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COVID-19 Financing Strategic Options for Hotel Owners
Harry G. Spirides | March 19, 2020
By Harry G. Spirides, President & CEO of Spirides Hospitality Finance Company Along with all the other industries around the world the U.S. hotel industry has been blindsided by the COVID-19 Global Pandemic Black Swan Event. Instantly, hotel owners have found themselves with empty hotels, depleted cash reserves, and wondering how they will be able to make their monthly mortgage payments and payroll which were hardly ever considered to be a problem in the expansionary period leading up to COVID-19. Due to the recent unprecedented sharp interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve, the Prime Rate is now set at 3.25% which sets the table fo...
HSMAI ROC Americas in San Antonio Announces New 2020 Dates
HSMAI | March 19, 2020
(McLean, VA, March 19, 2020) Due to worldwide uncertainty surrounding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, HSMAI ROC Americas 2020 has been rescheduled for October 26-27 in San Antonio. The main ROC program will be Monday, October 26, at the Grand Hyatt San Antonio. Tuesday, October 27, will feature the HSMAI Chief Revenue Officer Executive Roundtable programs, CRME and CHDM review courses, and Partner Insights sessions. “HSMAI’s ROC has become the essential place corporate revenue leaders from over 120 unique hotel brands, management companies, and ownership groups convene to discuss emerging trends and issues that directly impact t...
Crescent Hotels & Resorts Adds DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Berkeley Marina to Management Portfolio
Crescent Hotels & Resorts | March 19, 2020
Berkeley, CA (March 19, 2020) – The DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Berkeley Marina is now being managed by Crescent Hotels & Resorts. Crescent, based in Fairfax, Virginia is a nationally recognized operator of major hotels and resorts throughout the United States and Canada. The 378-room DoubleTree overlooks Berkeley Marina with views of the San Francisco Bay. The hotel is a 10-minute drive from University of California Berkeley and provides free shuttle service to the closest BART station and Tideline Ferry for quick trips into San Francisco. “The DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Berkeley Marina is a great addition to the Crescent po...
CustomerCount® Adds Extra Level of Protection to SMS Distribution of Surveys
CustomerCount | March 19, 2020
INDIANAPOLIS, IN (March 19, 2020) – Did you know that marketing to cell phones (SMS/MMS) is the hottest area of TCPA civil litigation? According to Contact Center Compliance, the same serial plaintiffs and litigators bring approximately one-third of TCPA lawsuits. Bob Kobek, President of CustomerCount®, says the “proliferation of compliance complaints comes from a group of class action lawyers who make it their business to continually file law suits against marketing companies and departments utilizing text messaging in their campaigns.” Now there is a solution to this dilemma. Litigator Scrub® identifies these repeat litigato...
Sonnenblick-Eichner Company Arranges $20,500,000 of First Mortgage Financing for the Carriage Inn, Sherman Oaks, California
Sonnenblick-Eichner Company | March 19, 2020
Beverly Hills, CA (March 19, 2020) – Sonnenblick-Eichner Company announced today that it has arranged $20,500,000 of first mortgage financing for the 178-room Carriage Inn, located at the intersection of Burbank Boulevard and the San Diego Freeway (I-405) in Sherman Oaks, California. The non-recourse 10-year fixed rate loan was priced at 3.36%, with interest-only payments for the entire loan term. The hotel, affiliated with the Best Western Plus brand, features meeting space, a pool and Jacuzzi, a fitness center and surface parking for 160 cars. The hotel is conveniently located within close proximity to Universal Studios/Hollywood, the ...
Who Not to Be in Hotel Leadership
Larry Mogelonsky | March 18, 2020
By Larry Mogelonsky, MBA, P. Eng. (www.hotelmogel.com) Can you change a hotel’s culture without a change at the top? Think about this long and hard as it is very rare that the answer is a ‘yes’. Instead, my hope is to present four potential pratfalls to avoid so as to offer some perspective on how these senior executive behaviors may trickle down to hinder your hotel’s culture from achieving maximum productivity. In many ways, it’s a process of elimination, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have a bit of fun in the process! The General Numbers Manager These individual bases everything that he or she does off of data and...
