Out of the 12 UK regions, the North West is one of eight regions to achieve a year-on-year increase in gross operating profit per available room (GOPPAR) for 2013. Those posting negative year-on-year movements in GOPPAR are Greater London, the East of England, the North East and the West Midlands, according to the latest HotStats.
Hotels are commodities to some and unique, service-oriented escapes to others. In light of this, hoteliers must carefully weigh the growing needs of intelligent distribution and revenue management with the demands and desires of partners and guests. That was the central message Monday during a panel discussing the question “Are hotels commodities?” at the Master Innholders’ 21st Annual Hotel General Managers’ Conference. “If hotels are trading on price, then, yes, hotels are segmented commodities, but if you add to your offering what is unique and special about any property or destination, then it’s possible to get away from full-on commoditization,” said Mark Lewis, managing director of hotel representation company HotelREZ.
Hampton by Hilton London Gatwick Airport North Terminal has appointed Simon Fordham as general manager. Simon brings a wealth of hospitality experience to his new role, which includes periods of airport hotel experience at Exeter International Airport and Gatwick.
Supranational Hotels, one of the world's leading providers of distribution technology and sales and marketing representation, is set to launch their 40th anniversary celebrations at the UK's premier event for buyers of business travel, The Business Travel Show London.
He joins the St Pancras team from The Merrion Hotel in Dublin where he was the Director of Sales for the past four years. As a member of the 5-star Leading Hotels of the World group, The Merrion has established a reputation for being one of Dublin’s most luxurious properties. Prior to this, Matthew held a number of Sales and Event management roles and also brings with him four years of international hospitality experience courtesy of leadership roles in Canada.
TouristOnline, one of the largest hotel online booking providers in Denmark has completed 2-way XML interface with eRevMax to offer robust connectivity to its growing base of customers. The integration will help accommodation providers connected to the channel use eRevMax's online distribution platforms, RateTiger & Connect, for updating inventory availability and room rates in real-time helping them control pricing strategies and optimize their revenue. TouristOnline will also benefit from eRevMax's Reservation Delivery service, which facilitates automatic transfer of reservations data booked through their various hotel booking portals like TouristOnline.dk, Hotel.dk, visitdenmark.com directly to the hotel management systems (CRS/PMS).
Delfo joins Infor to head up the EzRMS Revenue Management sales efforts into key and strategic accounts. He brings a wealth of industry and revenue management experience having previously worked for Micros-Fidelio as Senior Account Manager overseeing the rollout of Fidelio solutions into major accounts. He gained further experience with Ramesys Hospitality specializing in sales of CRS and web-based PMS systems before moving to Optims SA and then Amadeus as their head of sales for Revenue Management Systems.
The Taj Group is delighted to introduce its two newly rebranded London hotels - St. James' Court, A Taj Hotel and Taj 51 Buckingham Gate Suites and Residences. The hotels will now be promoted within the Taj Group's portfolio of luxury hotels, resorts and palaces, and the Taj Group has sole ownership and management, as well as operational and marketing control of both properties.
HOSPA 2013 Hospitality Financial Management and Revenue Management 'Overall Student of the Year' awards also announced, together with winners of each examination category of the HOSPA Education and Training programmes in Financial Management and Revenue Management
Hilton London Kensington welcomes Linda Griffin as general manager, following her successful stint as general manager at Athenée Palace Hilton Bucharest. Griffin brings extensive hotel management experience to the role, with over 30 years of service in the hospitality industry.
Leading hospitality technology provider, eRevMax, is pleased to announce the release of its new corporate video outlining the company's focus on continuous innovation and the provision of intelligent solutions for hotel online distribution management.
William (Bill) Beckler is today announced as keynote speaker for the HSMAI Europe 4th Annual Revenue Management conference, London February 6th 2014. Bill is the CEO of recently launched AllTheRooms.com and well-known in the industry from his previous role as Director of Innovation at lastminute.com. Bill brings to the conference an enviable depth of knowledge of the online travel space, coupled with skills in digital marketing, strategy, big data analytics and innovation.
London is the most sought after location in the world for investors looking to acquire a hotel, according to LuxuryEstate.com. The international real estate portal has revealed that the UK capital now accounts for 13.5% of all searches on its website focused on hotels for sale, reflecting the strong rise in visitor numbers since the 2012 Olympics that has seen a 7.7% increase for the first six months of 2013 compared to the same period last year.
The Waldorf Hilton, London, welcomes Alison Palin as general manager fresh from her successful period as general manager at Hilton Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport. Palin brings extensive hotel management experience to the role, with nearly 30 years of service in the hospitality industry.
UK based Getabed.co.uk, an award winning independent B2B bed bank, has integrated with eRevMax, the leading provider of hotel online distribution solutions, to further expand connectivity options available to its fast growing portfolio of hotel partners. Accommodation providers will now be able to make immediate ARI (Availability, Rates and Inventory) updates on the channel through eRevMax's RateTiger solution.
With over 25 years in the events industry, Kate Northrop has joined Mondrian London at Sea Containers as Director of Events, with vast experience in production, on-site operation, logistics and execution of high profile events. Prior to joining Mondrian London, Kate worked as a freelance Event Producer for The Katie Piper Foundation, developing their fundraising gala dinner, including events logistics, securing celebrity entertainment, creating fundraising activities and handling all branding and marketing relating to the event.
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) [LON:IHG, NYSE:IHG (ADRs)] today announces that Tom Singer will step down from the Board and his role as Chief Financial Officer on 1 January 2014. He will be succeeded by Paul Edgecliffe-Johnson, who joined IHG in August 2004 and has held a number of senior positions, most recently as Chief Financial Officer of IHG's Europe and Asia, Middle East & Africa regions. Paul will take up his new position and become a member of IHG's Board and Executive Committee on 1 January 2014.
eRevMax's TigerTime with leading OTAs proved to be a hit at WTM 2013. The sessions generated significant interest among the travel industry with a 'standing room only' turnout.
PPHE is pleased to announce that certain of its wholly-owned subsidiaries have entered into a facility agreement with Aareal Bank AG (Aareal) to refinance three of the group's four owned London hotels - Park Plaza Riverbank, Park Plaza Victoria and Park Plaza Sherlock Holmes - and five Dutch hotels which it operates and owns - Park Plaza Victoria Amsterdam, Park Plaza Vondelpark, Park Plaza Eindhoven, Park Plaza Amsterdam Airport and Park Plaza Utrecht (the London and Dutch hotels, together the Hotels). At the group's option and subject to satisfaction of certain conditions, the facility will also refinance the existing development facility for the recently opened art'otel amsterdam, which matures in Q1 2014.
Dorsett Hospitality International is pleased to announce that the group has received re- development planning permission from The City of London Corporation to drop-down and rebuild The Matrix building located at 9 Aldgate which flanks the Aldgate tube station and the 18th century St Botolph Church into a hotel to be known as Dorsett City, London, the groups 2nd hotel in London.