Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ: MAR), is tapping into the world's top influencers to help shape and guide its evolution as an emerging leader in lifestyle hospitality. With an eye on identifying key trends and what inspires millennials and next generation consumers, the company hosted its first Cultural_Game_Changers_Londonthought leaders' forum at the London EDITION.
Patrick Saade ESSEC IMHI 2010 has been promoted to Senior Vice President in the Pan-European Investment Team at JLL's Hotels & Hospitality Group. Patrick joined JLL after graduating in 2010 and is approaching his 5 year anniversary with the company. He has been instrumental in closing some high profile transactions over the past years, most notably: the sale of the Ritz Madrid, the Marriott Champs-Elysees in Paris, and the InterContinental Paris Le Grand.
The Board of management of Interchange & Consort Hotels has announced that Rob Payne has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Interchange & Consort Hotels. Rob, previously chief commercial officer of the company, stepped in as interim CEO in March 2015. In his three months in the role, Payne has played an instrumental part in the business, bringing his strategic and commercial background at BUPA and East Coast to ensure a new focus, accountability and direction to Interchange & Consort Hotels and the Best Western and Beacon brands.
DoubleTree by Hilton today announced the opening of DoubleTree by Hilton London Docklands on the banks of the River Thames, following an extensive refurbishment and reflagging. The immaculate hotel offers 378 guest rooms with views across London's iconic River Thames to Canary Wharf, a key business, shopping and entertainment precinct. It is the only hotel in London with its own pier – taking full advantage of its waterfront location – and offers stylish, modern accommodation, restaurants, bars and event venues.
Wolfgang M. Neumann, President & CEO of Rezidor, is the new Chairman of the International Tourism Partnership (ITP). Effective today, he succeeds Ian Carter, President, Development, Architecture and Construction for Hilton Worldwide who steps down after four years.
iRiS Software Systems, the leading provider of guest-facing technology, has announced its collaboration with Fiz, the innovative travel content platform, to integrate Fiz content to the iRiS Valet family of products.
"Adapting to the digital age is difficult in any industry. It's risky, it's scary and it's easy to sit back and watch the other guys try it first. But today, three incentives have emerged which should make it easier for hoteliers to embrace digital; this new study shows how the right mobile technology could save dollars, make dollars, and improve guest loyalty." Professor Ian Millar, Head of Information Technology at EHL (Ecole Hotelière de Lausanne, named the world's top hotel management school in 2013.)
Burba Hotel Network (BHN), host of the upcoming Hotel Investment Conference Europe (Hot.E) 2015, is pleased to announce that the inaugural Hall of Fame Award will be presented to Petter Anker Stordalen. The Hot.E Hall of Fame Award was established to recognize an investor, developer, or hotel leader whose career has had a profound and positive impact on the European hotel industry. The honoree is someone recognized for his or her business success, intellectual leadership, and personal dedication to maintaining the highest professional and ethical standards.
Joining the executive team at Conrad London St. James is Simon Drake, who was previously with Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces as Director of Food and Beverage for their two London hotels. After two years as General Manager of a boutique hotel in the Surrey hills, Simon has chosen to come back to London with fresh, new insight and will be putting his experience to good use, in his new role at Conrad London St. James.
Angela Cento joins the Conrad London St. James team as Director of Business Development with an experienced marketing and sales background. Her proficient and hardworking attitude will provide excellent leadership for the current sales team. With a strong luxury background including Hotel de Vigny Relais & Chateaux in Paris and London centric hotels including London Marriott Park Lane and Baglioni Hotel, Angela’s motivated approach to sales is sure to boost revenue. Her confident and knowledgeable approach to business development will allow her to make an important contribution to the existing team.
iRiS Software Systems, the leading provider of guest-facing technology for the hospitality industry, is pleased to announce the launch of two new and highly innovative features: iRiS Check-in & iRiS Mobile Room Key. Both will be unveiled at HITEC, the world's largest hospitality technology show, taking place in Austin, TX, from June 15th to June 18th.
The Splendid Hospitality Group has appointed James Clarke as General Manager for the new Hilton London Bankside hotel which is set to open this summer. James brings with him over 20 years of experience within the hospitality industry and joins from the London Hilton on Park Lane where he was Director of Operations. James studied in both the UK and USA and one of his prestigious early jobs included working at the Waldorf Astoria in New York as Director of Room Service and Hospitality Operations.
iRiS Software Systems, the leading provider of guest facing technology, announces an integration with ASSA ABLOY Hospitality, the leading global provider of advanced hotel locking solutions. The companies have joined forces in order to provide access to the new ASSA ABLOY Hospitality Mobile Access solution through the iRiS interactive guest services application that is available to hotels for use in enhancing guest communication and services via their personal mobile devices. Through the new technology partnership, hotel guests will now be able to use their smartphones as digital keys to their assigned guestrooms. The solution will soon be available to any hotel in the world, whether independent or chain.
Hotel online distribution specialist, eRevMax, has added 40 new technical interfaces in the first four months of 2015, continuing its long standing position as the largest distribution network provider in the industry. The new 2-way certified demand partners including Nustay, roomlia®, Bookit.com, Tourplan, EET Global, Traveltool/Logitravel, myHotelShop, NetAffinity, TravelRepublic and Southall Travel among others will add more versatility to the eRevMax Channel Ecosystem.
Belmond has announced the appointment of Klaus Kabelitz as general manager of Belmond Cadogan Hotel in Knightsbridge, London, which will reopen in autumn 2016 following a complete renovation.
Maybourne Hotel Group, London’s leading owner and operator of renowned luxury hotels Claridge’s, the Connaught and the Berkeley, has announced the appointment of Eugene Leonard as Hotel Operations Manager of the Connaught in Mayfair. Eugene Leonard joins the Connaught from Claridge’s where he held the position as Director of Food & Beverage since 2011. Prior to joining Claridge’s, Eugene Leonard was Director of Events for the Maybourne Hotel Group, overseeing sales and operations for the Berkeley, the Connaught and Claridge’s.
In April, London hotels posted negative results with a decrease in gross operating profit per available room (GOPPAR) mainly driven by rooms revenues. On the other hand, the UK Provinces once again recorded positive year-on-year movements across all key performance indicators, according to the latest data from HotStats.
As part of the Group's strategy to restructure the assets of HotelInvest, its hotel owner and investor business, Accor today announces the sale and franchise-back of seven hotels (708 rooms) for €32.6 million, along with a commitment from the buyers to carry out €5.2 million worth of renovations.
Maud RICHARD (ESSEC IMHI) 2004 has been appointed as Director of Hotel Development Reignwood Investments UK limited, Head Office, London. Reignwood owns Ten Trinity Square, a Grade II listed building, next to Tower of London, which will host 41 residences, and a luxury hotel with 100 rooms and suites, restaurants, bars, spa and a private club operated by Four Seasons. Opening scheduled during Q4 2016. Upon graduation Maud joined Conrad Hotels Headquarters Brussels as Analyst and stayed 2 years. Then joined Accor for 6 years where she held several positions as Project Manager for top Executives and also on pre-openings.
Your Hotels™ Worldwide, a leading hotel chain of independently-managed properties in Scandinavia, has strengthened relationship with eRevMax by implementing its 2-way XML connectivity solution for seamless data transfer between its property management system and online sales channels. All 65 properties under the group are using RateTiger Channel Manager to update rates and availabilities across their distribution mix in real-time. RateTiger is a fully integrated e-distribution platform with 2-way XML channel connectivity, market intelligence and revenue management capabilities.