International Visitors Spent Nearly $20.1 Billion Traveling Within the United States in March
National Travel and Tourism Office (NTTO) | May 23rd, 2024
The Art of a Great Arrival for Luxury Hotels
Adam and Larry Mogelonsky | May 22nd, 2024
News Top: May
Junk Fees Are Banned in California as of July 1, 2024! What Does the California Junk Fee Law (SB 478) Mean?
Mark Adams | May 13, 2024
By Mark Adams California businesses brace for Senate Bill 478‘s impact. SB 478 was signed by Governor Newsom in October 2023 and became effective July 1, 2024. It cracks down on hidden fees, often referred to as “junk fees” and “drip pricing” (because the full cost is only disclosed drip by drip). It will likely change how businesses approach pricing strategies. Many say it is part of a nationwide response to President Joe Biden’s call to eliminate Junk Fees. What’s in a name? SB 478 or California Junk Fee Law? The confusion starts with how to reference the new law. Many refer to it by the Senate Bill number assigned w...
SSG Hotels Breaks Ground on New Staybridge Suites by IHG in Greenwood, IN
SSG Hotels | May 7, 2024
Greenwood, IN — [5.7.24] — SSG Hotels, a leading hospitality management company, is thrilled to announce the groundbreaking of its newest project: an 86 room Staybridge Suites by IHG in Greenwood, IN. This marks the company's second Staybridge Suites endeavor, promising to combine the latest prototype with locally inspired aesthetics for an unparalleled guest experience. About the Property: Staybridge Suites is an all-suite extended stay hotel that provides elevated residential experience with hotel amenities including complimentary breakfast buffet, light bites & happy hour, pool, fitness center, outdoor patio area, and business...
Q1 2024 Major U.S. Hotel Sales Survey
Daniel Lesser | May 2, 2024
By Daniel H. Lesser While the U.S. economy continues to expand and is currently a major driver of global growth, inflation has recently ticked up after falling considerably from a peak of 9.1% nearly two years ago. Many now perceive that in the near term, the U.S. Federal Reserve will not reduce borrowing costs, and some anticipate a resumption of raising rates by early 2025. Unless a severe economic downturn occurs, interest rates are likely to remain relatively elevated for an extended period. A tight labor market and strong household net worth have led to remarkable resilience in U.S. consumer spending as Americans continue to enjoy...
The St. Regis Longboat Key Resort Set for Summer 2024 Opening on Florida’s Gulf Coast
St. Regis Hotels & Resorts | May 9, 2024
LONGBOAT KEY, FL (May 9, 2024) - St. Regis Hotels & Resorts has officially announced that reservations are open for the highly anticipated opening of The St. Regis Longboat Key Resort, a beachfront oasis slated to open in Summer 2024. Developed by Unicorp and meticulously designed by SB Architects, Hirsch Bedner Associates (HBA Miami) and Dutch East Design, Longboat Key marks the only St. Regis opening in the U.S. in 2024, setting the tone for the brand’s expanding resort portfolio, known for redefining the best addresses around the world. Nestled on Sarasota’s most coveted barrier island, just beyond the city’s charming downtown, ...
StanCraft-Led Investor Group Acquires Templin’s on the River in Post Falls, Idaho
StanCraft | May 20, 2024
POST FALLS, Idaho--StanCraft, a Hayden, Idaho-based private family of companies, in partnership with an investor group, proudly announce the acquisition of Templin’s on the River in Post Falls, Idaho. Founded in 1986, Templin’s is a 167-room waterfront hotel, bar and marina. With new, supportive ownership, the hotel will be upgraded throughout 2024 and 2025, building on its current features with updated amenities, landscaping, lighting, and guest room enhancements. All food and beverage offerings will also be enhanced and relaunched with a strong guest service culture. “We are excited to bring StanCraft back to Post Falls and ...
The Store Opens in Former Oxford Department Store Building
The Store | May 15, 2024
OXFORD, ENGLAND (May 15, 2024) - Today, the vibrant luxury lifestyle hotel, The Store, opens its doors in the heart of Oxford and in the building of the former historic department store, Boswells. As one of the world’s oldest department stores, Boswells was family-owned and much-loved by the local community. The new hotel will bring the storied past of Boswells back to life and is set to become a new cultural hub in Oxford. In the tradition of great British department stores, it was a place of discovery - a treasure trove of toys, fashion, household essentials, and a well-known tearoom, and café. Now, reimagined as a luxury lifestyle h...
