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
The Hotel Group Expands Portfolio with Addition of Two Montana Properties
The Hotel Group | February 23, 2017
Seattle, WA, February 23, 2017 — The Hotel Group, a nationally recognized Top 40 hotel management company, announced today the addition of the 92-room Residence Inn by Marriott Billings and the 150-room Radisson Colonial Hotel Helena bringing its third-party management portfolio to 38 properties in 11 states. Both properties have been recently renovated. The Residence Inn by Marriott Billings, in Billings, Montana offers guests a choice of extended stay accommodations from a deluxe studio, one or two-bedroom suites. The pet-friendly property features fully equipped kitchens with modern appliances, flat screen TVs, free Wi-Fi along...
sbe Names Matt Balcik as General Manager of Mondrian Doha and Area Managing Director Middle East
sbe | February 23, 2017
NEW YORK, Feb. 22, 2017 -- sbe, the leading lifestyle hospitality company that develops, manages and operates award-winning hospitality venues globally, today announced that senior executive Matt Balcik is joining the company as General Manager of Mondrian Doha and Area Managing Director Middle East. Opening in Spring 2017, Mondrian Doha will be sbe's first Middle East property and brings the energy and Sunset Strip vibe of the original Hollywood Mondrian to the West Bay Lagoon neighborhood of Doha. Balcik will oversee the daily operations of the hotel as well as manage the Middle East properties of sbe. "We welcome Matt to the...
RLJ Lodging Trust Reports Q4 & Full Year 2016 Results: Q4 Net Income Increased 2.0% to $75.8 Million; Pro Forma RevPAR Down 0.3%
RLJ Lodging Trust | February 23, 2017
BETHESDA, Md.--RLJ Lodging Trust (the "Company") (NYSE: RLJ) today reported results for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2016. Full Year Highlights Net income decreased 8.4% to $201.3 million Pro forma RevPAR increased 1.1%, driven by a Pro forma ADR increase of 1.1% Pro forma Hotel EBITDA Margin of 36.3% Pro forma Consolidated Hotel EBITDA increased 4.1% to $400.3 million Adjusted FFO increased 2.5% to $332.7 million Sold two New York City hotels for $285.8 million and two non-core hotels for $15.7 million Refinanced over $1.0 billion of debt; extended maturities, improved pricing, and enhanced financial covenants Distr...
Leadership; “Debunking a Myth” & “The Importance of Communication”
Ken Greger | February 23, 2017
By: Ken Greger Wow – with digital and other technology colliding with nearly every aspect of hospitality, it not only makes one's head spin, but it pushes our industry to speed way the heck up, which is new to the hotel business, versus the tech world where it's all about speed. Now, we are used to electronic communication and instant gratification via email, texting, Instagram, Skype and a host of other mobile and Web applications that have become fully integrated into our work and personal lives. In fact, these things have become dominant to the degree that some of us in leadership may be forgetting about a long-standing system ...
Is Technological Ageism an Issue in Hospitality?
Larry Mogelonsky | February 23, 2017
By Larry Mogelonsky, MBA, P. Eng. (www.lma.ca) Ageism has always been a part of our social fabric, but whereas in the past it was standard to venerate the old for their experience and sagacity, nowadays the situation has been flipped somewhat due to the rapid proliferation of technology. With all the new devices, new media and new apps, it has become increasingly difficult for those who are proverbially 'set in their ways' and without young, sponge-like brains to keep up. Much like how we abridge complex social stratifications into 'the have and the have-nots', we are likewise experiencing a generational movement with regard to 'the tec...
Aimbridge Hospitality Promotes Brad Frazier to Senior Vice President of Sales-Premium Select Service and Channel Point
Aimbridge Hospitality | February 22, 2017
Dallas, Texas (February 22, 2017) — Aimbridge Hospitality announces the promotion of Brad Frazier to Senior Vice President of Sales-Premium Select Service and Channel Point. During his 13-year career at Aimbridge, Brad continues to be an integral part of the organization, holding positions including Regional Director of Sales, Regional Vice President and most recently as Vice President of Sales for Aimbridge Hospitality. Brad has played a key role in developing and executing sales strategies that continue to make Aimbridge Hospitality the finest sales organization in the industry. "Brad continues to demonstrate superior leadership...
