The Tricycle of Guest Service Excellence: A Perfect Model For Remarkable Experiences
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Spokane Tribe Resort & Casino Partners With Travel Outlook to Elevate Guest Service Experience
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Red Lion Hotel Corporation Appoints Industry Veteran John Russell Interim Chief Executive Officer
RLH Corporation | December 3, 2019
DENVER, Dec. 03, 2019 -- Red Lion Hotels Corporation (the “Company”) (NYSE: RLH), today announced industry veteran John J. Russell, Jr. has been appointed interim Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Russell, an expert on hotel brand growth with 40 years of hospitality experience, joins RLH to assist the executive management team in running the business, accelerating franchise sales, improving franchisee retention and aligning our cost structure with the size of our operations. The Board of RLH Corporation will continue the search for a permanent Chief Executive Officer during Mr. Russell’s tenure. Bob Wolfe, Chairman of the Board, stated, ...
Wingspread Retreat & Executive Conference Center Takes Top Honor in 2019 Stella Awards
Wingspread Retreat & Executive Conference Center | December 3, 2019
Meetings Professionals Name the “Best Conference Center Category in the Midwest Region” Racine, Wisconsin, December 2019… Wingspread Retreat & Executive Conference Center has taken top honors in Northstar Meetings Group’s prestigious 2019 Stella Awards. Meetings and events professionals and a panel of judges named this Frank Lloyd Wright-designed facility the Best Conference Center in the Midwest Region. The Stella Awards honor excellence in the meetings industry and distinguish meeting venues from around the globe that consistently deliver quality service and innovation to meeting and event professionals. With nearly 10,000...
LVMH Hotel Management’s Cheval Blanc Randheli Partners With InnSpire to Adopt Luxury Guest Connectivity Platform
InnSpire | December 3, 2019
Exclusive private island resort in the Maldives rolls out InnSpire’s leading guest experience solutions to provide guests with unprecedented control over the digital guest journey Malé, The Republic of Maldives – December 3, 2019 – InnSpire, the leading provider of a comprehensive technology suite that helps drive a seamless, world-class guest experience for some of the world’s most iconic hotels and brands, has been selected by Cheval Blanc Randheli in the Maldives to provide its full suite of guest connectivity and digital guest journey solutions across the property. InnSpire's award-winning digital solutions work as one to p...
Benchmark Inn Partners With HIS to Cater to Guest Demands for Content Casting Functionality With BeyondTV GuestCast®
Hotel Internet Services, Inc. | December 3, 2019
Historic Massachusetts property leverages advanced casting solution to cost-effectively provide guests with convenient access to personalized content while safeguarding sensitive login information. PROVINCETOWN, Mass. — December 3, 2019 — Hotel Internet Services (HIS), a full-service provider of internet services and solutions, has announced the addition of content casting abilities at the Benchmark Inn with its successful implementation of BeyondTV GuestCast®. Providing its guests with a tranquil setting near the center of Provincetown, Massachusetts, Benchmark Inn nonetheless recognized the need to conform to guest preferences for p...
Leadership Team Named for All New AC Hotel by Marriott Washington DC Downtown
AC Hotel Washington DC Downtown | December 3, 2019
WASHINGTON, DC (December 3, 2019) – OTO Development, the owner and operator of the all new AC Hotel by Marriott Washington DC Downtown, named the leadership team responsible for guiding the hotel and staff through opening and into operation. Nasur Almutairi has been named the general manager and Martha Valenzuela will serve as director of sales. Almutairi comes to the hotel after serving as general manager at two other Washington D.C.-area properties, the Capitol Hill Hotel and the Residence Inn Tyson’s Corner. He also served as the assistance general manager at three previous properties. “It is very exciting to be opening a c...
Hotel Hugo Names Lilia Cristina See as New Director of Sales and Marketing
Hotel Hugo | December 3, 2019
NEW YORK, NY – December 3, 2019 – Hotel Hugo, top-rated boutique Soho hotel, has named Lilia Cristina See as its new director of sales and marketing. In this new role, Lilia will be responsible for managing all sales and marketing activities, overseeing public relations efforts, and developing business strategies that drive growth, increase revenue and exceed business goals for the 122-room property. “We are delighted to welcome Lilia to the talented Hotel Hugo team,” said Hotel Hugo General Manager Pablo Migoya. “Her leadership and expertise in the industry will be instrumental in continuing to elevate this sophisticated pr...
