As you should know by now if you are following developments on the Americans with Disabilities Act (or ADA), the most sweeping changes to the ADA in 20 years become effective on March 15, 2012. It seems that almost every day there is some new development or interpretation of the new rules. For an up-to-date summary of some key provisions, please see articles listed at the end of this posting.

"This management agreement represents our seventh signed hotel in India and we are delighted to be selected as the operator of this world-class resort for a new owner," said Jim Abrahamson, Interstate's chief executive officer. "Khyber Mountain Resort and Spa, situated at the foot of the Himalayas in Gulmarg, a well-known ski destination in Asia, will be a high-quality, resort that will take full...

Signs agreement with Emaar Misr to operate The Address Marassi Golf Resort & Spa in EgyptStrengthens marketing outreach in India – one of the leading feeder markets - and explores potential growth opportunitiesTargeted markets include London, Paris, New York, Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Singapore, Bali, Marrakesh, Kenya and IstanbulEmaar Hospitality Group, the hospitality & leisure s...

Swiss-Belhotel International Senior Vice President Operations and Development for Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam, Mr. Emmanuel Guillard stated that, "Swiss-Belinn SKA Pekanbaru is the first hotel in Pekanbaru and the 5th hotel in Sumatera managed by Swiss-Belhotel International. The hotel will provide guests with services and facilities that meet international standards and is ready to provide v...

NEW YORK, NY, March 29, 2012 – HeBS Digital, the industry leader in hotel digital marketing services, website design and direct online channel strategies, today announces receipt of two Internet Advertising Competition (IAC) awards for "Best Hotel and Lodging Email Campaign" and "Best Hotel and Lodging Interactive Application."

When reading the plethora of e-mails we all receive, do you ever find yourself scratching your head in confusion? While e-mail has become one of the most popular means of communicating with others, some common bad e-mail habits have crept into our daily lives as well. These bad habits often distort or confound the message being sent. To help you prevent your audience from scratching their heads a...

EB-5 financing has become an important source of financing for hotel development in the past few years. And hotels have become a favored class of investment for foreign investors seeking to get their green card with the required investment of capital. Quite a few projects are being funded in this way, and some of the big hotel companies - but most notably Marriott - are encouraging their develope...

During a team night out, a group of disgruntled employees decided to exact revenge on their nasty boss. Whilst eating a meal in a restaurant, the said boss went to the bathroom. When he was away from the table, his employees searched through his wallet and found his Lottery ticket; they quickly wrote down his selected numbers. Then one of them went to the waitress and organized the prank before t...

Amid a global shortage of trained revenue management professionals, IDeaS Revenue Solutions has announced an expanded partnership with The Cornell University School of Hotel Administration to further advance the revenue management profession within hotels. Under the new agreement, IDeaS will double the number of scholarships it offers within its Revenue Management Scholarship Program. The program...

OpenWays has signed an agreement with The Hotel, part of the Pandox AB group, to install Mobile Key by OpenWays, the first and only ubiquitous mobile phone-based front-desk bypass business solution. Mobile Key is being used on a global basis across brands and all hotel star ratings to enable travelers to securely use any of the 6 billion mobile phones worldwide as a room key. As part of its ongoi...

When it comes to website design and development, web hosting, maintenance, and search engine optimization, there are three key ingredients that today's mid-size and independent property owners are looking for: Price, Price, and Price. Therefore, Lodging Interactive is unveiling a new Hotel Website Solutions program designed to offer online marketing services at a low, month-to-month fee with all ...

The latest survey compiled by Horwath Hotel, Tourism and Leisure (HTL), the world's largest hospitality consulting firm, has shown that hotel operators around the globe are more optimistic about the coming few months than they were in 2011. The survey, which summarises responses from over 40 countries, shows that while Asia is still strong and the USA is increasing in confidence, Europe continues...

STR Global, the leading provider of market data to the hotel industry, is forecasting positive revenue per available room (RevPAR) growth across four key Asian markets in 2012. STR Global forecasts on a quarterly basis the hotel performance in Beijing, Hong Kong, Singapore and Sydney. RevPAR growth is expected to be mainly driven by increasing average daily rate (ADR), following strong occupancy ...

Investors and lenders are showing growing signs of optimism, according to the most recent Hotel Investors Gauge, a quarterly survey from STR Analytics and HotelNewsNow.com. "While there remains a significant amount of uncertainty with the future of the global economy, investors and lenders in the hotel industry are focusing on the simple fundamentals of strong demand levels, limited supply growth...

With a wealth of experience in operating hotels both in Asia and Europe, Kenneth will oversee the transformation of ONYX’s inaugural property under its select service brand, OZO in late 2012. The 251-room property, currently known as the Wesley, is strategically located on Hennessy Road, a prime business and commercial area on Hong Kong Island, just minutes’ walk from Admiralty MTR station and Pa...

Tommy has more than 15 years of experience in the financial and real estate industries. Having covered markets in Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and in the recent years China, Tommy has a strong understanding of the real estate market across these regions. He also possesses a wide spectrum of expertise across the different functions in property, from development to marketing to investments. Bef...

McDonald started with White Lodging in 2001 and was promoted from his previous position as senior manager of corporate learning. McDonald has more than 20 years of hospitality and talent and learning experience including assistant hotel manager, assistant front office manager and assistant general manager in hotels across Canada. In his new position, McDonald is responsible for assisting in on-b...

By Mike Hohnen
Inspired by the principles developed in the "Service Profit Chain", Mike Hohnen takes you through each of the steps needed to create an outstanding service business. We live in a world of abundance -- there is plenty of choice everywhere. And since 2008 we have experienced significant drops in demand as consumers became more careful. The result is a widening gap between supply and demand in virtually any category you can imagine. When that happens, many companies have a knee-jerk reaction, and the recipe is more or less always the same: initiate rigorous cost-cutting programmes, reduce staff and/or services, offer discounts in many forms, and increase advertising aggressively.