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North Carolina’s The Esquire Hotel Joins Ascend Hotel Collection
Ascend Hotel Collection: Let the Destination Reach You | December 23, 2019
Built in 1918, the boutique Esquire Hotel is an adaptive reuse of a national landmark building that originally opened as the First National Bank of Gastonia and was later used as the town's famed Lawyer's Building The Esquire Hotel is the latest addition to the growing Ascend Hotel Collection by Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE: CHH), a portfolio of resort, boutique and historic hotels that reflect their surrounding communities. Situated in the heart of Gastonia at 168 West Main Ave., just outside of Charlotte, North Carolina, the hotel provides visitors with convenient access to popular attractions in the state's largest ci...
RLHC Completes Sale of Hotel RL Salt Lake City for $33 Million
RLH Coporation | December 23, 2019
The Company expects to complete the sale of the remaining two hotels by the end of Q1 2020 RLH Corporation (NYSE:RLH) announced that it has closed on the sale of its Hotel RL Salt Lake City for $33 million in gross proceeds. The Hotel RL Salt Lake City was held in a joint venture with a secured debt agreement for a term loan principal of $11.0 million. RLHC will receive approximately $12.0 million in net proceeds after closing costs, the repayment of property level mortgage debt and distributions to its joint venture partner. Net proceeds to RLHC will be used to retire corporate level term debt of $2.4 million, while the remain...
Alternative Accommodations Likely to Bring Continued Disruption to Hotel Industry in 2020
MaryJo Finocchiaro | December 23, 2019
Real estate and hospitality professional MaryJo Finocchiaro expects trend to continue as consumers compare price/value proposition of the two products BOCA RATON, Fla., Dec. 23, 2019 -- The alternative accommodation business is a significant hotel industry disruptor and is becoming increasingly institutionalized characterized by sophisticated revenue management, multi-unit management companies, and talks of IPO's. According to MaryJo Finocchiaro, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for BRE Hotels & Resorts, "The alternative accommodation trend is expected to continue to grow but facing headwinds with the threat of e...
MGM Resorts International Closes Sales of Circus Circus Las Vegas for $825 Million
MGM Resorts International | December 23, 2019
The transaction with an affiliate of Treasure Island owner Phil Ruffin also includes 37 adjacent acres. MGM Resorts International (the "Company" or "MGM Resorts") (NYSE: MGM) today announced that it has closed on its sale of Circus Circus Las Vegas and the 37 adjacent acres for $825 million, subject to final purchase price adjustments, to an affiliate of Treasure Island owner Phil Ruffin. The sale is part of the Company's commitment to its asset-light strategy designed to focus on MGM Resorts' core business and maximize value for its shareholders. The purchase price is comprised of $662.5 million in cash and a $162.5 million note due 20...
IHG Signs With JSC “Tverskaya 24” to Debut Hotel Indigo in Moscow
IHG | December 23, 2019
Hotel Indigo® to enter the Moscow market with the signing of Hotel Indigo® Moscow – Tverskaya IHG® (InterContinental Hotels Group), one of the world’s leading hotel companies, has signed a management agreement with current partner, JSC “Tverskaya 24”, to open Hotel Indigo® Moscow – Tverskaya by the end of 2020. Hotel Indigo was established in 2004 and is growing at pace as one of the leading boutique brands in the world, with a goal of doubling its global presence over the next three to five years. With a current footprint of over 100 hotels across 19 countries, the signing of Hotel Indigo Moscow – Tverskaya brings the u...
PAR or POR? A Guide to Interpreting Hotel Operational Ratios / Laura Resco
HotStats | December 23, 2019
Hospitality data is only as good as the ratio used to calculate it. Is it better to be on PAR or on POR? We explain the differences between per-available-room and per-occupied-room bases Data is king, but futile if you don’t know how to best interpret the numbers. Asking yourself, “What’s the best way to analyze my data?” is too broad and only adds to the confusion. A better approach is to start by setting goals for your analysis. What specific information do you want to extract from your data? When you have a clear understanding of this, you can choose the most relevant ratios accordingly. The two most popular ways to calculate...
