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3 New Technical Strategies to Personalize Your Targeting
Robert A. Rauch, CHA | October 30, 2018
This month's blog post features a guest article written by Meredith Rauch. This article was originally posted on ScreenPilot's website. Earlier this month, we shared four key elements in personalizing ads to increase engagement and bookings. In order to do things like write compelling headlines, choose relevant images, develop enticing offers, and create user-friendly landing pages, you must first be familiar with the data in order to create advertisements that speak to your audience's current interests and needs. For those that are a bit more technical, there are additional elements you can integrate into your campaigns for better perf...
IHG and IHG Owners Association Announce Renovation Donation Initiative
IHG | October 30, 2018
Industry-leading effort will help hotels manage removal of materials during renovations and make a positive difference in local communities IHG® (InterContinental Hotels Group) and the IHG Owners Association have launched the Renovation Donation Initiative, an industry-leading reuse program that is part of a shared commitment to operating responsibly. IHG-branded hotels undergoing renovation or property improvements in the U.S. and Canada will be able to donate furniture, fixtures and equipment to non-profit organizations, including United Way Worldwide and Good360. The Renovation Donation Initiative will reduce the amount of materi...
Hotel Equities Promotes Joe Reardon to Chief Development Officer
Hotel Equities | October 30, 2018
ATLANTA, GA – October 30, 2018 – Today, Atlanta-based Hotel Equities (HE) announced the promotion of Joe Reardon to Chief Development Officer. In his new role, Reardon will oversee all aspects of development for the hotel ownership, management and development firm. Reardon brings 25 years of industry experience and an unwavering commitment to the company's core values to his new position. In his previous role, Reardon served as SVP of Business Development & Marketing where he orchestrated the firm's impressive expansion. "Joe has been a tremendous asset to the organization," said Brad Rahinsky, President & CEO o...
Fernando Santana Appointed General Manager of Hyatt Centric Key West Resort and Spa
Hyatt Centric Key West Resort and Spa | October 30, 2018
KEY WEST, FL (October 31, 2018) Hyatt Centric Key West Resort and Spa proudly announces the appointment of Fernando Santana as General Manager. Santana brings twenty-eight years of experience to Key West including serving as an interim General Manager at Hyatt Regency Long Beach, Hyatt Regency Aruba Resort, Spa and Casino, and Andaz Wall Street. "I feel honored to be a part of such an amazing resort and team," says Santana. "Our travel savvy guests visit Key West with the intention of experiencing the destination and discovering hidden gems. I look forward to applying my years in hospitality to help create the cultural adventure our gue...
S3D Partners & Choice Hotels to Develop a Cambria Hotel in Seaside Near Monterey Bay, CA
Cambria Hotels | October 30, 2018
ROCKVILLE, Md., Oct. 30, 2018 -- Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE: CHH) has finalized an agreement with Jayesh Kumar of S3D Partners to develop a Cambria hotel in Seaside near Monterey Bay. Located at Lightfighter Drive and Second Avenue, the five-story, 138-room upscale hotel is slated to open in 2021. The hotel will offer breathtaking waterfront views and is part of the developing Main Gate area in the City of Seaside, which offers 60 acres of coastal land and will feature top-rated dining, shopping, and entertainment. The hotel's location is close to the beach and near California State University at Monterey Bay, the Leon ...
The Castell Project Accepting Nominations for 2019 Castell Leadership Program
The Castell Project | October 30, 2018
ATLANTA, Oct. 30, 2018—Officials of Castell Project, Inc., a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization dedicated to accelerating the careers of women professionals in the hospitality industry, today announced that the organization is accepting nominations for its 2019 Castell Leadership Program. Now in its third year, the two-pronged program delivers essential advancement tools for women and implements a custom career development program to move attendees up the leadership ranks. Interested participants are sponsored by their companies. They are nominated by a Champion from their firm and also submit an Application/Registration Sheet. Follow...
Hotel Growth Continues in Major Ohio Markets
Adam Zarczynski | October 30, 2018
By Adam Zarczynski Ohio hotel supply: Benefiting from a strong economy, the United States hotel industry is currently experiencing a boom, which has developers across the country looking for their next opportunity. Many are finding that opportunity in major Ohio markets, as evidenced by significant growth in recent years. The Cincinnati, Cleveland and Columbus MSAs have each seen at least 15 new hotels open since 2016, with more properties currently under construction or proposed. Dayton trails the other MSAs with only six hotels opened since 2016, but all markets boast strong pipelines heading into the future. With all this new develop...
Revinate Announces Partnership With Duetto
Duetto | October 30, 2018
Joint Solution Powers Dynamic Pre-Arrival Emails That Drive Upgrade Revenue San Francisco, Oct. 30, 2018 — Revinate, the software as a service (SaaS) company that helps hotels transform guest data into revenue, today announced a partnership with Duetto, hospitality's only Revenue Strategy Platform, to enhance the power of its guest marketing solution. Now, joint customers will be able to use Duetto's platform and its Open Pricing application GameChanger to dynamically price upsells and upgrades driven through Revinate Marketing. The real-time pricing solution will enable personalized offers to maximize conversion and revenue. "Due...