AccorHotels Reports Strong Earnings Growth in 2016; Outlines New Platform on AccorInvest
AccorHotels | February 22, 2017
Revenue up 0.9% to €5,631 million (+2.2% LFL) EBIT up 4.6% to €696 million (+3.8% LFL) Net profit up 8.1% to €266 million Sébastien Bazin, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of AccorHotels, said: AccorHotels has posted an excellent performance for 2016 in a challenging environment, in particular with record levels of EBIT and numbers of hotel rooms opened. Thanks to the efforts made by our teams around the world, we have implemented strong operational levers, which enabled growth in earnings to outpace that in revenue. We have ventured out to conquer new markets and offer new services thereby consolidating our ...
Maestro PMS Cloud Hosted Option Frees Full Service Independent Operators to be Hoteliers Again
Maestro PMS | February 22, 2017
Single and Multi-Property Operators Give Enterprise System Responsibility to Maestro Cloud PMS: Ease of Use, Centralized Remote Management Access, Lower Costs Lead List of Benefits February 22, 2017 – "Columbia Hospitality took its first property to the cloud on Maestro PMS hotel management software in 2008. We migrated to the cloud system because we are a hospitality company, not a technology outfit," said Columbia Hospitality Director of Operations Alan Stephens. "That first property was our Talaris Conference Center that uses the integrated Maestro Front Office and Sales & Catering. Today we have five properties on Maestro'...
Concord Hospitality Breaks Ground on Pittsburgh’s First Autograph Collection® Hotel, The Oaklander Hotel
Concord Hospitality Enterprises Company | February 21, 2017
PITTSBURGH (February 21, 2017) – Concord Hospitality announced today that it plans to open Pittsburgh's first Autograph Collection® Hotel in the heart of the Oakland neighborhood. Construction began on the 167-room property, The Oaklander Hotel, last month. The development team is led by Oakland Fifth Avenue Hotel Associates LP, a partnership between Concord and Callay Capital. The new hotel will be located centrally to the University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University, Carlow College and University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, and is expected to open fall 2018. An Oakland original, the property will be a nod to the ci...
sbe to Introduce Mondrian Brand in the Middle East with the 270-room Mondrian Doha in Qatar
sbe | February 21, 2017
NEW YORK, Feb. 21, 2017 -- sbe, the leading lifestyle hospitality company that develops, manages and operates award-winning hospitality venues globally, will open its first hotel in the Middle East with the launch of Mondrian Doha, Qatar in spring (quarter two), 2017. This soft opening will set the stage for Mondrian Doha's grand opening celebration, which follows in late September, 2017 and promises to be an outstanding showcase of the property. The lavish 270-room hotel has been designed in collaboration with world-renowned Dutch designer, Marcel Wanders, along with South West Architecture - the architectural company of record for...
Cultural Sensitivity Core to Business Success
Mark Satterfield | February 20, 2017
By Mark Satterfield, Chief Operating Officer Africa & MEA Continent Lodging Services, Marriott International, Inc. A changing world means changing travel patterns, and the hospitality industry has to adapt – or face the risk of not connecting with the travelers of tomorrow. For the past 20 to 30 years, a growing middle class and improved airlift has resulted in a host of new outbound travel markets: including young people from countries that previously restricted their citizens from travel who now have the freedom of movement their parents could only dream of. In many cases today, they are taking full advantage of it. China i...
Knoxville to Welcome The Tennessean Hotel as Part of Benchmark’s Gemstone Collection
February 20, 2017
The Woodlands (Houston), Texas (February 20, 2017) – The TENNESSEAN Hotel, a premier luxury hotel, will open in Downtown Knoxville this April as part of the Gemstone Collection brand of BENCHMARK®, a global hospitality company. Benchmark will operate the property, which boasts 82 guest rooms and 12 luxury residences in the World's Fair Park. The park sits on the perimeter of the University of Tennessee campus, a strong partner of the new hotel. "Knoxville is a vibrant, thriving hub for business and leisure travel and now one of the hottest hotel markets in the US," said Alex Cabañas, CEO of Benchmark. "The TENNESSEAN Ho...