Innisfree Hotels Breaks Ground on Dual-Branded Marriott Hotel in Amelia Island
Innisfree Hotels | December 3, 2019
GULF BREEZE, FLA. - December 3, 2019 - Innisfree Hotels has broken ground on its latest development project, a dual-branded SpringHill Suites and Courtyard by Marriott hotel located at 2900 Atlantic Avenue in Amelia Island, Fla. The hotel company will partner with Main Beach Sojourn LLLP, carrying on a 26-year affiliation of principals associated with the former Amelia Island Care Center located on the site. The all-new hotel boasts 239 rooms including suites, a resort-style pool deck with in-pool seating, a courtyard with fire pit area and poolside bar, a fitness room, 6,086 sq. ft. of meeting space and a location within walking distan...
30th Year of the Host Users Group Conference
Springer-Miller Systems | December 3, 2019
A Unique Conference Run by The Users, for The Users Stowe, Vermont – December 3rd, 2019 – This year, Springer-Miller Systems celebrated their 30th year anniversary of the Host Users Group Conference in Kohler, Wisconsin at The American Club, a five-star, five diamond hotel that has been part of the hospitality industry for over 50 years. The Host Users Group Conference (HUG) is a unique conference in the sense that it is run by the users, for the users. Each year, a different SMS|Host property hosts the conference, and the planning and execution is led by a group of voluntary board members, all users of Springer-Miller solutions. ...
MCR Acquires Hampton Inn by HIlton in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania
MCR | December 3, 2019
NEW YORK / DECEMBER 3, 2019 Let’s talk shop: MCR, the fifth-largest hotel owner-operator in the United States, has acquired the 149-room Hampton Inn by Hilton Philadelphia/King of Prussia in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. The newly renovated hotel is less than a mile from the East Coast’s largest shopping center, the King of Prussia Mall. If the thought of braving the 3-million-square-foot mecca makes you want to run, run as fast as you can like a gingerbread man, don’t fret! The smart cookies at the Hampton Inn have some sweet shopping strategies to share. Fuel Up With Free Baked Goods A hot breakfast — and plenty of coffe...
Noble Acquires New Haven Hotel at Yale University
Noble Investment Group | December 3, 2019
ATLANTA, GA (December 3, 2019) – Noble Investment Group ("Noble") today announced the acquisition of the New Haven Hotel at Yale University in the heart of downtown New Haven, Connecticut. Downtown New Haven is a vibrant commercial, educational and medical district flourishing with retail, dining, art galleries and historic landmarks. The downtown area is home to both Yale University and the 1,541 bed Yale-New Haven Hospital, one of the largest hospitals in the world and the primary teaching hospital for the Yale School of Medicine and the Yale School of Nursing. “The New Haven Hotel provides Noble the opportunity to acquire a well-...
Rebranded Hotel JAL City Bangkok to Open 2nd Quarter of 2020
Hotel Okura Co., Ltd. | December 2, 2019
TOKYO--December 2, 2019--Okura Nikko Hotel Management Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Hotel Okura Co., Ltd., and Grand Tower Enterprise Co., Ltd. have signed an agreement covering the operation of one of Grand Tower Enterprise’s hotels. Currently operating as “Hotel Verve Bangkok”, the property will be rebranded as “Hotel JAL City Bangkok” and reopened as an Okura Nikko Hotel Management property from 2nd quarter of 2020. The agreement was signed on November 15, 2019. Hotel JAL City Bangkok is situated adjacent to Hotel Nikko Bangkok, which was opened in January this year. Thonglor BTS Skytrain station is just a three minute walk aw...
Choice Hotels Notifies Guests of Inadvertent Disclosure Issue
Choice Hotels | December 2, 2019
ROCKVILLE, Md., Dec. 2, 2019 -- Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE: CHH) has taken steps to address and notify guests of an issue involving inadvertent disclosure of certain guest information to third parties with whom Choice has business relationships. While most guests involved have been contacted already, the company is issuing this press release to alert the small number it could not identify. The issue occurred very infrequently from June 2015 – March 2016 (likely less than 25 times), but information to identify specific guests involved during this timeframe is unavailable. Overall, this issue occurred approximately 88,000 t...