Dream Hotel Group Continues Partnership With No More for 2019 Holiday Season
Dream Hotel Group | December 23, 2019
Global hotel company launches charitable giving initiatives across all U.S. properties to help movement to end domestic violence & sexual assault You indulged in turkey and all the trimmings. You scored great deals on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Now it’s time to take a moment to spread the word on Dream Hotel Group’s charitable giving campaign benefiting NO MORE. Renowned hotel brand and management company Dream Hotel Group today announced plans to renew its charity partnership with NO MORE, an organization dedicated to ending domestic violence and sexual assault by increasing awareness, inspiring action and fueling culture cha...
Nobody Asked Me, But… No. 224: Hotel History: The Red Lion Inn
Stanley Turkel | December 23, 2019
By Stanley Turkel, CMHS Hotel History: The Red Lion Inn (108 Rooms) For more than 246 years, the Red Lion Inn has been welcoming visitors to the Berkshires with traditional New England hospitality. Sometime in 1773, Anna and Silas Bingham opened a general store which became a stagecoach stop, tavern and the Stockbridge House. In 1786, Daniel Shays led a group of more than 100 local farmers and citizens to protest post-war taxation. Stockbridge was the headquarters for "Shays Rebellion." In 1807, Anna Bingham sold the eight-room inn to store owner Silas Pepoon. Over time, the Inn changed hands many times and in 1862 Charles and Mert P...
Maybourne Hotel Group Acquires Montage Beverly Hills
Maybourne Hotel Group | December 23, 2019
In 2020, Maybourne will announce further plans for the re-positioning and renovation of Montage Beverly Hills. It is announced that the Montage Beverly Hills, California, has been acquired by Maybourne Hotel Group, operators of London's most legendary and prestigious hotels Claridge's, The Connaught and The Berkeley. Maybourne Hotel Group, formerly known as the Savoy Group, have been operating hotels in London since 1893, making them one of the world’s oldest hoteliers. They are renowned for running historic luxury hotels whilst keeping them relevant, attracting an international clientele, playing an active role in their local neighbo...
How to Achieve 50% Direct Sales for Your Hotel (or More …)
December 23, 2019
By Nicolas Lajambe A recent study by Walker predicts that the customer experience (CX) will overtake price and value as the most important unique selling proposition (USP) for customers by 2020. For hotels, it is therefore essential to focus on providing an exceptional guest experience. Read on to discover how you can improve your guest experience and increase direct sales by 50% to your hotel as a result. Becoming a guest experience-centric hotel The guest experience includes all customer touchpoints with your hotel. They include the following areas. 1. Online interaction Touchpoints during this period are driven by online search en...
The Island House in The Bahamas Appoints New General Manager James Wyndham
The Island House | December 23, 2019
Wyndham was most recently the General Manager of Emirates One&Only Wolgan Valley, the flagship of the One&Only Nature Resorts. The Island House has appointed a new General Manager, James Wyndham, effective immediately. Wyndam, a native of Australia, has an impressive career in hospitality spanning 25 years and several continents. He was most recently the General Manager of Emirates One&Only Wolgan Valley, the flagship of the One&Only Nature Resorts, where his goal was to create extraordinary guest experiences. Wyndam’s extensive career experience includes stints at multiple international luxury hospitality groups in t...
How Digital Should the Communication With Guests Be?
Torsten Sabel | December 23, 2019
By Torsten Sabel If you check in at the Henn na Hotel in Sasebo, Japan, you will be greeted by a dinosaur. Transport robots take your luggage to the room and the door opens via facial recognition. In Cologne's Koncept Hotel, apart from housekeeping, you won't see any staff member either. Booking, check-in, opening the room door and check-out - everything is done via smartphone. Digitization Is Picking Up Speed Even though the management in Japan has already shut down more than half of the 243 robots again, it is clear that digitization has gained momentum in the hotel industry. But whether online check-in or digital guest maps - ma...
