News Top: June
Semiahmoo Resort in Blaine, Washington Gets New Owner, Could Reopen in August
June 21, 2013
June 21--BLAINE -- The new owners of Semiahmoo Resort say they hope to have the hotel open again by the end of August, although they aren't ready to make promises. The $19.5 million sale of the hotel was announced Friday, June 21. The new owner is Resort Semiahmoo LLC, with Wright Hotels Inc. of Seattle as managing member. Another member is Blue Ridge Cascadia, a real estate investment group based in Southern California. Coastal Hotel Group of Seattle will serve as resort manager. The former majority owner, the Upper Skagit Indian Tribe, had been trying to sell the property for many months, and two tentative deals fell through before Fr...
Fremont Street Experience Will No Longer be Free for Hotel Guests at the Golden Nugget
June 12, 2013
June 12--The Golden Nugget, an anchor of downtown Las Vegas, plans to start July 1 charging hotel guests $5 a night for the Fremont Street Experience. "It's not a resort fee," said Tiffany Hauck, the Golden Nugget's public relations manger. "It's a Fremont Street Experience fee." The fee will be the first charged for the Fremont Street Experience among any of the 10 casino-hotels that collectively fund the overhead light show. "There are significant costs associated with maintaining the Fremont Street Experience," Hauck said in a statement, "and rather than raise hotel rates or charge high resort fees, we have chosen to keep our rates l...
Residence Inn by Marriott Boston Downtown/Seaport Transforms Historic Warehouse Into Hotel
Residence Inn by Marriott | June 24, 2013
The 120-suite Property is Owned by an Affiliate of Norwich Partners and Managed by True North Hotel Group, Inc Boston, MA - June 25, 2013 - A new 120-suite Residence Inn by Marriott opened this week in downtown Boston's Seaport District, breathing new life into a six-story classical revival-style 1900s building once likely used for sugar and molasses warehousing. Located at 370 Congress Street, the Residence Inn Boston Downtown/Seaport will operate as a Marriott franchise, owned by an affiliate of Norwich Partners and managed by True North Hotel Group, Inc. Group One Partners, Inc., of Boston served as architect and designer. Originall...
Flip.to Brand Advocate Platform Drives Visitors and Direct Bookings to Cove Haven Resorts
Flip.to | June 11, 2013
All-Inclusive Entertainment Resorts turn to leaders in social marketing to increase website traffic and boost revenue Orlando, FL — June 12, 2013 — Flip.to, a brand advocate platform that helps hotels leverage the marketing power of social media by encouraging guests to spread the word about upcoming stays, has been implemented at the Cove Haven Entertainment Resorts in the Pocono Mountains. The three resorts are seeing positive trends in website traffic and direct room bookings as a result of Flip.to's technology. The Cove Haven Entertainment Resorts are open year-round and offer a perfect retreat for a Weekend Getaway or Extended ...
Marc Sternagel of Novotel New York Times Square Named ‘General Manager of the Year’ by HSMAI Chapter
Novotel | June 24, 2013
New York, NY - June 25, 2013 - Marc Sternagel of Novotel New YorkTimes Square has been named 'General Manager of the Year' by the Greater New York Chapter of the Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI). Presented last week at the 20th annual Frank W. Berkman Tourism Achievement Award black-tie event, Sternagel accepted the prestigious honor as he oversees a complete $85 million renovation of the 480-room Novotel New York Times Square. Upon completion in September 2013, the project will create an edgy and exciting respite for contemporary travelers to emerge and engage in the heart of Times Square. Educated in...
Construction of $350 Million Fairmont Hotel to Start in Austin, Texas in November 2013
June 14, 2013
A Mid 2016 Opening is Planned June 14, 2013 --The developer of the 50-story, $350 million Fairmont hotel planned for downtown Austin said Friday that the project will break ground in November at Red River Street and East Cesar Chavez. Developer Doug Manchester, president of Manchester Texas Financial Group, released new details Friday about the project. He also released a new market study highlighting how much convention business Austin is losing annually because it doesn't have enough hotel rooms downtown, an issue local convention officials and other experts have talked about for years. With 90,000 square feet of convention and meeti...