Auditing the Auditors: What Happens When Quality Assurance Morphs Into PR & Marketing?
Steven Ferry | December 2, 2019
By Steven Ferry, Chairman, International Institute of Modern Butlers If Quality Assurance had not been taken over by such interests, it would be focused on operational audits and follow-up actions that result in improved service and thus influenced guest perception based on real-world intentions and actions. This hijacking of QA could explain some very real problems that hoteliers are facing today in their operations and even with guest perceptions.... Did you hear about the case of the incredible disappearing hotel manager? No? Well, this is not so much a joke or a detective story as the beginnings of an obituary for the old-t...
BENCHMARK®, a global hospitality company, to Operate First Margaritaville Resort in Texas
Songy Highroads, LLC | December 2, 2019
Margaritaville Lake Resort, Lake Conroe-Houston, Will Open in 2020 The Woodlands (Houston), Texas, December 2, 2019 … BENCHMARK®, a global hospitality company, will operate a major new resort property in the Houston area, which will be the first Margaritaville Resort in Texas. Scheduled to open the summer of 2020, the Margaritaville Lake Resort, Lake Conroe-Houston, an all-suite resort, will feature 335 guest suites. Bars and restaurants will feature signature Margaritaville dining concepts – the LandShark Bar & Grill with boat slips on Lake Conroe, the 5 o’Clock Somewhere Swim Up Pool Bar, the Lone Palm Pool Bar & Restaur...
American Hotel Income Properties to Acquire 12 Premium Branded Hotels for $191.0 Million
American Hotel Income Properties REIT LP | December 2, 2019
AHIP also confirms completion of the previously announced profitable sale of the Economy Lodging portfolio for gross proceeds of $215.5 million Acquisition of the 12 Premium Branded hotels at an approximate 8% capitalization rate The hotels, all built in the last five years, are being acquired below replacement cost Transaction follows completion of the sale of the Economy Lodging portfolio; AHIP is now exclusively a premium branded hotel REIT The acquisition will be financed using proceeds from the sale of the Economy Lodging portfolio and a new interest-only fixed-rate term loan (All numbers are in U.S. dollars unless ot...
Radisson Hotel Group Establishes Strategic Joint Venture for Expansion in Germany and Austria
FAY Projects | December 2, 2019
Brussels/ Frankfurt - December 2, 2019 - Radisson Hotel Group, one of the largest and most dynamic hotel groups in the world, is delighted to announce the establishment of a strategic joint venture for operating hotels in Germany and Austria. This fantastic new partnership with local partners will open opportunities for Radisson Hotel Group to accelerate their growth ambitions. The group is looking forward to boosting their roll-out of the Radisson and Radisson RED brands in the German speaking region (D-A-CH). The exciting venture will kick off with the signing of the Radisson Hotel Leipzig, which will be developed by Fay projects GmbH and ...
Owned and Managed by MY Hospitality, New TownePlace Suites by Marriott Opens in Lafayette, Louisiana
TownePlace Suites by Marriott | December 2, 2019
Lafayette, LA – December 2, 2019 – Marriott International’s TownePlace Suites by Marriott Lafayette South is set to open for business this Thursday, December 5. Built for travelers looking for a simple and friendly place where they can settle-in, keep their routine, and easily connect to the Lafayette area. The new hotel located at 119 Lake Farm Road, will operate as a Marriott franchise, owned and managed by MY Hospitality of Vicksburg, Mississippi. “We are excited to introduce the TownePlace Suites brand to the Lafayette area,” said Diane Mayer, Vice President and Global Brand Manager, TownePlace Suites at Marriott Internationa...
Remington Hotels Promotes Key Leaders and Expands Executive Team
Remington | December 2, 2019
Dallas (December 2, 2019) – With the November 6, 2019 acquisition of Remington Hotels (“Remington”) by Ashford Inc. (NYSE American: AINC), Remington is making several, significant, strategic enhancements to its organizational structure, including the promotion of several key leaders and the expansion of its executive team, to support its eagerly anticipated growth into the third-party management space. The following promotions and recent and future hires, include: Promotion of Sloan Dean from Chief Operating Officer to Chief Executive Officer & President Promotion of Stan Kennedy from SVP, Operations to Chief Operating Off...
