A fresh new concept for London's hotel sector has just floated in to the Royal Victoria Dock, offering an exciting splash of waterside hospitality and community spirit to the London Docklands. Good Hotel London is the latest property to join HotelREZ Hotels & Resorts' independent portfolio in the UK capital.
JLL, the world's leading real estate investment and advisory firm, has announced it is expanding its breadth of services in the Hotels & Hospitality Group (H&HG) in the MENA region.
RobertDouglas announced today that it acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Denihan Hospitality Group ("Denihan") in the restructuring of its joint venture partnership with Pebblebrook Hotel Trust (NYSE: PEB) on six upper upscale hotels in Manhattan known as the Manhattan Collection. The restructuring includes an exchange of ownership interests, with Denihan assuming full ownership of The Benjamin, Shelburne NYC, Fifty NYC, and Gardens NYC hotels and Pebblebrook assuming full ownership of the Manhattan NYC and Dumont NYC. The transaction values the six hotel portfolio at $820 million, or roughly $460,000 per key.
RobertDouglas announced that it advised a partnership of institutional private equity funds on the sale of the Tarrytown House Estate on the Hudson to a consortium of New York-based real estate investors.
RobertDouglas announced today that it advised 21c Museum Hotels in their selection of Junius Real Estate Partners ("Junius") as a strategic capital and growth partner. Junius, is a specialized real estate investment unit of the J.P. Morgan Private Bank, a division of J.P. Morgan Asset Management. Junius Hospitality Partners ("JHP"), a fund managed by Junius, has made an investment in 21c Museum Hotels. Under the agreement, JHP will deploy dedicated capital toward developing up to $250 million in projects for 21c's expansion. As part of the transaction, JHP will own a minority stake in the operating company.
Independent hotel systems leader Maestro PMS wrapped up its 2016 Maestro Users' Conference on September 1st. Executives and staff from more than 50 properties attended the sold-out event at The Omni King Edward Hotel in downtown Toronto, Canada. Attendees received information on new property software system enhancements, attended education sessions, and were provided with personal one-on-one learning labs with Maestro PMS professionals. Maestro also announced continued property software product enhancements including personalized functionality to its ResWave online booking engine, increased mobile technologies, and further data mining opportunities into Maestro's centralized database. Many of Maestro's technology partners also met with attendees at the conference to share their new advancements and offerings.
Your Hotel constantly buys materials and services from different suppliers. Do you want to automate the procurement process? Do you plan to combine purchases on all your suppliers at one place? Do you have a task to make the process of the procurement easy and convenient?
Sleep Retreat Hotels is a new, luxury boutique brand, launching in August 2016 with a 37-bedroom property in Cornwall, UK. The company is targeting rapid national expansion, with 16 hotels planned by 2018.When evaluating PMS', Nathan Westbury, Managing Director of Sleep Retreat Hotels, was looking for "software that is user friendly, great for guests and can also offer a central reservations system." After reviewing several leading solutions, he settled upon Xn protel's cloud native offering, protel Air.
RobertDouglas announced today that it advised KHP Capital Partners in the sale of the 70 Park Avenue Hotel. The 205-room boutique hotel, located on Park Avenue at 38th Street in the heart of Manhattan's Park Avenue South neighborhood, was purchased by a Spanish real estate investment company. The property will be managed by Mallorca-based Iberostar Hotels & Resorts – it will be their first U.S. hotel property -- and will be renamed the Iberostar 70 Park Avenue.
Hospitality IT solutions specialists, Avenue9, is delighted to announce that it has been awarded a one-year contract to operate as an outsourced IT Director for the luxury 163-acre Galgorm Resort and Spa – incorporating a spa village, three restaurants, 122 bedrooms and 12 self-catering cottages and cabins – at Ballymena in County Antrim, Northern Ireland.
Deep Blue Communications Announces Enhanced Network Services at HITECH 2016 Show. Service Offers Seamless Network Integrations for Multiple Third Party Vendor.
The recently opened AlmaLusa is the latest property to join HotelREZ Hotels & Resorts' independent portfolio in Portugal. HotelREZ will provide the new boutique hotel with GDS representation under the HO chain code, as well as sales and marketing services.
