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
NewcrestImage Appoints Manuel Ortiz as Vice President, Investor Relations
February 27, 2020
NewcrestImage has named Manuel F. Ortiz to lead its investor relations department in the newly-created position of Vice President, Investor Relations. He joins the in-house finance team that is responsible for managing investment portfolios as part of a billion-dollar expansion program announced by the company in July of 2019. “We have committed to raising $250 million in equity from both institutional and non-institutional sources for investment in acquisitions, new-build projects, and adaptive re-use of historic buildings,” explained Mehul Patel, Chairman and CEO of NewcrestImage. “Now we are actively adding the personnel and cr...
Alliance Hospitality Announces $2.5 Million Restyling and Conversion of Delta by Marriott Chicago North Shore to Renaissance
Renaissance Hotels | February 27, 2020
Chicago, February 27, 2020 – Alliance Hospitality announced today its conversion of the Delta by Marriott Chicago North Shore Suites into a Renaissance Hotel. The Renaissance Chicago Glenview Suites will officially open on March 4, 2020. The property underwent a $10 million renovation in 2017, as it was converted from Wyndham to Delta, upon its acquisition by Glenview Investors-Hotel LLC. The property features over 14,000 sq. ft. of meeting space, an indoor pool and 1,000 sq. ft. state-of-the-art fitness center. Food & Beverage options include an on-site Starbucks and Bourbon Kitchen & Tap Restaurant. The restaurant, which was ...
YOTEL, Duetto Enter Tech Partnership
YOTEL | February 27, 2020
Tech-driven hotel chain adopts cloud-based revenue strategy applications to drive profit San Francisco, 27 February, 2020 — YOTEL, the innovative global hospitality brand for smart, tech savvy travelers, has partnered with Duetto, a leading provider of cloud-based Revenue Strategy applications, to streamline its revenue processes and maximize profitability across its European operations. YOTEL, renowned for its state-of-the-art approach to hospitality, is implementing Duetto’s pricing application, GameChanger, and its solution for intelligent reporting, ScoreBoard, in eight properties across the globe, totaling 2,776 rooms. Using...
Atlanta Evergreen Marriott Conference Resort Expands Use of Clear Sky Software’s Money-Saving Inventory Systems
Clear Sky Software | February 27, 2020
CHARLOTTE, North Carolina – February 27, 2020 – Clear Sky Software, Inc. ® announced today that The Atlanta Evergreen Marriott Conference Resort has expanded its use of Clear Sky Software’s money-saving inventory systems. The Evergreen Resort has been a customer of Clear Sky Software for 10 years utilizing the company’s perpetual inventory system in the beverage department. After hearing of the success of Clear Sky’s food inventory system, this Atlanta-area resort made the decision to extend this technology to the culinary department. Now the Resort has one vendor and one system for tracking and controlling food and beverage produ...
Tru by Hilton Manchester Appoints Molly Mulholland as General Manager
Tru by Hilton | February 27, 2020
MANCHESTER, NH – February 27, 2020 – Tru by Hilton Manchester has named Molly Mulholland as General Manager. Mulholland will be in charge of leading all aspects of hotel operations, including guest services and satisfaction, hotel administration and overseeing marketing efforts. Mulholland has over 20 years of experience in the hospitality industry and was most recently General Manager at the Homewood Suites by Hilton Dover, where she oversaw similar hotel operations of an 88-room all-suite hotel and 35 employees. Her work experience also includes Director of Sales at the Holiday Inn Manchester Airport, General Manager at the Holiday I...
Highgate Acquires Heavlin Management Company
Highgate | February 27, 2020
New York, NY – February 27, 2020 - Highgate, a leading real estate investment and hospitality management company, announced today that it has acquired Heavlin Management Company, LLC (“HMC”), a hotel management company with over 30 years of operating experience headquartered in Chandler, Arizona. Heavlin Management Company oversees nine branded properties throughout Arizona and two independent properties in Alaska. Under the terms of the purchase, Highgate will assume management of all properties in HMC’s portfolio. The properties in the acquired portfolio include: Crowne Plaza Phoenix Airport, Arizona Four Points by Sh...
