Spokane Tribe Resort & Casino Partners With Travel Outlook to Elevate Guest Service Experience
Travel Outlook, The Premier Hotel Call Center™ | October 2, 2024
Debunking Common Myths About AI: Why Human Hotel Staff Are Still Irreplaceable
John Smallwood, President of Travel Outlook | September 17, 2024
Operations
Hospitality Industry Veteran Don DeMarinis to Join Agilysys as Senior Vice President of Sales, Americas
Agilysys | January 15, 2018
ALPHARETTA, GA. — January 15, 2018 — Agilysys, Inc. (Nasdaq: AGYS), a leading global provider of next-generation hospitality software solutions and services, today announced that Don DeMarinis has been named Senior Vice President of Sales, Americas, effective January 15, 2018. In his new role, DeMarinis' primary responsibilities will be to lead the company's Americas sales activities, designing innovative sales strategies, and accelerating revenue growth across Agilysys' vertical industry markets. He will report to Ramesh Srinivasan, President and Chief Executive Officer. DeMarinis joins Agilysys with extensive industry expe...
Statement from Arne Sorenson, President and CEO, Marriott International, Inc. Regarding Incidents Involving Business with China
Marriott International | January 11, 2018
Marriott International respects and supports the sovereignty and territorial integrity of China. Unfortunately, twice this week, we had incidents that suggested the opposite: First, by incorrectly labelling certain regions within China, including Tibet, as countries in a drop-down menu on a survey we sent out to our loyalty members; and second, in the careless "like" by an associate of a tweet that incorrectly suggested our support of this position. Nothing could be further from the truth: we don't support anyone who subverts the sovereignty and territorial integrity of China and we do not intend in any way to encourage or incite any su...
IHG Debuts in Algeria with Opening of 242-Room Holiday Inn Algiers – Cheraga Tower
January 10, 2018
New Delhi, India, 11th January, 2018: InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG®), one of the world's leading hotel companies, today announced the opening of Holiday Inn® Algiers – Cheraga Tower. This opening marks the company's debut in the country and with this addition, IHG now has 25 operational hotels across 9 countries in Africa. Featuring 242 well-equipped rooms, Holiday Inn® Algiers – Cheraga Tower is strategically located west of Algiers and is in close proximity to international business centres and embassies. Additionally, guests staying at the hotel will have easy access to popular tourist spots such as Down...
Hotel Trends in Technology for 2018
Larry Mogelonsky | January 10, 2018
By Larry Mogelonsky, MBA, P. Eng. (www.hotelmogel.com) We all know that the future holds many fascinating possibilities about what can be adapted to improve the overall guest experience. The question is what should be acquired and implemented. With this as a guide, I've selected the following hospitality technology trends for the coming year not wholly on wow factor but far more so on practicality and ROI. 1. Wielding Your CRM It's been a long road from simply trying to comprehend what a CRM is to full data terminal integration and leveraging the inferences based from these interconnections. In 2018, those ambitious hoteliers who have f...
A Top Priority in 2018: 7 Steps to Achieve Hotel Website Accessibility and ADA Compliance
the Author and HEBS Digital | January 10, 2018
By Max Starkov Background: There are approximately 48.9 million Americans with some form of disability. People with disabilities spend over $17.3 billion annually on travel, and the economic impact is at least double that figure since many of them travel with at least one or two other adults (Open Doors Organization). The vast majority of them use the Internet to plan and book travel. Many travel consumers with disabilities use desktops, tablets, smartphones and other devices to access the Internet with the help of assistive technologies, including text-to-speech screen readers, refreshable Braille displays, keyboard navigation, and cap...
Austria Trend Hotels, in Partnership with Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group, Open the Radisson Blu Park Royal Palace Hotel, Vienna
January 10, 2018
VIENNA / BRUSSELS - January 10, 2018 Radisson Blu, the iconic hotel brand driven by innovation and design, is proud to announce the opening of its second hotel in Vienna, Austria. The modern 233-room Radisson Blu Park Royal Palace Hotel, Vienna, a rebranding of an existing hotel, opened its doors under a new umbrella to offer memorable and unique experiences that meet the promises of the iconic, stylish and sophisticated hotel brand. The hotel is located next to Schönbrunn Palace – one of the most important cultural and historical monuments in the country. "The capital of Austria remains a focal market for our growth journey,...