The Problem Didn’t Start When Your Customer Told You About It
Shep Hyken | March 18, 2020
By Shep Hyken The phone rings. A customer service representative answers the phone and hears about a problem a customer is having. It may be the first time the company hears about this particular problem, but it isn’t when the problem occurred. It occurred before the customer called. The big question is… how long before the customer called did the problem occur? Maybe it happened two minutes ago—or maybe it was two days ago. Regardless, the customer called at that moment and the customer service rep has no idea, unless they ask, when the problem occurred. This gap in time is out of the company’s control—it is the customer’s ...
HFTP and HSMAI Announce New Date for HITEC and ROC San Antonio
HITEC | March 18, 2020
The annual HFTP hospitality technology exhibition and tradeshow HITEC has been rescheduled for October 26-29, 2020, remains in the same location at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in San Antonio, Texas USA; HSMAI ROC to bring revenue leaders together October 26-27 at Convention Center. AUSTIN, TEXAS, USA (March 18, 2020) — In light of the worldwide uncertainty stemming from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the North American Hospitality Industry Technology Exposition and Conference (HITEC®) has been rescheduled to October 26-29, 2020. In addition, the co-located HSMAI ROC Americas will take place October 26-27. Produced b...
Top Hotel CEOs Meet With President Trump, Vice President Pence on Urgent Assistance to Keep Hotels From Shuttering; Protect Millions of Employees From
AHLA | March 18, 2020
WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 18, 2020) – Leading hotel CEOs met today with the White House to discuss urgent economic recovery solutions needed to protect millions of U.S. hotel employees and 33,000 small businesses as travel grinds to a virtual halt across the country. From Main Street to major cities across the country, hotels everywhere are on the verge of shutting their doors in the coming days – many by the end of this week. With 1 in 25 jobs supported by the hotel industry, the rapid pace of booking cancellations is having an immediate, negative ripple effect that risks seeing mom and pop hotel owners shutter, furlough their employees...
Four Seasons Hotel One Dalton Street, Boston Selects ASSA ABLOY to Provide Latest in Security Technology and Customized Door Lock Design
The ASSA ABLOY Group | March 18, 2020
61-story skyscraper property leverages industry technology and expertise from ASSA ABLOY Global Solutions and ASSA ABLOY Opening Solutions to implement custom-tailored VingCard Essence looks. Stockholm – March 18, 2020 – ASSA ABLOY Global Solutions has announced the implementation of custom-designed VingCard Essence door locks alongside VingCard Signature RFID locks at the Four Seasons Hotel One Dalton Street, Boston. A newly opened and modern 61-story skyscraper that serves as both a hotel and residential building, Four Seasons Hotel One Dalton Street, Boston, sought out the combined expertise of both ASSA ABLOY Global Solutions and A...
Riegel Linen Management Team Grows
Lion Equity Partners | March 18, 2020
Jeremiah Johnson to lead the global textile company as President AIKEN, S.C.— March 18, 2020 — Riegel Linen LLC ("Riegel") announces the hiring of Jeremiah Johnson as President. Johnson brings an extensive background in operations, supply chain management and acquisitions. "Jeremiah is a great addition to our management team and will be instrumental in helping us make the transition from Mount Vernon Mills to a standalone company,” said Bill Josey, Riegel CEO. “His background will also be important as we grow organically and strategically." Chris Gowdy, Vice President of Sales & Marketing, concurred, saying: “Jeremiah h...
Report: Coronavirus Having Catastrophic Impact on Travel Businesses and Workers
U.S. Travel Association | March 18, 2020
Washington (March 17, 2020)—A new analysis released Tuesday by the U.S. Travel Association projects that decreased travel due to coronavirus will inflict an $809 billion total hit on the U.S. economy and eliminate 4.6 million travel-related American jobs this year. The dire impact numbers, prepared for the U.S. Travel Association by Tourism Economics, were presented by U.S. Travel Association President and CEO Roger Dow at a Tuesday White House meeting with President Trump, Vice President Pence, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and other travel leaders. "The health crisis has rightly occupied the public's and government's attention, but...
