Nobody Asked Me, But… No. 260: Hotel History: Terminal City, The Roosevelt Hotel and The Postum Building, New York
Stanley Turkel | January 25th, 2022
Keeping Your Data Safe: Ransomware, Crashes, and Backups, Oh My!
Warren Dehan | January 25th, 2022
News Top: January
Nobody Asked Me, But… No. 259: Hotel History: The Greenbrier, White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia
Stanley Turkel | January 3, 2022
by Stanley Turkel, CMHS Hotel History: The Greenbrier (682 rooms) The original hotel, the Grand Central Hotel, was built on this site in 1858. It was known as "The White" and later "The Old White". Beginning in 1778, people came to follow the local Native American tradition to "take the waters" to restore their health. In the 19th century, visitors drank and bathed in the sulphur water to cure everything from rheumatism to an upset stomach In 1910, the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway purchased the historic resort property and embarked upon a major expansion. By 1913, the railroad had added The Greenbrier Hotel (the central section of t...
Ascendant Capital Partners and Centerbridge Partners Acquire Monterey Tides Hotel
Ascendant Capital Partners | January 10, 2022
LOS ANGELES, CA – January 10, 2022 – Ascendant Capital Partners, a vertically integrated real estate investment and operating platform, in partnership with Centerbridge Partners today announced that they have acquired Monterey Tides, a 196-room waterfront boutique hotel in Monterey, California, from Southwest Value Partners. Monterey Tides, located on Sand Dunes Drive, is Monterey’s only hotel with a privately owned beachfront, spanning almost 600 linear feet. The hotel features well-appointed guestrooms and a range of amenities including restaurants and bars, a heated outdoor pool and hot tub, 9,000 square feet of ocean-view meeting ...
Beemok Hospitality Group Reveals Investment Plans for The Charleston Place
Beemok Hospitality Group | January 12, 2022
Charleston, SC – January 12, 2022 – Beemok Hospitality Group, a Charleston, SC-based company with a growing portfolio of world-class hotels, restaurants and entertainment venues, today announces its investment plans for The Charleston Place, the company’s flagship asset. A landmark in Charleston’s historic district, The Charleston Place will officially transition from Charleston Place, a Belmond Hotel, to The Charleston Place, a locally owned and managed independent luxury hotel, on March 1, 2022. The Charleston Place has hired renowned architects and designers to lead the transformation, including Pierre-Yves Rochon (PYR), a lege...
The Georgetown Company & First Hospitality Purchase Iconic Hutton Hotel in Nashville
The Georgetown Company | January 20, 2022
NASHVILLE, TN — January 20, 2022 — The Georgetown Company, a leading developer and owner of commercial, retail and mixed-use properties nationwide, announces the acquisition of the iconic Hutton Hotel in Nashville. The all-cash purchase of the 250-key Nashville property is the first through the $1 billion hospitality investment platform launched last year by Georgetown in partnership with hotel management company First Hospitality. Georgetown is making a significant investment into the West End property, one of the premier boutique hotels in Nashville, and plans to invest additional capital to build upon the Hutton Hotel brand and furt...
The Hospitality Industry: Loss of Love -> Loss of Labor
Dr. Peter Ricci | January 11, 2022
By Dr. Peter Ricci The past 3 years of a roller coaster ride has taken the hospitality industry from its best year on record to a pandemic low that, at times, seems to be a permanent fixture. At the start of the pandemic, none of our industry leaders could have imagined the mass exodus of workers that we are now experiencing. From my vantage point as the director of a program that offered a free certificate during COVID to thousands, the voices of the workers (and former workers) are loud and they are clear. To confirm these voices, we later surveyed another 50,000 hospitality workers (had about a 10% response rate) and the sentiments w...
Palm Holdings Acquires Element Miami International Airport
Palm Holdings | January 17, 2022
MIAMI, FL – January 17, 2022 – Palm Holdings, an international hospitality development company, announced today that it has added a key hotel to its Florida portfolio with the takeover of the Element Miami International Airport. The property, located at 3525 NW 25th Street, is just minutes from one of the country’s busiest airports, as well as within just a few miles of some of the city’s largest office parks. Additionally, the property is steps away from the planned $1 billion Miami Freedom Park, which will be home to Miami’s professional soccer team. The Element Miami International Airport features 209 guest rooms, five sto...