The Art of a Great Arrival for Luxury Hotels
Adam and Larry Mogelonsky | May 22, 2024
By Adam Mogelonsky, Larry Mogelonsky In the realm of luxury hotels, guests have a highly discerning eye. And as they say, first impressions are everything. Combining these two, it’s no surprise that resorts and other envious properties around the globe spent an inordinate amount of time and money on crafting a great arrival experience. Having the honor of working with some of these over the years, we can say that there are lessons for all that are replicable at the non-luxury level. To start, you must understand the luxury mindset – something we articulate in our ‘Mille Club’ designation and playbook for clients with ‘mille’...
Mountain View Grand Resort & Spa Debuts Multimillion-Dollar Renovation
MOUNTAIN VIEW GRAND RESORT & SPA | May 9, 2024
Whitefield, NH — Mountain View Grand Resort & Spa, a charming retreat nestled amid the picturesque peaks of New Hampshire’s famed White Mountains, has completed a multimillion-dollar renovation that redefines the resort experience. Blending thoughtful enhancements to the lobby, guest rooms, and restaurants with meticulous preservation of historical details and classic architectural elements, it’s a transformation that will carry Mountain View Grand into the future while honoring its cherished heritage. The elegant refresh also extends beyond physical improvements, with a new Tower Spa menu and wellness offerings, family-friendly p...
USALI 12th Revised Edition, Deep Dive: Highlights of Major Changes, Increased Transparency
HFTP | May 20, 2024
In the very near future, the lodging industry will have a brand-new edition of the Uniform System of Accounts for the Lodging Industry (USALI) — the 12th Revised Edition. This latest release has been meticulously updated with guiding principles to enhance transparency in reporting, broaden data sets to better inform decision-making, and align with contemporary practices. The revisions were written by the Global Finance Committee (GFC), a joint forum sponsored by Hospitality Finance and Technology Professionals (HFTP®) and the American Hotel and Lodging Association (AHLA). Members of the GFC consist of representatives from ownershi...
Hotel Cap Rates: Adjusting to a New Reality
Erich Baum | May 22, 2024
By Erich Baum A capitalization rate (“cap rate”) is a shorthand expression of a given investment’s return and represents the weighted average return to the debt and equity positions. As detailed in this article, hotel cap rates are higher than they’ve been in recent years and are unlikely to decline anytime soon. Component Parts A cap rate can be constructed using the “band-of-investment” technique, requiring assumptions as to both debt financing terms and the equity investor’s return requirement, measured by the dividend (cash on cash) rate. The following table identifies this technique using typical pre-pandemic inputs fo...
JW Marriott San Antonio Welcomes Doug Gennardo as General Manager
JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa | May 8, 2024
SAN ANTONIO - May 8, 2024 - JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa is pleased to introduce the resort’s new General Manager, Doug Gennardo. Doug Gennardo joins JW Marriott San Antonio as General Manager, following the retirement of Doug Ridge. Formerly Hotel Manager at the Gaylord Texan Resort and Convention Center, Doug's leadership has consistently delivered record-setting results within Marriott International. With a 35-year career spanning various strategic roles at several of Marriott’s leading luxury brands such as The Ritz-Carlton, JW Marriott and EDITION Hotels, Doug most recently achieved record-setting result...
Vision Hospitality Group Breaks Ground on Dual-Brand Home2 Suites and Tru By Hilton in Cleveland, TN
Vision Hospitality Group | May 8, 2024
CLEVELAND, Tennessee – May 8, 2024 – Vision Hospitality Group, Inc. breaks ground on a dual-brand Home2 Suites and Tru by Hilton in Cleveland, Tennessee. The groundbreaking ceremony, held on May 6, 2024, marks the commencement of construction on a dynamic hospitality venture set to drive further growth and meet the increasing demand in Cleveland. Strategically located at 4351 Frontage Rd NW, Cleveland, TN 37312, the forthcoming development will feature a combined total of 140 keys spanning five stories, promising guests a modern and welcoming environment. Notable amenities include 768 square feet of flexible meeting space and a refres...