Hotel Equities Opens 105-Room Fairfield Inn & Suites in Uncasville, Connecticut
Hotel Equities | February 16, 2017
Uncasville, CT/Atlanta–February 16, 2017– Atlanta-based Hotel Equities (HE) announced the opening of the 105-room Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott Uncasville, Connecticut. Located at 2255 Norwich New London Turnpike, the fully renovated hotel operates as a Marriott franchise, managed by Hotel Equities. Lynn Nazarko serves as the General Manager. The extensive renovation rendered every aspect of the hotel fresh and new. The guest experience will be as if walking into a brand new, latest generation Fairfield Inn and Suites. It's the first Fairfield Inn & Suites in the area to feature the brand's new design and d&...
Choice Hotels Reports Q4 Net Income of $31.8 million and $139.4 million for Full Year; Q4 Domestic RevPAR Increased 5%
Choice Hotels | February 16, 2017
ROCKVILLE, Md., Feb. 15, 2017 -- Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE: CHH) today reported its results for the three months and year ended December 31, 2016. Net income for the fourth quarter of 2016 was $31.8 million or $0.56 per diluted share, compared with $29.2 million or $0.51 per diluted share for the fourth quarter of 2015. Fourth quarter adjusted earnings before income taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) was $56.0 million, compared with $50.6 million in the prior year, an increase of 11 percent. "We are pleased to report another record year of revenue, operating income and net income performance. 2016 was a str...
Marriott International Reports Q4 Net Income of $244 million, a 21% Increase Over Prior Year; Constant Dollar RevPAR Grew 0.8% in Q4 and 1.8% for the
Marriott International | February 16, 2017
Fourth quarter reported diluted EPS totaled $0.62, a 19 percent decrease over prior year results. Fourth quarter adjusted diluted EPS totaled $0.85, a 20 percent increase over fourth quarter 2015 combined results. Adjusted 2016 fourth quarter results exclude merger-related costs. Combined 2015 fourth quarter results assume Marriott's acquisition of Starwood and Starwood's sale of its timeshare business had been completed on January 1, 2015; North American comparable systemwide constant dollar RevPAR rose 1.1 percent in the 2016 fourth quarter, while worldwide comparable systemwide constant dollar RevPAR rose 0.8 percent; Duri...
Hyatt Reports Q4 2016 Net Income of $41 million Compared to $37 million in Q4 2015; U.S. and Systemwide Comparable RevPAR Increased 2.4% and 2.0 %
Hyatt Hotels Corporation | February 16, 2017
Hyatt Hotels Corporation expects a relatively flat 2017, with revenue per available room projected to grow 2% or less year over year. CHICAGO (February 16, 2017) - Hyatt Hotels Corporation ("Hyatt" or the "Company") (NYSE: H) today reported fourth quarter 2016 financial results. Net income attributable to Hyatt was $41 million, or $0.31 per diluted share, in the fourth quarter of 2016, compared to $37 million, or $0.26 per diluted share, in the fourth quarter of 2015. Adjusted net income attributable to Hyatt was $39 million, or $0.29 per diluted share, in the fourth quarter of 2016, compared to $30 million, or $0.21...
Hilton Worldwide Reports a Q4 2016 Loss of $382 Million; Net Income for Full Year was $364 Million
Hilton Worldwide | February 15, 2017
MCLEAN, Va. - Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. ("Hilton," or the "Company") (NYSE: HLT) today reported its fourth quarter and full year 2016 results. The Company completed the spin-off of Park Hotels & Resorts Inc. ("Park") and Hilton Grand Vacations Inc. ("HGV") (the "spin-offs") in January 2017. All results herein present the performance of Hilton without giving effect to the spin-offs, unless otherwise specified. Additionally, all share and share-related information presented herein have been retroactively adjusted to reflect the 1-for-3 reverse stock split of Hilton's outstandi...
Hard Rock International to Launch Hard Rock Hotel Shenzhen Marking Brand’s First Mainland China Property
Hard Rock International | February 15, 2017
Hard Rock Hotels announces the launch of its first hotel in China, Hard Rock Hotel Shenzhen. Slated to open in summer 2017, the new Hard Rock property will offer a luxury stay for modern travelers who are seeking a reprieve from traditional accommodations. Blending pop culture and premium hospitality, Hard Rock Hotel Shenzhen promises a host of world-class leisure, dining and entertainment options and the thread that unites them all – music. Destined to become a new landmark in the Guangdong region, Hard Rock Hotel Shenzhen will continue the brand's tradition of presenting memorable moments through music. Whether a guest prefe...