Daxton Hotel Returns as an Independently Run Luxury Hotel With Appointment of New Managing Director, Raj Radke
Daxton Hotel | January 19, 2022
BIRMINGHAM, MI - January 19, 2022 - Birmingham’s newest luxury property, the 151-room Daxton Hotel, today announces its return as an independently owned and operated luxury property along with the appointment of its new Managing Director, Raj Radke. Since its opening in April 2021, Daxton Hotel has come to be praised and reckoned as a modern vision of Birmingham luxury brought to life by local entrepreneur and lifelong resident Mark Mitchell, who named the hotel after his son. Now fully owned and operated by Woodward Brown Ventures LLC, a subsidiary of Mitchell Family Office, the hotel and its signature restaurant Madam and the stylish Geod...
5 Sales Strategies to Win More Business in 2022
Amadeus | January 20, 2022
Many questions are on the minds of hospitality leaders as they think about 2022 and strategize new, creative ways to generate revenue. While COVID-19 recovery has largely been driven by domestic, leisure travelers, groups and corporate bookings are starting to return. In the US alone, group meeting volume increased 30% in October 2021 over the previous month. Additionally, the average number of attendees and event space used surpassed pre-pandemic levels. This has sales and event professionals asking, “What’s driving the latest group business trends?” and, “Will this be the year corporate travel returns?” As events bounce back...
Newport Beach Marriott Reemerges as VEA Newport Beach, A Marriott Resort & Spa, In Spring 2022
January 18, 2022
NEWPORT BEACH, CA - January 18, 2022 - Following an extensive transformation, VEA Newport Beach, a Marriott Resort & Spa, will officially debut this spring. Formerly the Newport Beach Marriott Hotel & Spa, the property is undergoing a complete top-to-bottom refresh, including new coastal-inspired luxury guest rooms, the introduction of two new suite categories, three newly imagined restaurant and bar concepts, a wellness focused spa and high-performance fitness center, expansive new indoor and outdoor event spaces, and a luxury destination pool experience. "As Newport Beach locals ourselves, we are proud to present somethi...
Nobody Asked Me, But… No. 260: Hotel History: Terminal City, The Roosevelt Hotel and The Postum Building, New York
Stanley Turkel | January 25, 2022
By Stanley Turkel, CMHS Hotel History: Terminal City (1911) Terminal City originated as an idea during the reconstruction of Grand Central Terminal from the old Grand Central Station from 1903 to 1913. The railroad owner, the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad, wished to increase capacity of the station’s train shed and rail yards, and so it devised a plan to bury the tracks and platforms and create two levels to its new train shed, more than doubling the station’s capacity. At the same time, chief engineer William J. Wilgus was the first to realize the potential of selling air rights, the right to build atop the now-undergr...
Pendry Washington D.C. – The Wharf Appoints Pascal Forotti as General Manager Ahead of Late 2022 Opening
Pendry Hotels & Resorts | January 5, 2022
ORANGE COUNTY, CA – January 5, 2022 – Pendry Hotels & Resorts is proud to announce the appointment of Pascal Forotti as general manager of Pendry Washington D.C. – The Wharf, scheduled to open late 2022. Located in Washington’s striking new waterfront harbor destination, the hotel will feature 131 guestrooms, including 34 suites, three signature dining and bar concepts, including a rooftop lounge with panoramic views, a state-of-the-art Spa Pendry, and 5,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor meeting and event space. Forotti joins the Pendry Hotels & Resorts family with more than 25 years of luxury hospitality experience hav...
Contactless Payments Have Checked-In at Hotels and Their Extra Luggage Has Many Benefits
Larry Talley | January 28, 2022
By Larry Talley Contactless technology and travel are hot subjects as everyone looks towards safer times ahead and the chance to spend time with loved ones again after much time apart. When it comes to staying at a hotel, the guest of the future expects contactless and even more so touchless check-in reflected everywhere from valet parking to keyless entry. That journey may begin at valet but it continues right into the payment process with “26% of consumers indicating they want digital room keys and 35% asking for contactless payment options.” (Hotel Tech Report). The modern payments ecosystem provides a frictionless guest experience ...