Developed by BGR Mining & Infra Ltd., Hyatt Place Hyderabad/Banjara Hills Opens
Hyatt Place | January 10, 2018
CHICAGO (January 10, 2018) – Hyatt Hotels Corporation (NYSE: H) announced the opening of the first Hyatt Place hotel in Hyderabad, in the Indian state of Telangana. Developed by BGR Mining & Infra Ltd., Hyatt Place Hyderabad/Banjara Hills offers a fresh perspective on the uncomplicated stay experience that is a hallmark of the Hyatt Place brand. The Hyatt Place brand is rooted in extensive consumer insights indicating that guests seek stylish, comfortable, seamless experiences that accommodate guests' lifestyles and familiar routines. To embody this, the brand offers casual hospitality and purposeful service in a smartly desig...
Strand Hospitality Services Assumes Management of the Hampton Inn & Suites Navarre, Florida
Strand Hospitality Services | January 10, 2018
(Navarre, Fla.) January 10, 2018 – Strand Hospitality Services, a leading provider of hospitality operations, consulting and advisory services, recently announced that it has assumed management of the Hampton Inn & Suites Navarre, located at 7710 Navarre Parkway, Navarre, Florida. Ideally situated just three miles from the white sandy beaches of Florida's Emerald Coast between Pensacola and Destin, the hotel boasts 102 spacious guestrooms and suites with amenities such as; free Wi-Fi, an outdoor swimming pool, fitness center, business center and meeting space. The hotel also features a contemporary lobby which offers an appeal...
W Hotels Partners with Sekisui House for New 337-Room W Osaka in Japan Slated to Open 2021
W Hotels Worldwide | January 10, 2018
W is about to rise up in the Land of the Rising Sun. W Hotels Worldwide, part of Marriott International, today announced the signing of W Osaka, slated to open in 2021. Owned by Sekisui House, a long-standing partner of Marriott International, this opening will be the first-ever W in Japan. The 27-floor, new-build hotel will boast provocative and bold W design, sparking imagination in each of its 337 guestrooms and suites, electrifying restaurants and cocktail-centric bars. "In 2020, Japan will capture the global spotlight, welcoming nations from around the world to the country on a grand scale for the 2020 games. This is a great build ...
Serent Capital Invests in BirchStreet Systems, a Leader in Procure-to-Pay Business Solutions
BirchStreet Systems | January 10, 2018
San Francisco, CA – January 10, 2018 – Serent Capital, a San Francisco-based private equity firm focused on investing in high-growth technology and services businesses, has made a minority investment in BirchStreet Systems, the leading provider of cloud-based procure-to-pay automation software for customers in the hospitality, restaurant, and foodservice industries. BirchStreet's suite of solutions encompasses eProcurement, Accounts Payable Automation, Inventory Management, Recipe System Management, and Capital Projects. The software increases efficiency by streamlining many manual processes and creates a comprehensive, inte...
Paramount Lodging Advisors West Coast Office Sells California Courtyard by Marriott Land
Paramount Lodging Advisors | January 10, 2018
Paramount Lodging Advisors (PLA) has successfully executed the sale of a land parcel with approvals for a 122-room Courtyard by Marriott development located in Petaluma, California. Senior Managing Director Scott Griemsmann represented the seller in this transaction. The hotel itself will be part of the 35-acre "Riverfront" mixed use development. It is currently planned to include office, residential, retail, and 7.5 acres of open space. "We are very pleased with the results for this transaction. This is a great project in a high barrier to entry market that has easy access to Napa/Sonoma wine country and the San Francisco Bay Area. Thi...
Sage Hospitality Appoints Chaya Donne as Director of Sales and Roque Medina as Food & Beverage Director for Hotel Nia
Hotel Nia | January 9, 2018
(MENLO PARK, CA; January 9, 2017)—Hotel Nia (200 Independence Dr.), a luxury hotel located in the heart of Silicon Valley, announces Chaya Donne as Director of Sales and Marketing and Roque Medina as Food & Beverage Director. The 250-room property is scheduled to open spring 2018. Bringing over 25-years of sales experience and 22-years of hospitality experience to her role, Donne is responsible for all aspects of sales, including associate development, budget management and providing vision on both short and long-term strategies to achieve competitive financial goals. Medina brings over 23-years of domestic and international h...