INTELITY Named Official Mobile and In-Room Technology Provider by Forbes Travel Guide
INTELITY | February 27, 2020
The company behind hospitality’s broadest guest engagement and staff management platform awarded the industry’s most prestigious accolade for the fourth year running Los Angeles, CA [February 27, 2020] - INTELITY®, the provider of hospitality’s most comprehensive guest engagement and staff management platform, has been awarded Forbes Travel Guide Brand Official status for the fourth year in a row. Named the luxury hospitality industry’s Official Mobile and In-Room Technology Provider by Forbes Travel Guide in 2017, 2018, 2019, and now again in 2020, INTELITY has further solidified its position as the unsurpassed leader in guest ...
Margaritaville Hotel Nashville Appoints Kristina Angley as Director of Sales and Marketing
Margaritaville Hotel Nashville | February 27, 2020
Nashville, Tenn. (February 27, 2020) – Margaritaville Hotel Nashville announced today that Kristina Angley has been named director of sales and marketing at the new Margaritaville Hotel Nashville, which debuted in Nashville’s “SoBro” district in October 2019 and was quickly named “Best New Hotel” in USA Today’s 10Best Awards. In her new role, Angley will oversee sales, marketing and revenue management for the first urban Margaritaville hotel, which features 166 guest rooms, 52 Margaritaville Vacation Club® by Wyndham suites; a rooftop pool and sundeck; Radio Margaritaville’s Nashville studio, heard worldwide on Siriu...
Millennium Hotels & Resorts MEA Appoints Hamid Sidine as Managing Director for Saudi Arabia
Millennium Hotels and Resorts | February 27, 2020
Dubai, United Arab Emirates (February 27, 2020) – Millennium Hotels & Resorts MEA has appointed accomplished hotelier Hamid Sidine as its Managing Director for Saudi Arabia as the hospitality firm forges ahead with its ambitious development strategy for the kingdom. The industry professional, who has 30 years of regional and international experience, including leadership roles with global hospitality brands, will head up the company’s Riyadh office, responsible for achieving its recently announced goal of operating 25 hotels countrywide by 2025. Given his broad-ranging expertise across three continents, Sidine has also been appo...
Solving the Industry’s Biggest Challenge: Understaffing
Jamie Baxter | February 27, 2020
By Jamie Baxter The hospitality industry is notorious for its high turnover and consistent understaffing. In fact, restaurants, bars, and other F&B businesses deal with an average 75% turnover every year - and the problem isn’t going away any time soon. The most common challenges we hear are last-minute callouts, events that far exceed a team’s size, and staff accepting other jobs. The uncomfortable truth is this: hospitality businesses can’t hire fast enough to avoid turnover and understaffing. The solution to this industry-wide pain point is completely rethinking how to staff and leaning into the new, tech-driven resources...
IDeaS Delivers Leading Guidance and Support to Hoteliers Facing COVID-19 Demand Disruption
IDeaS | February 27, 2020
Industry leader produces an educational webinar and actionable guide to help hoteliers proactively manage and recover from significant demand disruption MINNEAPOLIS—Feb. 27, 2020—IDeaS, the world’s leading provider of revenue management software and services, has scheduled a webinar for March 10, 2020 as part of its continued efforts to aid its clients and the global hotel industry. The webinar, “COVID-19: Key Market Impacts and Tips to Optimize in Times of Demand Disruption,” will be co-produced with STR. As a supplement to the webinar, IDeaS will release an educational travel-restriction recovery guide. To learn more and regis...
BENCHMARK®, a global hospitality company, Names John Annicchiarico Vice President, Sales Operations
BENCHMARK®, a global hospitality company | February 26, 2020
The Woodlands (Houston), Texas, February 2020… BENCHMARK®, a global hospitality company, has appointed John Annicchiarico to the position of vice president, sales operations. Eric Gavin, chief sales officer, made the announcement. "It is a genuine pleasure to welcome John to Benchmark’s executive sales team,” said Mr. Gavin. “A proven industry leader, he has invested the past two decades developing and nurturing top-preforming sales and marketing talent at the property and corporate levels. These are skills and leadership abilities he now brings to Benchmark.” A hospitality industry veteran, this appointment marks a return to...