Led by Hilton, Marriott, and Accor, the Middle East Pipeline Is in an Extended Topping-Out Formation
Lodging Econometrics (LE) | December 23, 2019
December 23, 2019 – PORTSMOUTH, NH – Analysts at Lodging Econometrics (LE) report that in the third quarter of 2019, the hotel construction pipeline in the Middle East stands at 625 projects/178,433 rooms. Pipeline project counts are up a slight 2% while room counts show a 1% decrease year-over-year (YOY). It is the seventh consecutive quarter of the total pipeline count exceeding 170,000 rooms. Projects presently under construction are at 344 projects/112,601 rooms while projects scheduled to start construction in the next 12 months have 145 projects/33,031 rooms, the tenth quarter of exceeding 30,000 rooms. Projects in the early plan...
Hotel Industry, AARP Join to Help Protect Seniors From Travel Scams
AHLA | December 23, 2019
Joint Effort Will Help Consumers Identify Online Booking Scams and Search Smarter WASHINGTON (December 23, 2019 –As Americans book last-minute holiday travel and begin contemplating summer trips, the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) and AARP today announced a coordinated campaign aimed at educating senior travelers to avoid travel scams. This collaboration aligns with both AHLA’s Search Smarter campaign and the AARP Fraud Watch Network, initiatives designed to help consumers avoid falling victim to scams and fraud. According to AHLA research, online booking scams and dishonest marketing practices by fraudulent and m...
Hilco Fixed Asset Recovery to Liquidate All Fixtures, Furniture and Equipment at the Hotel Wales in New York City in Advance of Remodeling
Hilco Fixed Asset Recovery | December 23, 2019
Many iconic and historical items to be sold at discounted prices as the upper east side boutique hotel prepares to undergo a major remodeling Hilco Fixed Asset Recovery (HFAR) has been engaged to liquidate all the fixtures, furniture, and equipment (FF&E) from the historic Hotel Wales which will be closing its doors on December 31, 2019 for a major remodeling of the Upper East Side establishment located in the prestigious Carnegie Hill neighborhood of Manhattan. On Jan 3, 2020 Hilco will host several days of private - invitation only - sales for architectural salvage companies, antique dealers, interior designers, prior hotel patron...
Xenia Hotels & Resorts Sells Marriott Griffin Gate Resort & Spa and Marriott Chicago at Medical District/UIC
Xenia Hotels & Resorts, Inc. | December 19, 2019
ORLANDO, Fla., Dec. 19, 2019 -- Xenia Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NYSE: XHR) ("Xenia" or the "Company") today announced it has completed the sale of the 409-room Marriott Griffin Gate Resort & Spa in Lexington, Kentucky for $51.5 million. The sale price represents a 7.1x multiple on the resort's trailing twelve month Hotel EBITDA as of November 30, 2019. Inclusive of estimated required capital expenditures of approximately $30 million, the price reflects an 11.2x trailing twelve month Hotel EBITDA multiple. Additionally, the Company also announced that it has sold the 113-room Marriott Chicago at Medical District/UIC in Chicago, Illinois...
Xenia Hotels & Resorts Acquires Hyatt Regency Portland at The Oregon Convention Center for $190 Million
Xenia Hotels & Resorts, Inc. | December 19, 2019
ORLANDO, Fla., Dec. 19, 2019 -- Xenia Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NYSE: XHR) ("Xenia" or the "Company") today announced it has acquired the newly developed 600-room Hyatt Regency Portland at the Oregon Convention Center located in Portland, Oregon for a purchase price of $190 million, or approximately $317,000 per key. The purchase price includes the complete development cost of the hotel, as well as pre-opening and startup costs, working capital, and all supplies to ensure the hotel was fully operational upon opening. The acquisition was funded with cash available on the Company's balance sheet and its senior unsecured credit facility. ...
Bing Hotel Ads Are Here: How to Incorporate Them Into Your Digital Strategy
NextGuest Digital | December 19, 2019
After running their Hotel Ads offering in beta last year, Bing has begun rolling them out as a general release to enable hotels to showcase their properties on Bing.com across devices. Hotel Ads is a new hotel search experience designed to showcase real-time room rates to potential customers on the Bing search results pages and within Bing Maps. Hotel Ads complement existing digital marketing initiatives, allowing hotels to reach travelers who are looking to book now. Features Bing Hotel Ads charge on a cost-per-click basis, similar to other metasearch channels like Google Hotel Ads and TripAdvisor. Bids can be set at a percentage of room p...
