The Tricycle of Guest Service Excellence: A Perfect Model For Remarkable Experiences
Doug Kennedy | October 4th, 2024
Spokane Tribe Resort & Casino Partners With Travel Outlook to Elevate Guest Service Experience
Travel Outlook, The Premier Hotel Call Center™ | October 2nd, 2024
News Top: October
Why Handling Mistakes Well Is a Key to Amazing Customer Service
Shep Hyken | October 17, 2024
Good customer service becomes noticeable for two reasons: A company or brand can be known for amazing customer service and experience. Customers may notice the employees’ attitude, how easy they are to do business with and more. But sometimes they don’t, because it’s expected. However, over time, customers will notice that there are never problems. It may not happen right away, but eventually, customers will realize why they like the company. The experience is what they want and expect every time. A customer’s complaint or issue is resolved in such a way that the customer notices. They are pleasantly surprised at how...
The King and Prince Beach & Golf Resort Welcomes New Executive Chef Chris Johnson
The King and Prince Beach & Golf Resort | October 29, 2024
SIMONS ISLAND, GA (October 29, 2024)—The King and Prince Beach & Golf Resort, aMMI Hotel Groupproperty, is thrilled to announce the appointment of Chef Chris Johnson as the new executive chef. Chef Johnson will lead the culinary team for the resort's signature restaurant, ECHO, as well as banquet dining and other outlets across the campus. His arrival marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter for the resort, with an emphasis on elevating the resort’s culinary presentation across the board. Chef Johnson first discovered his passion for the food and beverage industry at fourteen, gaining extensive experience working in restauran...
Q3 2024 Major U.S. Hotel Sales Survey
Daniel Lesser | October 21, 2024
By Daniel H. Lesser 2024 has been a turbulent year thus far as we have witnessed dramatic national and global events that may very well alter the course of history. During this past quarter alone: • Two assassination attempts were made on a former U.S. President who is a major party candidate once again in the upcoming election. • One month prior to this year’s Democratic National Convention, U.S. President Joe Biden, having earned sufficient delegates to be the party nominee, withdrew his candidacy and was replaced by the current Vice President Kamala Harris. • Nearly one year after the horrific events of October 7, 2023,...
The Ritz-Carlton, Half Moon Bay in California Appoints Maurice Tax as Director of Food & Beverage
The Ritz-Carlton, Half Moon Bay | October 7, 2024
HALF MOON BAY, Calif. (October 7, 2024) - The Ritz-Carlton, Half Moon Bay – the leading Forbes Five-Star oceanfront resort in the San Francisco Bay Area – is pleased to announce the appointment of Maurice Tax as its new Director of Food & Beverage. Maurice brings over 15 years of experience in the luxury hospitality industry, with extensive knowledge in food & beverage. He comes to Half Moon Bay from The Ritz-Carlton, Lake Tahoe, where he served as Director of Food & Beverage. Maurice is well acquainted with The Ritz-Carlton brand, starting his tenure with the company in 2007 at Hotel Arts Barcelona, serving as an assistan...
Sonoma, California’s MacArthur Place Hotel & Spa Welcomes New Executive Chef Eric Piacentine
MacArthur Place | October 16, 2024
SONOMA, CALIF. (October 16, 2024) – MacArthur Place Hotel & Spa, a 69-room luxury boutique hotel, announces the appointment of Eric Piacentine as Executive Chef. In this role, Chef Eric will oversee all culinary operations and menu curation for the property’s three culinary concepts — Layla, the dining centerpiece of the hotel, The Bar at MacArthur and The Porch, a marketplace featuring local purveyors — weddings and social events, poolside dining, and the hotel’s in-room dining program. With over 20 years of industry experience including work at world-class resorts and up-scale restaurants, Chef Eric brings a wealth of experien...
How Hotels Are Displaying Resort Fees in the Wake of CA’s Junk Fee Law
Genevieve Horchler | October 1, 2024
Not sure how to present resort or amenity fees on your booking engine? See concrete examples of how other hotels are adapting to the hospitality industry's new pricing regulations. By Genevieve Horchler In July 2024, the California Junk Fee Law was passed with the goal of eliminating the confusion surrounding hidden fees in the hospitality industry. This legislation requires hotels and other hospitality players to provide transparent pricing upfront, with mandatory add-ons like resort fees included in the advertised price. While hotels now need to show resort fees upfront, that doesn’t mean there’s only one way to do so. We too...