The David Kempinski Tel Aviv Set to Open in March 2022
The David Kempinski Tel Aviv | January 24, 2022
Tel Aviv – January 24, 2022 – Kempinski Hotels announces the long-anticipated opening of The David Kempinski Tel Aviv, the luxury hospitality brand’s 80th global opening and first property in Israel. Housed in the newest skyscraper erected along the city’s iconic Mediterranean Sea promenade, the 250-room-and-suite property is set to open to guests in March 2022, fresh upon the opening of Israel’s international borders to tourism. Centrally located across the street from the seaside boardwalk and promenade, and within walking distance to the city’s famed outdoor food markets and dynamic urban center, The David Kempinski Tel Avi...
The Top 5 QUESTions Your Reservations Team Should be Asking in 2022!
Doug Kennedy | January 6, 2022
By Doug Kennedy Are you ready to help your reservations team maximize the contribution of the voice booking channel in 2022? If so, it is not going to be easy. As we look ahead to the coming year nothing is certain. Well, actually one thing is certain: there will be continued disruption in the lodging industry! One small but important sales habit you can do now to help in your reservations team’s QUEST to be the BEST in 2022 is to update your list of QUESTions that should be asked as part of your sales “flow” criteria. Why do lodging industry reservations sales agents need to update the questioning process? Today’s callers ...
TPG Hotels, Resorts, and Marinas Acquires Marshall Hotels & Resorts
Marshall Hotels and Resorts, Inc. | January 26, 2022
Providence, RI — January 26, 2022 — TPG Hotels, Resorts and Marinas (TPG), one of the nation's premier hospitality firms, today announced an "acquisition of equal talents and minds" with the addition of Marshall Hotels and Resorts, a leading hotel management and services company with special expertise operating three and four-star branded hotels and resorts. The combined company will be headquartered in Salisbury, MD, and will oversee all day-to-day operations of the entire national portfolio of properties. "This is a win-win for all parties involved," said Mike Marshall, who will serve as president and CEO of the combined com...
Mike Kass Appointed General Manager of The Westin Maui Resort & Spa, Ka‘anapali
The Westin Maui Resort & Spa, Ka‘anapali | January 28, 2022
LAHAINA, HI – January 28, 2022 – The Westin Maui Resort & Spa, Ka‘anapali has appointed Mike Kass as the property’s general manager, effective Feb. 19, 2022. Kass brings more than 30 years of leadership experience in sales and hotel operations to the new role. Most recently, Kass served as general manager of the San Francisco Marriott Marquis, where he oversaw a $140 million hotel refurbishment. In 2019, he achieved the highest revenue producing year in the hotel’s 30-year history. Kass has also served as a director of sales & marketing at various properties. He opened Tucson’s first luxury resort, Starr Pass Resort &...
The Boca Raton Unveils Harborside With Transformed Hotels
The Boca Raton | January 4, 2022
BOCA RATON, FL - January 4, 2022 - Today marks a historic milestone for South Florida's iconic resort and private club as The Boca Raton unveils its transformation of Harborside, part of the destination's $200 million reimagination. The most significant evolution in its 95-year history includes the relaunch of Cloister, the original storied hotel that serves as the heart of Harborside. Cloister now features Sadelle's in partnership with Major Food Group, Palm Court cocktail lounge designed by architecture firm Rockwell Group, and the redesigned Spa Palmera in collaboration with Colin Cowie. Yacht Club reemerges as The Boca Raton's l...
AC Hotel Washington DC Capitol Hill Navy Yard Set to Open in February 2022
AC Hotels by Marriott | January 19, 2022
Washington, D.C. — January 19, 2022 — AC Hotel Washington DC Capitol Hill Navy Yard (867 New Jersey Avenue SE; 202-488-3600) is set to become the third AC Hotels by Marriott in the nation’s capital on Feb. 3, 2022. Owned and managed by Concord Hospitality Enterprises, Whitman Peterson and Greystar Real Estate Investments, the new hotel offers the brand’s intuitive and timeless European-inspired travel experience to guests perfectly situated between D.C.’s Capitol Hill neighborhood, bustling waterfront Navy Yard, and the attractions of the National Mall. A convenient retreat, the hotel is set amongst the energy of Capitol Hill and t...
What Hospitality Statistics Mean to Your Hotel Business?
Ahmed Mahmoud | January 31, 2022
By Ahmed Mahmoud The hotel industry is subdivision of the hospitality industry that specializes in providing customers with lodging services. There are a variety of hotel types that typically can be categorized by size, function, service, and cost. Levels of service can usually be split into three options: limited-service, mid-range service, and full-service. However, some consumers may be more familiar with the star rating system, with one being the lowest rating and five being the highest. When it comes to function some of the categories include business, casino, spa, extended stay, bed & breakfast, and more. In recent years, more an...
