November 1, 2005
Articles
AQUATREND Turns Hotels Pools into Profit Centers
Hotels looking for a true differentiator should consider Water Workout Stations as a way to promote good health while increasing revenues and brand awareness...
Oh, What a Year It's Been
As we approach the holidays and the close of another year, it's a good time to review the events of 2005, a year that was prosperous for many, disastrous...
ACTIVISM IS IAHI'S KEY
David Hart, the new chairman of the International Association of Holiday Inns (IAHI), plans to take an activist role as the InterContinental Hotel Group's...
Park Inn Ups Breakfast Ante
Park Inn has added a complimentary breakfast service at its U.S. properties. The Lite, on-the-go breakfast program comes in a Park Inn-branded bag that...
Buckhead Buys America's Best Inns
Buckhead America Corp., the Atlanta-based franchisor of Country Hearth Inns, purchased the America's Best Inns & Suites brand from U.S. Franchise Systems....
WESTIN ADDS RENEWAL CONCEPT
Thanks to help from Martha Stewart's Apprentice wannabes, The Westin New York at Times Square has what it calls a new lifestyle product, the Renewal Suite....
BRANDING BRIEFS
Accor North America Accor is looking for a long-term partner to help it expand the Sofitel brand in North America. The company plans to sell six of its...
FITZPATRICK GETS ITS IRISH UP
Hotelier John Fitzpatrick loathes over-the-top displays of Irish pride profusions of shiny shamrocks and gallons of ghastly green beer make him cringe....
Choice Adds Extended -Stay Brand
Choice Hotels International made a smart move in late September with the $10.5-million acquisition of Suburban Franchise Systems, a leading economy extended-stay...
HILTON GOES FOR THE GOLD
Can a good night sleep spell the difference between winning a U.S. Olympic gold medal and a silver or bronze, or none at all? Sleep expert Dr. Mark Rosekind,...
STYLE, SERVICE MEET AT ALDEN
Don't call the Alden Hotel in Houston a boutique hotel. Tim Miller's first venture into the luxury market is more than that. I don't exactly know what...
MR. TENNIS, MR. HOSPITALITY
You may never have heard of him, but Peter Burwash is the head of a highly influential, very successful hospitality company. His firm, Peter Burwash International,...
TRANSACTIONS
Alexandria Hotel Pentagon South GMAC Commercial Mortgage Corp. provided $19.1 million in financing to Alexandria CY Hotel Associates to buy the 191-room...
CIVIC RESPONSIBILITY
Combining civic responsibility and entrepreneurism, developer Bert Pooser recently opened the Inn at USC, a 117-room property on the campus of the University...
Upcoming Industry Events
NOVEMBER 29-30 GrandStay Hospitality Annual Convention, Hilton Minneapolis. Information: 320-202-7744. DECEMBER 1-2 Caribbean Hotel Sales and Marketing...
LODGING SENTIMENT HOLDS STEADY
The Lodging Executives Sentiment Index (LESI) continues to show the lodging industry's strength with a mark of 89.1, versus 89.5 last month and 72.9 during...
HOSPITALITY PEOPLE IN THE NEWS
Cendant Hotel Group named Peter Strebel as president of Wyndham Worldwide, its newly acquired brand. Strebel had been an EVP and chief marketing officer...
CONDO HOTELS: STILL HOT
The red-hot condo hotel market shows no signs of cooling off. According to what is the first comprehensive census of the U.S. condo-hotel, timeshare and...
Pampering at Palmilla
The limits to resort pampering continue to be stretched, and luxury operator One&Only is at the forefront of the movement. The chain's property in Palmilla,...
Timeshare Briefs
A bit of optimism in the hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast: Sandmark Bay LLC plans to break ground early next year on Vue Crescente Resort and Marina, a condo...
A Case For Guarantees and Endorsements
As we market our products, we're always trying to find ways to make our messages more convincing than those of our competitors. In thinking about this...