Chris McCord Plans to Bring Back Circa 1984 Wolf Hotel in Ellinwood, Kansas
June 14, 2013
June 14, 2013--ELLINWOOD -- His parents thought he was crazy, Chris McCord says matter-of-factly. But there is no questioning the 26-year-old's commitment as he walked across the wood floors of Ellinwood's historic, 120-year-old Wolf Hotel, talking passionately about the building's past and future, no matter how daunting the task might seem. He gestures his vision as he leads a tour of the 5,000-square-foot structure built by wealthy entrepreneur John Wolf in 1894. It once was a resting place for cowboys and businessmen alike and, but it hasn't seen much for overnight visitors for more than 40 years. The past 35 years it has been an an...
New 450-room Hotel and High-Rise by Tel Aviv’s Dolphinarium Approved
June 25, 2013
June 26, 2013--The Tel Aviv Regional Planning and Building Commission has approved for deposit a plan to build two 28-floor residential and hotel high-rises and several smaller buildings along Herbert Samuel Street opposite the beachfront Dolphinarium, which will be demolished. Giora Rothman Architects designed the project. The plan calls for converting the Dolphinarium into open public space, completing the seafront promenade between central Tel Aviv and Jaffa along the Charles Clore Park, and granting building rights on the eastern side of Herbert Samuel Street. The project includes 50,000 square meters of built-up space, half for 25...
InterMountain Management to Begin Construction of TownePlace Suites in Billings, Montana
June 9, 2013
June 09--At least two more hotels are in the works for Billings, with one of them almost ready to go and the other still in negotiations. A family-owned Louisiana company has purchased land directly across from the Billings Hilton Garden Inn, behind Home Depot, for its first Montana hotel, a TownePlace Suites by Marriott. InterMountain Management, LLC, of Monroe, La., will begin construction this fall on the TownePlace project, worth $10 million to $11 million including land and furnishings. And a Stillwater, Minn., developer wants to build a luxury lodge on land south of Zoo Drive owned by Pierce RV and Diamond B Companies. "I'm just i...
Maryland’s City-Owned Hilton Baltimore Under Review as City Tries to Improve Finances
June 30, 2013
June 30, 2013--All options are on the table, including a sale, as Baltimore officials review ways to improve the finances of the city's money-losing convention center hotel -- and brace for the likelihood of tapping the city's general fund to cover debt payments next year. The city hired an investment advisory firm to look into all aspects of the 757-room Hilton Baltimore, from operations to the debt structure, said Harry E. Black, director of the city's Department of Finance. The hotel itself is performing better than most of the city's private hotels, based on occupancy and room rates. It's generating enough business to more than cov...
Bally’s Las Vegas Plans Renovation of 756-room Tower and Re-Naming it Jubilee
June 24, 2013
June 24, 2013--Bally's Las Vegas plans to renovate 756 rooms in its South Tower and rename it the Jubilee Tower. Named after the longest-running burlesque act in Las Vegas, the new Jubilee Tower is slated to welcome its first guests in late summer. Rooms go on sale June 25, with nightly rates starting at $99. The majority of the remodeled rooms are over 450 square feet, decorated with chic lounge furniture, wall coverings dotted with red geometric designs, and dark wood furnishings. Each room will also feature a 37-inch flat-screen television, refrigerator and redesigned bathroom with glass-enclosed showers. Also included in the renova...
First Hospitality Group Selected to Manage the 145-room Hyatt Place in Champaign, Illinois
First Hospitality Group | June 11, 2013
June 11--CHAMPAIGN -- Rosemont-based First Hospitality Group will manage the new Hyatt Place Hotel in downtown Champaign, the company announced Monday. The company provides services for 50 hotels in 10 Midwestern states, including 23 properties in Illinois. The 145-room Hyatt Place Hotel is scheduled to open next spring at the southwest corner of Neil and Church streets. It is being developed by Champaign-based YG Financial Group. The new hotel will be the fifth hotel in downstate Illinois served by First Hospitality Group. The company's portfolio already includes the Country Inn and Suites in Champaign and Bloomington, the Hampton Inn ...
The 287-room Marriott Pere Marquette in Peoria, Illinois Completes $30 Million Renovation
June 23, 2013
June 23, 2013--PEORIA -- Sometime Friday, probably around 3 p.m., the Marriott Pere Marquette is expected to welcome its first overnight guest. If that person enters the hotel through its Main Street doors, the front desk will be on the right. The lobby will abut a "great room" that takes up most of the first floor and includes a bar and restaurant. No walls will separate those spaces. Banquet rooms, including a ballroom with 24 crystal lighting fixtures, await at the top of a polished-marble staircase. All of it is to have a sleek, contemporary look. If the guest didn't look at the outside walls, he or she might not suspect the Pere M...