The Future of Hotel Management Systems: Identifying the Prospective Role of the PMS
h2c | October 30, 2018
Introduction Some hotel chains envision the Property Management Systems (PMS) to focus on its core functionalities (e.g., check-in/out and main operations), using open APIs for connectivity, while others encourage a high level of fully integrated systems such as CRS, RMS and CRM, eliminating the need for additional interfaces. As both strategies have their justification—every chain needs to go their own way—overall system performance remains dependent on the depth of integration with related systems, localization setup (e.g., including local tax and fiscal regulations), overall system cost and available staff skills. As a r...
First Deployment of Volara-Powered Alexa Technology in Mexico Debuts at Viceroy Los Cabos
Volara | October 30, 2018
Viceroy Los Cabos selects Volara to power voice technologies in guestrooms New York — October 30, 2018 — Volara – the voice hub for the hotel industry – has been selected by Viceroy Los Cabos to provide voice technology within the guestrooms at the iconic, award winning resort. Viceroy Los Cabos, located on the Sea of Cortés in Baja California, is the first property in the Viceroy Hotel Group portfolio to enable voice-based conversations with their guests managed in real-time and securely integrated into existing hotel technologies by Volara's software. Volara provides conversation management and secure in...
Knowcross and Percipia Integration to Help Hotels Deliver an Enhanced Service Experience to Their Guests
Knowcross | October 30, 2018
Washington D.C., October 30th 2018 - KNOWCROSS, the preferred service quality management platform of the finest hotels across the globe, is happy to announce the integration of its guest request workflow management system with Percipia – a leader in telephony integrations and in-room interactive display applications. The integration is aimed to deliver a joint solution for hotels to provide an improved experience to their guests. With this integration, guest requests made by Percipia's guest-facing Latitude in-room application or guest personal device running an identical application will be processed or relayed as a guest request...
GuestTek Interactive Entertainment Increases Focus on Innovation
GuestTek | October 30, 2018
GuestTek Strengthens their Standing as Hospitality Technology Visionary For over twenty years, GuestTek Interactive Entertainment Ltd. has been a global leader in hospitality technology innovation. As hotels embrace the Internet of Things (IoT), and as more guests arrive with a variety of personal devices, the hotel technology environment grows increasingly complex. To help hoteliers meet these challenges, GuestTek is proud to announce that Peter Warrick will once again take over the research and development team at GuestTek. Over the past two years, Mr. Warrick has directed the advanced technology program for GuestTek, primarily focusi...
California Lodging Industry Association Teams With OpenKey
OpenKey | October 30, 2018
Largest Mobile Key Platform Named Exclusive Provider SACRAMENTO, CA (October 30, 2018) – California Lodging Industry Association (CLIA) today announced the appointment of OpenKey as Exclusive Mobile Key Provider for the Association, whose mission is to promote, protect and advance the interest of lodging owners and their management teams statewide, and to provide a network of resources to support member efficiency, profitability and professionalism. OpenKey is the industry standard for universal mobile key in hotels. On the OpenKey partnership CLIA President David Bowman remarked, "The California Lodging Industry Association has a...
Online Travel Agencies Looking Elsewhere for Growth; Why Hotels Need to Embrace Innovation
David Ryan PR | October 30, 2018
Take note hotels and hoteliers – you need to start innovating to drive direct bookings. Online travel agents are active in their search for new revenue streams amid changing consumer trends, slowing levels of growth and the effect of the recent Package Travel Directive in the EU. Expect heightened M&A activity in the short term. Expedia confirmed phase 2 of their move into urban markets. TripAdvisor growth coming from non-hotel business and Booking.com looking into offering not just hotels and flights but "a more holistic travel experience". You have to give credit for their proactive approach to diversification. Innovate or D...
El Paso City Council approves tax breaks, land swap for Great Wolf Lodge resort
October 30, 2018
Oct. 30--El Paso City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved a multimillion-dollar incentives package and huge land trade to lure Great Wolf Lodge -- a hotel, convention center, and indoor water park -- to West El Paso. The proposed resort complex, with an estimated construction cost of $150 million-$160 million, would have at least 350 hotel rooms, about 10,000 square feet of convention space, and an indoor water park, city and company officials reported. It would be located on 44 acres of land located at Interstate 10 and Paseo del Norte (Artcraft Road), across the street from the new West Towne Marketplace shopping center. The Counc...
Latest version of the Greater Columbus Convention Center hotel deal would lessen city, county risk
October 30, 2018
Oct. 30--A financial deal that would have Columbus and Franklin County back a portion of the debt to build second Hilton hotel next to the Greater Columbus Convention Center at an estimated cost of a $180 million won't be done in 2018. Local officials have been working for months on the deal, which they expected to complete this year. But the Franklin County Convention Facilities Authority is pushing that to January. "This will not slow us down," said Don Brown, the authority's executive director. In March, the authority unveiled plans to build the second Hilton across the street from the existing hotel, at 401 N. High...
The Dayton, Ohio airport hasn’t had a hotel in 9 years. Why that might change.