What’s Your Opinion on Tattoos in the Hotel Workplace
Larry Mogelonsky | February 15, 2017
By Larry Mogelonsky, MBA, P. Eng. (www.lma.ca) This is a topic you should definitely review with your HR director. Does a sentence appear in your hiring policy to specify whether or not a candidate is permitted to have any visible tattoos? Or, while unwritten, have you or someone within your organization ever dismissed potential applicants outright on this basis? If you have answered affirmatively to either of these two statements, it may be time to re-evaluate your hiring practices. While discriminatory cases involving skin art have yet to reach the spotlight in our court systems, modifying an outright ban in your internal policies is ...
The Independent Hotel’s Guide to Engaging and Retaining Guests
the Author and HeBS Digital | February 13, 2017
By Sara O'Brien Recently, a small hotel group asked us an extremely smart and on-point question: "How do I create a loyalty program that is not a loyalty program?" They understood that while major brands such as Hilton, Marriott, Accor Hotels, and Choice Hotels International spend millions in infrastructure and technology to support a complex loyalty program that they cannot replicate, there is still a need to recognize, engage and retain guests. Fortunately, a much simpler and cost-effective approach is available for independent properties to drive more direct relationships with consumers and reap the direct booking benefits of a loyal...
Marcy Miles Joins sbe as Senior Vice President Sales and Marketing for the Americas, Europe and Middle East
sbe | February 10, 2017
NEW YORK, Feb. 10, 2017 -- sbe, the leading lifestyle hospitality company that develops, manages and operates award-winning hospitality venues globally, today named Marcy Miles as Senior Vice President Sales and Marketing for the Americas, Europe and Middle East. In her new role, Miles will develop and manage the sales and marketing strategy across the sbe platform in the Americas, European and Middle Eastern markets as well as be responsible for delivering revenue growth. "With over 20 years of experience in the hospitality industry, we are excited to welcome Marcy to our team," stated Jorge Giannattasio, Chief Operating Offi...
Year in Review: HeBS Digital Achieved 2200% ROI and an Average Direct Distribution Cost of 4.5% for Its Hotel Partners in 2016
HeBS Digital | February 10, 2017
New York, NY – February 10, 2017 – The results are in: the firm that has put driving direct bookings first for 15 years generated an average 2200% ROI and 4.5% direct distribution cost for its hotel partners last year. By increasing their direct bookings and lowering distribution costs, hoteliers across the globe saw their investment in HeBS Digital returned to them at a rate of 22 to 1. Compared to standard OTA commissions of 18-25%, these numbers leave no doubt the direct online channel is the most cost-effective channel for hoteliers today. Through best-of-breed digital technology, consulting, and marketing, the direct on...
Dream Hotel Group Appoints Marie Palomba Director of Sales for The Time Nyack
The Time Nyack | February 8, 2017
NYACK, NY - February 8, 2017 - The Time Nyack, the first and only lifestyle hotel in the Hudson Valley, announces the addition of Marie Palomba as Director of Sales to its management team. "We are thrilled to have Marie join our growing team in Nyack," said Kanvar Singh, Area Managing Director, Time Hotels. "She bring a wealth of knowledge, experience and expertise to the Hudson Valley and will undoubtedly prove to be invaluable additions in helping us reach our goals, especially as we enter our second year of operation this spring." As Director of Sales, Marie Palomba oversees all sales efforts for the 133-room prop...
Maestro PMS Announces 2017 Software Roadmap for Independent Operators
Maestro PMS | February 8, 2017
Handheld Tools for Guest Interaction, Streamlined Workflow for Higher Productivity, Tablet Enhancements for Personalized Service, and Direct Booking Flexibility Give Independents an Edge February 8, 2017 – Maestro PMS, the preferred hotel management system provider for leading independent resorts, hotels, condos, and multi-property groups, revealed its 2017 software development roadmap. Maestro will enhance its suite of 20+ integrated modules with advanced tools for handheld mobile guest interaction, tablet use, direct booking, and Spa system functionality. New solutions include: Handheld on-property 2-way guest communication t...
