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RAM Hotels Opens AC Hotel Columbus Downtown in Georgia
AC Hotels by Marriott | April 15, 2021
COLUMBUS, GA – April 15, 2021 – AC Hotels by Marriott®, part of Marriott Bonvoy’s portfolio of 30 extraordinary brands, announced today the opening of the AC Hotel Columbus Downtown, located in the vibrant Uptown district of Columbus, Georgia. This six-story property is a design-driven lifestyle hotel featuring 125 guest rooms, engaging communal spaces and an extensive bar featuring custom-curated cocktails. "The AC Hotel Columbus Downtown is the first of its kind located directly on Broadway in Uptown, providing an elevated destination to Columbus, redefining the guest experience with inspired design and service," says General Mana...
HomeTowne Studios by Red Roof® Opens in Newport News, Virginia
Red Roof | April 15, 2021
Columbus, Ohio - April 15, 2021 - Red Roof®, the leader in economy lodging, has announced the opening of the HomeTowne Studios by Red Roof in Newport News, Virginia. Located at 6069 Jefferson Avenue in Newport News, Virgina, the 52-room property features kitchenettes with full-sized refrigerators, FREE in-room Wi-Fi, HD flat-screen TVs with cable, weekly housekeeping and more. Free private parking and a business center are available, as well as a 24-hour front desk. The hotel is conveniently located near restaurants, shopping and less than a mile from Huntington Beach. Other nearby attractions inclide Virginia Living Museum, USS Monito...
Hoteliers: Why Compliance Doesn’t Equate to Data Security
David Christiansen | April 15, 2021
By David Christiansen Hoteliers, let me ask you a question. What does it mean to run a secure hotel? The answer may vary, depending on who you ask. Why? Because security, across any industry, is a multifaceted discipline and an essential consideration for brands that interact with customer data and information. Cybersecurity attacks are commonplace in today’s world, and hotels are increasingly attractive targets due to their association with a variety of sensitive data. In fact, two of the top five biggest data breaches made public in 2020 were at hotel chains. Globally, cybercrime damages are expected to reach US $6 trillion by 2021. ...
Hotel Construction Down Around the World, Except in Europe
STR | April 15, 2021
LONDON — April 15, 2021 — Europe is the only world region showing increased hotel construction activity in comparison with the end of Q1 last year, according to March pipeline data from STR. March 2021 (% changes in comparison with March 2020) Europe In Construction: 258,129 rooms (+26.9%) Final Planning: 181,101 rooms (+23.7%) Planning: 155,615 rooms (-8.8%) Germany (51,785) and the U.K. (36,919) lead Europe in total rooms in construction. Asia Pacific In Construction: 462,795 rooms (-3.4%) Final Planning: 183,105 rooms (+17.5%) Planning: 270,350 rooms (+4.0%) Among countries in th...
U.S. Hotel Industry Posted Highest Demand and Occupancy Since Pandemic
STR | April 15, 2021
HENDERSONVILLE, Tennessee — April 15, 2021 — The U.S. hotel industry posted its highest demand and occupancy levels since the beginning of the pandemic, according to STR‘s latest weekly data through 10 April. 4-10 April 2021: Occupancy: 59.7% Average daily rate (ADR): US$112.22 Revenue per available room (RevPAR): US$66.99 Reflecting the country’s almost 2-point improvement in occupancy from the previous week, more than 50% of properties posted a weekly occupancy above 60%. Additional insights are available in STR’s Market Recovery Monitor. Among the Top 25 Markets, T...
With 71.7% of Americans Planning In-Person Events in 2021, Restaurants and Venues Need to Prepare for Bookings to Heat Up
Tripleseat | April 15, 2021
CONCORD, Mass. - April 15, 2021 - With summer around the corner, and an imminent surge of demand for experiences and events in the months ahead, Tripleseat, the leading web-based sales and event management platform for restaurants, hotels, and unique venues, and SevenRooms, a data-driven guest experience platform for the hospitality industry, partnered to survey 1,000 U.S. consumers to better understand their feelings about planning events in 2021. According to the data, 72% of events are expected to be held in-person and of the venues chosen, unique venues, hotels and private restaurant space were among the top selected for hosting. The...
