News Archive: December
ProfitSword Announces Strategic Appointments to Executive Team
ProfitSword | December 21, 2015
Orlando, Florida – December 21, 2015 – ProfitSword has named three internal leaders to key executive team positions effective January 1, 2016. Paul Bennie, previously the Director of Client Services has been promoted to Director of Sales, North America, Maureen Allen, previously Client Services Supervisor, has been promoted to Director of Client Services, and Brian Treadwell, previously Technical Services Liaison, has been appointed Director of Technical Services. Both Bennie and Allen have been with ProfitSword for more than five years, Treadwell for four, and all have exhibited a true passion for ProfitSword's 60+ clients,...
Marriott’s Acquisition of Starwood: Winners and Losers
Vikram Singh | December 22, 2015
by Vikram Singh Marriott's acquisition of Starwood is great news for investors, but unfortunately not for Starwood hotel guests and employees. The quote that sums up the reasoning behind this deal came from Starwood Chairman Bruce Duncan. "We are committed to what is best for shareholders." Notice that employees and guests are not mentioned. This is because they are not the focus of the consolidation. Industry consolidation is aimed at increasing investors' profits or killing a competitor in the industry. With this deal, Marriott is hitting both those key points. When a deal like this is made, the numbers have been run and re-run hundre...
AccorHotels to Acquire Three Iconic Hotel Brands – Fairmont, Raffles, Swissôtel
AccorHotels | December 9, 2015
An unrivalled collection of iconic hotel assets with 155 hotels and resorts, of which 40 are under development Acquisition to provide AccorHotels with robust and global leadership in luxury hotels, a key segment in terms of geographic reach, growth potential and profitability, for long-term value creation FRHI's unrivalled hotel portfolio, expertise in marketing luxury hotels and sizeable footprint in North America, provide a stronger platform to continue aggressive worldwide expansion. AccorHotels will pay for the acquisition by issuing 46.7 million new Accor shares and a cash payment of $840 million (€768 million) – Qa...
Top 10 Trends for 2016 by Robert A. Rauch, CHA
Bob Rauch | December 2, 2015
2016 promises to be the most profitable year our industry has ever seen due to strong rate growth, minimal supply impact, low interest rates and oil prices and a somewhat minimal impact from disruptors like Airbnb, living wage bills and health care costs. As we do every year, following are the trends that will help you maximize your business opportunities in the year ahead. Analytics rule! Everything is trackable now. Not only can we see how much attention a certain ad campaign is getting, but we can see the geographic location of the users interacting with it, their age, and a general idea on their income. Use this information to targe...
Global Hotel Industry & Trends for 2016 – an Infographic
December 17, 2015
Includes projected global hotel industry revenue, hotel occupancy and room rates; business, predicted hotel technology, and predicted hotel marketing trends for 2016 • The global hotel industry revenue is predicted to reach $550 billion dollars in 2016. • Europe and Asia Pacific are key regions with the highest hotel occupancy rates at over 68% respectively. • The Middle East and Africa are the most expensive regions for hotel rates with a $165.97 dollar daily room rate on average. Infographic provided courtesty of Michelle Mangan. ...
The Millennial Shift in Hotel Brands
Brett Russell | December 8, 2015
By Brett Russell | December 2015 The past ten years have ushered in the introduction of more new hotel brands than any time in modern history. Most of these are geared toward the Millennial Generation, with hotel companies creating concepts to capture this vital segment of demand. The U.S. hotel industry is in the midst of its latest, greatest up-cycle in recent memory, with performance figures going skyward year after year. This is part of the reason that major hotel brands, as well as smaller niche companies, have been taking a chance on innovative hotel concepts. Most of these have been engineered to identify with the so-called Mille...
Strategic Hotels & Resorts to Be Acquired by Blackstone
Strategic Hotels & Resorts, Inc. | December 9, 2015
CHICAGO, Dec. 9, 2015 -- Strategic Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NYSE: BEE) (the "Company") announced that the holders of its shares of common stock approved the acquisition of the Company by affiliates of Blackstone Real Estate Partner VIII L.P. ("Blackstone") at its special meeting of stockholders held earlier today. Subject to the satisfaction or waiver of all closing conditions related to the transaction, the Company expects the transaction to close on December 11, 2015 and that such date will be the last trading day of the Company's shares on the New York Stock Exchange. As announced previously, on September 4...
Three Tips for Avoiding Fraudulent Credit Card Transactions
Rich McIver | December 9, 2015
by Rich McIver As credit card use become more popular, so does the act of credit card fraud. According to a Federal Reserve Payments Study, the estimated number of fraudulent transactions in 2012 was 31.1 million, with a value of $6.1 billion. When businesses process these fraudulent charges, they could lose money and be forced to deal with other long-term issues. Hotels and other companies will always be faced with fraudulent credit card transactions. Knowing how to detect these possible charges and establishing steps to deter them could save your business time and money. Here are some tips for avoiding fraudulent credit card transacti...
