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
Meyer Jabara Hotels Continues Growth Trajectory With Chas Henry Leading Its Development, Acquisitions Effort
Meyer Jabara Hotels | March 13, 2024
New ‘SVP of Business Development and Acquisitions’ to focus on growing the ownership group’s third-party management contracts [Danbury, Conn., March 13, 2024] — Meyer Jabara Hotels is on a mission. Recently, the owner/operator of 31 hotels hired an investment expert to source acquisition opportunities, equity investors, and debt financing. Today, Chas Henry joins the company as Senior VP of Business Development and Acquisitions. Henry is tasked with growing the company’s third-party management contracts and spreading the word that Meyer Jabara Hotels is exceptional at operating hotels for ownership groups looking to diversify the...
Industry-Leading Finance Technology To Be On Display at ‘Hunter Hotel Investment Conference’
Aptech | March 13, 2024
As a Silver Sponsor, Aptech will showcase the latest in enterprise accounting, business intelligence, and budgeting/forecasting automation in Booth #812 PITTSBURGH, March 13, 2024 — With relationship building always top of mind, Aptech will be exhibiting at the 35th Annual Hunter Hotel Investment Conference to display its integrated enterprise accounting, business intelligence, and budgeting/forecasting software for hotels. To be held March 19 to 21 at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis, the event is designed to foster networking and create connections. In addition to learning about upcoming investment trends and connecting to the indust...
Knowland Reports Tampa-St. Petersburg Florida Market Sees 20 Percent Year-Over-Year Growth in February
Knowland | March 13, 2024
National Associations and Technology groups lead in four out of five markets ARLINGTON, Va. — March 13, 2024 — Knowland, the world’s leading provider of data-as-a-service insights on meetings and events for hospitality, reported the Tampa-St. Petersburg, Fla. market led in meetings and events growth for top 25 markets in February with 20 percent year-over-year growth. Denver and Boston came in second and third, while National Associations and Technology groups led in four of the five top markets. This data is sourced from Knowland’s sales intelligence platform and designed to help hoteliers protect and grow their revenue base. ...
Record-High Room Rates in Melbourne, Sydney Driven by the Eras Tour
CoStar Group | March 12, 2024
WASHINGTON – 12 March 2024 – Boosted by Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, the hotel industries in both Sydney and Melbourne posted their highest average daily rate (ADR) for any month on record, according to February preliminary data from CoStar. CoStar is a leading provider of online real estate marketplaces, information, and analytics in the property markets. Melbourne February 2024 (year-over-year % change): Occupancy: 78.1% (+8.5%) Average daily rate (ADR): AUD244.80 (+11.4%) Revenue per available room (RevPAR): AUD191.18 (+20.9%) Melbourne’s daily occupancy levels remained above the 70.0% mark throughout the month ...
Jaime Montes de Oca Appointed Executive Chef for Fairmont Washington, D.C., Georgetown
Fairmont Washington, D.C., Georgetown | March 12, 2024
WASHINGTON, DC – March 12, 2024 - Jaime Montes de Oca was appointed executive chef for Fairmont Washington, D.C., Georgetown. The announcement comes from Mark Huntley, general manager and regional vice president of the 413-room luxury hotel. A native of New York and a 20-year culinary veteran, Chef Montes de Oca boasts an impressive and all-encompassing resume, achieved through hard work, determination, and an innate ability to consistently innovate. Chef Montes de Oca describes his style as modern American with an Asian Influence. He sources locally and seasonally, and has a minimalist approach to taste and texture, letting ingredient...
Marriott International Brings Newly Debuted Marriott Hotels All-Inclusive to The Dominican Republic With New Resort Signing
Marriott International | March 12, 2024
Plantation, Fla. March 12, 2024 – Marriott International in the Caribbean and Latin America announced today the latest addition to its All-Inclusive by Marriott Bonvoy portfolio with the signing of Marriott Miches Beach, An All-Inclusive Resort, currently the Sunrise Miches Beach Resort in Dominican Republic. Set to undergo a conversion process commencing in the second quarter of 2024, the resort is slated to open its doors under the Marriott Hotels brand in the first quarter of 2025. Nestled on a sprawling 62-acre site in the enchanting locale of Miches, within a 60-minute ride distance of the Punta Cana International Airport, the reso...
