Wyndham Hotels and Resorts, a subsidiary of Wyndham Worldwide Corporation (NYSE:WYN), today announced its continued expansion in Florida with the opening of the 133-room-and-suite Wyndham Garden® Hotel Miami South Beach.
IN-DEPTH: Making it easier for consumers to find the best travel deals. Recent polls in the U. S. have indicated that travelers plan to increase their travel in the year ahead, with decreased hotel rates having a positive impact. Online travel agency Travelocity highlighted that great deals, especially on hotels, have given travelers confidence to hit the road and take to the skies in 2010. It is particularly encouraging to see that travelers recognize packages as an attractive option to save big bucks.
Investor Carl Icahn took ownership of the unfinished Fontainebleau Las Vegas Resort on Thursday, paying its bankrupt owner about $104.6 million in cash.
The Gansevoort South hotel in Miami Beach is under new management -- and the founders aren't happy. William and Michael Achenbaum, the father-and-son New York developers who opened the Gansevoort in 2008, lost the 334-room hotel to the lender three weeks ago.
Over the past 20 years, Maria Corona has experienced significant success in developing productive relationships with the group meeting and individual guest markets. She was previously senior sales manager for One Bal Harbour Resort & Spa, located in Bal Harbour, Florida, where she actively grew leisure and group sales revenues. Prior to this appointment, she served as director of sales and marketing for All Conventions, LLC of Aventure, Florida. While in this position, she streamlined departmental expenses and developed new products to meet the growing needs of the corporate group market. Ms. Corona has held the title of sales manager for international groups and the FIT market for The Westin Diplomat Hotel of Hollywood, Florida. She also served as meeting group coordinator and sales manager for the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Miami. Earlier in her career, Ms. Corona gained international hospitality experience working in positions of increasing responsibility for The Merrion Hotel in Dublin, Forte Grand Pyramids in Cairo, and in Venezuela for Norwegian Cruise Lines out of Caracas and the Intercontinental Hotel Valencia. Maria Corona received her Master of Arts in Tourism and Hotel Management from Escuela Superior de Turismo Sol (UNED) in Madrid. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Hotel Management and Culinary Arts from the same institution. Ms. Corona is resides in Sunny Isles, Florida.
Pebley brings more than 20 years experience in the hospitality industry and is well versed in sales, marketing management and corporate communications. Most recently, he served as the Director of Marketing for the iconic Fontainebleau Miami Beach where he was responsible for implementing the hotel’s new brand identity as well as executing traditional and online marketing, e-commerce and public relations for the 2008 re-launch of the brand. Prior to Fontainebleau, Pebley opened the Omni Orlando Resort at ChampionsGate and previously spent 16 years with Hilton Hotels Corporation.
A new boutique hotel in downtown Miami has relocated all its guests after health officials determined that a water filter removed too much chlorine, possibly allowing the spread of a rare bacteria that killed one former guest and made at least two others sick since October.
Tabeni has worked in the hospitality industry for nearly 20 years and has received numerous awards and accolades. As General Manager, Tabeni will oversee the development and operations of both the JW Marriott Marquis Miami and Hotel Beaux Arts Miami, scheduled to open in mid-2010. Prior to her new appointment, Tabeni served as General Manager for the JW Marriott Hotel Miami located on prestigious Brickell Avenue. Under her leadership, the hotel was crowned “Hotel of the Year” by Marriott International in 2008. Prior to joining the JW Marriott Hotel Miami, Tabeni was the Director of Room Operations for the JW Marriott Hotel Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Tabeni has a bachelor’s degree in Hotel Management from the acclaimed Universidad Nacional de Quilmes, Argentina. She also attended the prestigious Cornell University School of Hotel Administration General Manager Program in 2006. In 2007, she was awarded with Marriott International’s Mustang Award, designed to recognize General Managers who have overcome tremendous adversity and shown courageous leadership.
Andre Balazs expects to sell his Raleigh Hotel soon, parting with one of the most high-profile boutique properties in South Beach. The New York hotelier behind The Standard hotel chain said he has a buyer for the 104-room Raleigh and that both sides are all but agreed to a price. He expects the deal to become official within four weeks.
Marriott International, Inc. (NYSE:MAR) continues to grow its luxury portfolio with the introduction of a JW Marriott Marquis hotel scheduled to open in downtown Miami in mid-2010. The 357-room JW Marriott Miami Marquis Hotel is being developed by MDM Hotel Group, LTD of Miami.
W Hotels Worldwide, the hotel category buster and industry innovator, today unveils its latest insider escape with the grand opening of W South Beach and The Residences at W South Beach, the W brand’s 31st hotel property. Owned and developed by Tristar Capital and RFR Realty and executed on behalf of ownership by Related of New York, W South Beach is located beachside in the burgeoning arts and entertainment district of Miami Beach.
