The Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI) has celebrated the 58th annual Adrian Awards at the New York Marriott Marquis. HSMAI honored 2014's outstanding hospitality advertising, public relations and digital marketing campaigns before nearly 1,000 attendees.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide (NYSE:HOT) today unveiled Starlab, the company's new brand innovation studio located in Manhattan's pioneering Garment District. Design-led with the spirit and agility of a start-up, Starlab brings together a cross-section of the company's digital, design and luxury brand teams in one urban office for the first time. The 46,000 square foot, bi-level office is an evolution of Starwood's approach to new style workspaces, following the debuts of the Starwood Experience at the company's global headquarters in Stamford, CT as well as its former Tribeca-based design center.
By some accounts, the hotel industry is in need of additional supply to absorb growing demand, and investors are stepping up their activity in response. One such investor, The Lightstone Group, is committing $2 billion to developing and investing in lodging properties. Bloomberg reported that Lightstone is targeting select-service properties in proven U.S. markets, and is teaming up with Marriott International to build five Moxy hotels in New York -- four in Manhattan and one in Brooklyn. Lightstone plans on spending $1 billion on Moxy-branded hotel development, and $1 billion more towards hotel investments in other areas of the U.S.
Questex Hospitality + Travel has named veteran journalist Jennifer Y. Brown managing editor of its Hotel Management and Hotel Design print and digital publications, responsible for editorial content and production, reporting to David Eisen, editor-in-chief.
NEW YORK (Feb. 18, 2015) ─ Questex Hospitality + Travel has named veteran journalist Jennifer Y. Brown managing editor of its Hotel Management and Hotel Design print and digital publications, responsible for editorial content and production, reporting to David Eisen, editor-in-chief.
Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. ("Hilton Worldwide") today announced it closed its previously-announced sale of the Waldorf Astoria New York to Anbang Insurance Group Co. Ltd. ("Anbang") for $1.95 billion. In addition, Hilton Worldwide has signed agreements to redeploy the proceeds of the sale to add five landmark properties in strategic resort and urban locations to its owned portfolio:
Accor North America, Central America and the Caribbean (NCAC) region has announced the promotion of Marc Sternagel to vice president of operations for all midscale brands in the region. The segment encompasses all Novotel hotels in the United States and Canada, as well as Novotel properties in Panama and Mexico, and Mercure Guatemala. Marc will also contribute to development projects in the region within this segment.
Ortiz has spent his illustrious hospitality career with Omni Hotels & Resorts, and his appointment to the Omni Berkshire Place marks the return to the property where he started as a an assistant front office manager, ultimately working up to front office manager, more than 20 years ago. For the last four years, he served as general manager at the Omni San Antonio Hotel at the Colonnade. While there, he was named the Omni People's Choice GM of the Year, oversaw guest room renovations, and created two award-winning kids' fantasy suites -- Aquatica and Discovery. Prior to that, he held director-level positions at Omni properties located in Houston, TX, Charlottesville, Va., Coral Gables, Fla., as well as San Antonio, TX. Fluent in three different languages, Ortiz received an associate's degree in applied sciences from City University of New York; a bachelor of arts in hospitality management from New York University; and also studied food and beverage management at Florida International University.
Wine professionals and consumers alike will gain an insight into the inner workings of the wine business in a new hands-on course, Beverage Management: Sales, Service, and Buying Strategies for Hospitality Professionals. Offered this spring by the NYU School of Professional Studies Tisch Center for Hospitality and Tourism, the course provides the foundational skills and knowledge necessary to successfully run a wine program. This 10-week program, developed with American Sommelier, a leading educational organization for wine-industry professionals and consumers, will introduce students to core concepts related to service, financials, inventory, communication, and suppliers. Students will learn how to perform basic table service; decant wine; use a variety of sommelier tools including an Ah-so and Durand; develop a wine list from start to finish; price products appropriately and understand wine program budgeting; and negotiate supplier relationships effectively. The course will run on Tuesdays, March 3 to May 5, from 6:20 p.m. to 8:50 p.m. at the School's Midtown Center, 11 West 42nd St. The new course is taught by Andrew Bell, president and cofounder of New York-based American Sommelier. Bell opened a wine shop in Paris in 1992, started his Paris-based education toward becoming a Sommelier, and then joined the two-star Michelin team at Restaurant Guy Savoy. His passion for wine led him to start American Sommelier, where he helped to produce the "Best Sommelier in America" competition. He created the curriculum for the blind tasting course in 2004 as well as reorganized the classes to be more user-friendly. He has trained thousands of sommeliers in the United States.Beverage Management: Sales, Service, and Buying Strategies for Hospitality Professionals is part of a new Certificate in Restaurant Entrepreneurship to be launched in Summer 2015 by the School's Tisch Center for Hospitality and Tourism. Other courses will include Global Trends in Food, Beverage, and Restaurants; Restaurant Budgeting and Cost Controls; and Restaurant Layout Design."As beverage programs serve both to drive guest satisfaction and a dining operation's bottom line, we are delighted to add this course to our upcoming Restaurant Entrepreneurship Certificate and to work with the leading organization in wine education, American Sommelier, to craft an exceptional learning opportunity for our students," said Donna Quadri-Felitti, clinical associate professor and academic chair of the School's hospitality and tourism programs. She added, "This new course and others in the Certificate address the legal and financial acumen fundamental to success as well as remaining relevant to consumer trends."For more information, visit sps.nyu.edu/tisch/noncredit, [email protected], or call 212-998-9100.