Zel to Open Its Second Hotel in Spain on The Costa Brava This Summer
Meliá Hotels International | March 12, 2024
The brand created by Meliá Hotels International and Rafael Nadal will bring its innovative "Mediterranean House" concept to the crystal-clear waters of Tossa de Mar Palma de Mallorca, March 12, 2024. Zel, the hotel brand created by Meliá Hotels International and Rafael Nadal, has announced new expansion plans, as previously announced at Fitur by Meliá's Chairman and CEO, Gabriel Escarrer. He announced the brand's upcoming destinations, with the second Zel project set to open on the Costa Brava this summer, followed by new hotels in Madrid, Sayulita (Mexico), and Punta Cana (Dominican Republic) in 2025. Zel opened its first hotel in Mall...
Noble House Hotels & Resorts Names Martin Greenwood as New Area Managing Director for Two Naples Hotels
Noble House Hotels & Resorts | March 12, 2024
NAPLES, Fla. (March 12, 2024) – Noble House Hotels & Resorts is pleased to announce the appointment of Martin Greenwood to Area Managing Director of LaPlaya Beach & Golf Resort and Inn on Fifth. In his new role, Greenwood will be responsible for overseeing all resort operations and profitability, training and development of hotel leadership teams, and reinforcing providing day-to-day support for hospitality needs at both Naples-based boutique luxury properties. “ We are thrilled to welcome Martin to LaPlaya and Inn on Fifth’s family as our new area general manager,” said Linda Menshon, area director of sales and ma...
Mortenson Development to Break Ground on Motto by Hilton in Nashville’s SoBro Neighborhood
Mortenson | March 12, 2024
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – (March 12, 2024) – A new lifestyle hotel is coming to the popular South of Broadway (SoBro) neighborhood in Nashville. Mortenson Development has purchased the site located at 311 3rd Avenue, closed on its construction financing, and will start construction later this month. This is the first Motto by Hilton in the Nashville area. Motto by Hilton is a lifestyle brand that empowers guests by giving them added flexibility to create their own stay experiences in the world’s most sought-after cities. Located in the heart of the SoBro neighborhood, the hotel site is three blocks south of the famous Broadway Street and is...
Expotel Hospitality Launches $1.2 Million Property Upgrade at Hilton Garden Inn Pascagoula
Expotel Hospitality | March 12, 2024
Pascagoula, Mississippi– March 12, 2024 – As the Hilton Garden Inn Pascagoula hotel celebrates its 10-year anniversary, Expotel Hospitality announced that it has begun a $1.2 million renovation to the 119-room property, located at 2703 Denny Avenue. The 6-month project includes updates to hotel rooms, lobby and restaurant areas, fitness room, patio area, grand ballroom and hallways. “For the past ten years, The Hilton Garden Inn Pascagoula has been providing guests with an exceptional travel experience,” said Morris Strickland, owner. “During that time, we have also valued the strong support of our local community. These renovat...
Ashford Hospitality Trust Completes Sale of Residence Inn Salt Lake City
Ashford Hospitality Trust | March 12, 2024
DALLAS, March 12, 2024 -- Ashford Hospitality Trust, Inc. (NYSE: AHT) ("Ashford Trust" or the "Company") today announced that it has closed on the sale of the 144-room Residence Inn located in Salt Lake City, Utah (the "Hotel") for $19.2 million. When adjusted for the Company's anticipated capital expenditures, the sale price represented a 4.6% capitalization rate on 2023 net operating income, or 18.2x 2023 Hotel EBITDA. Excluding the anticipated capital spend, the sale price represented a 6.0% capitalization rate on 2023 net operating income, or 14.0x 2023 Hotel EBITDA. All of the proceeds from the sale were used to pay down debt....
American Express Reveals 2024 Top Travel Trends
American Express | March 12, 2024
New York – March 12, 2024: American Express Travel® released its 2024 Global Travel Trends Report1 today, highlighting the inspiration and trends driving global travel bookings this year. The report, based on survey data from travelers in the United States, Australia, Canada, India, Japan, Mexico, and the United Kingdom, found that 84% of respondents plan to spend more or the same amount of money on travel in 2024 compared to last year. Additionally, 77% of respondents care more about having the right travel experience than about the cost of the trip. The four trends driving booking decisions are: For the Love of the Game: ...
