Private Social Network Aids Revenue Bump for New York Hotel | clickz.com

 08.01.2009 14:18   hsyndicate.com

A little more than two years after approaching branding and design firm 321 Worldwide about an image overhaul, The Pickwick Arms hotel has a new look, new Web site, new tagline and logo, new room keys, and even a new name: The Pod Hotel. And because it's 2008, its also has its own social network. Guests of the Pod, which is in New York City, can now log onto the network, called PodCulture, in advance of their arrival and socialize with other hotel guests, planning shopping trips, nights on the town, casual dinners or even romantic encounters. The site is open only to incoming guests of the Pod, who are given usernames and passwords when they book their rooms.

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Hoteliers…No Resolutions, It's Time to Take Action | By Neil Salerno

 08.01.2009 08:20   hsyndicate.com

This week, I read an article listing several suggested hotelier resolutions for 2009 but, like losing weight and quitting smoking, most resolutions lose steam after just a few days, as reality and daily tasks set-in. Some people spend more time planning what they intend to do than actually doing them. It's time to act. Stop making New Year resolutions and just do it. For independent hotels, electronically generated sales are the only viable means to compete with branded hotels. For branded hotels, electronically generated sales can help re-capture lost market share. Yet, there are still many hoteliers who think that volume electronic sales are out of reach, too costly or too complicated to implement..

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Revenue Management Doesn’t Take a Back Seat During a Downturn | By Bruce W. Mainzer

 08.01.2009 08:20   hsyndicate.com

A common misperception about hotel revenue management (RM) is that its value diminishes when room occupancy falls. With a healthy economy, an RM system can often appear to be a well running car engine, doing its job to manage the mix of bookings to maximize revenues. During low occupancy periods, some hotel management teams mistakenly view RM as a low priority activity. However, it is precisely during these challenging times that hotel professionals should be looking under the hood, and asking questions regarding the methods and the data used to manage hotel pricing and customer mix. Hotel teams should rely on RM processes to enable responsive sales, marketing, cost containment and pricing decisions that work in today’s economy.

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Romney rejoins Marriott board | washingtonpost.com

 08.01.2009 08:20   hsyndicate.com

Former Massachusetts governor and presidential candidate Mitt Romney has been reappointed to Marriott International's board of directors, the Bethesda hotel company said yesterday. Romney, the former chief executive of Bain Capital, served on Marriott's board for 10 years before resigning to run for governor in 2002. He was also chief executive of the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics Organizing Committee. At Marriott, he will chair a newly formed finance committee, overseeing the company's financial performance and how it spends money. "Gov. Romney has repeatedly demonstrated leadership and courage in successfully taking on difficult and complex issues in business, government and the non-profit sector," Marriott chief executive J.W. "Bill" Marriott Jr. said in a statement. "He will provide strong guidance as our company navigates the challenges of the dynamic global financial system and economy."

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The hotel of the future | theglobeandmail.com

 08.01.2009 08:20   hsyndicate.com

As hotels reach out to a new generation of travellers, white-glove service is giving way to laid-back welcomes, signature scents and lobbies that serve as hip community hangouts. Janet Forman checks in. With its pulsing streets and wild, cloud-splitting skyline, Shanghai has a reputation as the metropolis on the edge. And walking into the new Park Hyatt hotel here feels like time travel. Through the door at the Shanghai World Financial Center - a 101-storey skyscraper with 20,000 inhabitants - is a nearly empty vestibule: A sole concierge awaits you before a massive abstract mural. From there, it's an ear-popping elevator ride 87 floors up.

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The Peninsula New York Unveils New Tri-level Luxury Hotel Spa

 08.01.2009 08:20   hsyndicate.com

New York City | The Peninsula New York raises the bar for New York luxury spas with the opening of the new urban resort destination, The Peninsula Spa by ESPA . Designed by Alexandra Champalimaud, the three-story luxury spa is a contemporary fusion of nature-inspired forms, textures and organic materials. The exclusive treatments are designed by the leading global spa consultancy, ESPA, and feature a blend of Asian, Ayurvedic and European therapies delivered by highly-trained therapists.

