Copyright 1995-2010 Hsyndicate.com http://www.hospitalitynet.org/ Top Stories - Latest Hospitality and Hotel Industry News en-us Tue, 09 Feb 2010 13:21:28 content@hsyndicate.com davy@hsyndicate.com Hsyndicate RSS FeedGenerator 5 http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4045352.html http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4045352.html Tue, 09 Feb 2010 13:12:42 If you're a hotel hopper, akin to George Clooney in "Up in the Air," your credit card details may be in danger. Hackers steal card data from the hospitality industry more than any other -- even more than financial service companies -- according to a study by Trustwave's SpiderLabs, an information security company. Out of the 218 data-breach investigations from 24 countries the company studied, 38 percent of the attacks occurred on hotels. And once the attack occurred, it took an average of 156 days for the business to realize it. http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4045351.html http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4045351.html Tue, 09 Feb 2010 13:10:01 Hotel-room televisions are the "No. 1 pet peeve" of frequent business traveler Chris Byrd. Byrd, who stays about 75 nights a year in hotels, says an increasing number of rooms have new flat-screen, high-definition TV sets. But, he says, the picture quality is often poor. "Many times I've reported problems, and most desk agents have no clue what I'm talking about," says Byrd, a Phoenix-based research associate in the pharmaceutical industry. http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4045350.html http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4045350.html Tue, 09 Feb 2010 13:06:21 The Ritz-Carlton Lake Las Vegas, a five-diamond hotel at the troubled resort community in Henderson, told its 340 employees Monday that it will close on May 2. The Ritz-Carlton Lake Las Vegas, a five-diamond hotel at the troubled resort community in Henderson, told its 340 employees Monday that it will close on May 2. Transcontinental Corp. opened the 349-room hotel in 2003, but Deutsche Bank took over ownership of the property last year through an affiliated company called Village Hospitality and decided to stop funding the resort. "The unprecedented economic downturn has had a significant impact on the hotel's operations. As a result, Village Hospitality LLC concluded that continuing to fund operations was no longer economically viable and consequently decided to close the hotel effective May 2, 2010," Assistant Vice President Scott Helfman said in a statement. http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4045349.html http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4045349.html Tue, 09 Feb 2010 13:01:03 All types of real estate investments, including hotel facilities, have life cycles that reflect a rise and fall of net operating income during a property’s economic life. A renovated, repositioned or brand new hotel experiences rising occupancy and/or average room rate levels during the first two to five years of operation/ownership. Hotel investors project income and expenses for the first several years of an assumed holding period up to and including a “stabilized” level of business. Beyond the initial years of a hotel’s operation/ownership, a forecast of a “stabilized” level of hotel net income is estimated as a representation of an average annual level of anticipated profit over the remaining economic life of an asset. http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4045348.html http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4045348.html Tue, 09 Feb 2010 12:58:54 The Olympic Games might be played by amateurs, but the preparations surrounding the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver is strictly for the professionals. Local hospitality organizations and hoteliers have spent months and years preparing for the onslaught of winter sports fans, Olympic officials, contenders and their families and press that will descend on Vancouver this month. http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4045347.html http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4045347.html Tue, 09 Feb 2010 12:42:28 VingCard Elsafe, the leading hospitality security provider and part of the ASSA ABLOY Hospitality Group, has completed the installation of its VISION by VingCard system, a flexible hotel lock system with intuitive touchscreen technology, and Signature by VingCard electronic door locks, at the new Le Méridien Qingdao in Qingdao, China. http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4045346.html http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4045346.html Tue, 09 Feb 2010 12:32:29 The dates of 3 and 5 February will be forever engraved in the minds of the 174 students of the Bachelor Programme and the Diploma of the Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne (EHL). In two distinct graduation ceremonies held last Wednesday and Friday, the students received their qualifications following two years study for Diploma students and four years of study for Bachelor Programme students. http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4045345.html http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4045345.html Tue, 09 Feb 2010 12:09:48 The Plaza and the Pierre | I recently visited two restored hotels at Grand Army Plaza in New York. The contrast could not have been greater between the Plaza and the Pierre Hotels: The Plaza Hotel, once labeled the greatest hotel in the U.S., no longer qualifies for that designation. After a 2-year conversion to a condominium hotel with 50 private residences, 181 condo hotel rooms and 282 transient rooms, it reopened just after its 100th anniversary in 2007. http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4045344.html http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4045344.html Tue, 09 Feb 2010 12:01:16 A mix of customer-generated media and non-traditional Fairmont content, the new site will serve as a virtual gathering place for Fairmont guests, colleagues, and others and be an interactive environment where fans of the brand can post photos or video from a memorable trip, participate in exclusive polls and contests, access exclusive hotel and destination content, and engage in dialogue with other site users about their Fairmont travel experiences. http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4045342.html http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4045342.html Tue, 09 Feb 2010 12:00:36 The global recession has changed the landscape for business, for people, for markets and