STS Cloud and Cloudbeds Unveil Powerful Integration to Transform Hotel Group Sales and Event Operations
SalesAndCatering.com | October 9, 2024
New partnership streamlines group bookings, event management, and catering to boost hotel efficiency and revenue Charleston, SC – (October 9, 2024) –SalesAndCatering.com and Cloudbeds have announced a two-way integration that will empower hotels, resorts, and conference centers to optimize hotel group sales and event management. By combining Cloudbeds' innovative property management system (PMS) with STS Cloud’s robust event management and sales capabilities, hoteliers can prevent overbookings, optimize room and event inventory, and deliver personalized service to win more deals. The integration enables hotel staff to mana...
Driftwood Capital Breaks Ground on $420M Westin Resort & Spa in Florida’s Burgeoning Space Coast
Driftwood Capital | October 2, 2024
Cocoa Beach, Fla. (Oct. 2, 2024) – Driftwood Capital (“Driftwood”) announces the successful groundbreaking of the highly anticipated Westin Cocoa Beach Resort, Spa, and Conference Center, a 502-key oceanfront development located in Florida’s fast-growing Space Coast market. Located at 1300 North Atlantic Avenue on the coastal city of Cocoa Beach, the $420 million Westin Resort & Spa will be built on a 15.7-acre site, providing the largest conference center in the region. The resort will be managed by North Palm Beach-based Driftwood Hospitality Management once completed. The event was attended by notable figures, including Cocoa ...
8 Revenue Manager Phrases That Mean “I Am Winging It and Have No Idea”
Fabian Bartnick | October 31, 2024
By Fabian Bartnick We’ve all been there—stuck in a meeting where someone says something that makes you think, Do they actually know what they’re talking about? Here are 8 classic phrases from revenue managers who are definitely winging it. 1. We’re optimizing our mix across all channels. Translation: I threw some guesses out there and hoped for the best. Please don’t ask for specifics. 2. The data suggests we should hold rates steady. Translation: I looked at the numbers, but there’s no way I can explain why it matters. Holding steady just sounded safe. 3. Our forecast accuracy is a high priority for us. Transl...
The Ritz-Carlton, Half Moon Bay Appoints Javier Arrebola as New Executive Chef
The Ritz-Carlton, Half Moon Bay | October 4, 2024
HALF MOON BAY, Calif. (October 4, 2024) - The Ritz-Carlton, Half Moon Bay, the San Francisco Bay Area's premier Forbes Five-Star oceanfront resort, is proud to announce the appointment of Executive Chef Javier Arrebola to its esteemed culinary team. With a decade of international culinary experience and a profound understanding of The Ritz-Carlton brand, Chef Arrebola brings a wealth of expertise to this prestigious role and culinary program. "We are thrilled to welcome Chef Arrebola back to Half Moon Bay," says General Manager Mathieu Riviere. "His remarkable culinary journey and dedication to excellence align seamlessly with our commitment...
Cloudbeds Unveils Industry’s First ‘Smart Hospitality Engine’, Powered by Causal and Multimodal AI
Cloudbeds | October 23, 2024
San Diego, CA – Cloudbeds has today revealed plans to become the world’s first property management system to connect every facet of hotel operations into a single intelligence network, powered by causal and multimodal AI. Unveiled at Cloudbeds’ Passport User Conference on October 23, the technology provider’s first-of-its-kind ‘smart hospitality engine’, Cloudbeds Intelligence, will sit at the core of its platform, empowering hoteliers with real-time insights and actionable recommendations across their entire operations. The innovative platform layer harnesses multimodal AI, which integrates and processes multiple types of data ...
Tropicana Las Vegas Says Final Farewell With Historic Implosion, Making Way for A’s Ballpark and Bally’s Entertainment Resort
Bally's Corporation | October 9, 2024
LAS VEGAS, Oct. 9, 2024-- In a dazzling finale that lit up the Las Vegas skyline, the legendary Tropicana Las Vegas bid farewell with a breathtaking display of fireworks and a 555-drone show, culminating in a 22-second implosion at 2:30 a.m. PT. The demolition marked the end of an era and the beginning of a new chapter for Las Vegas, paving the way for the A's state-of-the-art ballpark and a world-class entertainment resort in partnership with Bally's Corporation, a cornerstone of Vegas hospitality and gaming. "Bally's is honored to have been part of this historic moment, bidding farewell to the iconic Tropicana," said Soo Kim, ch...
