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Phonesuite Direct Promotes Jamie Prestileo to VP of Sales & Marketing
Phonesuite Direct | April 19, 2021
BROOMFIELD, Colo. – April 19, 2021 – Phonesuite Direct, a leading provider of hospitality communications and a subsidiary of Phonesuite, is proud to announce that Jamie Prestileo has been promoted to Vice President of Sales & Marketing. Prestileo has 25 years of technical sales and marketing experience with a focus on enterprise-level and hospitality solutions and customer satisfaction. He joined Phonesuite Direct in 2020 as Director of Sales & Marketing and has been working with the sales team to re-vamp the company’s internal sales process, and refining its go-to-market strategy, product mix and business models. “Jami...
2021 Chinese New Year Impact
STR | April 19, 2021
One of the largest global celebrations each year is, undoubtably, Chinese New Year. Although the celebration this year (11-17 February 2021) felt different for the country, there was a noticeable impact around hotel performance. Rather than compare with performance during 2020 Chinese New Year dates, which was significantly lower because of the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, STR compared the festive periods of 2021 and 2019. One week before the festive period in 2021, both corporate and leisure demand slowed in Mainland China. On 11 February, the market saw an occupancy level of only 17.9%, which was just 11 percentage points lo...
Tourism After Lockdown: Waiting for Business Travel to Return
STR | April 19, 2021
A strong return of leisure travel has created much cause for celebration during the early months of 2021. In the U.S., hotel room demand in March was the country’s highest level recorded since the start of the pandemic. To fully recover, however, the industry needs both leisure and the various segments of business travel to return. Will business travel return? To track evolving trends in the tourism and hospitality industry, and examine everchanging attitudes to travel, STR conducted a quantitative survey in February 2021 among 1,333 respondents from its Traveler Panel. In this latest installment of Tourism After Lockdown, ...
Bill Doak Joins Stockdale Capital Partners as Head of New Hospitality Platform
Stockdale Capital Partners | April 19, 2021
LOS ANGELES – April 19, 2021 – Stockdale Capital Partners (“Stockdale”), a Los Angeles-based, vertically-integrated real estate investment firm, announced that hospitality veteran William “Bill” Doak has joined the company as a Managing Director and Head of Stockdale Hospitality. Bill Doak has more than 30 years of hospitality industry experience, with senior leadership roles in operations, marketing, product development, and asset management with top real estate investment and hotel firms including: CIM Group, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, Ian Schrager Company, JRK Hotel Group, Loews Hotels, and Morgans Hotel Group. With CI...
Playa Hotels & Resorts to Sell Capri Hotel for $55 Million
Playa Hotels & Resorts N.V. | April 19, 2021
FAIRFAX, Va. - April 19, 2021 - Playa Hotels & Resorts N.V. today announced that it has entered into a binding agreement with a third party to sell the Capri Hotel for a total consideration of $55 million in cash. Upon closing, the Company expects to execute a management contract and will operate the resort once it reopens after repositioning and renovation. The third party purchasing the hotel expects to simultaneously sign a franchise agreement with a globally recognized brand upon closing. The Company has also signed a hotel management agreement with the same third party for a 438-room luxury hotel in Riviera Maya, Mexico that ...
From Room Service to Rehab, Distressed Assets Are Finding New Life
JLL | April 19, 2021
The skilled nursing and hotel industries, while improving, have faced pandemic-fueled challenges over the past year that resulted in empty rooms. But real estate owners selling some of the underperforming properties and streamlining their portfolios are finding plenty of buyers, with an increasing number converting distressed assets into new uses that are in high demand, like affordable housing, behavioral health facilities and student accommodation. For example, a skilled nursing facility outside the greater Boston area is on its way to being converted to affordable housing. Developer CK Asset Holdings Ltd. is converting two Hong Kong ...
