News Archive: May
Booking.com and BookingSuite: What’s Really Going on Here?
Regatta Travel Solutions Inc. | May 4, 2015
BookingSuite is now offering hotels a 'free' website in exchange for a 10% commission. It is important for hotels to realize that in exchange for a free website, BookingSuite will include its own booking engine (replacing the hotel's existing booking engine) and any direct booking through the hotel website will incur a 10% commission. This means that hotels are now entrusting their most valuable sales channel to an Online Travel Agency (OTA), and as an industry, this raises some important questions. 1. What is the impact of syncing the rates and availability offered through the hotel's direct channel with Booking.com? Ho...
In Wake of Arrest on Fraud Charges, Nick Patel’s Portfolio of Five Hotels to be Auctioned Off
May 15, 2015
May 15--Orlando businessman Nik Patel's five hotels, including the former Sheraton Orlando and a Doubletree by Hilton, are about to be auctioned off. The online real-estate brokerage Auction.com LLC has scheduled auctions July 20-22 for a portfolio of three Orlando hotels: the former Sheraton, which is next to the site of the now-demolished Amway Arena; the Doubletree by Hilton at the University of Central Florida; and the Crowne Plaza near the entrance to Lake Buena Vista Resort Village. "I think each of these assets is well-located in its respective neighborhood," said Paul Sexton, vice president of HREC Investment Advisors. Patel was...
Survey Says: Hospitality Sector Failing to Calculate Full Cost of Laundry
TRSA | May 11, 2015
ALEXANDRIA, Va., May 11, 2015 – Two national surveys recently completed by opinion and research firm Fabrizio Ward found a large segment of the hospitality sector is failing to calculate the full, accurate cost of laundry on their businesses and that outsourcing laundry services is better for the environment. The surveys were commissioned by TRSA, the leading global textile services trade association headquartered in Alexandria, Va. By reaching out to both textile service decision makers and consumers nationally, key findings for the hospitality industry included: Less than half of all hotels account for key laundry cost such as...
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Names Chris White Area Director of Sales and Marketing, Southern Calif
The St. Regis Monarch Beach | May 12, 2015
[Dana Point, Calif.] May 12, 2015 – Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NYSE: HOT) has named Chris White as area director of sales and marketing for Southern California where he will oversee luxury properties including The St. Regis Monarch Beach, The U.S. Grant Hotel, W San Diego, The Westin Gaslamp Quarter, The Westin Mission Hills, The Westin South Coast Plaza and Sheraton San Diego. With more than 20 years of combined sales and marketing experience, Chris will oversee all sales, marketing and public relations strategy for the Starwood properties. His initial focus will be on elevating The St. Regis Monarch Beach's multi-million d...
Hotel Front Desk Training Checklist Circa 2015 by Doug Kennedy
Doug Kennedy | May 26, 2015
May 26, 2015 If someone would have surveyed hotel managers 15 or 20 years ago about the future role of their front desk staff, my guess is that most would have predicted that their jobs would have become much less relevant by now due to all of anticipated technologies. Yet when we look at the position today, it is easy to see that ironically with all of the high-tech advancements, nothing has yet to replace the personalized service experiences delivered by today's front desk colleagues. Certainly it will be interesting to see how the latest push towards automated, self-check-in options now moving to smartphones will be received over the...
Starwood Capital Group Acquires Portfolio of Fifty Extended-Stay Hotels
Starwood Capital Group | May 19, 2015
GREENWICH, Conn., May 19, 2015 -- Starwood Capital Group, a leading global private investment firm, announced today that it has acquired a portfolio of fifty U.S. economy extended-stay locations from Mount Kellett Capital Management LP and its partners, further building upon its growing InTown Suites brand. This deal, which was completed by a controlled affiliate of Starwood Capital Group, consists of 6,106 rooms primarily in the Southeast, including desirable markets in North Carolina, Florida, Texas, Georgia and Alabama. With this acquisition, InTown Suites will become the largest owner of economy extended-stay hotels in the United St...
Go Moment and IBM Watson Help The Line Hotel Deliver Personalized Guest Services on the Go
Go Moment | May 11, 2015
The Line Hotel First to Offer Rev1 Powered by Watson Santa Monica, CA - May 11, 2015 - Go Moment, a leader in providing mobile solutions for the hospitality industry, today announced that The Line Hotel in Los Angeles has adopted its mobile guest engagement application called "Rev1". Powered by Watson, Rev1 is designed to assist front desk and concierge staff in managing guest inquiries, housekeeping requests and more. The application uses Watson's natural language processing and Q&A capabilities to allow guests to ask questions in simple language and receive a response within seconds. From finding nearby attractions to ordering in...
Cendyn/ONE™ Named as One of the ‘20 Most Promising Travel & Hospitality Solution Providers’ for 2015
Cendyn/ONE | May 14, 2015
CIO Review's Special edition cover story explains how Data Intelligence™ is shaping the industry Boca Raton, Fla. - May 14, 2015 - In its May 6, 2015 Travel and Hospitality special edition, CIO Review has recognized Cendyn/ONE, a leader in cloud-based CRM and Loyalty, Data-driven Digital Marketing and Interactive Design and Development, as one of the '20 Most Promising Travel and Hospitality Solutions Providers' for 2015. Cendyn/ONE also earned the issue's cover story, which details how Cendyn/ONE's full suite of products and services help hotels and resorts leverage data into profitable marketing campaigns and...