Marriott Signs Agreement With TEMES S.A. to Debut W Costa Navarino in Greece
W Hotels Worldwide | January 13, 2022
Marriott International, Inc. today announced it has signed an agreement with TEMES S.A., a leading developer and operator in high end tourism and real estate, to debut the W Hotels Worldwide brand in Greece with the opening of W Costa Navarino. Expected to open in summer 2022, W Costa Navarino is anticipated to mark the latest addition to the ever-expanding W Escapes portfolio in Europe following locations in Spain, Switzerland and Portugal. The new W Escape will be located in Navarino Waterfront, the newest integrated resort of Costa Navarino - the prime sustainable destination in the Mediterranean. The 13-hectare beachfront destination i...
Conrad Tulum Riviera Maya Opening Marks Brand Debut in the Mexican Caribbean
Conrad Hotels & Resorts | January 20, 2022
TULUM, Mexico -- January 20, 2022 -- Hilton (NYSE: HLT) today announces the opening of the highly anticipated oceanfront Conrad Tulum Riviera Maya, marking the brand’s debut in the Mexican Caribbean. Located eight miles north of Tulum, in a secluded bay surrounded by a tropical forest and pristine Caribbean waters, the 349-room resort offers a retreat for guests seeking a transformative getaway, with curated signature restaurants, destination spa, oceanfront pools and access to Tulum’s celebrated sights and attractions. “We are thrilled to make Hilton’s debut in Tulum – one of Mexico’s premier destinations – with...
Macroeconomics in 2022: How Can Hospitality Leaders Learn From the Past?
Dr Giuliano Bianchi | January 5, 2022
By Dr. Giuliano Bianchi The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically altered the world’s economic situation leading many economists to predict that it will have as significant an impact as the great depression of the 1930s. As such, many of the field’s fundamental principles must be reconsidered for the coming years, including several which received less attention in recent years since learnings from the Great Recession have superseded them. In order to properly educate students and managers about the relationship between economic theories and practical implications on the hospitality industry, such shifts must be incorporated into macroecono...
Corinthia Hotels Appoints Alexandra Pisani as New General Manager of Malta’s Iconic Corinthia Palace
Corinthia Hotels | January 19, 2022
New York, NY – January 19, 2022 – Corinthia Hotels has announced an exciting leadership change at their iconic Corinthia Palace in Malta: the appointment of Alexandra Pisani as the Hotel’s new General Manager. The luxury hospitality sector has formed a huge part of Alexandra Pisani’s life. Having grown up around hotels and spent her early years at Corinthia Palace, she received an invaluable education in the quality-of-service that guests have come to expect from all Corinthia hotels. In 1962 the entire Corinthia story started with The Villa “It is such an important time for Corinthia Palace,” says Ms. Pisani. “Aside from al...
Hospitality Financial Leadership: Why Is Hotel Accounting Different?
David Lund | January 17, 2022
By David Lund I heard this about 40 years ago and it has stuck with me. I was a newbie cocktail waiter working part time in my hometown hotel. One of my regular weekend customers was the controller and he was telling me he needed an income auditor for the summer line-up. I suggested my brother who was recently out of work at his articling job at a CA firm. He told me rather strongly I recall that my suggestion would never work because my brother had no hotel experience and hotels are different. I pressed him on it and all he could say is, “We have a different way of doing things in the hotel world.” At the time I was in hotel sch...
The Kessler Collection to Develop Boutique Hotel in New Bern, North Carolina
The Kessler Collection' | January 12, 2022
ORLANDO, FL - January 12, 2022 - The Kessler Collection, a portfolio of 12 artistically inspired boutique hotels, has purchased the historic Elks Building in New Bern, N.C. for $2.25 million with plans to develop the property into a 50-room boutique hotel. Set to break ground in early 2023, the luxurious boutique hotel will boast 50 guestrooms, 1,500 sq. ft. of meeting and event space, an intimate speakeasy on the lower level and a specialty coffee shop and restaurant on the street level. The hotel will offer the brand's signature accommodations with custom interior design and curated artwork, all while weaving in a thread of educati...