Six Warning Signs Your Hotel Is Overdue for a Renovation
Cicero's Development Corporation | December 2, 2019
PLAINFIELD, IL, DECEMBER 2, 2019 -- Perhaps you've been there before: After checking into a hotel, you head to your room and open the door only to find yourself in a decor best described as Early American Garage Sale. Carpets are dirty and frayed. Wallpaper looks dingy. The bathroom has mold. You vow never to return. It can happen to the best hotel. Hotels that enjoy higher occupancy experience greater use of their guestrooms, translating into more wear and tear. The environment also plays a role. For instance, resorts near the beach will be adversely impacted by sand, saltwater, and the sea air that can destroy carpeting, rust metal fu...
Hospitality Financial Leadership: Hotel Franchise/Management Fees & 20 Years Is a Long, Long Time
David Lund | December 2, 2019
By David Lund Being a branded or franchised hotel is an expensive endeavor. Especially when you consider the average agreement is 20 years in duration and you’re on the hook for the fees outlined in your agreement plus anything else the management company throws at you. When I say on the hook, I mean they can literally charge you for whatever they want as long as they determine it is in your best interest. This is the basic concept that forms the meat of the management or franchise agreement. When you consider the cost of the fees there are some terms you will want to get familiar with. Terms that are part of your hotel management ...
MAA Hospitality Set to Open SpringHill Suites by Marriott in Palm Desert, California
SpringHill Suites by Marriott | November 27, 2019
Palm Desert, CA – November 27, 2019 – Marriott International announced today that the SpringHill Suites by Marriott in Palm Desert, California is set to open this Friday, November 29. The 107-suite hotel, located at 72-322 Highway 111, will operate as a Marriott franchise, owned and managed by MAA Hospitality. Situated downtown and 10 miles from Palm Springs International Airport, the SpringHill Suites Palm Desert offers guests convenient access to El Paseo Shopping District, the Living Desert Zoo and Gardens, the Palm Desert Aquatic Center and Indian Wells Tennis Garden. “As a brand opening a new hotel every 10 days on average, we ar...
Cimarron Hospitality Partners With Genuine Hospitality to Operate New Hilton Garden Inn – Boulder / Longmont, CO
Genuine Hospitality, LLC | November 27, 2019
SAINT LOUIS, IL, November 27, 2019 – Arlington, TX based hotel developer and operator, Cimarron Hospitality announces the appointment of St. Louis-based hotel operator, Genuine Hospitality to operate the new 105-room Hilton Garden Inn – Boulder / Longmont, CO. Located at 470 South Martin Street Longmont, CO, the hotel is ideally located at the Northeast corner of Ken Pratt Blvd & South Martin Street, 1.3-miles southeast of downtown Longmont, CO. The location is enhanced by the bordering St. Vrain River, known for its great whitewater Kayaking with spectacular views of the Colorado Rockies. The Hilton Garden Inn – Boulder / Longmo...
Canadian Lodging Outlook Quarterly 2019-Q3
HVS Canada | November 27, 2019
RevPar growth across Canada is flat through the third quarter of 2019. On a provincial level, BC leads the pack with over 3.0% growth with Quebec on its heels at 2.5%. Newfoundland struggles to absorb new supply with a near 6.0% decline and Manitoba's softer market leads to a 3.0% decrease. HVS and STR are pleased to provide you with the quarterly report of the Canadian Lodging Outlook. Each report includes occupancy (occ), average daily rate (ADR), and revenue per available room (RevPAR) for six major markets. Source: STR Source: STR If you would like a detailed hotel performance data for all of Canada, STR offers their Ca...
Developed by Panchshil Realty, The Ritz-Carlton Debuts in Pune, India
November 27, 2019
With the launch of its second hotel in India, The Ritz-Carlton sets new benchmarks in luxury hospitality by blending immersive city experiences and legendary service, the Property is Developed by Panchshil Realty PUNE, India, Nov. 27, 2019 -- The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L.L.C has launched The Ritz-Carlton, Pune, the second hotel in India from the iconic luxury hotel brand. Set to elevate luxury in Pune, the hotel's design reflects a seamless union of classical grandeur and timeless sophistication, offering both traditional and modern points of view. Small details such as design motifs inspired by Indian silhouettes and classic chand...