How to Transform the Customer Experience
Shep Hyken | February 26, 2020
By Shep Hyken Want to engage and connect with your customers more effectively? Then listen to what Matt Gillin, the co-founder and CEO of Relay Network, has to say. I had a chance to interview Matt for my Be Amazing or Go Home TV show, and he shared specific insights on how to improve the customer experience. In Matt’s words, “The world is now on-demand and highly personalized. The secret of the game is to make it easy and frictionless.” Personalization is a hot topic, and “on-demand” is about giving the customer what they want when they want it. If you’ve been following my work, then you know I’m a huge fan of the fric...
Europe’s Hotels See Third Year of Value Rise, Reveals Annual HVS Report
HVS | February 26, 2020
26 February 2020, London: Hotel values across Europe gained a further 3% last year according to the annual European Hotel Valuation Index (HVI) compiled by global hotel consultancy HVS, marking the third year of increase for Europe’s hotel sector. Most of the cities in the survey showed a positive valuation performance in 2019, with 10 experiencing value swings of over 5%. Only six of the 33 markets tracked in the European HVI showed a value decline. The year saw increased momentum for hotels in Southern Europe, with an overall increase in values of 7% - up from 4% in 2018 – with all cities in the region showing a value rise. Easter...
EOS Investors LLC Acquires Kennebunkport Resort Collection
EOS | February 26, 2020
New York (February 26, 2020) - EOS Investors LLC (“EOS”), a privately held real estate investment firm, today announced its acquisition of Kennebunkport Resort Collection, a leading multi-property resort destination located in Kennebunkport, Maine. Kennebunkport Resort Collection will continue to manage the Resort on EOS’s behalf. “As our first investment in the Northeast, we are delighted to add such a renowned collection of resorts to our portfolio and contribute to the evolving and thriving destination that Kennebunkport, Maine has become,” says Jonathan Wang, President of EOS. “Kennebunkport Resort Collection has been a stapl...
Employee Retention Ideas for the New Decade
Larry Mogelonsky | February 26, 2020
By Larry Mogelonsky, MBA, P. Eng. (www.hotelmogel.com) At a very broad level, hospitality has a big problem nowadays when it comes to attracting and keeping strong young candidates. Compared to other fields like STEM, finance or the allure of some new app start-up out of Silicon Valley, we aren’t top of mind for top talent, resulting in a long-term ‘brain drain’ amongst our management teams and a sense of transiency amongst our frontline associates. All this can mean a heightened anxiety as our ranks become increasingly harder to fill with qualified candidates. Undoubtedly this will be an ongoing conversation for the decade ahead,...
Noble Investment Group Completes Comprehensive Upgrade to Hilton Garden Inn Atlanta Perimeter Center
Noble Investment Group | February 26, 2020
ATLANTA, Feb. 26, 2020 -- Noble Investment Group ("Noble") today announced the Hilton Garden Inn Atlanta Perimeter Center has completed a comprehensive upgrade and enhancement to all hotel guestrooms and suites, public areas, and meeting and event spaces. The hotel is situated in the heart of the Perimeter Center area of Atlanta, one of the largest office markets in the southeast with nearly 29 million square feet of office space. Perimeter Center is home to the world headquarters of United Parcel Service, Cox Enterprises, AT&T Mobility, Haverty's and Newell Rubbermaid and major hubs for State Farm, Auto Trader, Mercedes-Benz a...
Multimillion-Dollar Renovation Completed at Holiday Inn® – Houston Intercontinental Airport
February 26, 2020
HOUSTON - February 26, 2020 - The Holiday Inn ® hotel at Houston Intercontinental Airport is celebrating its grand reopening after undergoing a multimillion-dollar renovation. The hotel now features 414 stylish rooms and the new Texas-fare diner, Blue Dixie Kitchen. Leisure or business travelers will be treated to functional, flexible and enjoyable spaces to meet their various needs during their stay. From the moment guests walk into the lobby until they lay their head down at night, every space has been renovated, refreshed or redesigned to ensure a pleasurable experience. John Muller, General Manager for Holiday Inn® – Houston...