Hurricanes And Values
Though the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, and to a lesser extent Hurricane Rita, has been well reported, these events appear to have had little, if...
Franchisees Do Have Rights
Hotel owners know the relationship between franchisors and franchisees is not one of equals, either at the formation stage of the relationship or during...
Cowboy Cool
It's not on the way to anywhere. In fact, it's about as far away from any population center (four to five hours by car) as any major resort in the U.S....
Starwood Prominent in Mixed Use
Selecting Westin as the hotel brand for the $210-million World Famous Bridge Street project in Huntsville, AL brings a premium of 15 percent to 20 percent...
Brand Bonanza
Asure sign of prosperity in the lodging industry is the appearance of new brands. As hotel performance improves, brand companies look to expand their...
They're Back: The Return of Bed Bugs
They're back! The bed bug is an old pest common in homes prior to World War II. For the last 40 years, bed bugs have rarely been seen outside of cramped...
The Art of Selecting Art
When Heather O'Sullivan of Looney & Associates interior design group was looking for art for its client, the new Omni Orlando Resort at ChampionsGate,...
Blending High Style and Authenticity
You can find everything you need at the Seminole Hard Rock & Casino, a 500-room hotel with a 130,000-square-foot casino floor in Hollywood, FL. It's got...
Risky Business
As if the everyday challenges of operating a hotel aren't enough to keep a GM popping antacids on an hourly basis, dozens of other concerns are sure to...
What is your real cost of risk?
What is your real cost of risk? Ask that question of a couple hundred hospitality financial executives and you might expect to get a couple hundred different...
Hotel Bed Bugaboos
Bed bugs are booming in hotel beds, particularly in the wake of hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma. That makes business even better than usual for companies...
Modern Pest Control Management
Instead of powerful and potentially dangerous insecticides and pesticides, modern pest-management systems incorporate several different techniques to...
Katrina: Do the AfterMath
Over the past two years we've become far too familiar with the names associated with hurricane seasons Charlie, Ivan, Katrina, Rita and Wilma. These storms...
DESIGN, TECHNOLOGY KEY TO NEW LOCKS AND SAFES
New guestroom lock offerings from VingCard, Kaba Ilco, MIWA and Onity focus, respectively, on design and technology. They will be displayed at the International...
Outrigger Hotels Choose Guestware
The Outrigger Waikiki on the Beach and the Outrigger Reef on the Beach will use GuestWare software to manage guest profiles and guest recognition and...
IDeaS, Kimpton Pact
Revenue optimization solutions from IDeaS are rolling out into three of the 39 properties in the Kimpton Hotel Group. The initial rollout covers the Sir...
Inncom Upgrades Software
Inncom International presents INNcontrol II, new software that the company says enables hotel staff to view and control a single guestroom, multiple guestrooms...
BROADBAND-ENABLED HOTELS PROLIFERATING
The number of broadband-enabled hotels will swell from 14,300 properties to nearly 54,000 by 2009, according to In-Stat (www.in-stat.com), a forecaster...
STARWOOD EXPANDS FUEL CELL POWER TO WESTIN
Starwood Hotels & Resorts is expanding its fuel cell power plants to its Westin brand with plans to install a 500-kilowatt fuel cell power plant at the...
Golden Tulip Mobilizes Res
Golden Tulip Hotels, Inn & Resorts offers a mobile service designed to help people using personal digital assistants and Internet-enabled mobile phones...
REDEFINING THE STANDARD OF LUXURY
Like so many things in life, the definition of what is upscale is a moving target. A product or amenity that is thought to be upscale or a luxury today...
INNOVATIONS IN HOTEL PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
Refreshment Centers Dometic's AutoClassic in-room refreshment centers combine the open-shelf convenience of an honor bar with the security of an electronic...
VENDOR NEWS
Laundry equipment manufacturer Continental Girbau, Inc. recently celebrated its 10th year of operation in North America. The firm is a subsidiary of the...
