. Here'...