Radisson Hotel Group Debuts Fourth Brand in Dubai With Opening of Radisson Hotel Dubai DAMAC Hills
Radisson Hotel Group | April 19, 2021
Brussels/Dubai - 19 April 2021 - Radisson Hotel Group is proud to announce the debut of its fourth brand in the United Arab Emirates, the upscale Radisson, with the opening of Radisson Hotel Dubai DAMAC Hills. This latest addition brings the group’s presence to 14 hotels in the United Arab Emirates and 77 hotels, resorts and serviced apartments in operation and under development across the Middle East. Located in a newly-developed, family-friendly neighborhood, the Radisson Hotel Dubai DAMAC Hills is a perfect home base for both business and leisure travelers alike. The hotel is conveniently situated close to a range of activities and ...
The Unbound Collection by Hyatt Brand Expands in China With Opening of Commune by The Great Wall
Unbound Collection by Hyatt | April 19, 2021
CHICAGO – April 19, 2021 – Hyatt Hotels Corporations today announced the opening of Commune by the Great Wall in the Yangqing District of Beijing, marking the sixth property in China for The Unbound Collection by Hyatt brand. Distinguished by modern architectural masterpieces that stand in beautiful contrast to the ancient architectural wonder of the Great Wall, the 176-room hotel offers guests an unforgettable journey of discovery off the well-trodden path. The hotel lies nestled in the foothills of the peaceful Shuiguan Mountains amid an intensely beautiful landscape of undulating hills and valleys. In this remote spot just over an...
Hyatt Signs With Playa Hotels & Resorts for Hyatt Ziva Riviera Cancun
Hyatt Ziva | April 19, 2021
CHICAGO - April 19, 2021 - Hyatt Hotels Corporation and Playa Hotels & Resorts N.V. today announced plans for a new Hyatt Ziva all-inclusive resort in Mexico’s Riviera Cancun region. Slated to open later this year, the family friendly Hyatt Ziva Riviera Cancun will be the latest resort to join the award-winning Hyatt Ziva portfolio, which is designed for travelers seeking an effortless, all-inclusive experience. Situated between Playa del Carmen and the world-famous Cancun Hotel Zone approximately 30 minutes from Cancun International Airport, the 438-room Hyatt Ziva Riviera Cancun plans to provide travelers with the opportunity to ...
Pacific6 and Argeo Hospitality Partner for Revival of The Breakers Hotel in Long Beach
Argeo Hospitality | April 19, 2021
LONG BEACH, CALIF. – April 19, 2021 – Anthony Melchiorri, the hospitality expert and television personality behind Hotel Impossible and founder of Argeo Hospitality, has partnered with Long Beach-based development company Pacific6 to bring the historic Breakers Hotel back to life nearly 35 years after closing as a hospitality venue. The Long Beach landmark, best known for its storied reputation as a go-to destination in the early 20th century, will be reborn in 2023 as it reopens to its former glory as the jewel of Long Beach. Part of Long Beach history for nearly 100 years, The Breakers Hotel was built in 1926, and became a beacon o...
Hospitality Financial Leadership: The Daily Revenue Audit – The Must Do’s
David Lund | April 19, 2021
By David Lund The hotel business is a retail business and in order to stay on top of your business, you must fully and completely balance your daily revenues and settlements. This means dotting the I's and crossing the Ts, examine them. Every day we begin anew and every day is a story unto itself when it comes to the revenues and settlements. I may sound like I’m repeating “revenues and settlements,” but it cannot be emphasized enough. Many hotels operate on what I call autopilot when it comes to this bedrock function. Many leave it in the hands of their latest manager of the day to ensure this function is properly done. Many hote...
Virdee Announces Strategic Financing From Leading SaaS Investors, Bringing Total Seed Funding to $4 Million
Virdee | April 19, 2021
With investment from Silverton Partners and Participation from LiveOak Venture Partners and DJR Advisors, Virdee Seizes Rapid Market Demand to Scale its Solutions Quickly Across Real Estate Verticals AUSTIN, Texas – April 19, 2021 – Virdee, a SaaS company delivering digital check-in and virtual concierge services to the hospitality and commercial real estate industries, has added a strategic round from seasoned SaaS investors to further accelerate its growth across hospitality, multifamily, student housing and medical verticals where demand has been strong. Financing was provided by Silverton Partners, an early-stage investment firm b...