Hyatt Centric Beale Street Memphis Makes Its Grand Debut
Hyatt Centric | April 15, 2021
MEMPHIS, Tenn. – April 15, 2021 – Situated on the corner of Memphis, Tenn.’s famed Beale Street and Front Street, the new Hyatt Centric Beale Street Memphis has opened its doors as part of the One Beale mixed-used development. Featuring a Beale Street address, the first Hyatt Centric brand hotel in Memphis is the area’s newest social hub for travelers seeking a home base in the heart of the action within the Entertainment District and beyond. Situated just a 15-minute drive from Memphis International Airport, Hyatt Centric Beale Street Memphis offers a central location, steps from the culture, food and nightlife that makes Downtown...
IHG Hotels & Resorts Signs Biggest Japan Conversion Deal in More Than a Decade
IHG Hotels & Resorts | April 15, 2021
IHG Hotels & Resorts and Iwate Hotel & Resort Co., Ltd. today announce the signing of an agreement to open or refurbish three hotels in Japan’s Appi region and badge them under world-class IHG brands in December 2021. With more than 1,000 rooms joining IHG’s Japan portfolio across the ANA InterContinental, ANA Crowne Plaza and ANA Holiday Inn brands, it marks the biggest deal IHG Hotels & Resorts has signed in Japan since it formed its joint venture with ANA in 2006. It is also the first time IHG will have three brands located on the one site. With hot springs, skiing and snowboarding in the winter, golf in the summer, ...
InterContinental Barcelona Set for Late Summer Opening in Spain
IHG Hotels & Resorts | April 15, 2021
Opening in late summer 2021, InterContinental Barcelona will offer three destination restaurants and bars and a luxury spa IHG Hotels & Resorts, one of the world’s leading hotel companies, will open InterContinental Barcelona in the city’s Montjuic district later this year, the global luxury hotel brand’s second hotel in Spain. As the world’s first and largest international luxury hotel brand, InterContinental Hotels & Resorts has pioneered luxury travel in new destinations and established, upmarket locations for 75 years. InterContinental Barcelona will deliver the renowned InterContinental experience, rooted in modern ...
Virdee and dormakaba Partner to Provide Seamless Solution for Digital Check-In and Access
Virdee | April 15, 2021
Guests, residents and the owners that serve them benefit from innovative access control and visitor engagement AUSTIN, Texas – April 14, 2021 – Virdee, a SaaS company serving the lodging, multifamily and commercial real estate industries, announced today an integration with dormakaba’s mulithousing smart lock access control solutions. The partnership provides customers and third-party integrators with a seamless solution for digital check-in and visitor engagement at buildings with dormakaba products. The Virdee platform not only supports property access through the dispensing of key cards from Virdee’s Virtual Reception kiosk,...
Sunridge Hotel Group Opens Residence Inn by Marriott in Sedona, Arizona
Sunridge Hotel Group | April 15, 2021
Sedona, AZ – April 15, 2021 – The 90-suite Residence Inn by Marriott hotel in Sedona, Arizona is now open for business. Located at 4055 West State Route 89A, the all-suite property will operate as a Marriott franchise, owned by Sedona Hospitality Group II, LLC and managed by Sunridge Hotel Group of Mesa, Arizona. The all-suite hotel sits adjacent to Sunridge Hotel Group’s award-winning Courtyard by Marriott property, that has a running history of providing quality service since its opening. General Manager Jill Meixueiro leads the management team at the Residence Inn by Marriott Sedona for Sunridge Hotel Group. Nestled in the red r...
Valor Africa Appoints Joep Schoof as Director of Operations
Valor Hospitality Partners | April 15, 2021
Cape Town – April 15, 2021 – Valor Hospitality Partners Africa announced the promotion of Joep Schoof to the newly created position of Director of Operations for Valor Africa, effective 1 April 2021. “Joep has been a key part of our success, and we are thrilled to promote him to this important position as we grow the business “said Tony Romer-Lee, Managing Partner of Valor Hospitality Africa & Middle East. Joep joined the company on day 1 as General Manager of Spier Hotel & Leisure in December 2013 and has been instrumental in its turnaround and continued strong performance, especially through the Covid-19 pandemic period. T...