Marina Inn at Grande Dunes Launches New Website
Marina Inn at Grande Dunes | May 15, 2024
Myrtle Beach, SC – May 15, 2024 – Marina Inn at Grande Dunes is excited to announce the launch of our newly redesigned website, now live at https://marinainnatgrandedunes.com. The revamped site offers a fresh, user-friendly design that perfectly captures the elegance and sophistication of our premier resort destination. Enhanced User Experience and Design Our new website showcases a modern, intuitive layout that enhances user experience, making it easier for guests to explore our world-class amenities, accommodations, and services. The site features stunning visuals, detailed information about our offerings, and seamless navigation ...
Affixify, the unbiased, cost-free, technology selection platform for hotels launches worldwide.
Affixify | May 9, 2024
Fort Worth, Texas, May 9, 2024-Affixify, an unbiased technology selection platform for hotels, is proud to announce their official launch into the hospitality space. Poised to become the new standard of hotel technology selection, the platform allows hoteliers to find the right software for them without having to rely on top-ten lists and biased opinions. Affixify uses an unbiased algorithm that takes the buyer’s required features and matches those to the available vendors who meet their buying criteria. Affixify has been praised as a “gift to the hospitality industry”. According to Founder and CEO, Jasmine Seliga, “We are the f...
Comstock Celebrates Topping Out of Virginia’s First JW Marriott Hotel and Residences
Comstock | May 13, 2024
Distinguished Guests Gather at Reston Station to Celebrate Major Milestone RESTON, Va.--Comstock Holding Companies, Inc. (Nasdaq: CHCI) (“Comstock”), a leading asset manager, developer, and operator of mixed-use and transit-oriented properties in the Washington, D.C. region announced the celebration of the topping out of Virginia’s first-ever JW Marriott Hotel and Residences on Wednesday, May 8th. The event, held on-site at 1800 Reston Row Plaza, commemorated the significant progress that has been made on the development of The Row at Reston Station. The JW Marriott Hotel and Residences will offer upscale accommodations and resid...
Sustainability Done Right with a Las Vegas Resort
Adam and Larry Mogelonsky | May 1, 2024
By Adam and Larry Mogelonsky Climate change is now at the forefront of people’s minds, while travel is continually cited as a major (and significantly, a discretionary) contributor to total carbon emissions. As such, every hotel brand needs a clear plan and must also be increasingly transparent about what’s been done to date to win hearts and minds. But every plan relies upon leadership, and with customer sentiment slowly shifting more and more towards ESG values (especially amongst the younger generations), this presents a clear case for carving out a sustainability role for every hotel. Of all the places to learn about how to succ...
Agilysys POS Platform Approved for Marriott International Properties in U.S. and Canada
Agilysys | May 10, 2024
– Cloud-Native InfoGenesis® Point-of-Sale Platform Approved as Option Across Marriott’s Luxury, Premium and Select Property Tiers – ALPHARETTA, GA — MAY 10, 2024 — Agilysys, Inc. (NASDAQ: AGYS), a leading global provider of hospitality software solutions and services, today announced Marriott International has selected the Agilysys point-of-sale platform InfoGenesis as an option for hotels in its portfolio across the U.S. and Canada. Hotels across Marriott’s Luxury, Premium and Select tiers in the United States and Canada can now leverage the guest-facing and staff-facing advantages of InfoGenesis across food-and-bever...
Prime Group Opens Residence Inn by Marriott Chicago Downtown Magnificent Mile
Residence Inn by Marriott | May 1, 2024
CHICAGO – May 1, 2024 – The 289-suite Residence Inn by Marriott Chicago Downtown Magnificent Mile is now open for business. Located at 101 East Erie Street, the all-suite property is owned by The Prime Group, Inc. and managed by Marriott International, Inc. General Manager Tommie Van and Director of Sales Sam Barnett lead the management team at the property. Residence Inn by Marriott Chicago Downtown Magnificent Mile is nestled in the heart of the Mag Mile, offering numerous shops, restaurants, and entertainment options, as well as the vibrant Millennium Park. The picturesque hotel offers guests convenient access to the Art Institut...
