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Travel Outlook, The Premier Hotel Call Center™ | October 2nd, 2024
Access Point Financial Appoints Michael Lipson as New Company CEO
Access Point Financial | March 22, 2021
40-year veteran of financial, asset management and banking services takes helm as APF ramps up lending operations due to improving hospitality markets. ATLANTA – March 22, 2021 – Access Point Financial, LLC (APF), a leading direct lender and specialty finance company focused exclusively on the hospitality industry, has today announced the appointment of Michael Lipson as Chief Executive Officer. Also continuing his role as Chairman of the Board for APF, Lipson possesses more than 40 years of financial and banking expertise. In his new role as CEO of the organization, he will be responsible for spearheading the expansion of lending...
Cendyn Partners With Oaky to Create an Unparalleled Experience for Hotel Guests
Cendyn | March 22, 2021
London, UK – March 22, 2021 –Cendyn, the leading innovator in CRM, sales, and revenue strategy for the hospitality industry, is excited to announce a new partnership with Oaky, the leading upselling platform in hospitality, to power Oaky’s first CRM integration. Oaky excels at providing hotels with pre-arrival upsell opportunities designed to enhance each guest stay, ranging from room upgrades and hotel services to unique deals based on guest type. Cendyn’s award-winning eInsight CRM provides marketing automation and guest intelligence that leverages real-time data to help hotels drive loyalty and provide personalized, one-to-one ...
Alila Marea Beach Resort Encinitas Opens in Southern California
Alila Marea Beach Resort Encinitas | March 19, 2021
ENCINITAS, CA – March 19, 2021 – Alila Marea Beach Resort Encinitas opens its doors today, delivering authentic and bespoke experiences in a world-class beachfront setting. The crafted luxury resort joins the Alila portfolio, which totals 16 locations worldwide, bringing the brand’s sustainable tourism, innovative eco-design and intimate destination experiences to Southern California. Located in an iconic seaside town along the coastal bluffs of San Diego, the 130-room Alila Marea Beach Resort Encinitas is complete with an oceanfront pool, culinary experiences by award-winning Executive Chef Claudette Zepeda, expansive indoor-outdoor...
Savannah Breaks Ground on $271 Million Convention Center Expansion
March 19, 2021
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, along with Savannah Mayor Van Johnson and Visit Savannah President Joseph Marinelli welcomed elected officials, economic development and business leaders gathered to join them for the groundbreaking ceremony for the new Savannah Convention Center expansion on March 17, 2021. The groundbreaking marks a milestone in the project’s history that began in 2017 when the Georgia General Assembly allocated the initial funding for the planning and design of the Savannah Convention Center expansion. During construction, the Savannah Convention Center will remain fully operational, continuing its more than 20-year track re...
JLL Appoints Andrea Grigg to Newly Created Role of Head of Global Asset Management, Hotels & Hospitality
JLL | March 19, 2021
SAN FRANCISCO – Mar. 19, 2021 – JLL announced today Andrea Grigg will assume the role of Head of Global Asset Management, Hotels & Hospitality, reporting directly to Hotels Global CEO, Gilda Perez-Alvarado. The newly created role is in response to the industry’s increasing demand for alignment across global asset management portfolios, in addition to the company’s continued commitment to be the most connected, strategic, and creative team of hotel advisors across all global businesses. Grigg will continue to lead JLL’s Hotels & Hospitality Asset Management practice as Head of the Americas, collaborating with regional asse...
Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts and Emin Capital Announce Upcoming Project in Mallorca
Four Seasons Hotel and Resorts | March 19, 2021
TORONTO - March 19, 2021 - Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, a global leader in luxury hospitality, and Emin Capital, a private equity investment company focused on hospitality and real estate, announce plans for Four Seasons to manage the former Hotel Formentor in Mallorca, Spain. Originally opened in 1929, the existing hotel will undergo extensive renovations before it is unveiled as a Four Seasons experience in 2023. The property will offer 110 rooms and suites and is located on a 1,200 hectare (3,000 acre) plot of the Formentor Peninsula, offering access to a pristine beach, as well as a functioning vineyard a short five-minute drive a...
