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
Space Travel: Redefining the Travel Customer Journey With Virgin Galactic
Pier-Luca Rapin | October 31, 2019
By Pier-Luca Rapin It is another level of personalization, it is not only to be sure to have the right water and the right pillow in the room, this is understanding why people are actually going in that journey, helping them realize that dream and being able to live that little moment the best as they can - Martijn Brouwer, General Manager Astronaut Relations, Virgin Galactic During the 2019 Young Hoteliers Summit, EHL Lausanne took a one-way ticket for space with the visit of Martijn Brouwer, General Manager Astronaut Relations and hospitality at Virgin Galactic. Virgin, as a group, has always been defined by a strong service philosophy. N...
Radisson Hotel Group Appoints Aly El-Bassuni as Chief Operating Officer for the Americas
Radisson Hotel Group | October 31, 2019
Minneapolis - October 31, 2019 Radisson Hotel Group today announced the appointment of Aly El-Bassuni as Chief Operating Officer in the Americas. El-Bassuni previously served as Senior Vice President, Franchise Operations for the Americas at Radisson Hotel Group. In this newly created role, he will be responsible for driving operational strategies across the Americas for Radisson Hotel Group’s franchised and managed hotels. He will continue reporting to Ken Greene, President, Americas, Radisson Hotel Group. “Aly’s vast experience in the hospitality industry sets an ideal foundation for him to drive synergies and collaboration across...
Nexgen Hotels & Genuine Hospitality, LLC Opens 120-Room Four Points by Sheraton – Omaha / Midtown, NE
Genuine Hospitality, LLC | October 31, 2019
SAINT LOUIS, MO, October 31, 2019 – Nexgen Hotels and Genuine Hospitality, LLC has opened a new 120-room Four Points by Sheraton - Omaha / Midtown, NE. St. Louis-based hotel operator, Genuine Hospitality, LLC will manage the asset. Developed by Nexgen Hotels, the Four Points by Sheraton – Omaha / Midtown opened October 11, 2019 and is located at 330 North 30th Street, Omaha, NE 68131. Ideally located off I-480 at the Rt-75 intersection, just 1.5 miles west from downtown Omaha and 6-miles from the Omaha International Airport. Previously a Comfort Inn, Nexgen repositioned the hotel to a Four Points by Sheraton by closing the hotel ...
The Plaza Hotel Pioneer Park Appoints Amy Hussmann as Director of Sales
The Plaza Hotel Pioneer Park | October 31, 2019
El Paso, Texas — October 31, 2019 — Hersha Hospitality Management (HHM) Group today announced that Amy Hussmann has been named director of sales at The Plaza Hotel Pioneer Park, scheduled to open in early 2020 in downtown El Paso, Texas. Ms. Hussmann currently serves as a lead on the property’s pre-opening team, dedicated to beautifully restoring the historic, 19-floor boutique hotel that dates back to the 1930s, owned by Mills Plaza Properties II LP, a Paul Foster company. “Amy’s enthusiasm for El Paso is articulated by her deep involvement in the community, and coupled with her expertise in hospitality and real estate; and ...
Back to Basics: Metasearch
NextGuest Digital | October 31, 2019
Metasearch platforms can seamlessly provide online travel shoppers with real-time pricing and availability throughout key touchpoints in the travel planning journey. Metasearch is becoming more sophisticated and so should your hotel’s strategy around it. With recent updates such as the joining of Google Hotel Ads with Google Ads and the rollout of Bing Hotel Ads, hoteliers can now stack up against the OTAs by displaying their hotel logo and price among highly trafficked results. What is it? When a user performs a search query for a hotel, whether on a search engine such as Google or Bing or a platform like TripAdvisor, the results that ap...