20 Ways To Create An Amazing Customer Service Experience In 2020 (Part Two)
Shep Hyken | December 19, 2019
Last week, I shared ten ideas to drive a better customer experience in 2020. As promised, I’m back with ten more tips. If you haven’t read part one yet, you can do so here. Or, you can see all these suggestions at once by reading my recent Forbes article. Without any further delay, here are ten more ways to create a better customer experience in 2020. Create your customer service mantra. This is a big one. We often spend a month preparing for a full-day meeting to help our clients create their mantra. For those that don’t have one, now is the time to create one. The mantra is a simple phrase—one sentence or less—that sums up yo...
Cambria Hotels Signs Two New Hotels for New York and Texas Expansion
Cambria® Hotels | December 19, 2019
Properties include: 127-room Cambria Hotel Austin Airport slated to open in 2021 and developed by an affiliate of W2 Real Estate Partners; and 120-room Cambria Hotel Niagara Falls slated to open in 2022 developed by Plati Niagara Inc Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE: CHH) has awarded franchise agreements to two top developers to build new Cambria hotels in Austin, Texas and Niagara Falls, New York. These franchise agreements come on the heels of Cambria being named one of the top hotel brands expanding in North America by Top Hotel News, with nearly 80 hotels in the pipeline. "These agreements reinforce Choice Hotels' ...
Sustainable Hotels: Learnings from Designing a Carbon-Positive Hotel
the authors | December 19, 2019
With over 60% of consumers world-wide worried about climate change, the notion of sustainability has become more pressing than ever. Designing a Carbon-Positive Hotel – Challenges From Single-Use Plastic Ban to Carbon-Neutrality: what practices should be embraced by sustainable hotels While working on the assignment of designing a climate positive hotel, we conducted research about the biggest carbon emitters and challenges of hotels. Our research concluded that greenwashing is one the biggest issues the industry is facing. Greenwashing is the act of companies trying to attract the growing green market through false public relations ...
2020 United States Hotel Industry Outlook
Rodney Clough | December 19, 2019
By Rodney Clough The U.S. economy continues to hold strong, showing great resiliency. The overall strength in consumer spending and confidence has benefited the U.S. hotel industry, as well, driving gains in hotel demand, although not at quite a high enough level to balance the new supply that opened in 2019. As such, occupancy is forecast to decline slightly in 2019, while ADR gains will keep RevPAR change in the positive column. Projects that began construction when new supply starts intensified a couple of years ago are now readying to begin welcoming guests in 2020. Demand should continue to grow, but is not expected to keep pace wi...
Montana’s The Pine Lodge on Whitefish River and The Ridgeline Hotel at Yellowstone Join the Ascend Hotel Collection
Ascend Hotel Collection: Let the Destination Reach You | December 19, 2019
ROCKVILLE, Md., Dec. 19, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The Pine Lodge on Whitefish River and The Ridgeline Hotel at Yellowstone are among the newest additions to the growing Ascend Hotel Collection by Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE: CHH), a global portfolio of independent resort, historic and boutique hotels. With locations at the base of the Rocky Mountains on the Whitefish River and the northern entrance to Yellowstone National Park, respectively, both hotels offer adventure-seeking guests a true taste of Montana by coupling exceptional service with unparalleled access to their favorite outdoor activities, including fishing, whitewater ...
Green Stay Hospitality Breaks Ground on Cambria Hotel Orlando International Airport
Cambria Hotels | December 19, 2019
ROCKVILLE, Md., Dec. 19, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The upscale Cambria Hotels brand, franchised by Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE: CHH), and Green Stay Hospitality LLC, part of Reddy Hotels, Orlando, announced Wednesday the official start of construction on the first Cambria hotel in Orlando at a groundbreaking event at the property's future location. The Cambria Hotel Orlando International Airport is slated to open in early 2021. The groundbreaking continues a strong year for Cambria, in which 11 hotels with 1,700 rooms have already opened their doors in top-tier markets across the country, including Boston, Houston and Phoenix. Loc...
