Questex Hospitality + Travel, the world's largest multinational media, event and e-commerce company serving the global hospitality and travel industry, today announced that its North America Hotel Investment Conference (NATHIC) will be held Nov. 20-22 at the newly renovated Hyatt Chicago Magnificent Mile, becoming the only event of its kind in the Midwest.
Thompson Hotels announced today the appointment of Steve Shern as general manager of the highly-anticipated Thompson Chicago, slated to open fall 2013. Shern, a hospitality industry veteran with more than 20 years of experience, will oversee the general operations of the 247-room lifestyle hotel.
Thompson Hotels announces October 2013 as the opening of its 11th property, Thompson Chicago, as the company continues to expand its global portfolio of lifestyle hotels. The first phase of the hotel opening will occur in October 2013 with reservations being accepted as of October 1 and the following phases rolling out through the end of the year. Thompson Chicago will offer its savvy clientele sophisticated comforts of a home-away-from-home, joined by personalized service provided by the hotel's highly trained and committed staff. Located in the heart of Chicago's famed Gold Coast, the 247-room hotel offers unobstructed city views of Lake Michigan and is just steps from glamorous Michigan Avenue, Oak Street boutiques and downtown's finest dining and nightlife destinations.
Wyndham Hotel Group, the world's largest hotel company with approximately 7,380 hotels and part of Wyndham Worldwide Corporation (NYSE: WYN), today rebranded the former Hotel 71 in downtown Chicago as the 334-room Wyndham Grand Chicago Riverfront, expanding the Wyndham Hotels and Resorts® brand footprint in key markets throughout the U.S.
PAR Springer-Miller reduced the amount of time it takes to receive signed sales contracts from 3 to 5 business days to only 5 minutes with Sertifi for Salesforce, a pre-built electronic signature application. With more than 99% of contracts sent through Sertifi, the organization significantly shortened its sales cycle and serves customers faster.
Millennium Knickerbocker Hotel Chicago announces Valeria Benner as the new Executive Chef of the 306-room historic hotel. Chef Benner will oversee all culinary operations, including NiX Restaurant featuring American cuisine and seasonal menus. She will also be in charge of catering for weddings, meetings and events.
Hyatt Hotels Corporation (NYSE:H) today announced that Hyatt Regency O'Hare is the recipient of the company's first "CEO's Award for Innovation." Given by Hyatt President and CEO Mark Hoplamazian, the global award recognizes a hotel or team that has fostered innovation and positively evolved the guest experience. "Hyatt Regency O'Hare has redefined the guest arrival experience, resulting in tangible and significant increases in guest satisfaction scores"
Hotel Indigo®, IHG’s (InterContinental Hotels Group) [LON: IHG, NYSE: IHG (ADRs)] upscale boutique brand, is continuing its expansion in major U.S. cities with plans for its third hotel in the Chicago market. The hotel, which will be located in the historic downtown area’s Atlantic Bank Building, is expected to open in spring 2014.
In its commitment to Chicago’s growing Chinese tourism market, the Hilton Chicago and the Palmer House Hilton have enhanced their sales operation with the addition of a key position specifically designated to sell and service Hilton Hotels Huanying (welcome!) initiative.
Alex Zoghlin is finally taking a corporate gig. Mr. Zoghlin, one of Chicago's top techies who's best-known for launching and running early-stage companies, has taken a job as global head of technology for Hyatt Hotels Corp. For the past four years, he's been running VHT Inc., an online-marketing technology company for the real estate industry. He said goodbye Friday.
Loews Hotels & Resorts, a wholly owned-subsidiary of Loews Corporation (NYSE: L), today held a ceremonial groundbreaking in Chicago on the site where the company will open the Loews Chicago Hotel in 2015.
Konstantine Drosos, a 17 year veteran of Hilton Hotels has been appointed to the position of Hotel Manager of the Palmer House, the longest continuously operating full service hotel in North America. The announcement was made by Dean Lane, Palmer House Hilton General Manager. Drosos’ most recent position -- as Director of Finance, was at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront Hotel in San Diego, California, for which he was on the hotel’s opening team.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: HOT) today announced the signing of Le Méridien Chicago – Oakbrook Center. Located in Greater Chicago directly adjacent to Oakbrook Center, one of the most prestigious shopping destinations in the United States, the 10-story building is set to undergo a $20 million transformation prior to its 2014 debut. Owned by RockBridge and managed by Wischermann Partners Inc., Le Méridien Chicago – Oakbrook Center will combine timeless, chic design with sophisticated offerings.