Pendry Park City Welcomes John Rolfs as New General Manager
Pendry Park City | May 6, 2024
Global hospitality leader joins Pendry Park City executive team PARK CITY, UTAH (May 6, 2024) – Pendry Hotels & Resorts is pleased to announce the appointment of John Rolfs to the role of general manager of Pendry Park City, the contemporary resort and residences located in the heart of Canyons Village. Rolfs joins the Pendry Hotels & Resorts family with more than 28 years of experience in hospitality, including over two decades with The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, most recently as general manager of St. Regis Bal Harbour Hotel. In his new role as general manager, Rolfs will oversee all aspects of resort operations for Pendry Par...
voco Sarasota Opens Following Official Rebrand and Renovation
IHG Hotels & Resorts | May 2, 2024
2 May 2024 (Sarasota, Fla.): voco hotels – part of IHG Hotels & Resorts, one of the world’s leading hotel companies – today announces the official opening of voco Sarasota following a recent rebrand and renovation. The 95-room hotel, managed by Aimbridge Hospitality LLC, marks voco’s second property in the sunshine state. The name, voco, originates from Latin, meaning ‘to invite’ and ‘call together’ – reflecting the brand’s thoughtful, unstuffy and charming nature. Located in the city’s Rosemary District and just steps from downtown, voco Sarasota combines familiar comforts of home with the indulgences of a hotel,...
OTA Savings by x·quic™ Announces Strategic Alliance With Preferred Travel Group
OTA Savings by x·quic™ | May 9, 2024
King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, May 9, 2024 – x·quic™, the leader in AI-powered online travel agent (OTA) reconciliation, is thrilled to announce its new partnership with Preferred Travel Group™ as an Alliance Partner. This collaboration gives Preferred Travel Group access to the most cutting-edge OTA reconciliation technology and services and allows Preferred Hotels to save time and money on OTA Commissions. Nimesh Shah, CEO of x·quic™, expressed his enthusiasm about the partnership: "Joining forces with Preferred Travel Group as Alliance Partners is a significant milestone for us. Our service is specifically designed for indepen...
McNeill Hotel Company (MHC) Names Irene Nelson General Manager at Marriott TownePlace Suites Hattiesburg, MS
McNeill Hotel Company | May 8, 2024
Germantown, Tennessee —May 8, 2024—Germantown, TN- based McNeill Hotel Company (MHC) today named Irene Nelson as General Manager at its TownePlace Suites Hattiesburg MS. MHC President Travis Murray made the announcement. With a strong background in the service industry, Nelson began her hospitality career with McNeill Hotel Company in 2018 in Housekeeping. She quickly moved to successive positions that have included Laundry Attendant, Houseperson, Breakfast, Front Desk Agent, Executive Housekeeper, and, most recently, Assistant General Manager at TownePlace Suites in Hattiesburg. In her new position, Nelson will be a direct report to M...
Emily Hotels Unveils Villa Torre Bianca in Polignano a Mare, Italy
Onni Group | May 8, 2024
Discover timeless elegance and tranquility at Emily Hotels’ newest European gem, ideal for group celebrations and luxurious villa vacations, offers paradise in Polignano a Mare POLIGNANO A MARE, ITALY (May 8, 2024) - Tucked among the stunning embrace of 2,400 olive trees and sprawling across a 20-hectare estate, Emily Hotels excitedly announces the opening of Villa Torre Bianca. Opening just in time for summer travels, celebrations or retreats, the historic villa was originally crafted as a resplendent summer abode in the 19th century. Villa Torre Bianca stands as a testament to timeless elegance and luxury and beckons discernin...
Hilton Appoints Dale MacPhee as General Manager of Conrad Washington, DC
Conrad Washington, DC | May 10, 2024
WASHINGTON – (May 10, 2024) – Today, Conrad Washington, DC announced Dale MacPhee as the new general manager of the luxury 360-room property. Boasting more than 30 years of experience in the hospitality industry, and with Hilton, MacPhee joins the property from Cairo, Egypt, where she most recently led the successful opening of Waldorf Astoria Cairo Heliopolis – the first Waldorf Astoria opening on the African continent. In her new role, MacPhee will lead the team in all aspects of hotel operations, from marketing and hotel administration to luxury hospitality, while delivering on Conrad Hotels & Resorts’ commitment to purpo...
A Closer Look at Hotel Interest Rates: Past and Future
Dan P. McCoy | May 30, 2024
By Daniel P. McCoy Over the past couple of months, it has become increasingly clear that interest rates for hotel financing, and just about everything else, may stay higher for longer. As markets adjust to this expectation, many investors are realizing that they may not be able to delay deals until rates drop back down to so-called “normal” levels. There is mounting pressure for financing decisions that will need to be made in the coming months. In this article, we have compiled and analyzed historical hotel interest rate data, as well as indications from the Federal Open Markets Committee (FOMC or “Fed”) on the anticipated direc...