Radisson Hotel Group Signs Hotels in Long Island City, Los Angeles, Nashville and San Francisco
Radisson Hotel Group | February 26, 2020
Minneapolis - February 26, 2020 - Radisson Hotel Group (RHG) today announced at its Americas Business Conference in Las Vegas, Nev. the signing of five hotels set to join its Americas portfolio, including three Radisson RED hotels in top U.S. destinations. “Over the past two years, our team has been working aggressively to grow our Americas portfolio, primarily in key gateway markets in the U.S.,” said Terry Sanders, chief development officer, Americas, Radisson Hotel Group. “These signings, many of them new-build hotels, from the Music City to the sunny West Coast, exemplify the commitment from our owners, who understand our vision a...
Hyatt Signs With edyn for First Hyatt Centric in UK
Hyatt Centric | February 26, 2020
CHICAGO (February 26, 2020) – Hyatt Hotels Corporation (NYSE: H) announced today that a Hyatt affiliate has entered into a franchise agreement with edyn, a UK-based hospitality group, for the first Hyatt Centric hotel in the UK. The 150-room hotel is expected to open in 2021 and will mark the seventh Hyatt Centric property in Europe. “We are thrilled to announce plans to bring the Hyatt Centric brand to the UK – where we’re focused on growing Hyatt’s brand presence – and the first Hyatt hotel to Cambridge, England,” said Guido Fredrich, Hyatt’s regional vice president of development for Europe. “We are looking forward ...
Kingston Resorts® to Undergo $50 Million Dollar Multi-Phase Transformative Renovation and Repositioning
Embassy Suites by Hilton | February 26, 2020
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. - EOS Investors LLC (EOS), a privately held real estate investment firm, has unveiled plans for a multi-phase $50 million dollar renovation of the Kingston Resorts® properties, beginning with a comprehensive $20 million dollar investment in the Hilton Myrtle Beach Resort followed by a $30 million dollar investment in the Embassy Suites Myrtle Beach Oceanfront Resort. The transformative renovation of Hilton Myrtle Beach Resort is set for completion by June 2020 and will bring EOS’s vision to life for the future of these legacy properties, which includes a repositioning and reintroduction of the Hilton property as on...
Avison Young Announces January and February Closings
Avison Young | February 26, 2020
ATLANTA – February 26, 2020 – Avison Young Hospitality Group announced that the firm has closed 20 hotel transactions during January and February. The property closings ranged from Hilton select service hotels to various other brands located throughout the northeast, upper Midwest, south central and southeast. Most all the hotels are under 200 rooms each and represent the ever changing hospitality investment market. The sellers represented in these transactions range from US investment companies, management companies and overseas investors. The buyers were mostly private investment companies and private family office money with the str...
Wafik Youssef Appointed Vice President Operations, Middle East & Africa at Kempinski Hotels
Kempinski | February 26, 2020
Dubai, 26 February 2020 – Wafik Youssef has been appointed Vice President Operations, Middle East & Africa at Kempinski Hotels, taking over from his predecessor, Michael Sorgenfrey. A leader with great operational aptitude, strong strategic planning skills and financial acumen, Wafik has been with the luxury hotel group for the past ten years. More recently, he held the role of Regional Director of Operations, Middle East & Africa, where his contribution has been instrumental in setting performance standards and driving quality and compliance throughout the MEA region. Wafik started his hospitality career in Egypt almost twen...
Renowned Caribbean Hotelier Sir Royston O. Hopkin KCMG, Owner of Spice Island Beach Resort, Grenada, Passes On
February 26, 2020
GRAND ANSE BEACH, GRENADA (Feb. 26, 2020) -- Sir Royston O. Hopkin KCMG, owner and chairman of the award-winning Spice Island Beach Resort in Grenada (www.SpiceIslandBeachResort.com) has died following complications from heart surgery. He was 75 years old. Sir Royston, the only Caribbean hotelier ever knighted by the Queen of England, has had an extensive and distinguished career in the hospitality and tourism industry spanning more than 55 years of contributions to his home country, Grenada and the entire Caribbean region. Sir Royston is one of the most decorated and honored hoteliers throughout the Caribbean. He was known, not onl...