The Westin St. Francis Welcomes Fernando Reyes as Executive Chef
The Westin St. Francis | October 31, 2019
SAN FRANCISCO, CA – OCTOBER 31, 2019 - The Westin St. Francis is proud to announce the appointment of Fernando Reyes as Executive Chef. In his new role at this legendary hotel on San Francisco’s Union Square, Chef Reyes will manage one of the city’s busiest kitchens and largest culinary teams. He will oversee all of the hotel’s culinary facilities including The Oak Room Restaurant, Caruso’s, banquets, and in-room dining. “I am delighted to welcome Chef Reyes to his new position as Executive Chef,” said Jon Kimball, Area General Manager of Marriott International. “His proven culinary expertise, along with his talent, leaders...
dormakaba Comes to HX in NYC With Its New RT Plus Electronic Door Lock and A Suite of Total Hospitality Access Solutions That Transform the Guest Expe
dormakaba | October 31, 2019
HX 2019: Visit dormakaba in Booth #1409 Jacob K. Javits Convention Center NYC, November 10-11, 2019 dormakaba Offers HX Attendees a Full Line of Access Systems from Electronic Door Locks to Property Entrance Door Systems and Hardware to Satisfy Any Building Code or Design Requirement MONTREAL, QC, CANADA – October 31, 2019 – dormakaba, the provider of secure Saflok™ and Ilco™ electronic door locks, will be at NYC’s HX Hotel Experience show to demonstrate its new RT Plus and Saffire LX mobile access capable electronic locks. dormakaba will also present its complete line of automatic door systems that include automatic swingi...
Heather Allison Named Complex Director of Sales and Marketing for New York Marriott Marquis and Sheraton New York Times Square
New York Marriott Marquis | October 31, 2019
NEW YORK – (Oct. 31, 2019) – Heather Allison has been named complex director of sales and marketing for New York Marriott Marquis and Sheraton New York Times Square. In her new role, Allison will oversee all sales and marketing efforts for these major New York City hotel properties. “We’re thrilled for Heather to join our team in this exciting and essential position,” said Dan Nadeau and Sean Verney, general managers of the New York Marriott Marquis and Sheraton New York Times Square, respectively. “She brings more than 25 years of hospitality experience and an impressive record of generating robust hotel performance and revenu...
Hoteliers: An API-First PMS Is Integral to Your Property’s Success – Here’s Why
Nicole Dehler, Vice President of Product Management StayNTouch, A Shiji Group Brand | October 31, 2019
By Nicki Dehler, VP of Product Management, StayNTouch, A Shiji Group Brand Choosing the right integrations for your property is not a black-or-white proposition. After all, different hotels have different business goals, markets and guest profiles. But choosing a deeper integration over a shallow one can make the difference between night and day for your property. An open, cloud-based infrastructure is quickly becoming an integral standard for businesses across industries, especially in the case of hospitality. Although hotels may have been historically slow to adopt new technology, forward-thinking brands are leveraging cutting-edge so...
Riegel Linen Restructures to Drive Growth
Lion Equity Partners | October 31, 2019
[DENVER AND AIKEN, S.C.— OCTOBER 31, 2019] — The management team of the Riegel Consumer Products Division of Mount Vernon Mills Inc. (“MVM”) has partnered with Lion Equity Partners to carve out the business from MVM and stand alone as a new entity, Riegel Linen LLC (“Riegel”). Riegel Linen is a leading importer, manufacturer, and supplier of tablecloths, napkins, sheets, towels, bedding and other linens for hotels, restaurants, linen suppliers, retailers, and healthcare customers. Riegel is headquartered in Aiken, SC, and operates a manufacturing facility in McCormick, SC and a network of salespeople and warehouses strategicall...
Exactly How Much Extra Revenue Does a Revenue Management System Make? A Case Study of 9 Hotels
RoomPriceGenie | October 30, 2019
Summary RoomPriceGenie makes dynamic pricing software for small and medium-sized hotels. Anecdotally there was a lot of positive feedback on the performance, but then again, customer quotes are often cherry-picked. This study is intended as a step towards quantifying the benefit of using revenue management software such as that provided by RoomPriceGenie’s unique type of algorithm. By using the performance of all hotels that we had access to on one provider of PMS and channel manager software, it was possible to follow 9 very different hotels for an average of 5 months. The results showed an average revenue increase of 22%, with median i...
Dual-Branded Courtyard and Residence Inn Open at Albany International Airport With General Manager Tina Rollins at the Helm
Courtyard by Marriott | October 30, 2019
Albany, NY – October 30, 2019 – Marriott International, Inc. today announced that a combined 130-room Courtyard by Marriott hotel and 85-suite Residence Inn by Marriott hotel in Albany, New York is set to open today. Located at 227 Wolf Road, the Courtyard and Residence Inn Albany Airport hotels are owned in a partnership between Hampstead America LLC and First Columbia, and managed by DelMonte Hotel Group of Rochester, New York. The hotels will share an indoor swimming pool, a well-equipped fitness center and 675 square feet of functional meeting space to accommodate events for up to 40 people. Located one mile from Albany Internation...