Vincent Vienne, hotel manager of Sofitel New York from 2006 to 2009, has returned as general manager following five years as general manager of Sofitel Philadelphia, where he oversaw its renovation, and spearheaded corporate and social responsibility.
Starwood Capital Group, a leading global private investment firm, announced today that it has agreed to sell, on behalf of a controlled affiliate, the flagship Baccarat Hotel New York at 20 West 53rd Street in Manhattan to an affiliate of Sunshine Insurance Group. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The hotel occupies the first 12 floors of the 50-story Baccarat Hotel and Residences project scheduled to open the first week of March.
HeBS Digital, the industry's leading digital technology, full-service hotel digital marketing, website design and direct online channel consulting firm, is offering a limited number of guest passes to the HSMAI Digital Marketing Strategy Conference in New York City where HeBS Digital's headquarters are located. HeBS Digital will also offer 20% off its most innovative and revenue-generating technology products to any Conference attendees who partner with the firm prior, at, or post-conference though March 31, 2015.
North America’s largest annual hospitality industry gathering – the International Hotel, Motel + Restaurant Show® (IHMRS) – is pleased to announce that Anthony G. Mangano, CHA, will serve as Chairman of the Board for this year’s 100th anniversary event, scheduled to take place Saturday, November 7, through Tuesday, November 10, 2015, at New York City’s Jacob K. Javits Convention Center.
North America's largest annual hospitality industry gathering – the International Hotel, Motel + Restaurant Show® (IHMRS) – is pleased to announce that Anthony G. Mangano, CHA, will serve as Chairman of the Board for this year's 100th anniversary event, scheduled to take place Saturday, November 7, through Tuesday, November 10, 2015, at New York City's Jacob K. Javits Convention Center.
Cendyn/ONE™, the leader in cloud-based CRM, data-driven digital marketing and interactive design for the hospitality and travel industry, has earned six awards in the 2014 Adrian Awards competition. Presented by the Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI), recognizing outstanding work in digital marketing for the hotel and lodging industry, the Adrian Award competition is the largest and most prestigious annual travel marketing competition worldwide. This year's competition attracted more than 1,200 entries from around the globe, which were judged by top executives and marketing experts from the hospitality sector.
Damian J. Mogavero—CEO and founder of Avero—will receive the 2015 Cornell Hospitality Innovator Award honoring him for his contributions to the industry through his innovative restaurant software solutions. Don't miss your chance to shine with the hospitality and travel world's brightest stars as a sponsor or attendee at the 7th Annual Cornell Hospitality Icon & Innovator Awards. Contributions to the gala provide key funding to Cornell School of Hotel Administration scholarships and programs
As we enter 2015, US lodging fundamentals are the most robust I can recall during my 35 year career. Rarely has there been a time when the market was generally favorable to buy, sell, and develop hotels in the US. Several new transaction records occurred this past year. The LW Hospitality Advisors 2014 Major US Hotel Sales Survey includes 153 single asset sale transactions over $10 million, none of which are part of a portfolio. These transactions totaled roughly $16 billion, and included approximately 45,000 hotel rooms with an average sale price per room of just over $350,000.
Mandarin Oriental, New York is delighted to welcome Three-Star Michelin Basque Spanish Chef Eneko Atxa to Restaurant Asiate for an exclusive, three-night Eneko Axta at Restaurant Asiate culinary pop-up showcasing his creative cuisine in New York City for the first time from February 18 to 20, 2015.
Commune Hotels & Resorts is bringing its native California brand, Joie de Vivre Hotels, cross-country as part of a national expansion. The addition of two Joie de Vivre hotels in primary gateway cities will establish the brand's foothold on the East Coast, adding to its existing presence in Hawaii, the Midwest, Southwest and West Coast regions. An extensive restoration effort of a storied hotel and a new construction development will give rise to the established, beloved brand at The Hall in Miami Beach and at 50 Bowery in New York City's Bowery neighborhood.
McLEAN, VA (Jan. 2015) - Christopher J. Nassetta, President & CEO, Hilton Worldwide, has been selected as the Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International's (HSMAI) Albert E. Koehl Award for Lifetime Achievement in Hospitality Marketing recipient for 2014.