Agilysys, Inc. (Nasdaq: AGYS), a leading provider of innovative information technology and hospitality software solutions, announced today that the Clevelander Hotel and the Essex House, both located in the South Beach neighborhood of Miami Beach, Fla., have selected property management and point-of-sale solutions by Agilysys. The hotels, which are owned and managed by BRIO Investment Group, will use the Visual One Property Management System by Agilysys and InfoGenesis™ POS by Agilysys and to increase efficiency and streamline operations.
Marriott International, Inc. opened the 163-suite Residence Inn by Marriott in Miami, Florida on Friday, June 26, 2009. Located at 1201 NW LeJeune Road, the Residence Inn Miami Airport South will operate as a Marriott franchise, owned by Thayer Lodging and managed by Marriott International.
The Viceroy has what should be a magic Miami combination. It has loads of designer cachet — hotel interiors by the Los Angeles decorator Kelly Wearstler, spa interiors by Philippe Starck, exteriors by the locally based Arquitectonica — plus enthusiastic service without an ounce of South Beach attitude. (The staff had us at hello, when they greeted our 3-year-old with a miniature toy manatee.)
In this role, he oversees Interval’s presence in Central/South America and Mexico and plays a lead role in building the company’s developer client base in the region. He also serves in the same capacity for Preferred ResidencesTM, a branded membership and exchange program for luxury fractional resorts and private residences clubs. Agostini joined Interval in 1993 in the company’s Venezuela office and since then he has held various management positions of increasing scope. As international member services manager, Agostini oversaw the member services departments of Interval’s offices throughout Latin America, including Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia, and Brazil. Most recently, he was assistant vice president for Latin America. He is a member of the board of the Mexican Resort Development Association (Asociación Mexicana de Desarrolladores Turísticos, AMDETUR) and an active participant in the American Resort Development Association (ARDA).
Fontainebleau Las Vegas LLC filed a $3 billion lawsuit against Bank of America Corp. and other lenders after they declined to provide the hotel operator with $800 million in funding. Fontainebleau, whose corporate parent owns a hotel on 22 acres of Miami Beach, Florida, also named JPMorgan Chase & Co., a unit of Deutsche Bank AG and seven other defendants in its complaint filed yesterday in Nevada state court, Fontainebleau said in an e-mailed statement. The banks pulled out of a written agreement to finance completion of Fontainebleau’s $2.4 billion casino-hotel being built in Las Vegas, according to the statement.
Cambean Hospitality, a Miami Beach-based hospitality group that owns and manages four boutique hotel properties in the historic South Beach area, today announced that they will soon be the most Earth-friendly, carbon neutral hospitality company in the world. Cambean plans to achieve this designation by installing solar panels and a wind turbine on the roof of the Clifton South Beach Hotel, and by purchasing carbon offsets and renewable energy credits (RECs) from Boulder, Colo.-based Renewable Choice Energy to offset Cambean’s fuel and electricity consumption.
Morgans Hotel Group Co. (NASDAQ: MHGC) continues to turn up the heat on innovation and impresses at every corner of its boutique hotels. Today, the company announced that Mondrian in South Beach just snagged the cover of Conde Nast Traveler’s May issue. Featuring a shot of their outdoor red carpet lounges and foliage-curtained private cabanas, Mondrian tops the famed “Hot List” issue, the definitive guide to the hottest new hotels in the world. Inside the magazine, the interiors of Mondrian also prevail as the opener of the “Hot List” section, with an image of the oversized gold bell chandeliers hanging over Sunset Lounge, the celebrity and chic-set nightlife destination that was also selected in the issue’s “Hot Nights” section.
n the market for a Bentley sports car, a Jean Paul Gaultier dress or a cell phone, but don't feel like dealing with a pesky salesperson? Literally at the touch of a button, visitors to the Mondrian South Beach can buy those items — as well as more prosaic hotel gift-shop staples like toothbrushes — from a new lobby vending machine called a Semi-Automatic. In a postmodern echo of the early 20th century's Automats, where office workers could buy coffee and comfort food without talking to a soul, the Semi-Automatic peddles a jumble of more than 60 items priced between $10 and $1.2 million in a large, sleek rectangular display. "We don't have a newspaper stand or some place where you can just buy a sundry item," front office manager James A. Bryant III said. "We've got Semi-Automatic, which is sort of an 'in-your-face' gift shop. Just like our hotel is really sort of brash and out there."
Marketing budgets are tight – and under scrutiny like never before. Which means that right now, it’s all about prioritizing the opportunities that can show a clear revenue benefit. So how do you rethink your marketing to ensure every dollar you spend online delivers value for money? And how do you balance the latest marketing trends, with traditional, proven channels?