News Top: June
Construction Begins on 95-room Staybridge Suites in Cheyenne, Wyoming
June 28, 2014
June 28--CHEYENNE -- Site work has begun on a new 95-room hotel a few blocks north of Dell Range Boulevard in Cheyenne. Officials with Staybridge Suites are building a four-story hotel on land just north of Target and east of the Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant. Grading is underway at the site now, Matt Ashby, director of planning services for the city of Cheyenne, said Friday. Hotel officials bought the land from Ed and Lester Cole. The address for the new hotel is 5109 Frontier Mall Drive. Staybridge Suites is part of the InterContinental Hotels Group, which operates 4,700 hotels in nearly 100 countries. Hotels in the group include Holi...
Kalahari Resorts and Conventions Selects Percipia for Guest Mobile Application Project
Percipia | June 23, 2014
Wisconsin Dells, WI - June 24, 2014 - Kalahari Resorts and Conventions, the authentically African-themed resorts in Wisconsin, Ohio, and soon to be opened in Pennsylvania, selected Percipia for the development and deployment of the customized mobile application across all properties. Home to America's largest waterparks, Kalahari wanted to extend the "world-away" waterpark resort and conference experience to guests' personal devices. Making the most of their stay with the concierge section, including interactive maps, special direct requests, and wake up calls. Navigate the way through the amazing wet and dry parks with "The Fun" showca...
Hospitality Experts Declare Unsold Rooms the Industry’s Most Valuable, Untapped Asset
Innovative Travel Marketing (ITM) | June 27, 2014
Monetizing rooms via trade is a cash-saving strategy for fortifying brand, rate and profitability at NYC panel discussion New York, NY - Monetizing unsold hotel room inventory is - by a wide margin - the largest available asset for management and ownership at many properties to drive additional profitability, demand and brand awareness, according to industry expert Sean Hennessey, CEO of Lodging Advisors. His comments were made at a recent HSMAI-NYC symposium in May on Creative Solutions to Expand Your Marketing Dollars, which also featured Jody Merl, President of Innovative Travel Marketing. In NYC alone, many properties are running a...
Harry Spirides Selling Tybee Island’s Ocean Plaza Beach Resort After 50 Years of Family Ownership
June 9, 2014
June 09--Harry Spirides, owner of Tybee Island's 200-room Ocean Plaza Beach Resort, announced Monday that he and his family have agreed to sell the hotel at the end of the summer season. Spirides said Linchris Hotel Corp. of Hanover, Mass., has made an all cash offer that "exceeded everyone's expectations" and plans to invest millions of dollars in improvements to the resort. "I believe this will be a win-win scenario everyone can be proud of," Spirides said, adding that representatives of Linchris will visit Ocean Plaza in the coming weeks to meet employees and conduct interviews as well as meet with Tybee Island officials to discuss t...
Former Best Western Hotel in Rochester, MN Rebrands as Centerstone Plaza Hotel Soldiers Field
June 10, 2014
June 10--A new brand name is now displayed over the entrance of a longtime Rochester hotel as the latest move in the very active local hotel market. The former Best Western Soldiers Field hotel at 401 Sixth St. S.W. officially became Centerstone Plaza Hotel Soldiers Field on June 1. While the name is different, guests and diners at the popular Twigs Tavern & Grille won't see a lot of dramatic changes at this point. Myron Salz has owned the 214-room hotel since 1999. The staff remains the same under the new name, as do amenities like the pool, shuttle service, banquet space and extended-stay suites. However, the hotel did recently un...
The Evolution of Hotel Branding: The Changing Focus of Hotel Brands
HMG Hotels | June 24, 2014
by Randy Hulce Travelers who favor a particular hotel brand know what to expect when they arrive. The rooms look identical whether they are located in Maine or California. Guests don't know, or care, if the franchising company or the franchisee owns the property. Everything is the same. This is an ideal situation for property owners who wish to identify strongly with a brand. The name attracts a predictable type of guest, and the owners have fewer decisions to make. They don't have to worry about furnishings or layouts; they just have to follow the master plan. Because of the rising popularity of this enforced uniformity, many major hot...