Guest-tek™ in the Heart of Guatemala
June 25, 2013
CALGARY & GUATEMALA, June 26, 2013 - Late this spring Guest-tek Interactive Entertainment Ltd. opened its newest regional office in Zona Viva, Guatemala. The additional office locale will enable the hospitality technology provider to have a stronger relationship with their client hotels in the CALA region. "Guest-tek's growth in these locations over the past few years has been substantial", says Arnon Levy, CEO of Guest-tek. "A new office in Guatemala puts staff and resources in a position to better serve our CALA hotels." The new office serves as the headquarters for 23 on-site and 127 remote staff members providing assistance in s...
Architect Named for SBE Hotel Development in Seattle
BuildCentral | June 29, 2013
Hotel-Online and BuildCentral Add/Update 139 Hotel Projects to the New Hotel Construction Projects Database Chicago, IL. July 1, 2013 - Hotel-Online and BuildCentral have added or updated 139 hotel projects in the last two weeks to Hotel Construction, a nationwide database of hotel construction projects, openings, and key decision makers (Owner/Developers, Architects and Contractors). These proposed hotels are still in the planning stages. Now is the perfect time to have your product drawn into plans, or offer construction services: Greenwich Street Hotel (New York, NY) Convention Center Hotel (Jackson, MS) Element by Westin Hotel (...
Oregon Bank Takes Ownership of The Best Western Rama Inn in Ephrata, Washington
June 10, 2013
June 10--Enterprise Best Western hotel transfers ownership during public auction last week ENTERPRISE -- The Best Western Rama Inn became the property of Lewis and Clark Bank following a public auction last week at the Wallowa County Courthouse. No one offered a bid for the hotel, so Paige Sulley, acting as an agent for the trustee, Laura J. Walker of the Portland law firm Cable Huston, opened the bidding at more than $1.1 million. With no bidders, the ownership of the bank was reverted to Lewis and Clark Bank of Oregon City, which held the mortgage for the hotel's former owners, North Bend 7 LLC. It was reported last fall that North Be...
Huntington Hotel Group Assumes Management of DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Atlanta Airport in Georgia
DoubleTree by Hilton | June 11, 2013
IRVING, Texas--June 11, 2013 -- Huntington Hotel Group is pleased to announce that the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Atlanta Airport is now managed by Huntington Hospitality Management, an affiliate of the Huntington Hotel Group. Huntington Hospitality Management handles all aspects of hotel operations and development. The hotel, located at 3400 Norman Berry Drive, Atlanta, Georgia, is one mile from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and seven miles from downtown Atlanta, Georgia. The Georgia International Convention Center and Delta World Headquarters are minutes from the hotel. Featuring contemporary design, our Atlanta hot...
New-Build 81-room Holiday Inn Express is Set to Open in Natchez, Mississippi
June 29, 2013
June 29, 2013--NATCHEZ -- The employees of the newly built Holiday Inn Express are putting the final touches on the hotel in preparation for its opening Tuesday. Desai Hotel Group Director of Operations Chintan Desai said the $5.5 million hotel will open Tuesday afternoon, and its first guests will arrive Wednesday. In the meantime, the staff is cleaning rooms and polishing up the finishing touches to ensure the hotel is ready for guests. The hotel has four floors, 81 rooms, 19 suites, a 24-hour fitness center and an outdoor swimming pool. The hotel, Desai said, has hired approximately 15 people. When the hotel is fully operational, he...
The 300-room Embassy Suites Baltimore Downtown Opens in Maryland, Re-flagging the Tremont Suites
Embassy Suites Hotels | June 24, 2013
MCLEAN, Va., June 25, 2013 -- Embassy Suites Hotels welcomes the arrival of the upscale hotel brand's third property in the state of Maryland, the Embassy Suites Baltimore-Downtown. After undergoing extensive renovation, the newly converted property now includes an array of exciting new and re-concepted amenities for business and leisure travelers alike in the thriving downtown Baltimore area. "We're pleased to mark the official opening of our Baltimore-Downtown property," said John Rogers, global head of Embassy Suites Hotels. "As we're focused on growing the brand in urban markets, this is an excellent demonstration of how our flexibl...