Swisscom Hospitality Services announced today that Mark Holzberg has joined the company as Vice President, The Americas and Global Managed Services. Mark has been tasked to strengthen Swisscom's presence in the Americas and its managed services business globally, as the international hotel industry's leading network operator and provider of managed services, while building on the company's existing footprint of more than 250 partner hotels in North America and over 2'000 properties worldwide. Mark Holzberg has over 20 years of experience building and running companies in the hospitality technology space. As CEO of Lorica Solutions he pioneered the marketing of a managed services offering for the hospitality industry based on Internet Protocol (IP) technology. Subsequent to selling Lorica to XETA Technologies in 2010, he organized and ran XETA's hospitality business, whose product portfolio included converged networks, voice, data and managed services. Previously, Mark served as President, Americas for Bartech Systems International and as CFO for TravelClick. In his most recent role prior to joining Swisscom, he was Vice President & Group Executive, Hospitality / Travel / Leisure for AGC Networks, Inc.
White Lodging Services is pleased to announce Jeremy Wilson has been named the general manager of the Holiday Inn Chicago Midway Airport in Bedford Park, Ill. Previously, Wilson was the assistant general manager at the Tucson Marriott University Park in Tucson, Ariz. Wilson's hospitality career began with Hyatt Hotels & Resorts in 1997 when he graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in Hospitality Business. From there, he gained a decade of experience in back of the house and front of the house food & beverage operations at six different Hyatt properties in states such as Ill., Fla, N.Y. and Cali. His most significant roles included director of hotel operations at the Hyatt Regency Long Island, N.Y. and director of food & beverage at Hyatt Regency Orange County, Cali.
With more than 30 years of national and international hospitality experience, Bob is a seasoned veteran, who has held positions as both hotel General Manager and Vice President of Finance for major hotel companies. Most recently, Bob was the General Manager of The American Club Resort in Kohler, Wisconsin. Prior to this, he was the Managing Director of the Fairfax Hotel at Embassy Row in Washington DC and The Umstad Hotel and Spa in Raleigh, North Carolina. He has also served as Executive Vice President of Operations and Chief Financial Officer for L’Ermitage Hotels in Los Angeles. In addition, he has held Vice President level finance positions with The Sheraton Corporation and Inter-Continental Hotel Corporation.
As Director of Group Sales for Fairmont Chicago, Millennium Park, Wiese is responsible for the success of the hotels sales strategies and well as oversees the group sales team of ten. Tinas proven success with th e hotels meeting planner satisfaction scores and her reputation as an energetic and engaging team member ensures us that she is the ideal leader for our group sales team, stated Dan Dolan, Director of Sales and Marketing for Fairmont Chicago, Millennium Park.
Hall started with Fairmont Hotels & Resorts in 1992, and since has held various positions with hotels under the Fairmont umbrella in Canada and Bermuda. As Hotel Manager for Fairmont Chicago, Millennium Park, Hall oversees the functions and quality control of many departments within the illustrious hotel including rooms, food and beverage, security, engineering, parking, and the hotels business center and spa. We are excited to welcome Ken Hall to our team. His extensive experience with Fairmont Hotels & Resorts and his commitment to guest satisfaction and excellence are the at tributes that ensure he will be an outstanding addition to our hotel, stated Mark Huntley, Regional Vice President and General Manager of Fairmont Chicago, Millennium Park.
Destination Hotels & Resorts has appointed Heidi Edinger, CMP, CASE as the director of sales and marketing for MileNorth™, A Chicago Hotel. In her new role, Edinger will be responsible for strategy, development and implementation of marketing, public relations, and sales initiatives for the newly-branded property in addition to strengthening relationships within the local community. The focus at MileNorth is on creating a Chicago-centric brand with warm and inviting service and Midwest hospitality. The hotel’s central location in the heart of the Windy City is just steps from The Magnificent Mile, near the city’s numerous cultural and tourist attractions and three miles from the convention center, making it an attractive choice for business, convention and leisure travelers. Complimentary Wi-Fi throughout the property and in all guestrooms is the icing on the cake. As part of Destination Hotels & Resorts’ mission to integrate hotels into the destinations where they are located, Edinger and her team will work to develop local partnerships in addition to fostering relationships with the meetings and travel industries, associations and agencies. Her twenty years of experience in the hospitality industry, combined with her vast knowledge of the Midwest market make Edinger a perfect fit for this role.
Ken Hall, who takes on the role of hotel manager, Fairmont Chicago, Millennium Park. With 20 years of hospitality experience, Hall brings a wide scope of industry knowledge to the hotel, gained during a career which has taken him around the world from Jasper Park, Canada to Fujiya, Japan.