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Hotel Development Dives Across Globe | globest.com

 08.01.2009 08:20   hsyndicate.com

As the financing freeze spreads across the globe, hotel development has come to a virtual halt. Even areas that were once considered immune from the global credit crisis, such as the Middle East, are beginning to witness a diminished pipeline. In its Q3 ’08 report on Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Portsmouth, NH-based Lodging Econometrics counted a total construction pipeline of 1,656 projects with 358,067 rooms, a drop of 6% and 4%, respectively, from what it terms a cyclical peak in the second quarter of last year. Of those three separate regions, the Middle East registered the smallest drop-off, a 3% decline in both projects (556 down to 541) and rooms (164,259 down to 159,690) between the second and third quarters of 2008. (The total pipeline calculation includes projects under construction, those scheduled to start in the next 12 months and deals in the early planning stages.)

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CityCenter postpones completion of Harmon Hotel on Strip | msnbc.com

 08.01.2009 08:20   hsyndicate.com

The joint venture building the big CityCenter project on the Las Vegas Strip says it's going to postpone opening its Harmon hotel and spa until late 2010. The partnership between MGM Mirage and Infinity World Development Corp. also said Wednesday that it is canceling the residential condominium part of the project. The company says the moves and other steps will save $600 million. The hotel is one part of the 67-acre CityCenter

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Choice Hotels International Opens 48 New Hotels in December

 08.01.2009 08:20   hsyndicate.com

Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE: CHH) continues to grow with the announcement of 48 newly-opened franchised properties during the month of December. The openings include hotels in 21 states and 5 countries, adding more than 3,800 rooms to the company’s existing 465,000-plus rooms. Select properties that opened in December include:

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Rotana Names Kaddouri Senior VP - UAE Operations

 08.01.2009 06:21   hsyndicate.com

Rotana announced details today of significant change among the company's senior executives, which sees Omer Kaddouri, formerly Area VP Dubai & Northern Emirates taking over as Senior VP - UAE Operations.

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UK Hotels: To discount or not to discount? | caterersearch.com

 08.01.2009 06:21   hsyndicate.com

Reception at the Malmaison Belfast hotel. The group's chief executive, Robert Cook, told delegates at the Hotelier of the Year conference that rates at its hotels were flexible according to demand The issue of whether or not to discount is becoming increasingly contentious as properties and groups struggle to compete in an ever more strained market. Veteran hotelier George Goring summed up the problem in these terms: "The biggest sin is to overprice, and the second biggest sin is to underprice." In other words, he told delegates at the recent Hotelier of the Year Conference at the Hyatt Churchill hotel in London, you're caught between a rock and a hard place.

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BAHA lifetime achievement award presented to retired hotel industry finance leader

 08.01.2009 06:21   hsyndicate.com

The winner of the prestigious British Association of Hospitality Accountants (BAHA) ‘Hospitality Accountant of the Year 2008' award is David Nicolson, Regional Director of Finance, Jumeirah International. In the presence of 240 guests at the 2008 BAHA Annual Christmas Awards Luncheon - held last month at the Sheraton Park Lane Hotel, London - David was presented with his award by the Association's Chief Executive Carl Weldon and Chairman Paul Dukes.

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2009 The Game Changer For Innovation In Hotel Sales Processes | By Carol Verret

 08.01.2009 06:21   hsyndicate.com

2009 is going to be a game changer! The end of 2008 has lead to period of transformation in many areas of business - the government rescue of legacy industries that will be transformed by the aid they seek, consumer behaviour transforming from conspicuous consumption to value experiences and business processes that can no longer succeed on the assumptions of the last 5 years. Hotel sales and marketers cannot assume that business processes will ‘snap back' into the same model that worked for the past several years when the economy recovers.

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 08.01.2009 04:17   hsyndicate.com

Ahead of what some believe will be one of the toughest years in the travel sector for at least a decade, Travolution asked a cross-section of executives and commentators for their predictions for 2009. At Travolution for the first time senior executives and bloggers stare into their crystal balls to second-guess the events which will shape the industry over the course of the next 12 months.

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Orbitz Names Harford CEO, Plans More Cost Cuts | wsj.com

 08.01.2009 04:17   hsyndicate.com

Orbitz Worldwide Inc. named Barney Harford president and chief executive and said it will embark on another round of cost cutting, trimming $20 million to $25 million in annual expenses on top of the $20 million announced in November. The 37-year-old Mr. Harford succeeds Steve Barnhart, who resigned Tuesday and will stay on as an adviser until April. Orbitz's new chief executive worked for competitor and market leader Expedia Inc. from 1999 to 2006, where from 2004 to 2006 he was president of Expedia Asia Pacific. For the past two years he has advised and served on the board of Internet travel companies including Kayak.com and eLong, Expedia's Chinese travel booking Web site.

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