Hyatt to Debut the Andaz Brand in Florida With Vibrant Miami Beach Haven
Andaz | March 12, 2024
Following a property-wide renovation, luxury lifestyle hotel Andaz Miami Beach is slated to open in late 2024, with reimagined spaces, programming and a new culinary collaboration with Jose Andrés Group. MIAMI BEACH, Fla. (March 11, 2024) – Hyatt Hotels Corporation (NYSE: H) announced an update on the anticipated renovation of The Confidante Miami Beach and its complete transformation into the new Andaz Miami Beach, which is slated to open in the fourth quarter of 2024. The new hotel, which is owned by Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc., will go beyond the familiar to discover and define guests’ personal essence while immersing themselv...
Tru by Hilton Expands to New York City With Opening in Brooklyn
Hilton | March 12, 2024
BROOKLYN, N.Y. - Tru by Hilton, Hilton's innovative, midscale hotel brand, announced the expansion of the brand to New York City with the grand opening of its newest property, Tru by Hilton Brooklyn. Nestled just one block from the vibrant Park Slope neighborhood, this contemporary hotel offers an ultramodern and lively lodging option for both business and leisure travelers alike. Boasting 101 well-appointed rooms, Tru by Hilton Brooklyn provides guests with an ultramodern and efficient space designed to maximize comfort and functionality. Each room features the brand's signature amenities, including large HDTVs, premium bedding, spaci...
SalesAndCatering.com Launches New Data Intelligence Suite for STS Cloud
SalesAndCatering.com | March 12, 2024
Single and multi-property operators speed group sales, drive revenue with actionable intelligence and insightful visualizations to address performance, trends, pipeline gaps and hit forecasts Charleston, SC – (March 12, 2024) –SalesAndCatering.com, a leading provider of sales and catering software solutions, announced today the launch of their new Data Intelligence Suite for STS Cloud. This groundbreaking suite brings advanced data analytics capabilities to the STS Cloud platform, empowering single and multi-property operators with valuable insights that drive informed decision-making and efficiently close more profitable group busines...
Pebblebrook Hotel Trust Announces the 12th Annual Pebby Award Winners
Pebblebrook Hotel Trust | March 12, 2024
Celebrating the Year’s Best Hotels HOLLYWOOD, Calif.--Pebblebrook Hotel Trust (NYSE: PEB) (the “Company” or “Pebblebrook”) today announced the winners of its Twelfth Annual Pebby Awards. The Pebby Award winners were chosen for their outstanding accomplishments in 2023, as determined by Pebblebrook’s selection committee. “As we celebrate our twelfth year of the Pebby Awards, we’ve witnessed an unprecedented level of competition and excellence,” said Jon E. Bortz, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Pebblebrook Hotel Trust. “Our hotel teams have consistently exemplified exceptional performance and leadership, and it...
International Visitors Spent $19.7 Billion in the United States in January 2024
National Travel and Tourism Office | March 12, 2024
Data recently released by the National Travel and Tourism Office (NTTO) show that in January 2024: • International visitors spent nearly $19.7 billion on travel to, and tourism-related activities within the United States, an increase of more than 23 percent compared to January 2023 and the highest level of monthly spending since December 2019. In fact, monthly U.S. travel and tourism exports are within $1.1 billion of their highwater mark set back in March 2018 when international visitors spent an appreciable $20.8 billion exploring the United States. • Conversely, Americans spent more than $19.0 billion traveling abroad during Jan...
IRIS Mobile Ordering Selected by Kimpton Overland Hotel Atlanta Airport to Revolutionize the Room Service Experience
IRIS | March 12, 2024
The luxury hotel, part of IHG, deploys IRIS’ mobile ordering to enhance the guest experience, boost F&B revenue and streamline processes IRIS, a global market leader in digital F&B ordering, guest directory and concierge solutions for hotels and restaurants, has been selected by Kimpton Overland Hotel Atlanta Airport, to elevate its room service operations with mobile dining, offering guests a more convenient and expedited F&B ordering experience. The sleek and modern hotel, which is part of IHG Hotels and Resorts and located next to Atlanta International Airport and the Porsche Driving Experience, boasts 214 guest rooms, ...
