Hyatt Hotels Corporation (NYSE: H) and HHM announced today that Hyatt Union Square New York is now taking reservations for stays beginning April 2013. The newly built, 178- room hotel will feature urban style guestrooms and new dining and bar concepts by local, highly rated restaurateurs. Guests will be able to enjoy unprecedented services and experiences in the heart of Union Square, one of Manhattan's most beloved neighborhoods.
Starwood Capital Group announces C. Scott Rohm as President of SH Group, Starwood Capital’s hotel brand management company that oversees the development and launch of the group’s two new luxury and lifestyle hotel and residence brands, Baccarat Hotels and 1 Hotels & Resorts. In this role, Rohm will oversee the operations of the SH Group managed hotels, including development, operations, sales, finance & accounting, and human resources. The appointment of Rohm is an important step in preparation for the launch of the two hotel brands, including the initial five hotel openings scheduled over the next twenty-four months: Baccarat Hotel & Residences New York, NY, Baccarat Hotel Rabat, Morocco, 1 Hotel & Residences South Beach, FL, 1 Hotel Central Park, NY and 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge Park, NY. SH Group will be an important element of the growing hotel operations team at Starwood Capital, which includes the revenue management and distribution groups and global asset management team, led by Steven Hankin, Managing Director, Portfolio Operations, and the firm’s in-house proprietary Design and Construction teams.
More than 900 industry and agency professionals poured into the New York Marriott Marquis Monday evening in celebration of the Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International's (HSMAI) 56thannual Adrian Awards. The evening's focus was to honor those who have created exceptional advertising, digital marketing and public relations campaigns in the hospitality, travel and tourism industries.
From tablets that double as remote controls to ambient lighting and soundtracks that enhance wellbeing and aid recovery from jetlag, technology -- especially touch interface technology -- now plays a crucial role in providing guests with a perfect hotel experience.
Global jet-setting and hotel branding help to define office style at the Starwood Hotels Design Center, the creative headquarters for the Luxury Collection, St. Regis, Le Méridien and W Hotels. The SoHo office, located at 75 Varick St., has more than 50 employees. Style can vary depending on partner or brand, said Sarah Doyle, associate director of global partnership marketing. That might mean an edgy cocktail dress for an evening film premiere at W Hotels in London, or a more classic, “high tea” look for a St. Regis polo event.
Digital Alchemy, the pioneer of customer relationship management (CRM) and e-marketing solutions for the global hospitality market, has been recognized by the Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI) with a Silver Adrian Award for Digital Marketing Excellence for its iNeed™ on-site mobile concierge. iNeed was a winning entry in the 56th annual Adrian Awards, the largest and most prestigious travel marketing competition globally.
The next generation of New York luxury hospitality has arrived with the announcement of Viceroy New York. Uniting the hottest names in hotel development, architecture, design and cuisine, Viceroy New York will become a haven for those travelers coming to the city seeking a new expression of individuality coupled with a new interpretation of modernity. Feeding off the vibrancy of the city that never sleeps, this newly built hotel will represent the zeitgeist of New York travel.
TTI Technologies International, the hospitality industry's leading provider of Driver's License/Passport Scanners, Business Centers, Concierge Services and other hotel solutions was selected by the Roosevelt Hotel to design and install their new business center.
Leftheris began her distinguished career at New York-based Affinia Hotel Group in 1990, where she worked as a sales representative for the company’s Manhattan portfolio and later as corporate sales manager. In 1996, she began working as sales manager for Crowne Plaza Times Square, where over the next five years, she rose to director of sales for the hotel, leading a team of 15. She was subsequently hired as director of sales and marketing at Crowne Plaza Clark, N.J. to spearhead a team that reinvented the hotel’s brand.
Jennifer Nuoffer of The Waldorf Astoria New York is now also director of travel industry sales for Conrad New York. Nuoffer is responsible for all travel industry, consortia, and leisure agency accounts for both of Hilton Worldwide’s New York City-based luxury properties. For the past two years, Nuoffer has served as director of travel industry sales of the Waldorf Towers, the exclusive boutique hotel within the Waldorf Astoria New York, where she has developed a network of highly regarded relationships within the luxury travel realm.
The Hotel Association ofNew York City, Inc. announced its new slate of officers for 2013, including the election ofGeoffrey A. Mills, Managing Director of the Crowne Plaza Times Square Manhattan, to Chairman of the Board. Mr. Mills, who last year served as Board Secretary, prior to that as Treasurer, and has been on the Executive Committee and Board of Directors of HANYC since 2003, has worked in positions of increasing responsibility throughout the hospitality services industry inNew York Cityfor more than 30 years. Honored by The Food & Beverage Association of America as "Hospitality Man of the Year," he also has particular expertise in labor negotiations and an ongoing interest in finding creative solutions to unusual problems throughout the hospitality industry.
