In a global study released today at the World Economic Forum, it was revealed that international travel is considered even more important than the Internet, TV/movies, or political diplomacy at stimulating the economy and breaking down cultural barriers. The independent study was conducted by Penn Schoen Berland on behalf of Marriott International (NYSE: MAR) and included the views of 1,100 globa...

The Olympic City of London served as host to Worldhotels' 2012 Annual Conference, which rang in a new year for nearly 400 independent hoteliers, staff and hotel specialists from all over the world. The conference was themed 'Stronger, Faster, Higher' and held at the Royal Garden Hotel, which provided their conference and meeting space as well as 350 of their rooms exclusively for the event.

The Registry Collection® program, the world's largest luxury exchange program and part of the Wyndham Worldwide (NYSE: WYN) family of brands, is celebrating 10 years of sending members on luxury vacations around the world in 2012. To mark this special milestone, The Registry Collection program's U.S and Canada offices announced a member giveaway for a chance to win a vacation as part of a larger ...

While a business-led economic recovery has helped lift U.S. hotel occupancy rates, development is still a soft spot as tight credit conditions have limited new-hotel builds. Still, there is a growing sense that the hotel sector has momentum and performance will continue to improve. "People are expecting 2012 to be a pretty positive year, with solid performance by the industry in terms of the dema...

Currently, Grupo Solare manages 7 hotels in Sao Luis, in the budget (Soft Inn), economy (Expresso XXI), and midscale (Solare Hoteis and Suites) categories, totaling 858 rooms. The Group also manages the luxury hotel Gran Solare Lencois Resort, with 242 rooms, which located at the entry gate of the Lencois Maranhenses National Park, in the city of Barreirinhas.

Magnuson Hotels, the world's largest independent hotel group, announced today the complete rebranding of the Magnuson Hotel Des Moines Airport. Formerly a Best Western, this 144-room hotel seeks to upgrade its local, regional and national market position through its affiliation with the Magnuson Hotels brand designation.

Keeping that in mind, our first 2012 Hospitality Conversations™ was with Dr. William Frye, CHE of Niagara University, who has enhanced his professional knowledge by his active involvement in faculty internships with both Marriott and Hyatt Hotels. Dr. Frye offered a diverse number of topics that he believes face hospitality business professionals today. For our next Hospitality Conversations™,...

Swiss International Hotels today announced it has signed an agreement with HuaYuan Group of Xiamen, China to develop Swiss International Hotels in Greater China. The transaction, assisted by Rockwood Associates LLC, Portland, USA (http://www.rockwd.com/), is part of both companies’ shared strategy to capture the tremendous growth opportunities within China, the fastest growing hotel market in the...

STR Global, the leading provider of market data to the hotel industry, reports on the latest hotel pipeline in Poland and Ukraine in light of the upcoming UEFA European Football Championship taking place between from 8 June to 1 July 2012.

Total hotel property transactions in 2011 amounted to US$14.0 billion, compared to $8.6 billion in 2010, according to data from STR Analytics. This is a 62.8-percent increase over 2010. The average price per key in 2011 was US$200,000, compared with US$179,000 in 2010, an increase of 11.7 percent.