Omni Hotels & Resorts Breaks Ground on Omni Pontoque Resort at Punta de Mita
Omni Hotels & Resorts | October 1, 2024
DALLAS, TX (October 1, 2024) - Omni Hotels & Resorts has officially broken ground and construction is well underway on Omni Pontoque Resort at Punta de Mita, the brand’s first luxury resort in Mexico. Set to open in late 2026, Omni has assembled a seasoned design team to bring this dynamic concept to life, including Bob Glazier, HKS Architects, Farouki Farouki, Girvin Associates, and Waldrop + Nichols, with The Beck Group managing construction. Staying true to the brand’s mission of creating elevated places and spaces that are inspired by a destination, the resort’s exterior and interiors will pay homage to the local culture with a...
Mews Announces SaaS IPO Icon, Steve Cakebread, to Join Its Board
Mews | October 10, 2024
[New York, 10th October]: Mews, a cloud SaaS and fintech platform that serves the hospitality industry, has announced today the appointment of Steve Cakebread to the company’s board. Cakebread is famed for leading the financial teams that took Salesforce, Pandora and Yext to IPO and is the author of “The IPO Playbook: An Insider’s Perspective on Taking Your Company Public and How to Do It Right”. Cakebread serves on the board of Bill.com, which went public in December 2019, and sat on the boards of SolarWinds and eHealth. Earlier in his career, he served as CFO for Autodesk, VP of Finance for Silicon Graphics (now SGI)...
Travelers Are Spending Big This Holiday Season–With Higher Expectations Than Ever
Sojern | October 15, 2024
SAN FRANCISCO – 15 October 2024 – Sojern, the leading digital marketing platform built for travel, today shares its latest travel data ahead of the holiday season and beyond. Travelers are eager to hit the road or skies, but economic concerns and inflation are widening the wealth gap. Compared to 2023, more consumers are opting for road trips over air travel, if they’re traveling at all. Sojern data shows upscale and luxury hotel prices have risen by 1.7% and 1.4%, while economy lodging remains steady, reflecting growing demand for higher-end accommodations. “Unlike the pandemic where travelers chose less crowded destinations, thos...
Cendyn Acquires Knowland and Announces Private Equity Partner Haveli Investments
Cendyn | October 1, 2024
Integrated hospitality solutions leader dives deeper into group sales, meetings, and events in its latest acquisition supported by its investors, including Haveli Investments Austin, Texas, USA – 1 October 2024: Cendyn, a global hospitality cloud-based technology company, has acquired Knowland, the US-based leader in data-as-a-service intelligence on meetings and events for hospitality. The strategic acquisition presents an opportunity to enhance sales prospecting by yielding greater bookings in the MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences, and events) space. Knowland’s platform includes extensive market intelligence data on meetings ...
Hotel Sales Training Lessons Learned From a Top-Tier Real-World Practitioner
Doug Kennedy | October 9, 2024
Real-world insights into today’s hotel sales environment While being a sales trainer for a diversity of lodging providers certainly keeps me in touch with what’s going on in the profession of hotel sales these days, I always capitalize on every opportunity to gain insights from real-world practitioners. One such opportunity recently presented itself when I caught up with Jennifer Daudi, Chief Executive Officer of Invigorate Hospitality, which offers remote sales support to a long and diverse list of hotels across virtually all major brands. Besides overseeing her team of expert salespeople, Jennifer herself has decades of experie...
Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin To Launch $275 Million Transformation and Expansion Project
The Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin | October 29, 2024
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – Oct. 29, 2024 – The Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin announced the largest renovation and expansion in the property’s history, highlighted by the addition of 120,000 square feet of event space to its current meeting and convention floorplan. The entire project is an investment of $275 million over the next several years and will also include modernized upgrades to existing meeting spaces and Swan guest rooms; and technology enhancements throughout the property. The expansion will bring the triplex’s total meeting space to 469,000 square feet between its three buildings, the Swan, Dolphin and Swan ...
The Pennyweight Hotel Boston, Curio Collection by Hilton Opens
Curio Collection by Hilton | October 7, 2024
BOSTON (October 7, 2024) - The Pennyweight Hotel Boston, Curio Collection by Hilton, officially opened its doors to guests on October 1st. The Pennyweight brings a new lifestyle-driven hospitality experience just steps away from TD Garden, the North End and Beacon Hill. Melding a timeless authenticity with a contemporary spirit, the hotel’s 112 stylish guest rooms and suites are complemented with a fresh new food and beverage concept and locally curated art program offering inspired spaces to connect. The Pennyweight is an epicenter of urban discovery at the intersection of Boston’s resilient past and innovative present with clever nod...