Recent Surge in Hotel Foreclosure Auctions Unnerve Some in Newport News, VA Hospitality Industry
June 27, 2014
June 27--NEWPORT NEWS -- Area hospitality officials are taking note of a recent round of hotel foreclosure auctions occurring in Newport News, many questioning the health of the city's overall hotel industry. "It's never a good thing when a hotel fails and winds up in receivership," said Maureen Coon, president of Newport News Hospitality Association on Thursday. "Other than retail, there have been no new demand generators in recent years." Newport News, the Commonwealth's fifth-largest municipality, has seen a wave of hotel foreclosure sales in recent months -- a recent trend that has worried long-time hoteliers and hospitality officia...
Hotel Lawyer: Growing Together – China and Los Angeles County
June 17, 2014
By Jim Butler and the Global Hospitality Group® Hotel Lawyers | Authors of www.HotelLawBlog.com 19 June 2014 The growth of outbound Chinese investment Earlier this month we posted an article about the surge in Chinese investment as reported by Tiffany Hsu in the Los Angeles Times. See, "China and JMBM's Chinese Investment Group™ are in the news again!" That article prominently featured the Sheraton Gateway LAX hotel, its 15% increase in Chinese travelers since the beginning of the year, and its purchase by our Shenzen Hazens Real Estate Group, and JMBM's role as counsel to Shenzen Hazens. Special Report Just Released: Growing Togethe...
LAP Groups Acquires Mulberry Inn and Holiday Inn Express in Newport News, VA with $4M Winning Bid
June 25, 2014
June 25--A Chesapeake-based firm has purchased two hotels in the Fort Eustis area of Newport News. LAP Groups tendered the winning bid during a Monday foreclosure auction for the Mulberry Inn and Holiday Inn Express at 16890 Warwick Blvd., said Sanjay Patel, president of the firm's retail and petroleum operations on Wednesday. The firm purchased the 101-room Mulberry Inn and 57-room Holiday Inn Express in a block auction for $4,000,005, Patel said. Officials expect to close on the property during the first week of July. While the firm is not ready to immediately release plans for the hotels, Patel said officials are conducting a three- ...
Tampa’s Old Federal Courthouse Transformation to Elegant Le Meridien Met with Approval by Judges
June 11, 2014
June 11--Judge William J. Castagna pointed up to the tall ceiling of his former courtroom and told stories of the men who painted the intricate stencil work on the ceiling and gold-leafed the eagle above his bench. Now the room is a grand ballroom of the soon-to-open Le Meridien hotel, and his judge's bench is in the lobby, delicately transformed into a long desk for guests to work. Judge Mark Pizzo walked into his former judge's chambers, now a hotel room with a view of Sacred Heart church -- the same view he had while researching cases. "This stairway here," Pizzo pointed down a hall, "that's where lawyers would meet with their client...
Courtyard by Marriott/Towneplace Suites to be Built in Abilene, Texas
June 24, 2014
June 24--A permit filed Monday with the city of Abilene shows a new hotel -- a Courtyard by Marriott/Towneplace Suites -- will be built at 2012 Scottish Road in Abilene. The location is just off U.S. Interstate 20. Scottish Road connects to East Stamford Street. According to the city of Abilene's website, the work will be done by Ebco General Contractors of Cameron. The city's building inspection site lists a total of $8.92 million in planned construction. ...
Point Plaza Suites and Conference Hotel in Newport News, VA Sells for $2.57M in Foreclosure Auction
June 20, 2014
June 20--A North Carolina investor snagged the top bid for a Newport News hotel. Robert Horger, an attorney with Orangeburg, South Carolina-based Horger, Barnwell & Reed LLP, confirmed Friday that his client Dilip Mehta secured the final bid of $2.57 million for the Point Plaza Suites and Conference Hotel at 950 J. Clyde Morris Blvd during a Thursday public foreclosure auction. The property is assessed at $3.97 million, according to Newport News tax records Mehta must close on the property by July 7 as part of the auction agreement. Horger said Mehta plans to maintain the site and keep the hotel operational. Constructed in 1976, the...
