It’s no secret that the hospitality industry has faced unprecedented challenges in recent months. A just-released year-to-year comparative report by Smith Travel Research (STR) cited the following statistics: Hotel occupancy was down six percent to end the week at 52.6 percent. Average daily rate (ADR) dropped 9.9 percent to finish the week at $95.86. Revenue per available room (RevPAR) decreas...

A Social Media Conversation. 8/18/09 by Christina Wells. When I was asked to write the Developments November/December feature, the assignment had me digging into who in the industry is using or contemplating using social media platforms.

The company behind plans to open the first hotel in space predicts a holiday in orbit will soon become a realistic travel option. Galactic Suite say their space station hotel is on schedule to accept its first paying guests in 2012.

Sofitel Luxury Hotels has this week announced a new management contract with Carrasco Nobile S/A, a consortium managed by the Spanish group Codere, to manage the Casino Carrasco Hotel in Montevideo which will become the Sofitel Montevideo Casino Carrasco and Spa.

Expanding its unique destination product portfolio and building on its longstanding association with educational institutions and historic properties, Dolce Hotels and Resorts has become manager of The Thayer Hotel, a 149-room, historic hotel and meeting center on the grounds of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y.

As the hospitality industry becomes more competitive, economic pressures increases and the industry continues to expand, there is an obvious need to retain clientele as well as increasing profitability. It is therefore unsurprising that hospitality management professionals strive to improve guest satisfaction, and short- and long-term revenues. The management professionals whom are striving for t...

A strike should be considered a crisis and therefore managed accordingly. It goes without saying that all hotels, regardless of size, should have a comprehensive crisis plan in effect that identifies roles and responsibilities and specifies actions to be taken in the event of any eventuality, whether it be a strike, fire, criminal act or natural disaster.

The Challenge of Leadership Today: It’s easy to skipper a luxury liner in calm sunny seas. Not so easy in a storm. The response to big waves will mark out the true leader. The world has changed and the need to manage changed circumstances has brought new challenges. New challenges need to be addressed and wherever there are challenges there are people. In a turbulent world, turbulent leadership w...

VingCard, a leading hospitality security provider and part of the ASSA ABLOY Hospitality Group, completed the installation of its standalone electronic locking solution, Classic by VingCard, at the Houjie International Hotel in Dongguan, China. Centrally located in the business district, the four-star property features the highest revolving restaurant in the Dongguan area; the Houjie Internationa...

The elegant, luxurious Grand Resort Bad Ragaz was recently named "Hotel of the Year 2009" by GaultMillau Switzerland, the Swiss branch of the esteemed restaurant guidebook.

Lodging Interactive, a leading interactive marketing agency servicing the hospitality industry today, announced the roll out of its innovative marketing tool for franchised and branded hotels,Link2Brand. Link2Brandprovides hotels with a simple way to convert long and hard to remember brand system website URL links into short, meaningful website URL links.

With a year-on-year increase of 1.5 percentage points in October 2009, to 85.1%, the London hotel market recorded the second highest occupancy performance for the capital in 2009, according to the latest HotStats survey by industry experts TRI Hospitality Consulting.

Leading Family Hotels And Kinderhotels Brands Look To Expand | Wyndham And Ramada Encore To Make Their Middle East Debuts | End-Of-Year Promotion Doubletree On Its Way To Saudi Arabia | Cairo In Receipt Of A Radisson Blu | Barnsley House To Be Renovated | Kiessling's Corner

The U.S. hotel industry posted declines in all three key performance measurements during October, according to data from STR. In year-over-year measurements, the industry’s occupancy fell 6.2 percent to end the month at 58.1 percent. Average daily rate dropped 8.2 percent to finish the month at US$99.08. Revenue per available room for the month decreased 13.8 percent to finish at US$57.57.

Judy Mahoney brings more than 16 years of hospitality industry knowledge to the hotel. Most recently, Mahoney held a senior position with Easton’s Group of Hotels overseeing the sales and marketing efforts of properties in the Greater Toronto Area. She also spent six years as director of sales and marketing at the Renaissance Toronto Hotel Downtown where she successfully helped grow the hotel’s b...

Chef Tom joined Marco Polo Hotels in 2007 as Kitchen Section Head for the Marco Polo Hongkong Hotel. In this capacity, he formed part of the powerhouse cast that spearheaded the startup operations of the Western kitchen of award-winning CUCINA. Prior to joining the Marco Polo Hotels, he gained valuable experience working in some of Hong Kong’s leading restaurants and hotels, including The Repuls...

Dorchester Collection is pleased to announce the appointment of Zoe Jenkins in the role of General Manager for Coworth Park, its new 70-room country house estate and spa to open in Summer 2010. For the past six months Ms Jenkins has been overseeing the pre-opening project and launch plans as Director of Operations. In her new role as General Manager she will report directly to Christopher Cowdray...

By Educational Institute of AH&LA
The American Hotel & Lodging Association. In 1910, there were fewer than 10,000 hotels nationwide and hoteliers worried about fraud, crooks, and deadbeats wreaking havoc on their business. Spectacular photographs and colorful anecdotes capture the lodging industry’s rich history and tell the story of how AH&LA came to be.