To Outsource Your Call Center, Or Not – Part 1
Travel Outlook Hotel Reservations Call Center Services | March 17, 2020
Four Ways Hotels Lose Revenue by Handling Reservations Calls In-House Hotels are missing out on booking revenue by undervaluing their voice reservations channel. Hiring an outsourced call center is sometimes seen as a luxury compared with the cost of handling calls in-house. But this can prove a false economy; a professional voice team can significantly drive reservations and boost ADR (Average Daily Rate), more than compensating for the financial outlay. So how do hotels lose revenue when they handle their reservations calls in-house? 1. Calls are missed The most obvious way revenue is lost is that calls get missed. A busy front ...
UNWTO Secretary General Issues COVID-19 Statement
The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) | March 17, 2020
Zurab Pololikashvili Secretary-General, World Tourism Organization As the COVID-19 situation evolves, the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) observes that full or partial travel restrictions have been – and continue to be – introduced across the world. These decisions are made with public health as the primary concern. This pandemic affects every level of society and we stand by those affected in these times. The impact of the pandemic on already slowing economies has made tourism particularly vulnerable, becoming the hardest hit sector so far. With 80% of the sector made up of small and medium-sized enterprises, millions of liveli...
European Tourism Sector Demands Urgent Supportive Measures to Reduce Devastating Impact of COVID-19
European Travel Commission | March 17, 2020
The European Tourism Manifesto alliance, the voice of the European travel and tourism sector, has issued the following statement on the implementation of urgent measures to limit the COVID-19 outbreak’s impact on the sector. The effects of the outbreak are already being felt throughout the global economy. Economic activity has dropped, and all evidence points towards a significant downturn in areas affected by the virus. The tourism and travel sector is particularly hit. Millions of jobs are currently at stake, while many small and medium enterprises (SMEs) risk closing their business. Support for tourism must ...
How Hoteliers Can Get Over the Coronavirus
HotStats | March 17, 2020
COVID-19 is putting an end to 11 years of unprecedented growth in the hotel industry. There is no sugarcoating it: the coronavirus has induced panic across the globe, throwing markets into chaos, postponing conferences, stamping out travel and emptying drugstore shelves. It’s still early, but the impact has been swift and pernicious for the hospitality industry as travel has come to a standstill, drying up occupancy and throwing a wicked curveball to revenue and accentuating expenses, which in turn will cast a pall over hotel bottom lines. The virus is here, and it’s doing what viruses do: invading and infecting. The hotel industry ...
RPHS Launches The Royal Park Hotel Iconic Osaka Midosuji, a New Bleisure Hotel in Osaka’s Business Area
Royal Park Hotels and Resorts Company, Ltd. | March 17, 2020
OSAKA, Japan--March 17, 2020--On March 16th, 2020, Royal Park Hotels and Resorts Company, Ltd. (hereafter RPHS) launches The Royal Park Hotel Iconic Osaka Midosuji, its second hotel in Osaka, bringing together Japanese charm and modern design elements. Over the next 5 years, RPHS plans to open six more hotels in Kyoto, Kobe, Nagoya, and Tokyo. The new hotel forms part of the ICONIC brand, the flagship line of RPHS’ “THE” series for premium limited service hotels. Targeting business and bleisure travelers the hotel features a total of 352 rooms including two executive floors with 48 rooms, restaurants, two gyms, English-speaking guest...
Nobody Asked Me, But… No. 228: The Barbizon Hotel, New York
Stanley Turkel | March 17, 2020
By Stanley Turkel, CMHS Hotel History: Barbizon Hotel, New York The Barbizon Hotel for Women was built in 1927 as a residential hotel and clubhouse for single women who came to New York for professional opportunities. Designed by the prominent hotel architects Murgatroyd & Ogden, the 23rd-story Barbizon Hotel is an excellent example of the 1920s apartment hotel and is notable for its design quality. The Barbizon’s design reflects the influence of architect Arthur Loomis Harmon’s enormous Shelton Hotel in New York. Harmon, who would help design the Empire State Building a few years later, made visionary use of the city’s 1916 z...