Are Your Guests “Apped Out?” Only Welcoming Words Such as These, Spoken by Humans, Convey Authentic Hospitality
Doug Kennedy | April 19, 2021
By Doug Kennedy As a writer in the hospitality space, I am often approached by new companies with emerging technology who are looking for PR. Despite that my articles are almost always related to training tips for human engagement such as sales and hospitality skills, they somehow think that my help promoting whatever new gimmick they have come up with is key to promoting their services. Recently I was approached by yet another company about an exciting “new” innovation they had invented. It was an app for interacting with guests and fielding their requests. Wow, no one ever thought of that before, and just what the industry needs,...
Five Essentials For Present Day Hotel Operations
Antoine Berberi | April 16, 2021
By Antoine Berberi It has been one year since the historical COVID-19 pandemic made its debut, affecting the entire population and economies around the world. It is evident that out of all the industries negatively affected by this economic tsunami, the hospitality industry has been, and will most likely remain, the most impacted and the slowest to recover. Those of us who have been in the industry for several decades will admit that our industry was already in need of a major shift in order to face a "new world of hospitality" that was slowly emerging. Dramatic events such as a global pandemic tend to accelerate change and bring about ...
True North Hotel Group Appoints GM and DOS for AC Hotel by Marriott in Tuscaloosa, Alabama
AC Hotels | April 16, 2021
Overland Park, KS – April 16, 2021 – True North Hotel Group today announced that Karen Steiger and Darren Segura have been named general manager and director of sales, respectively, for the company’s first managed AC Hotel by Marriott, opening late spring in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, at 2585 6th Street. The pair will oversee the launch of the five-story, 120-room hotel located in Tuscaloosa’s vibrant, revitalized downtown, just minutes from popular attractions like the Black Warrior River, the Riverwalk, the Amphitheater, and the University of Alabama’s Bryant-Denny Stadium. Taking maximum advantage of its sweeping views and energeti...
WTTC Releases Major New Paper for Inclusive & Accessible Guidelines to Aid Global Travel & Tourism Recovery
WTTC | April 16, 2021
London, UK - April 16, 2021 - The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) today launches its new high-level guidelines for inclusion and accessibility in the sector which focus on the experience of travellers with disabilities and will help make the Travel & Tourism sector a more inclusive space. These innovative and important guidelines were compiled on the basis of insights and frameworks developed by private sector leaders in Travel & Tourism, travel and disability experts, and research from intergovernmental organisations. Divided into four pillars, the guidelines follow a similar structure to the High-Level Inclusion &am...
Mumbai’s Rapid Hotel Recovery Faces Headwinds
STR | April 16, 2021
LONDON — April 16, 2021 — Mumbai’s rapid hotel performance recovery is projected to return to more moderate levels, according to a recent market forecast from STR and Tourism Economics. Driven by domestic business travel and quarantine guests, Mumbai recaptured 65% of demand in February 2021 when compared with pre-pandemic levels. More importantly, group demand, which continues to lag in most markets worldwide, surpassed 70% of pre-pandemic levels during the month. Preliminary data for March showed a slowing in Mumbai’s demand amid rising COVID-19 case counts and subsequent tightened restrictions. “Although Mumbai has not e...
U.S. Market Recovery Monitor – 10 April 2021
STR | April 16, 2021
Previous MRM versions: March 27 | April 3 Week Ending 10 April The week of 4-10 April was all about demand. The number of U.S. room nights sold surged to 22 million, which was the most since the start of the pandemic. As a result, occupancy reached 59.7%, also the highest level of the past year. On a total-room-inventory (TRI) basis, which includes temporarily closed hotels because of the pandemic, U.S. occupancy reached 56.6%—yes, that was another pandemic-era high. On average, the industry sold 3.2 million rooms per day during the week. A year ago, daily demand was a third of that. The gain in demand wa...