Skyscanner Survey Reveals 2021 Travel Trends for Young Americans
Skyscanner | March 19, 2021
MIAMI, FL - March 19, 2021 - Skyscanner has surveyed over 1000 18–30-year-olds across the US with OnePoll, and can reveal that some interesting trends are beginning to emerge for young US travelers following a quieter than usual spring break. Skyscanner Traveler Expert Gavin Harris commented, "Safety has rightly been the priority for the past year, and we've seen travelers remain engaged with the evolving travel landscape during this time, keen to get away safely and within the rules. With safety increasing and vaccines providing an opportunity to return to travel, young people are keen to reclaim the key experiences they've missed as a...
One Year On: Where Will Hotel Bookings Reset First?
Mike Ford | March 19, 2021
By Mike Ford Although at times it can feel longer, this week marks the one-year anniversary of when hotel bookings most steeply decelerated around the world, as countries closed borders and commercial travel was suspended. On the SiteMinder World Hotel Index, one look at the comparison to last year serves as a reminder of just how rapidly hotel booking momentum ground to a halt only 12 months ago. One year and some 400 million vaccines later, we're now able to reflect on the year that's been, and using the five stages of the hotel booking reset—domestic acceleration, plateauing, flux, embracing, and international acceleration—anal...
U.S. Market Recovery Monitor – 13 March 2021
STR | March 19, 2021
March 19, 2021 - About the MRM When the U.S. hotel industry reached the one-year anniversary of the earliest COVID-19 impact, year-over-year percentage changes became less actionable when analyzing performance recovery. Thus, STR introduced a weekly Market Recovery Monitor that categorizes each STR-defined market based on an indexed comparison with the same time periods in 2019. An index is simply a ratio that divides current performance by the benchmark (2019 data). For example, during the week ending 6 March 2021, U.S. RevPAR was $48.13. In the comparable week from 2019, RevPAR was $87.75. This produces an index of 54.8 ($48.13/$87.7...
Soul Community Planet Acquires Hawaii’s 138-Room Hilo Seaside Hotel
Soul Community Planet | March 19, 2021
SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, CA - March 19, 2021 - Soul Community Planet (SCP) has announced the purchase of the 138-room Hilo Seaside Hotel, located in Hilo, Hawaii. The hotel will undergo a $4.6 million renovation and reopen as the SCP Hotel Hilo on June 1, 2021. Steeped in the rich Hawaiian tourism legacy of the William and Matilda Wassman Kimi family and their six children, the 2.23-acre seaside property was founded by Hawaiian native and tourism visionary Richard Kimi in 1956 and was continually operated by the Kimi family until this acquisition. Under the family’s management, the Hilo Seaside Hotel cultivated a deep spirit of Aloha, and be...
Co-Living: Hotel Guest Community Integration
EHL Insights | March 19, 2021
By Youri Sawerschel What is co-living? Co-living is a way to live and share an inhabitable space with other like-minded people. Co-living is fast gaining in popularity across the globe as the younger urban generation increasingly puts more value on flexibility and convenience. It’s important to note that modern co-living comes in all shapes and forms. The term has been used loosely for different kinds of living arrangements: from “big box co-living” buildings with hundreds of small pod-style rooms to family-style apartments turned co-living homes (think of the apartment from the TV series, “Friends”). What all these co-l...
Garrett Parker Appointed General Manager for Hilton Salt Lake City Center
March 19, 2021
Salt Lake City, UT – March 19, 2021 – Garrett Parker has been appointed General Manager of Hilton Salt Lake City, according to Area Vice President Michael Dunne effective, Monday, March 8, 2021. In his new role, Parker will be responsible for overseeing the guest experience and hotel operations of the 499-room property, located in the entertainment district of Salt Lake City and adjacent to the Salt Palace Convention Center. Previously, Parker served as Hotel Manager at San Francisco Union Square where he managed operations, sales and marketing, revenue management and events & catering teams of the 1921-room hotel with 1400 Team Memb...