TripAdvisor Reveals Travelers’ Choice Top Trending Travel Destinations for 2018
TripAdvisor | January 9, 2018
NEEDHAM, Mass., Jan. 9, 2018 -- TripAdvisor®, the travel site that helps find the latest reviews and lowest prices, today announced the Travelers' Choice® awards for Destinations on the Rise. The pristine blue waters and white sandy beaches of beautiful Ishigaki, Japan earned the ranking of number one in the world, while the small Hawaiian town of Kapaa, nestled at the base of Nounou Mountain on the picturesque island of Kauai ranked as the top rising spot in the U.S. The awards recognize 44 destinations around the world selected by measuring year-over-year increase in positive TripAdvisor traveler review ratings for accommo...
BENCHMARK® Named Best Hospitality Property Management Company-USA in Second Annual LUX Tourism Awards
January 9, 2018
UK's Luxury Lifestyle Magazine Honors Leaders in Tourism, Food & Wine, Art, Fashion The Woodlands (Houston), Texas, January 2018 … The UK's prominent luxury lifestyle magazine, LUX, has named BENCHMARK®, global hospitality company, Best Hospitality Property Management Company – USA for 2018. The honor was given as part of the magazine's Second Annual Tourism Awards. LUX Magazine honors global leaders in travel, hospitality, the arts, food and wine, fashion and interior design. The luxury publication is distributed to a readership of over 238,000 professionals across the globe. The LUX Tourism Awards 2018 recognize t...
IHG® Signs with H.n.H. Hotels & Resorts S.p.A. for Hotel Indigo® Venice – Sant’Elena
January 9, 2018
IHG® (InterContinental Hotels Group), one of the world's leading hotel companies, has announced the signing of Hotel Indigo® Venice - Sant'Elena. It is the third Hotel Indigo to be signed in Italy and will operate under a franchise agreement with H.n.H. Hotels & Resorts S.p.A. Due to open as a Hotel Indigo in 2019, Hotel Indigo Venice – Sant'Elena is located next to the canal 'Rio Sant' Elena' within walking distance to the Castello district, a 15-minute walk from St Marco Square. The Castello district is one of the quieter areas in Venice and is still inhabited by locals, allowing guests to enjoy an au...
StayNTouch Partners With First Hotels to Roll Out Its PMS Platform to 32 Hotels
StayNTouch Inc. | January 9, 2018
European Hotel group brings PMS mobility to its portfolio with StayNTouch's cloud-based PMS solutions Bethesda, MD – January 9th, 2017 – StayNTouch, an innovator in mobile technology and Property Management Systems (PMS) for hotels, is pleased to announce its partnership with First Hotels where it plans to deploy its Rover PMS™ and Zest™ products across its portfolio in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Iceland. The group has started rolling out the StayNTouch product suite to all of their 32 operated or owned hotels to be completed in early 2018, making the StayNTouch PMS the new brand standard for First Hotels. "We s...
Henan Longzhu Hotel Management Co. and Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group Enter Agreement for New Build Radisson Zhengzhou, China
Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group | January 8, 2018
Singapore - January 8, 2018 - Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group, one of the world's largest and most dynamic hotel groups, today announces the signing of a management agreement for Radisson Zhengzhou with Henan Longzhu Hotel Management Co., Ltd. Scheduled to open in the first quarter of 2022, the 210-key property is located at Zhengdong New District, Zhengzhou city in China. A capital city of Henan province, Zhengzhou is an emerging tier-one city that serves as a hub for the nation's railroad, aviation, highway, electric power, post and telecommunications. "Zhengzhou is an important economic epicenter in central China. Zhengdong New District ...
TripAdvisor and Google Going Opposite Directions?
Swell Hotel Marketing | January 8, 2018
Metasearch has been a trendy topic lately in one way or another. First, with the constant reports of TripAdvisor's Instant book disaster or that Google wants to take over the travel industry with their recent changes or even Booking.com shifting their budget from performance marketing (Google Ads and mainly metasearch) towards TV ads. TripAdvisor, as you all know, is the biggest travel website there is, with over 450 million monthly visitors. A few years back, TripAdvisor decided to become a price comparison website – displaying prices for individual hotels from online travel agencies, hotel chains and even independent hotels. For...