Tourism After Lockdown: Travel Barriers
STR | April 16, 2021
STR’s Tourism Consumer Insights team has been keeping a close eye on traveler and tourism trends as the industry moves through the most optimistic point of the pandemic. The twists and turns of the COVID-19 pandemic have contributed to seismic changes in tourism. These include the cessation of international travel for some countries, and, as discussed in previous “Tourism After Lockdown” pieces, shifting preferences when it comes to choosing accommodation and places to visit. In February 2021, STR conducted quantitative research via its Traveler Panel to examine attitudes toward travel in this “new COVID world.” In this bl...
Much-Anticipated Private Social Club in Boston Debuting This Summer Hiring 100+ Hospitality-Based Team Members
April 16, 2021
BOSTON, MA - April 16, 2021 - The 'Quin House, a modern private social club, will open its doors at 217 Commonwealth Avenue in Boston this summer. Housed in one of the most historic and glamorous buildings in Boston, The 'Quin House - formerly the Algonquin Club - currently is seeking 100+ hospitality-experienced candidates to add to their diverse and talented team of passionate culinarians, mixologists, service professionals and front-and-back-of-house specialists who hail from all corners of the globe. The social club - designed to stimulate the mind, body and spirit - is a 56,000 square foot, five-floor architectural gem that has be...
CH&LA Statement: New Regulation Slows Hotel Workers’ Return
the California Hotel and Lodging Association | April 16, 2021
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - April 16, 2021 - The California Hotel & Lodging Association issued the following statement about the passage of California Senate Bill 93, which mandates hotels and others offer employees laid-off due to COVID-19 get their jobs back before hiring others through. “California hotels have lost thousands of employees permanently during the pandemic,” said Lynn S. Mohrfeld, President and CEO of the California Hotel and Lodging Association. “We need all our returning and new employees ASAP to meet the reopening demand at our hotels. Unfortunately, restrictive hiring regulations only slow down our employees from res...
HVS Webinar Recap: Cross-Border Hotel Investment Between the UAE and Israel
Russell Kett | April 16, 2021
By Russell Kett The first-ever webinar on Cross-Border Hotel Investment between the UAE and Israel took place last week, jointly presented by HVS at the Israel Ministry of Tourism, the UAE-Israel Business Council and Copeland Hospitality. More than 230 delegates from the hospitality industry worldwide gathered online to hear contributions from MK Orit Farkash-Hacohen, Minister of Tourism of the State of Israel, and her ministry colleagues Amir Halevi and Lorin Maugery. Robin Rossman of STR presented an analysis of the recent performance of hotels in the UAE and Israel, followed by an interview with Kamal Naamani of the A...
In Focus: Singapore
Peggy Lee | April 16, 2021
By Peggy Lee, Chariss Kok Xin, Hok Yean CHEE Key Highlights in 2020 The Republic of Singapore is a metropolitan city-state and island country in Southeast Asia with a total land area of an estimated 714.3 square kilometres. It is situated at the southern tip of the Malayan Peninsula, between Malaysia and Indonesia. With an economy supported by its growing population of approximately 5.7 million people, Singapore has witnessed remarkable record of sustained economic growth throughout the years and bolsters its role as a global commerce, finance and transportation hub. Source: Unsplash Due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, Singa...
Hyatt Announces the Opening of Three Hotels Under the JdV By Hyatt Brand in Sweden
JdV by Hyatt | April 16, 2021
CHICAGO – April 16, 2021 – Hyatt Hotels Corporation (NYSE:H) today announced the opening of three boutique hotels in Sweden under the JdV by Hyatt brand. Story Hotel Riddargatan and Story Hotel Signalfabriken in Stockholm, and Story Hotel Studio Malmö in Malmö, Sweden– all join Hyatt’s independent collection portfolio, significantly increasing Hyatt’s brand presence in Sweden. The three hotels join Hotell Reisen bringing the total number of Hyatt properties in the country to four. The JdV by Hyatt brand caters to free-spirited guests seeking vibrant and socially inclusive stays – bringing people from all walks of life tog...