Younger Generations Half as Likely to Travel Before Memorial Day
G/O Media | March 18, 2021
NEW YORK - March 18, 2021 - Today G/O Media, one of the leading digital publishers in the country, released findings from its 2021 Travel Survey - weighing the comfort levels of Americans as vaccine-rollout allows them to consider their next vacation, hotel stay, or air travel. The survey revealed that while younger generations are still uncomfortable planning their next getaway, individuals 45 and older are eager to vacation and are in fact 2x more likely to travel recreationally over the coming weeks. Over 4,000 individuals were surveyed for G/O Media Insights Group's Travel Survey, the first in an ongoing series, representing a str...
U.S. Weekly Hotel Occupancy Reached Highest Level in a Year
STR | March 18, 2021
HENDERSONVILLE, Tennessee—U.S. weekly hotel occupancy reached its highest level in a year, according to STR‘s latest data through 13 March. 7-13 March 2021 (percentage change from comparable week in 2020): Occupancy: 52.1% (-1.4%) Average daily rate (ADR): US$102.62 (-14.5%) Revenue per available room (RevPAR): US$53.45 (-15.8%) Year-over-year percentage changes are now more favorable as comparisons have shifted to pandemic-affected weeks from 2020. When indexed against 2019 levels, the U.S. has recaptured between 70-75% of occupancy in recent weeks. Florida, lifted by Spring Break and Bike Week, was most represented ...
Vaccine Tourism: Should the Hospitality Industry Acknowledge this Trend?
Hassan Al Sayegh | March 18, 2021
By Hassan Al Sayegh The world is shifting into a recovery stage from the pandemic that has resulted in a loss of millions of lives and impacted many businesses. The emergence of several vaccines around the world is a critical tool to battle against COVID-19 [1]. Currently, eight COVID-19 vaccines are finalized or in-progress according to the World Health Organization, including Pfizer-BioNTech, AstraZeneca-Oxford and Sinopharm, which are being administered to the people of certain countries [2]. However, there are specific protocols to follow concerning eligibility to receive the vaccine. There are priority groups such as senior citizen...
Sonesta Completes Acquisition of Red Lion Hotels
Sonesta | March 18, 2021
NEWTON, Mass. - March 18, 2021 - Sonesta International Hotels Corporation (Sonesta) today announced the completion of its previously announced acquisition of RLH Corporation (NYSE: RLH). As a result, Sonesta is now one of the largest hotel companies globally with approximately 1,200 locations, more than 100,000 guest rooms, and a diversified portfolio of 15 brands across multiple market segments. Sonesta also announced that 35-year hotel industry veteran Keith Pierce is joining Sonesta as Executive Vice President, President of Franchise & Development effective March 18, 2021. John J. Russell, Jr., Chief Executive Officer of RLH, ...
Gender Diversity at the Top of the Ladder: Will Hope Become Reality?
Dr. Cédric Poretti | March 18, 2021
By Dr. Cédric Poretti An article that raises the question: If women are receiving more higher education than men, then why don't we see more of them in top management positions? Universities are educating more and more women Education is a major factor enhancing development and quality of life. As highlighted by the United Nations, it has become a priority in international development goals. In recent decades, the share of young adults (25-34 year-olds) reaching tertiary education [1] across all OECD countries increased to 44%, which is significantly higher than the 27% for their 55-64 year-old counterparts (OECD, 2019). In Switzerlan...
GBTA Poll: Digital Health Verification – The Solution to Safely Resume Business Travel
the Global Business Travel Association | March 18, 2021
Alexandria, VA – March 18, 2021 – The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), the world’s largest business travel association, today reported on the findings from its 17th poll looking at the impact of the pandemic on the business travel industry. Two-thirds of GBTA members and stakeholders (66%) believe implementing Digital Health Verification (also known as “vaccination passports” of “digital green certificates”) is a good policy, the majority of whom believe it will help employees safely resume business travel. The poll also finds a positive increase in optimism among members as the vaccine rollout ramps-up globally an...
Is This the Lean Hotel of the Future?