RLJ Lodging Trust Names Ryan Meliker Senior Vice President of Corporate Strategy and Investor Relations
RLJ Lodging Trust | January 5, 2018
BETHESDA, Md.--January 5, 2018--RLJ Lodging Trust (the "Company") (NYSE: RLJ) today announced that Ryan Meliker will be joining the Company as Senior Vice President, Corporate Strategy and Investor Relations, effective January 17, 2018. Mr. Meliker will report to Leslie D. Hale, the Company's Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer. "We are excited for Ryan to join the RLJ team. With more than 15 years of experience as a lodging and real estate research analyst, Ryan is well-known and highly regarded by the investment community," commented Ms. Hale. "Not only does he possess significant lodging industry experience, he also c...
Guest Experience: How is it Changing the Future of the Hotel Business?
Deepak Chauhan | January 4, 2018
by Deepak Chauhan It is no secret that the key players and successful marketing strategies change dramatically over short periods of time. Hoteliers who fail to keep up with the ever-changing pace fall behind. Since the hospitality business is highly competitive, it is crucial to explore and invest in the latest and most effective tools that will likely increase the booking of your hotel, and hence the revenue. OTAs and Changing the Game: With the launch of the World Wide Web, hoteliers knew that this was the route to go. Marketers started to work on SEO in order to grant their hotels more visibility. It was true then as it is true now,...
Waterford Hotel Group Promotes Arvin Berano to Director of Sales at Courtyard by Marriott Shelton in Connecticut
Courtyard by Marriott Shelton | January 3, 2018
WATERFORD, CT (January 3, 2018) - Waterford Hotel Group has announced the promotion of Arvin Berano to the Director of Sales at the Courtyard by Marriott in Shelton, Connecticut. The 161-room Courtyard Shelton is managed by Waterford Hotel Group, a national hotel and convention center management firm. In his new role, Berano is responsible for all sales activities, including seeking new accounts and growing existing client relationships. He joined the Courtyard Shelton team with more than 10 years of experience. His prior positions include Group Sales Manager at the Heritage Hotel Resort, Spa and Conference Center in Southbury, CT; Grou...
Bedford Lodging and Aimbridge Hospitality Open Dual-Branded Fairfield Inn & Suites and Residence Inn in Broomfield, Colorado
Fairfield Inn & Suites | January 3, 2018
Broomfield, Colorado – January 3, 2018 – Marriott International, Inc. today announced that a dual-branded 90-room Fairfield Inn & Suites and 122-suite Residence Inn property opened this December in Broomfield, Colorado. Located at 455 Zang Street, the hotel is owned by Bedford Lodging of Dallas, Texas and managed by Aimbridge Hospitality of Plano, Texas. The hotel features a mountain lodge themed décor, complete with earthy colors, rustic woods and natural textures. The property will share an outdoor swimming pool, a modern fitness center, an in-house movie room, a lobby bar, a complimentary shuttle and 3,110 squa...
Hotel Trends in F&B for 2018
Larry Mogelonsky | January 3, 2018
By Larry Mogelonsky, MBA, P. Eng. (www.hotelmogel.com) Just as they did a century ago, hotel restaurants have a mantle to uphold by striving to be culinary leaders in their respective locales. To do so in today's competitive foodservice landscape, however, requires constant ingenuity. Everyone knows about the big push to offer healthier options, incorporate any purported superfoods and raise the profile of local producers through farm-to-table programs. Much like nearly every other customer who will set food in your eatery, I would expect that your team already have those three well in hand. Below are five more to consider as the New Ye...
Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group and Balwa Group Open Radisson Mumbai Goregaon in India
Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group | December 28, 2017
Mumbai, India (December 28, 2017) – Radisson Mumbai Goregaon opens its doors to the financial capital of the country, Mumbai. Situated in the main commercial and retail hub of Goregaon suburb of Mumbai, the hotel is an upscale international branded hotel well suited for both business and leisure travelers alike. The hotel is surrounded by shopping districts, entertainment centers, tourist attractions, corporate set-ups and located in proximity to the international airport and Bombay Exhibition Centre. "We are pleased to announce the opening of Radisson Mumbai Goregaon as this hotel marks an important addition to the Radisson ...