Acentic, global leaders in hospitality technology, has completed its largest install in the UK at the 5-star luxury hotel, InterContinental London – O2, Greenwich Peninsula – a flagship property managed by the Arora Group.Putting guests and delegates in control with cutting edge technology, Acentic's Radiant 4, leading Wi-Fi platform and Panorama NG, entertainment systems have been rolled out across the flagship hotel's 453 magnificent luxury rooms and high-spec 4,500sqm conference centre which includes The Arora Ballroom, a 3,100sqm pillar-free space.Richard Robinson, Chief Executive of Acentic, said: "This is a huge coup for us. InterContinental is the most luxurious of the IHG brands and The InterContinental London – The 02 is a flagship property for both InterContinental and the Arora group.We worked alongside the hotel's marketing team to design and develop a fully customised interactive TV solution for the hotel. This included the ability for the guest to control their TV screen using their mobile phone and also playback their own content onto the TV. In doing so, we have achieved a seamless connectivity to help drive memorable, personal guest experiences.As an accredited Bose Pro Partner, we were able to recommend that the public areas should be equipped with the Bose's latest Professional Background Music Control System, including amplifiers and speakers as well as an enhanced foreground system for the 18th floor rooftop sky bar, Eighteen.Sunny Roda, Group Purchasing & IT Director at Arora Group said:"We are delighted to have partnered with Acentic to install leading technology at this flagship property for the Arora Group. Technology is an integral part of the guest experience. Working with Acentic has allowed us to be at the forefront of innovation and has helped us deliver a first class in-room entertainment system, property wide networking and wi-fi solution to serve the significant demands of today's tech savvy traveller. We have been working with Acentic, and in particular with Phil Campbell their Senior VP Sale & Business Development for over 8 years now and continue to be impressed by the commitment and dedication Acentic continue to deliver."Acentic's technical team, including Chris Bloy, Sean Blackmore, Webster Beckford & Tom Herold, were core to the successful deployment of this solution, with project management headed up by Zoe Jeeves bringing this landmark project to life. Since its launch a year ago, Radiant 4 has been installed in over 5,300 rooms in 24 properties across 6 countries. Panorama NG has been installed in over 4,200 rooms in 20 properties.Adjacent to the world-renowned O2 Arena, the InterContinental London – The O2 is the second London property in the InterContinental Hotels & Resorts portfolio. The hotel operates under a franchise agreement with Arora Hotels, a division of the Arora Group.
The Unplugged Collection is the multi-functional hotel business platform and booking engine of choice for unique & independent hotels, Villas and lifestyle venues.It offers a well-designed membership site, listing unique and independent hotels, including several smart add-ons to operate a profitable hospitality business.
LWHA Asset Management, a NYC-based firm helps hotel owners create value through asset management and strategic hospitality consulting, is celebrating its five-year anniversary in 2016, and has surpassed $1 billion in assets served. The company is a division of LW Hospitality Advisors, and is led by Gary Isenberg, who brings more than 30 years of diversified Hospitality experience in Hotel Management, Finance and Asset Management.
RobertDouglas announced today that it advised affiliates of the Waterford Group in the sale of the Courtyard Providence Warwick in Warwick, Rhode Island. Originally developed by the seller and opened in 2003, the 92-room, institutional-quality hotel was acquired by one of the largest private real estate companies in the United States and an active investor in hotels. Waterford Hotel Group, an affiliate of the Waterford Group, will continue to manage the property for the new owner.
RobertDouglas announced today that it advised Gemini 37 West 24th Street MT, LLC, a subsidiary of Gemini Real Estate Advisors, in the sale of the Wyndham Garden Manhattan Chelsea West. The sale was arranged pursuant to a Chapter 11 proceeding and closed on Feb. 29, 2016. The 124 key hotel, located steps from Madison Square Park in the heart of the dynamic Flatiron District, was purchased by Fortuna Realty Group, LLC for $60,000,000, or approximately $485,000 per key, following a lively auction administered by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.
RobertDouglas announced today that it advised 33 Peck Slip Acquisition LLC, a subsidiary of Gemini Real Estate Advisors, in the sale of the Best Western Seaport Inn. The sale, which closed on January 29, 2016, was the result of a Chapter 11 proceeding administered by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. The 72-key hotel, located in the heart of the Seaport District in lower Manhattan, was purchased for $38,300,000 by the Howard Hughes Corporation.
Hotels and resorts are often at risk for legal action on many fronts. A primary risk factor that places properties in a potentially litigious position is when daily operations turn into hazardous situations for guests or employees. Transferring risk to third parties, such as vendors that are contracted by your property, can help financially shield hoteliers from claims they may not be responsible for.
In today's fast-moving digital age, unless you're constantly reviewing journals and forums, online and social media trends can be hard to keep up with. It's important that hospitality brands stay at the forefront of digital innovation to target audiences on the online platforms where they spend their time. Oster and Associates, a full-service marketing and branding firm, offers this overview of some of the top online marketing tactics that hospitality brands can take advantage of during 2016.