forever. A new order changes everything. It changes behaviour, attitudes, confidence, brands and how people decide. One thing is for sure, the new way will not reflect the old way. A business, any business, waiting for 'the good old days' to return better have a rucksack full of survival gear. The 'good old days' are gone, the economic storm saw to that. http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4045343.html http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4045343.html Tue, 09 Feb 2010 11:09:23 Although loyalty programs have become widespread in the hospitality industry, it's still not clear how loyalty programs contribute to increased sales—or whether they work at all. The featured article in the February 2010 issue of the Cornell Hospitality Quarterly (CQ) focuses on how to make the most of a hotel, restaurant, or casino loyalty program. http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4045340.html http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4045340.html Tue, 09 Feb 2010 10:03:36 Best Western International – The World’s Largest Hotel Chain® - is launching its luxury brand - Best Western Premier, in Indonesia, with the opening of the Best Western Premier Hotel Solo. http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4045339.html http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4045339.html Tue, 09 Feb 2010 10:00:44 Electronic channels have changed hotel sales and marketing forever. Internet web site marketing, the Global Distribution System, social media, and third-party aggregators have all presented new marketing opportunities for hotels around the world. In effect, the Internet has created the first affordable global marketplace for large and small hotels everywhere. http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4045338.html http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4045338.html Tue, 09 Feb 2010 09:05:39 The Marginal Impact of Changes | Difficult trading conditions are good opportunities to reconsider basic business principles which have stood the test of time but have recently taken a backseat given the continuous emergence of new management techniques. Most hoteliers have understood that the current environment coupled with an uncertain future requires them to make appropriate decisions in order to mitigate the impact of soft demand and low yields on bottom line. http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4045336.html http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4045336.html Tue, 09 Feb 2010 08:51:26 Convention center hotels in Denver are set to gain new competition when a new 403-room Embassy Suites hotel opens directly across from the Denver, CO, Convention Center in December 2010. Windsor Management Services, the hotel management arm of Windsor Capital Group headquartered in Santa Monica, CA, has reached an agreement with developer, White/Peterman Properties, Inc. in Merrillville, IN, to manage the new Denver hotel. http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4045335.html http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4045335.html Mon, 08 Feb 2010 17:22:18 Coral Hotels and Resorts on Saturday opened its first hotel in Cape Town, marking the entry of the UAE's home-grown hotel chain into South Africa. The move comes well ahead of the FIFA World Cup to be held this summer. The hotel's opening ceremony was attended by South African Minister in the Presidency Trevor Manuel; Shaikh Faisal Bin Sultan Al Qasimi, chairman of Hospitality Management Holdings and chairman of Coral Hotels and Resorts; Shaikh Abdullah Bin Saqr Al Nahyan, a leading UAE businessman, and Esmail Obaid Al Ali, UAE Ambassador to South Africa. The city's prominent businessmen also attended http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4045334.html http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4045334.html Mon, 08 Feb 2010 17:17:23 Connecticut pulled off a coup a few months ago when Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc., one of the nation's largest hotel chains, agreed to relocate its headquarters to the state from New York. But the deal is hitting roadblocks over whether the state is seeking federal stimulus money to help pay for its promises. http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4045332.html http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4045332.html Mon, 08 Feb 2010 16:08:15 Plan A Public Relations & Marketing, Inc., a full-service marketing firm specializing in the hospitality industry, is proud to announce the addition of Celebration, Fla.-based Libra OnDemand to its growing list of clients around the globe. Libra OnDemand is a web-based customer relationship management (CRM) solution built entirely on Force.com to help hoteliers consolidate guest information, drive sales and enhance customer service, Plan A will be responsible for communicating Libra OnDemand’s branding message to the worldwide hospitality industry by leveraging public relations, advertising and digital media platforms. http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4045330.html http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4045330.html Mon, 08 Feb 2010 15:17:38 W Hotels Worldwide, the hotel category buster and industry innovator, recaptures the spirit of Hollywood glamour with the unveiling of W Hollywood Hotel & Residences. Located at the historic intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Vine, this $350 million complex, developed by Gatehouse Capital and owned in a joint venture by HEI Hotels & Resorts and Gatehouse Capital, in affiliation with the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transit Authority (Metro), offers W’s jet-setting guests, residents and Hollywood’s fashionable locals a fully integrated contemporary lifestyle experience. The opening of W Hollywood kicks off another year of international growth for W Hotels, which is on track to more than double its global portfolio by 2011. http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4045329.html http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4045329.html Mon, 08 Feb 2010 15:10:36 Hotels throughout the Middle East & North African (MENA) region have shown modest signs of recovery towards the end of 2009, with occupancy rates improving. Key points: Room rates in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) fall to 2007 levels | Two consecutive years of RevPAR decrease in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) | Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries show mix-reactions in 2009 | Rest of MENA shows good signs.