David Eisen | March 18, 2021
By David Eisen In one of many entertaining scenes from the 1981 war comedy “Stripes,” peak Bill Murray cajoles peak John Candy to mud wrestle a trio of scantily clad women in a bar. You can imagine what ensues, and if you can’t, the internet does. It’s a sexist cinematic trope to be sure (hey, it was the ‘80s), but during the scene, Murray’s character inflates the ego of Candy’s character by calling him a “lean, mean, fighting machine.” A lie, yes (Candy was rotund and not nimble), but it did the trick, leading to an unctuous Candy tussling in a pool of mud. What does this have to do with the hotel industry? Murray...
New Hyatt Place and Hyatt House Hotels Open in North Scottsdale
Hyatt Place | March 18, 2021
Scottsdale, Ariz. – March 18, 2021 – Today, Hyatt Place North Scottsdale and Hyatt House North Scottsdale, Scottsdale’s first combined Hyatt Place and Hyatt House hotels, celebrated their openings. Situated in the heart of North Scottsdale near Mayo Clinic Hospital, notable golf courses such as Grayhawk, TPC Scottsdale, and Troon North and premier dining establishments, guests can appreciate the hotels’ convenient location. The hotels expand the Hyatt Place and Hyatt House brands’ footprint in markets that matter most to guests and World of Hyatt members. The dual-branded properties feature nearly 2,000 square feet of meeting an...
Hyatt Flags to Fly on Rio Las Vegas in Partnership With Dreamscape Companies
Dreamscape | March 18, 2021
CHICAGO – March 18, 2021 – Hyatt Hotels Corporation (NYSE: H) today announced that a Hyatt affiliate has entered into franchise agreements with an affiliate of Dreamscape Companies LLC, which will lead the renovation of the Rio Las Vegas. The multi-phase project is expected to bring multiple Hyatt full-service offerings to Las Vegas, one of the most visited leisure, group, and convention markets in the world, in the renovated Rio hotel. “We are thrilled that Dreamscape will help us bring multiple Hyatt full-service brands to Las Vegas, starting with a Hyatt Regency hotel, which we believe will deliver on the Hyatt Regency brand promi...
Will Covid Make Hospitality Stronger?
Craig Jacobs | March 18, 2021
By Craig Jacobs Profound change in the Meetings and Hospitality Industries is on the verge. Hybrid conferences, food and beverage offerings and new cleanliness and service protocols will scramble current standard operating procedures, profit and loss statements, staffing, pricing and the definition of Luxury. While change is difficult, the final outcome is going to be an improvement for clients, staff and ownership. Values like quality, efficiency, productivity, and profitability are never-ending quests and the pandemic has provided us with a clean slate to start from scratch. The following list is just the beginning: Worth ...
IHG Signes With Swornim Hotel Pokhara Private Limited to Develop New Holiday Inn Express in Nepal
IHG Hotels & Resorts | March 18, 2021
IHG® Hotels & Resorts, one of the world’s leading hotel companies, has signed a management agreement with Swornim Hotel Pokhara Private Limited to develop a new Holiday Inn Express hotel - Holiday Inn Express Pokhra Lakeside, in Nepal. The new-build hotel will feature 110 keys and will be operational by the first quarter of 2025. IHG currently has four hotels under development across the Holiday Inn brand family in Nepal and this latest signing will further strengthen the company’s mainstream portfolio in the tourism capital of the country. Strategically located close to the city’s main tourist hub, ‘Lakeside’ and with proxi...
Prime Hospitality Group and Shaner Hotels Open 137-Room Courtyard by Marriott Fort Lauderdale Downtown
Prime Hospitality Group | March 18, 2021
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — March 18, 2021 — Officials of Prime Hospitality Group and Shaner Hotels, an award winning, international hotel owner, operator and developer, today announced the grand opening of the 137-room Courtyard by Marriott Fort Lauderdale Downtown in Fla. Shaner will operate the hotel on behalf of ownership, Prime Hospitality Group. “The stunning new hotel was designed to appeal specifically to Ft. Lauderdale visitors looking for a truly unique experiential stay,” said Larry Abbo, president, Prime Hospitality Group. “The hotel anchors the newly opened Quantum Lifestyle Center, which provides two 15-story apartme...