Report: Hospitality Careers Are in Demand, Outpacing National Projected Growth
The AHLA Foundation | March 12, 2024
Over the next five years, demand for hotel industry jobs projected to be 50% higher than national average WASHINGTON (March 12, 2024) – Recent research commissioned by AHLA Foundation, the charitable arm of the American Hotel and Lodging Association (AHLA), projects robust demand for hotel industry jobs over the next five years, outpacing overall market job growth. The AHLA Foundation asked Lightcast, a leading labor market analytic firm, for data on demographic and growth trends that would help identify and map career pathways in the hotel and lodging industry. In addition to a report, the result of the research is a dynamic, inter...
The New Frontier of In-Room Tablets + AI Is Here and It’s Impacting Hotel Operations, Starting With Housekeeping
Neil Schubert | March 12, 2024
AI-powered tablets can enable housekeepers to fill service requests, update room status, pinpoint their location in an emergency and more via voice command in multiple languages By Neil Schubert Imagine a businessman traveling from Italy to America. Upon entering his room for the first time, the man is greeted by name by an AI concierge who proceeds to converse with him in his native language, (i.e. Italian). The woman on screen is speaking fluent Italian, but he detects a slight American accent. He begins to converse with her, asking if she could help him order food. A room-service ordering screen appears, but the woman says she can take h...
All Aboard: How Intuitive PMS Tools Are Improving PMS Training and Adoption
Warren Dehan | March 12, 2024
A hotel’s property-management system opens operators up to new worlds of potential capabilities, operating strategies, efficiencies, and more By Warren Dehan When it comes time to invest in a new property management system, independent hoteliers have no need to panic. Such an investment is often daunting financially and operationally, but modern PMS providers skilled at working with independent hoteliers are providing more reliable support and a more robust roadmap for success when onboarding new technology through expanded training tools, support, and an eye for detail. Independent operators have historically struggled to stay com...
Amadeus and Duetto Expand Collaboration
Duetto | March 12, 2024
Hotel tech leaders expand partnership to deliver greater insights and efficiencies for hotel revenue teams. March 12, 2024 - Duetto, the leader in cloud-based Revenue Strategy solutions, and Amadeus, a leading global travel industry technology partner, today announce an expansion to their strategic relationship. The evolution will provide Duetto customers with seamless access to data from Amadeus' Demand360+® and RevenueStrategy360+® solutions directly within the Duetto platform, enabling hoteliers to make smarter, data-driven decisions to optimize their business. The expanded partnership will enable Duetto customers to: • Gain a...
Wyndham Board of Directors Sends Letter to Shareholders Highlighting Clear Path to Deliver Value Substantially in Excess of Choice’s Inadequate
Wyndham Hotels & Resorts | March 11, 2024
Urges Shareholders to Protect Their Investment and the Future of Wyndham by Supporting Only Wyndham's Eight Highly-Qualified Director Nominees Encourages Shareholders to Visit StayWyndham.com for More Information PARSIPPANY, N.J., March 11, 2024 -- The Board of Directors of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts (NYSE: WH) ("Wyndham" or the "Company"), the world's largest hotel franchising company with approximately 9,200 hotels spanning more than 95 countries, sent a letter to shareholders urging them to protect their investment and the future of Wyndham by supporting only Wyndham's eight highly-qualified Director nominees and not the nominees fr...
Wyndham Comments on Expiration of Choice’s Unsolicited Exchange Offer and Withdrawal of Director Nominees
Wyndham Hotels & Resorts | March 11, 2024
PARSIPPANY, N.J., March 11, 2024 -- Wyndham Hotels & Resorts (NYSE: WH) ("Wyndham") today commented on the expiration of Choice Hotels International, Inc.'s (NYSE: CHH) ("Choice") exchange offer and its decision to withdraw its slate of nominees for election to Wyndham's Board of Directors at the 2024 Annual Meeting of Shareholders: "The Wyndham Board is pleased that Choice has ended its hostile pursuit and proxy contest, following the expiration of its unsolicited exchange offer," said Stephen P. Holmes, Chairman of the Board. "We are confident in Wyndham's standalone strategy and growth prospects under the leadership of our proven...
