The resort, which will continue to operate under its current name, is an indicator of the troubles in the high-end hotel market. The seizure of the St. Regis Monarch Beach, where American International Group Inc. sponsored a luxury retreat just days after accepting a federal bailout, is the most dramatic sign yet of the deep troubles in the market for high-end hotels.
Last month, their $480 million hotel, the Terranea Resort, opened for business. But how much business remains to be seen. After 12 years of planning, the hotel, with 400 rooms and extensive recreational facilities, made its debut in what Mr. Lowe called “the most challenging market since World War II.” “People are still traveling,” he said, “but they’re shopping very carefully.” According to Smith Travel Research, hotels in Los Angeles had an average occupancy of 63.6 percent in May, down 14 percentage points from a year earlier.
NXTV, a subsidiary of NXSystems, LLC, the leading provider of IP Based Entertainment and Services Delivery Platforms announced today that it has started deploying its IP over Coax solution to the market. The cost effective platform will provide hotels only having cable infrastructure the ability to offer IP entertainment services to their guests.
NXTV, a subsidiary of NXSystems, LLC, the leading provider of IP Based Entertainment and Services Delivery Platforms announced their latest releases in application development that will be shown at HITEC 2009 in Anaheim, CA. NXTV's platform can enable a vast array of applications aimed at increasing guest satisfaction, enhancing brand loyalty and generating new revenue streams for their hotel partners. NXTV's latest developments include the following advancements:
Casting about for some good news, we find that the hotel industry is doing "less worse" than it was earlier this year, according to Smith Travel Research. Hotel revenues and occupancy are still way below what they were about this time in 2008, but they’re slightly better than they were in February and March. The hospitality industry measures success by calculating revenue per available room – RevPAR, they call it – by multiplying the occupancy rate of a hotel by the average daily room rate. By that measure, RevPAR for the week ending April 25 was down 19.1% from a year ago nationwide. That was much worse than the 14.1% dip reported the week before, but that week was helped by the timing of Passover, which occurred on a different week in 2008.
The global economic downturn has affected the hotel industry -- is there an upside to the current situation? Many industry experts say yes. The industry is undergoing a dramatic shift, but managers and executives with the right skills and knowledge will be able to position their properties to be more competitive now and in the emerging marketplace.
The developers of a $350 million luxury hotel and condominium project in this city’s historic “filmland” district are making a pitch to the motion picture industry: bring the business of promoting movies back to Hollywood. Marty Collins, chief executive of Gatehouse Capital, which is based in Dallas and is building the 305-room W Hotel & Residences in partnership with HEI Hotels & Resorts of Norwalk, Conn., says the hotel has been designed to host an elaborate ritual of movie promotion known as the press junket.
What? No front desk? Has check-in become obsolete? No, hotel experts say, but the ritual is certainly changing. Faur never stood in line, never waited for a clerk to retype her reservation information and never was ignored so the clerk could answer the phone. Andaz, a new, hip hotel brand from Hyatt, has no lobby telephones or agents behind imposing counters. A communal table set with jars of candy, bowls of fruit and a selection of wine is as close as you'll get to the front desk of old. Andaz is one of the first U.S. hotels to do away with a front desk. Elsewhere, automated kiosks allow some travelers to confirm their reservations at airport terminals or in hotel lobbies. At the new Aloft chain, which has a hotel in Rancho Cucamonga, guests can use a lobby kiosk to check in and obtain keys, or consult with a nearby human to complete the process.
The hotel industry will struggle in 2009, but does that mean hotel businesses should simply retrench and wait out the economic downtown? Many industry experts say no: instead, this is the time for hotel businesses to invest in their managers.
MEMPHIS, Tenn | Embassy Suites Hotels today announces the opening of the Embassy Suites Los Angeles--Glendale. Centrally located in Downtown Glendale, the 272-suite hotel is the brand's first in Glendale, sixth in the greater Los Angeles area and the 196th Embassy Suites Hotel in the brand's portfolio.