October 30, 2018
Oct. 30--Nearly nine years after the closure of the money-losing Dayton Airport Hotel, the city is working to bring a new hotel there. On Monday, the city issued a request for qualifications from firms that want to develop, construct and operate a nationally branded hotel. The Dayton International Airport wants a new hotel that offers accommodations, conference space and dining or restaurant options to serve travelers, airlines staff and workers at some of the large, new developments around the aviation facility, city officials said. "We're excited about it because a market study justifies a hotel; we just need to get some inte...
Jamaica Isn’t the Only Tourist Hot Spot with a Sexual Assault Problem
October 30, 2018
Oct. 30--The U.S. State Department has warned tourists for years about a pervasive sexual assault problem in Jamaica, where two Detroit women were raped at gunpoint in September. Over the past seven years, 78 Americans have been raped in Jamaica -- that's roughly one U.S. citizen raped a month -- though sex crimes aren't unique to the island. While statistics about American rape victims in other Caribbean countries are hard to come by (the U.S. State Department doesn't have crime statistics for each country), it has issued multiple warnings about sexual violence in several Caribbean islands. The Bahamas has been cited severa...
Developer sets plans for 30 years, $110 million of growth near Denver airport
October 30, 2018
Oct. 30--A development district is set for an estimated $110 million in spending just west of Denver International Airport, laying the groundwork for a high-tech commercial district near an A-Line rail stop. The newly approved plan would pay for roads, sewers, parks and more in the Denver International Business Center, an area that eventually could stretch for more than a mile along Tower Road south of Pe?a Boulevard. "This is a part of Denver that is continuing to grow. This is one of the few parts of Denver where there's existing, open land," said Rick Wells, senior vice president for developer L.C. Fulenwider. The cente...
No Golden Week luster for US as China tourist arrivals slump
October 30, 2018
Oct. 30--The number of Chinese tourists to the United States dropped during the week-long National Day holidays amid a trade war between the two countries. Ms Jane Sun, chief executive of Ctrip, China's largest online travel service provider, said tour operators in the US expected huge numbers of Chinese tourists from Oct 1 to 7, or Golden Week, but the visitors were "not as many as before". According to travel fare search engine Skyscanner, flight ticket sales from China to the US plunged 42 per cent compared with the same period last year. In Ctrip's ranking of the most popular overseas destinations for Chinese touri...
Cartoon Network is building its first hotel in the U.S., and it will be in central Pennsylvania
October 30, 2018
Oct. 30--Cartoon Network is building its first hotel, and it will be in Lancaster County. The network announced Tuesday that a partnership between Cartoon Network and Palace Entertainment will bring a hotel with 165 rooms to a nine-acre destination on Route 30 in Lancaster, next to Dutch Wonderland Family Amusement Park. Hershey Entertainment sold Dutch Wonderland to Palace Entertainment in 2010. Cartoon Network Hotel will feature the animation and antics of characters from shows like Adventure Time, We Bare Bears and The Powerpuff Girls. "With just the right mix of technology, design and animation, we're aiming to bring our ch...
New hotel in St. Louis aims to match room color to guest’s mood
October 30, 2018
Oct. 30--Looking for a romantic getaway? Or maybe you just want to go somewhere to relax and unwind? A new hotel in St. Louis aims to match travelers' moods with the type of room they get, and it's all based on color. Red rooms are for passion. Blue for tranquility. Need rejuvenating? Go green. For happiness, surround yourself in sunny yellow. Each room's all-in color scheme goes beyond the paint on the walls, right down to the hue of the drapes and throw pillows, and the shade of the rubber duck in the bathtub. "We thought, 'Why not give guests the opportunity to tailor their experience by booking the room around t...
Resorts in Jamaica Are Facing a ‘Historic’ Sexual Assault Problem
October 30, 2018
Oct. 30--In a dark laundry room at a Jamaican Sandals resort, pinned to the floor by a hotel lifeguard, a Michigan teenage girl lay paralyzed with fear as the man bit her lip and raped her, violently robbing her virginity. When her mother found her after the assault, trembling and holding herself in a hallway, the 17-year-old couldn't speak. She could only point to a metal door. Behind the door, her friend was being gang-raped by three resort lifeguards. This is the Jamaica that the U.S. State Department has repeatedly warned tourists about. This is the island paradise that the government says has a pervasive sexual assault problem,...
New Protea Hotel by Marriott Opens in Loftus Park, Pretoria Led by General Manager Etienne Potgieter
Protea Hotels by Marriott | October 29, 2018
CAPE TOWN, South Africa, October 29, 2018/ -- Protea Hotels by Marriott, part of Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ: MAR) (www.Marriott.com), today announced the opening of Protea Hotel by Marriott Pretoria Loftus Park. Located in the rapidly transforming suburb of Arcadia in Pretoria, the hotel is nestled within Loftus Park, a comprehensive mixed-use corporate, retail and lifestyle precinct in Pretoria, fast emerging as a bustling business and leisure destination. Not far from the Hatfield Gautrain Station and the Tshwane Rapid Transport Bus route, it provides easy access from both Johannesburg city as well as OR Tambo International ...