Austin, Texas Tells J.W. Marriott Developer, White Lodging, it Violated $3.8 Million Incentive Deal
June 15, 2013
June 15, 2013 --The developer building a J.W. Marriott in downtown Austin has broken its economic incentive agreement with the city and should forfeit $3.8 million, according to the city staff. White Lodging, the developer, has refused to cooperate with a city investigation into whether construction workers have been paid less than required in the agreement, according to a letter sent Friday evening from Assistant City Manager Anthony Snipes. "White Lodging has failed to provide the information necessary to document its compliance of payment of prevailing wage rates to construction workers on the site," the letter reads. With the const...
California’s Cypress Inn, the Circa 1929 Carmel-by-the-Sea Landmark, Completes Renovation
Cypress Inn | June 26, 2013
CARMEL-BY-THE-SEA, Calif., June 27, 2013-- A slingshot from the sea and shaker away from a sinful martini, Carmel's Cypress Inn celebrates fall/2013 with a fresh spin on vintage travel. The iconic 1929 historic landmark, co-owned by legendary Hollywood actor Doris Day, debuts a Glam-Meets-Morocco interior renovation perfectly cast to its Mediterranean footprint. Known as one of the West Coast's top Hollywood hideaways and pioneer in pet friendly travel, the Inn steps up with a crisp, contemporary interior awash with elegance and simplicity. GLAM-MEETS-MOROCCO by the SEA Inspired by the Inn's fluid architecture and Spanish Colonial flair...
Lori Huffstutler Appointed Director of Sales, Catering and Marketing at DoubleTree by Hilton Memphis
DoubleTree Hotel Memphis - Cooper Hotels | June 27, 2013
MEMPHIS, TENN. – June 28, 2013 – The DoubleTree by Hilton Memphis on Sanderlin Avenue today announced that Lori Huffstutler has been named director of sales, catering and marketing. Ms. Huffstutler brings over 20 years of experience in the hospitality and tourism industries. She most recently served as senior catering manager at the Westin Memphis Beale Street. Prior to that, Ms. Huffstutler held regional management positions in catering and tour and travel sales at Caesar's Entertainment. Her career also includes management positions in sales, catering, public relations and marketing with multiple major hotels in Memphis. "Lori is ...
The 100-suite Residence Inn Hotel Opens in Irmo, South Carolina
Residence Inn | June 24, 2013
Owned by South Side Parners, LLC and Managed by Solara Hospitality, LLC Irmo, South Carolina - June 25, 2013 - The 100-suite Residence Inn by Marriott in Irmo, South Carolina is scheduled to open on Tuesday, June 25, 2013. Located at 944 Lake Murray Boulevard, the Residence Inn Columbia Northwest/Harbison will operate as a Marriott franchise, owned by South Side Parners, LLC and managed by Solara Hospitality, LLC. Located 10 minutes from downtown Columbia and 13 miles from Columbia Metropolitan Airport, the Residence Inn Columbia Northwest/Harbison offers its guests convenient access to the University of South Carolina, Lake Murray, Har...
Daniel Ritacco Named Director of Restaurant Operations at New Jersey’s Park Ridge Marriott
Marriott Hotels & Resorts | June 26, 2013
PARK RIDGE, N.J. (June 27, 2013) - Daniel Ritacco has been named Director of Restaurant Operations at the Park Ridge Marriott, it was announced by Sal Pignio, General Manager. Prior to this position he was Senior Sous Chef at the Renaissance Newark Airport Hotel. A self-taught chef, Mr. Ritacco gained his passion for food through his mother, where, as a child, he would help her prepare authentic Italian dishes for the family's Sunday dinner. His first professional culinary experience was at Giordano's hometown market in Nutley, NJ, where he learned the culinary basics that he still uses today including making home-style soups, sauces, a...
The 110-room Country Inn & Suites By Carlson, Lincoln Airport Opens in Nebraska
Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group | June 11, 2013
MINNEAPOLIS (JUNE 11, 2013) - Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group, one of the world's largest and most dynamic hotel groups, today announced the further expansion of the Country Inns & Suites By CarlsonSM brand in Nebraska. The opening of Country Inn & Suites By Carlson, Lincoln Airport, NE marks the brand's growth in the region as part of its Ambition 2015 strategy. "The brand is making strides in growing its footprint in Nebraska," said Scott Meyer, senior vice president, Midscale Brands, Americas. "The continued growth in this region is another step forward in our plan to expand the brand primarily in the U.S., Canada, India and Mexico....