Hotel Distil Opens on Louisville’s Historic Whiskey Row Marking Kentucky’s First Autograph Collection Hotel
Hotel Distil | October 30, 2019
Louisville, KY (October 30, 2019) – Located on the historic Whiskey Row, Hotel Distil has officially opened its doors today, setting a new standard for Louisville hospitality. Part of Autograph Collection Hotels, a diverse and dynamic portfolio of more than 180 hotels around the world that are independent, one-of-a-kind and champion values of vision, design and craft, Hotel Distil is the brand’s first property in Kentucky. The 205-room boutique hotel celebrates the past, present and future of Louisville's bourbon heritage. Hotel Distil incorporates an original 1860s era façade, which was saved following a fire in 2015, and was the o...
How Hotel Marketing Teams Are Winning with Video Content
Jessica Kaiser | October 30, 2019
By Jessica Kaiser If you’re looking at your phone or computer, it’s increasingly likely that you’re watching video. Facebook executives, including Mark Zuckerberg, have repeatedly stated over the last few years that by the end of the decade, video will make up the vast majority of what we see in the News Feed. As large a slice of our time that video takes up today – whether it reaches us through paid spots, email, websites, or social – that number will only tick up, across all demographics. Simply put, hotels that aren’t investing (or considering investing) in video content risk having their messaging slowly drowned out over...
HSIA Research: 50% of CIOs Respond That 5G Will Never Diminish the Value of Hotel HSIA Services
Hospitality Upgrade | October 30, 2019
Hospitality Upgrade and Prism Hospitality Consulting Study the Current Hotel HSIA Landscape ATLANTA, October 30, 2019 – Connectivity is key when it comes to hotel guest satisfaction, and 5G will not have a big impact on the hotel high-speed landscape in 2020 and beyond. These are just two of the major insights gleaned from hotel CIOs and technology directors in the results of Hospitality Upgrade’s 2019 Connectivity Study, available now on the company’s website. Half of the CIOs surveyed believe that 5G will never diminish the importance of hotel HSIA services, leading to a very strong belief that HSIA is here to stay. While the CI...
The New Pegasus Poised to Be the Leading Provider of Distribution and E-commerce Services to the Worldwide Hotel Industry
Pegasus | October 30, 2019
Merged Pegasus and Travel Tripper move forward as a single entity, Pegasus, symbolizing total commitment to technology innovation combined with five-star support NEW YORK, October 30, 2019 — Following the announcement of their merger in February 2019, Travel Tripper and Pegasus have announced that the combined entity will retain the storied Pegasus name, while introducing a new vision and rebranded platform that draws from both companies’ respective strengths. The new Pegasus moves forward with a platform that combines Travel Tripper’s award-winning CRS, booking engine and e-commerce solutions with Pegasus’s GDS and global sales...
Somerset Hills, a Tapestry Collection by Hilton™ Hotel, Set for January 2020 Opening Following $22 Million Renovation
Somerset Hills Hotel | October 30, 2019
N.J. – Oct. 30, 2019 – Today, Valor Hospitality Partners announces plans to open the 118-room Somerset Hills Hotel in the heart of historic Warren, N.J. in January 2020. A Tapestry Collection by Hilton property, this new hotel will double as a premier wedding and corporate events venue, offering more than 5,100 square feet of flexible indoor meeting space, in addition to a beautiful and expansive outdoor venue. Originally built in 1987, Somerset Hills has been a staple in the community for decades, nestled in the rolling hills and lush greenery of Somerset County. Now, newly renovated and reimagined following a major $22 million reno...
Winter Opening Planned for New AC Hotel Atlanta Airport Gateway Led by General Manager Jeff Fowler
AC Hotels by Marriott | October 30, 2019
ATLANTA (October 30, 2019) – AC Hotels by Marriott® announces today the newest addition to its Atlanta portfolio, AC Hotel Atlanta Airport Gateway, with plans to open this winter in the developing Gateway Center in College Park, Ga. Set just beside the Georgia International Convention Center (GICC) and a few steps off of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport’s ATL SkyTrain, the new-build property provides unprecedented convenience and affordable luxury for both weekday and weekend Atlanta travelers alike. AC Hotel Atlanta Airport Gateway is thoughtfully designed for today’s entrepreneurial business travelers alongside vac...