Data Security (PCI and PII) Learning Programs Pre-approved for HFTP Members
Venza Group | June 17, 2014
(Roswell, GA – June 18, 2014) — Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP) announced to its members that the Venza Group is now an approved educational provider. The PCI Compliance as well as Personally Identifiable Information (PII) eLearning programs are pre-approved by HFTP and may be used as educational credits toward the renewal of the Certified Hospitality Accountant Executive (CHAE) and the Certified Hospitality Technology Professional (CHTP) certification educational maintenance reporting requirements. Further enhancing the association's educational resources, members are now eligible to receive a discounted r...
Hotel Conversion Planned for Old Federal Reserve Building in Kansas City, Missouri
June 16, 2014
June 16--A Boston lender is providing $9.23 million to help a developer acquire the historic Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City building at 925 Grand Blvd. and convert it into a hotel project. UC Funds announced it's providing the loan to help redevelop a 21-story tower in downtown Kansas City that opened in 1921, and includes a four-story annex and an eight-story garage. While the lender didn't identify the structure or the new owner, the description matches the old Fed building that's been vacant since 2008 when the Federal Reserve moved into its new office building near Penn Valley Park. The statement from the lender said the prospe...
Airbnb’s Inroads Into the Hotel Industry – What Does This Mean for Hoteliers?
Matt Kurtz | June 23, 2014
by Matt Kurtz Airbnb offers accommodations in nearly every major hospitality destination worldwide. Rates are often lower than comparable hotel rooms, and its popularity is rising—what does this mean for hotels? Travelers looking for lodging in their destination cities have traditionally taken one of two courses: stay at the home of a friend or relative or book a room at a local hotel. Over the past six years, a kind of hybrid option has emerged, allowing for guests to book rooms in the houses, apartments, condominiums, trailers, treehouses, boats, and even castles of other people. The experience can have as much in common with couch ...
Dubai’s Magnum Group Plans Luxury Resort in Vietnam’s Truong Le Mountain and South Sam Son Coast
June 22, 2014
June 22--THANH HOA (Viet Nam News/ANN) -- Dubai's Magnum Group planned to invest in a world-class sea tourism zone in Truong Le Mountain and South Sam Son coast in the central Thanh Hoa Province. The provincial People's Committee announced that the project would consist of a golf court complex and a luxury international resort. Sam Rehani, the group's chairman and general director, visited the province recently to sign an investment agreement with Dong A Real Estate Corporation. He said the group would send world renowned experts in planning to research and develop the project with an aim to transform Truong Le Mountain to an internatio...
Pacifica Companies Plan for 150-room Grover Beach CA Lodge and Conference Center Back on Track
June 23, 2014
June 23--After two appeals caused several months of delay, plans for the Grover Beach Lodge and Conference Center are once again moving ahead. The California Coastal Commission recently found the appeals did not raise any substantial issues that would justify holding a hearing on the project. The commission's unanimous decision allows the project to proceed, Grover Beach Mayor Debbie Peterson said. Barring any other challenge, Peterson anticipates construction could start in about a year on the 150-room hotel and 11,000-square-foot conference center on about 13 acres of state-owned land at Highway 1 and West Grand Avenue. City officials...
Ground Broken on $20M Embassy Suites as McAllen Convention Center in Texas
June 27, 2014
June 27--McALLEN ? A critical piece of the McAllen Convention Center development fell into place this week as investors and city leaders turned earth on a $20 million, six-story Embassy Suites hotel that will be located on the grounds of the McAllen Convention Center. "This great new hotel is a great business asset for McAllen and the Rio Grande Valley," McAllen Mayor Jim Darling said in a news release following the ground-breaking ceremony on Monday. "It's the first major convention center-hotel project...south of San Antonio that puts the two together in one location,:" he said. For awhile, the equation of hotel and convention center ...
CityFest Hotel (Embassy Suites) in Tuscaloosa Slated to Open September 2014
BuildCentral | June 27, 2014
Hotel-Online and BuildCentral Add/Update 180 Hotel Projects to the New Hotel Construction Projects Database Chicago, IL. June 30, 2014 - Hotel-Online and BuildCentral have added or updated 180 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: Stickney Point Hotel & Retail (Sarasota, FL) Sky Hotel Redevelopment (Aspen, CO) Elm Court Estat...