Avison Young Transactions
Avison Young | March 17, 2020
ATLANTA – March 17, 2020 – Avison Young Hospitality Group announced the firm closed five separate hotel transactions last week. The property closings were in Connecticut, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and one closing at the Atlanta Airport. Brands ranged from Marriott select service hotels to various other brand families. The hotels were all under 200 rooms each and were in suburban and tertiary markets reflective of the ever-changing investment cycle....
Will the Coronavirus Crisis Force Hoteliers to Implement New Technologies Faster?
Moritz Klussmann | March 17, 2020
By Moritz Klussmann Covid-19 is not only turning our private lives upside down these weeks and months. The spread of the virus also has a massive impact on many industries worldwide. Cancelled rooms and flights and thus absent guests are hitting the hotel and tourism industry very hard. In the current situation, hoteliers must therefore not only be creative when it comes to their pricing and cancellation conditions. They must also develop a long-term strategy to rehabilitate themselves in the market and make up for losses once the crisis is over. New technologies and especially their rapid implementation will - and must - play a key role f...
Industry CEOs to Host Press Conference Call Following Meeting With VP Pence & White House COVID-19 Taskforce
March 17, 2020
WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Tuesday March 17, at 3:45 PM ET the American Hotel and Lodging Association’s (AHLA) President and CEO, Chip Rogers along with U.S. Travel Association’s (USTA) President and CEO, Roger Dow will join leading hotel industry CEOs to host a press conference call following a meeting with Vice President Pence and White House officials where they will discuss the industry’s response to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and the catastrophic economic impact on the hotel industry, its employees and U.S. economy. As it continues to be unknown how long this public health situation will last, the coronavirus has already ha...
Radisson Hotel Group Names Jim Alderman CEO of The Americas
Radisson Hotel Group | March 17, 2020
Radisson Hotel Group (RHG) today announced the appointment of Jim Alderman as Chief Executive Officer for the Americas. Alderman will be based in the company’s U.S. headquarters in Minnetonka, Minn. and will be responsible for the corporate offices and more than 680 hotels in the company’s portfolio throughout the Americas. He will report to Federico J. González, Chairman, Global Steering Committee for Radisson Hotel Group, as the representative of the company’s Board of Directors. “Jim is a hospitality executive whose determination and ability to accomplish what he sets out to do is widely known throughout the industry,” said G...
The Guestbook and Fuel Partner to Release White Paper, “Navigating Troubled Times,” to Help Hoteliers Manage Economic Uncertainty
The Guestbook | March 16, 2020
Cash back rewards innovator The Guestbook and hospitality digital solutions provider Fuel provide insight and tips for hoteliers who must balance short-term impacts and long-term prosperity. Las Vegas and Myrtle Beach, SC — March 16, 2019 — The Guestbook, the world's largest rewards program for independent and boutique hotels, and Fuel, the premier software provider and digital agency for the hotel industry, have partnered to release a new white paper addressing the economic challenges facing hoteliers in the coming months and how to weather them. Titled “Navigating Troubled Times,” the informational white paper explores key strate...
Palisades Resorts Plans Summer 2020 Opening of Adero Scottsdale as Part of Marriott’s Autograph Collection
Autograph Collection Hotels | March 16, 2020
SCOTTSDALE, AZ – March 16, 2020 – Following an extensive $100-million investment by Palisades Resorts LLC, Marriott International’s Autograph Collection Hotels will celebrate the grand opening of ADERO Scottsdale in summer 2020. With its elevated views of Arizona’s famed Four Peaks and McDowell Mountain Range, ADERO will be Scottsdale’s only Dark Sky Zone resort with a modern guest experience inspired by the surrounding Sonoran Desert. The complete development is led by Allen + Philp Partners Architecture and Interior Design, MONOGRAM Hospitality Interiors at BBGM, branding agency Sixteenfifty and Aqua-Aston Hospitality, a l...