McWhinney to Begin Construction of New Hyatt Centric Hotel in Austin, Texas
McWHINNEY | October 30, 2019
AUSTIN, Texas (Oct. 30, 2019) – McWHINNEY a Colorado-based real estate investor and developer with expertise in mixed-use, hospitality, commercial, multifamily and residential assets, will begin construction next month on Hyatt Centric Congress Avenue Austin, a new full-service lifestyle hotel in a prime downtown Austin location. Expected to open in Fall 2021, Hyatt Centric Congress Avenue Austin will offer 246 modern guestrooms, including a nearly 1,400 square foot Presidential Suite that will also be available as private event space. The hotel will be managed by Hyatt. The hotel’s interior spaces will be inspired by Austin’s b...
Performance Measures Help Hotel Owners and Managers Select the Right Hotel Renovation Contractor
Cicero's Development Corporation | October 30, 2019
PLAINFIELD, IL, OCTOBER 30, 2019 -- When selecting renovation contractors, many hotel owners’ and property managers’ decisions are based solely on the bottomline. In short, the lowest price bidder wins. Other hotel owners and managers, however, carefully consider the intricacies of their project’s scope and can assess the confidence they have in their selected contractor that the renovation can be finished on-time and on-budget. What these hotel owners appreciate that others don’t are the many value-added, non-financial advantages that a talented contractor brings to the project. For the purposes of this article I will refer to thes...
Florida International University Welcomes David Grutman as Its Next Hospitality Guest Professor
the Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management | October 30, 2019
MIAMI, FL. – October 2019 – David Grutman is bringing his experience as a Miami-based hospitality and nightlife entrepreneur to the Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management at FIU. Known for his success with LIV at the Fontainebleau, followed by many other Miami nightclub and restaurant ventures, Grutman will teach a class at the Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management covering the key elements of conceptualizing a hospitality venture, from marketing and public relations, to finance and human resources. “The David Grutman Experience: The Class” will be offered to hospitality management students at FIU ...
Maverick Hotels and Restaurants Appoints Wendy Stevens as Chief Operating Officer
Maverick Hotels & Restaurants | October 30, 2019
Chicago, October, 30, 2019 – Maverick Hotels and Restaurants, an industry leading hotel operator, developer and consultant, announced today that accomplished industry executive Wendy Stevens has joined the company as its Chief Operating Officer. Robert Habeeb, Founder and CEO of Maverick, made the announcement. As Chief Operating Officer, Wendy is responsible for the day-to-day operations of Maverick’s growing hotel portfolio. In this capacity, she oversees the support staff and is the direct report for all aspects of each property, making her responsible for the financial and quality performance of all Maverick properties. The portfol...
Is Guest Privacy Still Sacrosanct?
Larry Mogelonsky | October 30, 2019
By Larry Mogelonsky, MBA, P. Eng. (www.hotelmogel.com) Call me old-fashioned. To me, a hotel’s guest list is completely confidential, released only on a need-to-know basis. This protects not only the guest’s privacy but also the hotel from the likes of paparazzi, over-zealous bill collectors and jealous spouses. And as it concerns high status guests, privacy is tantamount to loyalty. In all of the hotels that I’ve worked with, mentioning anyone on the guest list in a public space where other non-staffers were in earshot was strictly verboten. To do so was grounds for dismissal. There were absolutely no exceptions. Sure, after the ...
Q3 2019 U.S. Lodging Market Update
Daniel Lesser | October 30, 2019
By Daniel Lesser While the U.S. continues to be in the midst of its longest uninterrupted economic expansion in modern history, slowing growth metrics along with abundant geopolitical uncertainties are heightening perceived risk of impending recession. Concerns include: • U.S. GDP growth is decelerating and during the near-term increases are anticipated to remain modest; • The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index fell to 125.1 in September, down from a revised August 2019 reading of 134.2; • Trade with Canada and Mexico falls into the same uncertainty now gripping U.S. relations with China and Europe. A failure of ...