What Came First — Management Discipline or the Employee Complaint?
Tillman Y. Coffey | June 24, 2014
by Tillman Y. Coffey You finally have decided to take the long overdue disciplinary action. Just before you do, the employee to be disciplined, possibly sensing what's about to happen, makes a complaint of harassment.This is the first you've heard of this problem. Is the complaint legitimate? What do you do? Continue with the planned disciplinary action? Put your decision on hold while you investigate? Will it look retaliation if you proceed with the discipline? Which Issue Came First is Important On the one hand, employers have the right to take disciplinary action. On the otherhand, employees have the right to make good faith complai...
Massaro Corp. Breaks Ground on 135-key Holiday Inn Express & Suites, Pittsburgh, PA; To Open Q3 ‘15
June 12, 2014
June 12--Construction of a $13.3 million hotel on the North Shore is under way, a contractor said Thursday. O'Hara-based Massaro Corp. said it broke ground on the 10-story, 135-room Holiday Inn Express & Suites at Federal Street and Cajou Way on Wednesday. Federal Street Hospitality Associates LP, affiliated with Kratsa Properties in Harmar, is the developer. Massaro and Kratsa have teamed up on three other Pittsburgh hotels, including the SpringHill Suites and Residence Inn on the North Shore. "Together we have a strong track record of developing hotels," Eric Kratsa, executive vice president of Federal Street Hospitality, said in ...
Rockland, MA Planning Board Approves ADZ Properties Proposed Five-story Hotel
June 11, 2014
June 11--ROCKLAND, Maine -- The Rockland Planning Board gave the go-ahead Tuesday night to a five-story hotel that has met with criticism from neighbors. Developer Cabot Lyman said he expected construction would begin in September and will be completed in June. The planners voted 4-0 to approve the project with board member Kyle Swan abstaining. The action came after developers came in with modifications to the project including the use of bricklike material on the north and west sides of the the hotel. The vote also came after the city attorney said that the city's ordinance -- which requires buildings to be in character with the neigh...
Mark D. Croce Plans $18.1M Boutique Hotel & Restaurant in Buffalo, NY’s Long-Vacant Curtiss Building
June 18, 2014
June 18--Developer Mark D. Croce's $18.1 million plan to turn the long-vacant Curtiss Building into a boutique hotel and restaurant won the backing of the Erie County Industrial Development Agency for a package of $685,000 in tax breaks. While the IDA normally does not provide tax incentives for hotel and restaurant projects, the agency agreed to a package of sales and mortgage tax breaks for the Curtiss Building project, at the corner of Franklin and W. Huron streets in Buffalo, because it is located in an economically distressed part of the city and would breathe new life into a building that has been vacant for more than 12 years. "T...
Developer of Riverside, California’s 125-room Hyatt Place Hotel Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy
June 14, 2014
June 14--The developer of Riverside's Hyatt Place hotel has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, a maneuver intended to block the city's request that a court foreclose on the downtown hotel. The 125-room hotel has been open a little more than two years, but the honeymoon has long been over between Siavash Barmand, whose Bay-area company MetroPacific Properties built the Hyatt, and the city, which loaned him $20 million to do it. Both sides have raised the stakes with their latest legal actions, which could result in the hotel changing owners or brands. Barmand's company, which does business here as MetroRiverside, filed in federa...
MGM National Harbor Begins Site Prep for the Nearly $1 Billion 300-room Casino Project in Maryland
June 24, 2014
June 24--Baltimore-based Whiting-Turner Contracting Co. has been chosen as general contractor to build Maryland's sixth casino at National Harbor, a nearly $1 billion project on the Potomac River expected to get under way in weeks and be completed in about two years. The casino owner, MGM National Harbor LLC, announced Tuesday that it had chosen Whiting-Turner, which is finishing up work on the state's fifth casino, Horseshoe Casino Baltimore. That $442 million project is expected to open in late August near M&T Bank Stadium, another Whiting-Turner project. In a news release, MGM National Harbor President and CEO Lorenzo Creighton m...