Ringing in the New Year in New York City this December 31 will be an expensive proposition for last-minute travelers who haven't yet secured a hotel reservation. According to a new survey from NewYorkHotels.org, hotel rooms are still available, but eleventh-hour rates are sky high.
Hospitality Media Group LLC (HMG) has been awarded the International Hotel, Motel + Restaurant Show (IHMRS) management contract beginning in 2013 and continuing through 2015, according to Michelle Finn, President of HMG. " Hospitality Media Group was selected due to their innovative approach to trade show development and their team's extensive hospitality experience, coupled with strong operational skills and attention to bottom line performance. We are delighted to have a partner in HMG that also values and is dedicated to providing superb service and an outstanding experience," said Joe McInerney, CHA and AH&LA President and CEO and a member of the IHMRS Board of Directors.
Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE: CHH), Concord Hospitality, We Care Trading Co., Ltd, and Meyer Jabara Hotels today announced the official groundbreaking of three Cambria Suites hotels inNew York. The properties will be located in Times Square andChelsea inManhattan, and downtownWhite Plains in nearbyWestchester County. Entry intoNew York builds on Choice Hotels' growth in the upscale lodging segment and the expansion of Cambria Suites in key urban markets, offering business travelers a stylish, new all-suite hotel product with exceptional services and amenities at a great value. The three projects represent a combined investment of approximately$141 million inNew York, the creation of nearly 1,000 jobs and 461 hotel rooms.
Cornelia Samara has spent almost ten years with Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, where she has held managerial positions at properties such as Park Hyatt San Francisco and Park Hyatt Washington D.C. Ms. Samara has also held leadership positions at various other urban and resort properties, allowing her to experience all aspects of hotel operations across a variety of nation-wide destinations. Cornelia Samara's true passion for hospitality began many years prior to her first hotel experience. A German National of Palestinian and German descent, Ms. Samara has pursued a life of world travel and has lived and visited numerous countries around the world. She once circled the globe in 30 days, making stops in Pakistan, Japan, Thailand, Taiwan, Korea, the Philippines and more. She also spent one year living in and learning about Singapore. Ms. Samara felt that to truly experience a destination she must immerse herself in the local culture and explore every aspect of the area's traditions, cuisine, art and history. This same philosophy was what enticed her to accept the position of General Manager at Andaz 5th Avenue.
Joyce Polsenberg is based in the New York office and will continue to bolster awareness and strength for the brand in the Americas. Coming from a diverse background, Polsenberg began with an undergraduate degree in Finance and International Business from Georgetown University. She then worked at Lehman Brothers on the trading room floor before obtaining a Master of Management in Hospitality from Cornell University, as well as at a leading hospitality brand as the Global Director of Business Development. Joyce's duties and responsibilities are two-fold, including overseeing the US office as well as expanding the SLH brand in the Americas, and in particular South America. Joyce lives in Manhattan in the West Village and is an avid explorer of the shorelines of the USA from Florida to Maine and the Gulf of Mexico to the islands of Hawaii. She loves to sail and ski, but back in New York she is a virtual restaurant guide, always exploring new restaurants and returning to old favorites.
Year-over-year occupancy for New York fell 7.3% as a result of Superstorm Sandy during the week of 28 October-3 November 2012, according to data from STR. The storm made landfall on Monday, 29 October. The market’s occupancy fell to 80.5 percent compared with the same time period in 2011. Its average daily rate ended the week down 0.7 percent to US$290.78, and its revenue per available room fell 7.9 percent to US$233.94.
Billionaire Beanie Baby mogul Ty Warner has notified Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts that an unidentified buyer has offered him $900 million for the Four Seasons Hotel New York, according to people briefed on the matter. Four Seasons now has to decide whether it wants to match the offer to keep its brand on the flagship 368-room hotel on East 57th Street in midtown Manhattan, people said. If Mr. Warner succeeds in fetching that price—about $2.4 million per room—it would rank among the priciest hotel sales ever in Manhattan. He bought the New York Four Seasons for $275 million in 1999.
Lowen Hospitality Management planning to add Verve® Keycard Switch to all new construction projects; Visit Zeno Controls LLC / Verve Living Systems in Booth #2457 at the International Hotel/Motel & Restaurant Show in New York November 11-13
A veteran hotel investor this morning told Wall Street analysts that it's time to exercise "extreme" caution in the New York hotel market, which remains the most expensive in the USA but is also experiencing a hotel building boom.