New Boutique Hotel Otis Harbor Springs Taps Kamron Bijeh-Apple as General Manager
Otis Harbor Springs | October 4, 2024
Harbor Springs, MI (October 2024) – Otis Harbor Springs, a reimagined, design-minded historic hotel that opened summer of 2024 in Northern Michigan, proudly announces the appointment of Kamron Bijeh-Apple as General Manager. A key member of the team that guided the renovation (from leading the experiential design and hotel operations to steering the branding and product curation), Bijeh-Apple brings more than 18 years of experience--and a reputation for creating exceptional guest and employee experiences--to his new role at Otis. The 31-key mid-century modern escape is already generating high accolades for its impeccable design, unparal...
HVS Takeaways – The Lodging Conference
Luigi Major, MAI | October 11, 2024
By Luigi Major, MAI This week marked another successful and highly attended Lodging Conference. HVS was proud to sponsor and speak at the event. Our recap on the conference sentiment follows. The event was marked by cautious optimism as industry professionals assessed the current state of the U.S. hotel market. With the Federal Reserve lowering interest rates, many believe that the worst effects of rate hikes and inflation are behind us, offering hope for a rebound in hotel transactions after the significant slowdown over the last 18 months. The upcoming election and intensifying geopolitical concerns continue to somewhat balance the r...
Travelers in the Caribbean and Latin America Prioritize Wellbeing and Seek Authentic Experiences, New Marriott International Survey Reveals
Marriott International | October 17, 2024
The survey reveals key travel trends for 2025, highlighting the importance of sustainable tourism, personalized experiences, and the enduring allure of all-inclusive resorts. Plantation, Fla. – October 17, 2024 – A new survey of travelers in the Caribbean and Latin America (CALA) reveals insightful data about travel aspirations, priorities, and emerging trends for 2025. The survey, conducted by Marriott International CALA in partnership with the market research firm Appinio, provides a comprehensive look at the evolving travel landscape across generations, offering valuable insights for travel providers and industry stakeholder...
The Tricycle of Guest Service Excellence: A Perfect Model For Remarkable Experiences
Doug Kennedy | October 4, 2024
Complimentary Registration Now Open For Doug Kennedy’s Next Hospitality Training Webcast! Sponsored By Travel Outlook and Track Hospitality Software Register your team and participate live, or view the recording, of Doug Kennedy’s next 40-minute training webcast scheduled for Monday, October 21, from Noon – 12:45pm EST. REGISTER HERE “Speakers and trainers like me are always looking for new ways to represent intangible concepts,” said KTN President Doug Kennedy, “So I’m excited to share the model we use, a simple tricycle. I think it’s the perfect model to represent the components needed for a guest to have an overall ex...
Hilton Cabana Miami Beach Resort Debuts Multimillion-Dollar Property Renovation
Hilton Cabana Miami Beach | October 2, 2024
Miami Beach, Fla. – October 2, 2024 – Hilton Cabana Miami Beach Resort recently completed its multi-million-dollar renovation, unveiling transformed public spaces, refreshed guestrooms, a reimagined signature dining experience and more. Located in the exclusive Millionaire's Row neighborhood of Mid-Beach Miami, and part of the North Beach Resort Historic District, the boutique-style retreat is celebrating a decade as part of the Hilton’s Worldwide portfolio and, with a thoughtful approach to its recent renovations, continuing to pay homage to its storied history, which dates back to 1951. “This resort has served as an iconic dest...
Unpack 2025: The Trends in Travel from Expedia, Hotels.com, and Vrbo
Expedia Group | October 16, 2024
TORONTO--Today, Expedia Group unveiled Unpack ’25, the annual data-driven outlook for what’s motivating travellers and where they plan to go next year. Expedia Group analyzed first-party travel data insights from 25,000 travellers, and the latest industry innovation to ‘unpack’ eight noteworthy travel trends for 2025 that include Detour Destinations, Hotel Restaurant Renaissance, and JOMO (Joy of Missing Out) Travel and One-Click Trips, which will take travellers from looking at their next trip on Instagram or TikTok to booking it. “Expedia Group continuously works to blend technology with travel, making journeys simpler and m...
