Hilton Welcomes Chinese Travelers with New Program
Hilton Worldwide officially rolled out its much-talked-about Huanying welcome program for Chinese travelers Aug. 16 at the Hilton San Francisco Union Square. The program — available in four Bay-area hotels — was launched at 51 Hiltons in 13 countries worldwide. ...
Baymont At Home With Wyndham
Quick, name the hotel company that created the Baymont Inn & Suites brand. Yes, the midscale limited-service brand currently resides with Wyndham Hotel Group, but no, that’s not where it began. Baymont was briefly La Quinta’s other brand, but it actually started in 1974 as the Budgetel Inn brand from Milwaukee-based Marcus Corp....
Behind the Scenes April 2011
Operational insight to help keep your hotel running at full speed....
AHLEI Rolls out Anti-terrorism Training
In November 2008, terrorists attacked two luxury hotels in Mumbai, India. Less than a year later, in July 2009, terrorists hit two hotels—the JW Marriott and the Ritz-Carlton—in Jakarta, Indonesia. In January 2010 the targets were hotels was Baghdad. In April 2011, Nigeria....
More Rooms and Retail at Miami/Brickell Hampton
In Miami’s Brickell Financial District, land is too valuable for a standard Hampton Inn. That’s why Hospitality Operations, Inc. is supersizing its fifth and newest Hampton Inn, and building it atop 10,000 square feet of retail space. ...
Hilton Brand Makeover Starts With Lobby
“Hilton is not going to be the brand your father stayed at,” declared Hilton Hotels & Resorts global brand head Dave Horton Tuesday during a media tour of the newly renovated lobby at the Hilton McLean Tysons Corner....
Cosmopolitan Reaches New Heights in Vegas
It’s almost hidden, tucked down a long hallway on the third floor of the new Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. The small pizza place without a name or storefront serves the best ...
Travaasa Willing to Spend Time, Money on New Brand
Joy Berry and Chris Manning vow to deliver unique experiences through Travaasa Destinations, their new brand. The Denver-based co-founders—she’s president, he’s principal—look to acquire and then turn underperforming resorts into moneymakers in a patient, painstaking process....
Hotels Opt For Edginess in Restaurant Concepts
A decade or two ago, hotels were not the first place you might expect to find a cool restaurant. In fact, many people wouldn't be caught dead in a hotel restaurant. The restaurant was considered an amenity for the hotel guests, a loss leader....
Hilton Plays Matchmaker To Hotels Looking For Food & Beverage Concepts
In the next few days, Hilton Worldwide will launch a new web-based service to help its hotel owners find the best restaurant concepts for their properties. The website www.hiltonrestaurantconcepts.com acts as a matchmaker between owners and restaurant companies with concepts that can work in one of Hilton’s full-service brands. The site launches with 15 companies, including such well-known foodservice brands as Ruth’s Chris, Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, Mitchell’s Fish Market and others. ...
Sage Hospitality Partners in Higher Education in Denver
Some lodging companies, like Sage Hospitality, recognize the future health of the hospitality industry rests with the quality of the education system serving it. As a way to bring life to that philosophy, Sage is partnering with Metropolitan State College in its home city of Denver on an intriguing, if not unique, project that combines academics with real-world hotel and f&b experience for MSC’s 500-plus hospitality majors....
11 Meeting Trends For 2011
Houston-based Benchmark Hospitality International, which operates 30 hotels, resorts and conference centers in the U.S. and Japan, recently revealed its annual list of top meeting trends for 2011, as observed by its properties....
Russell Launches Music-Driven Hotel Chain
Serial brand creator John Russell has done it again. Russell, along with group of hotel industry veterans and in conjunction with Indian and Brazilian investors, debuted his latest brand, MODO Hotel, at this week’s Americas Lodging Investment Summit in San Diego....
Two Texas Omnis Host Super Bowl Teams
The teams are set for Super Bowl XLV—the Packers and the Steelers—and now the real work starts for Dan Piotrowski and Andrew Casperson, general managers of the two Omni Hotels in the Dallas-Fort Worth area hosting the teams for the game on Feb. 6. As far as anyone can determine, this Super Bowl is the first in which the two teams are staying in hotels from the same brand. The task of accommodating the teams, their families and friends and club officials started nearly a year ago for both hotels and the Omni organization....
Wyndham to Franchise Dream, Night Brands
Coming on the heels of last year’s deal to franchise Planet Hollywood hotels, Wyndham Hotel Group has followed with a similar arrangement with Chatwal Hotels & Resorts for exclusive rights to franchise and manage its Dream and Night boutique hotel brands globally....
Omni Creates Success at Historic Resort
They don’t build resorts like the Omni Bedford Springs Resort & Spa anymore, and probably with good reason. Large, sprawling properties with lots of public spaces and recreational amenities and typically a mishmash of guestroom types can be a nightmare to operate and produce profits. Omni, which last year assumed management of the 214-year-old property in south central Pennsylvania, seems up to the task....
Great Year for Belz, Peabody Orlando
It’s been a pretty good year for Marty Belz, the president and CEO of Peabody Hotel Group. On Saturday, Dec. 11, the Peabody Orlando hosted the Central Florida Hotel & Lodging Association annual gala while celebrating its grand reopening after a $450-million expansion. ...
Nissenbaum Raises Bar at Peninsula Beverly Hills
Near the corner of Santa Monica and Wilshire Boulevards, banners attached to lampposts encourage people to ‘Celebrate 90210.’ The prestigious postal code is sufficient to identify the classy, cultured community of Beverly Hills to visitors from around the world. Just a few yards away, behind walls designed to keep away the paparazzi, the Peninsula Beverly Hills ...
Gaylord Opryland Welcomes Back Meeting Planners
In a city where a hotel grand reopening makes the front page of the newspaper and headlines the evening news, Nashville warmly welcomed back the Gaylord Opryland Hotel. The hotel officially reopened on Nov. 19, after devastating floods last May closed its doors for more than six months....