NewcrestImage Opens Hilton Garden Inn Grapevine at SilverLake Crossings Near DFW Airport
April 15, 2021
NewcrestImage has added a 152-room Hilton Garden Inn to its portfolio with the opening on Friday, April 16 of a six-floor hotel in SilverLake Crossings, a 52-acre multi-use community in Grapevine, Texas, just two miles from DFW Airport and midway between Dallas and Fort Worth. The property creates the company’s third tri-branded hotel as it joins the immediately adjacent dual-brand property -- a 181-room Courtyard by Marriott and a 120-suite TowneSuites by Marriott – that has operated since December of 2013. This “hotel campus” offers 453 rooms, two lobby bars, multiple dining options, and more than 20,000 square feet of meeting...
Gillis Disrupts Traditional Sales Model With Dynamic Sales Solution
Gillis | April 15, 2021
Company invests in people and technology to provide support to hotels during recovery resulting in $12 million in actual revenue for its clients in 2020 DALLAS — April 15, 2021 — Gillis, a consulting, training and sales performance partner organization for hoteliers, announced today that key investments in its employees, training programs and technology resulted in $12 million in actual revenue for its clients while maintaining a 95 percent retention rate since the pandemic began. Its Dynamic Sales Solution (DSS) provides a full-service, turnkey virtual sales team that flexes to meet its clients’ relevant needs while actively pursuing ...
Outrigger Taps Top Talent in Sales and Marketing and Food and Beverage
Outrigger Hotels and Resorts | April 15, 2021
HONOLULU – April 15, 2021 – Premier beach resort brand, Outrigger Hospitality Group, is pleased to announce the appointments of Brian Lynx as Area Director of Sales and Marketing, overseeing Outrigger Reef Waikiki Beach Resort, Outrigger Waikiki Beach Resort, Waikiki Beachcomber by Outrigger, Waikiki Malia by Outrigger and OHANA Waikiki East by Outrigger and Rey Baysa as Executive Chef at the Outrigger Reef Waikiki Beach Resort’s enhanced Kani Ka Pila Grille. Lynx leads his team in developing and implementing sales and marketing strategies to maximise revenue market share and optimise profitability for all source markets...
ROOMDEX, A Hotel Upsell Innovator, Partners With Aries Living
ROOMDEX | April 15, 2021
Santa Cruz, CA – April 15th, 2021 – ROOMDEX, the leader in hotel upselling automation, is happy to announce that Aries Living has activated ROOMDEX’s Upgrade OptimizerTM software in four hotels: Ithaca of South Beach Hotel, (Miami, FL), Villa Paradiso Apartment Hotel (Miami, FL), Treehouse Apartment Hotel (Miami, FL) and Apple Tree Inn (Lennox, MA). Upgrade OptimizerTM is an automated hotel upsell tool that generates revenue directly to a hotel’s bottom line. ROOMDEX intelligently calculates the best upgrade offer price and ensures that only available rooms will be offered. Along with the upgrade, guests have the chance to purchase...
Great Hotels of The World Launches #MICEBEAT
Knowland | April 15, 2021
Data-driven live-streamed talks focused on the Meetings & Events industry’s future Vaccines, ramped up testing, and universally agreed upon social distancing and safety measures are in place. The excitement with a return to travel is undeniable and, according to the March edition of the PULSE survey, partial re-openings in the UK and US caused hotel bookings to nearly reach pre-pandemic levels. A scan of the business travel and meetings and events segments, however, paint a different picture. Appetite for travel and pent-up demand is certainly there. It is clear that we shall meet again - safely - but the way forward seems, at thi...
New Fairfield Inn & Suites Santa Rosa Rohnert Park Opens in Sonoma County, California
Fairfield by Marriott | April 14, 2021
The Fairfield Inn & Suites Santa Rosa Rohnert Park, part of the Marriott International brand of hotels, opened in beautiful Sonoma County, California on March 25, 2021. The five-story hotel located at 405 Martin Avenue, Rohnert Park, CA features 100 guest rooms & suites designed to provide an inviting and effortless experience for guests. Geared for travelers who wish to stay in California wine country, the hotel features a range of value, tech-focused, and eco-conscious offerings and amenities. “Our team is excited to bring a new hotel to Sonoma County with great proximity to local businesses, wineries and the golden California ...
Meeting the New Demand for Happy Hour Dining This Spring
Larry and Adam Mogelonsky | April 14, 2021
By Larry and Adam Mogelonsky The taboo of eating indoors at a restaurant as a result of COVID-19 will persist for well into 2021. While the spring is normally considered too cold for purely alfresco dining, some people may end up altering their meal patterns now through June to chase that last morsel of sunlight and stay in the warmth. That is, in order to keep the good times rolling outside and not to risk coronavirus exposure by venturing inside (not to mention any government mandates about eating inside), dining parties may opt for an extended dinner in and around the time normally reserved for happy hour – approximately 3pm to 6pm...
Accor to Operate Downtown Miami’s New Legacy Hotel & Residences Developed by RPC Under the Morgans Originals Portfolio
Accor | April 14, 2021
MIAMI, FL - April 14, 2021 - Accor, a world-leading hospitality group, and Miami-based real estate developer RPC (Royal Palm Companies), announce a strategic agreement to manage and operate Downtown Miami's newest mixed-use tower, Legacy Hotel & Residences under the Morgans Originals brand. This news comes on the heels of Accor's latest phase of expansion following its acquisition of sbe's hotel brands and its planned joint venture with Ennismore, which will see the creation of one of the world's largest and fastest growing lifestyle operators. This announcement marks the launch of Morgans Originals, Accor's newest lifestyle bran...
Hotel Lawyer: New rules for anti-money laundering compliance?
Vince Farhat | April 14, 2021
FinCEN Seeks Comments on Ownership Disclosure Requirements in New Federal Anti-Money Laundering Law By Jim Butler, Vince Farhat See how JMBM’s Global Hospitality Group® can help you. The Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) is currently accepting public comments on a provision in the recently enacted Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) which requires some privately-held business entities to disclose ownership information directly to a law enforcement agency. Interested parties should consider commenting before the May 5th deadline, and companies who may be impacted should take this opportunity to review...
Here’s How to Get Your Customers to Say, “I’ll Be Back!”
Shep Hyken | April 14, 2021
By Shep Hyken Many companies think they have to compare themselves to their competition. They want to know what the competition is doing that they are not. And when they figure it out, you know what they do? They copy them. It’s not a bad idea to do that, but it’s not the best idea either. If all you do is compare yourself to your competitors, you may be missing your best opportunities to create the best experience for your customers. In my newest book, I’ll Be Back: How to Get Customers to Come Back Again and Again, I cover a six-step process to getting your customers to say, “I’ll be back.” I’m going to summarize the...
Why Now Is the Best Time to Finance
Dr. Donald W. Wise | April 14, 2021
By Dr. Donald W. Wise Winter is officially over, and although the capital markets for hotel and resort refinance, acquisition and new-build construction lending have been frozen, they have been stealthily thawing out since the first of the year. Since the start of the pandemic, short-term bridge and renovation loans for the hospitality sector have been mostly non-existent and full recourse. Hospitality lending pencils are by no means all the way up, but the road to recovery has started with a phrase that has not been heard since before the Great Recession: non-recourse debt. What is Non-Recourse Debt? Non-recourse debt...
Vision Hospitality Group Opens Hyatt House Denver/Aurora
HYATT HOUSE | April 14, 2021
AURORA, CO – April 14, 2021 – Today, Hyatt House Denver/Aurora celebrated its opening as the newest extended stay hotel in the Denver/Aurora market, while also expanding the Hyatt House brand’s footprint globally in markets that matter most to guests and World of Hyatt members. Owned by Denver, CO based BMC Investments Co, LLC, in partnership with Chattanooga based Vision Hospitality Group (VHG) and will be managed by Humanist Hospitality, a division of VHG, the 140-room Hyatt House Denver/Aurora is conveniently located adjacent to Anschutz Medical Campus, providing guests the service and convenience of hotel living with the casu...
