I remember the days when New York City hospitality was defined by such institutions as the Plaza Hotel and the Waldorf Astoria. These hotels were regal, comfortable, and elegant. Today, there are new criteria on the table. The best hotels are about concept, creating a culture that incorporates glitz, fantasy, escapism and often social-decadence.
Many web startups begin without a business model. They have a cool service or a sticky blog -- or merely an *idea* that people might like. Airbnb is not one of those startups. The site allows people to rent out their rooms or houses as vacation rentals, turning every place into a prospective microhotel. Their business model is simple: they handle the transaction, taking a 6-12 percent cut on each booking. In other words, they might not be a brick-and-mortar company, but they built in people paying them money from the beginning.
Grand Hyatt New York announced today the appointment of Mark Pardue as the hotel’s new General Manager as the storied property ushers in a new era with the final phase of its $130 million renovation to transform the guest experience. Grand Hyatt New York is the tenth Hyatt property that Pardue has worked in since he began working with Hyatt more than 22 years ago.
Hyatt Hotels Corporation (NYSE: H) and Extell Development Corporation announced today that they will introduce the legendary Park Hyatt luxury brand to New York with a newly-constructed hotel designed by world-renowned, Pritzker Prize-winning architect Christian de Portzamparc.
Libra OnDemand, the first on-demand CRM solution built specifically for the worldwide hospitality industry on the Force.com platform, today announced that they will demo their comprehensive suite of CRM tools at the International Hotel/Motel & Restaurant Show (IH/M&RS), to be held November 14-16 at New York City's Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. Libra OnDemand representatives, including Gregg Hopkins, CEO will be on hand to conduct live demonstrations of the award-winning, web-based hotel CRM solution at the Technology Innovation Center (Booth # 2670) sponsored by Hospitality Upgrade Magazine.
Hyatt Hotels Corporation (NYSE: H) announced today that a Hyatt subsidiary and Hersha Development Corporation (HDC), a privately owned hotel development company, signed long-term franchise agreements for two newly built hotels in Manhattan, catering to individual travelers and scheduled to open in 2011. The Hyatt-branded full service properties developed and owned by HDC and managed by its affiliate, will include a 175-room innovative and design forward hotel in Greenwich Village, near Union Square, and a striking 116-room contemporary hotel in Midtown Manhattan that will be called Hyatt 48Lex.
Next month hoteliers from around the globe will be flocking to the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York with one goal in mind: "Powering [Their] Business for the New Economy" -- the theme for the 2010 International Hotel/Motel & Restaurant Show November 13-16. One way in which hoteliers plan to re-energize their operations through the recovery is by becoming more "Green" in 2011 and beyond. OpenWays, the hospitality industry's first mobile key front-desk bypass solution, gives hoteliers a new platform for sustainability by dematerializing keys and cards and instead sending them over the air to cell phones.
New York City's bedbugs have climbed out of bed and marched into landmarks like the Empire State Building, Bloomingdale's and Lincoln Center, causing fresh anxiety among tourists who are canceling Big Apple vacations planned for the height of the holiday season.
Wyndham Hotel Group, part of the Wyndham Worldwide family of companies (NYSE: WYN), today announced it has signed an agreement to open its first TRYP by Wyndham property in North America: the 173-room TRYP New York City – Times Square South.
Hotels are popping up everywhere in Brooklyn and the other boroughs outside Manhattan, some in very strange places. The hotel wave is coming more than a decade after the 1998 opening of the New York Marriott at the Brooklyn Bridge, Brooklyn's first new luxury hotel in a half century. Now dozens of new lodgings are coming to the borough, as well as to Queens, Staten Island and the Bronx.
Panel discussions featuring some of the most respected names in hospitality will provide attendees of the upcoming Boutique Design New York (BDNY) with insight into the minds of hotel owners, as well as establishing an international portfolio. The Educational Forum, taking place Monday, November 15 during the inaugural BDNY, will complement the fair experience for some 3,000 interior designers, architects and purchasing executives in attendance.
a spectacular VIP spirit amidst the amazing puppets, bands, dancers, artists and thousands of extravagantly-costumed New Yorkers with the InterContinental New York Barclay-New York Village Halloween Parade VIP Package.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: HOT) today announces the opening of Sheraton Tribeca, a sleek, new hotel in lower Manhattan’s most sought-after neighborhood. The highly anticipated opening of Sheraton Tribeca comes hot on the heels of the opening of Sheraton Brooklyn in April. These two new Sheraton hotels in New York City are part of Starwood Hotel’s bullish New York City growth strategy. The company announced this summer that it will grow its NYC portfolio by 50% this year and open more hotels in New York in 2010 than any other city in the world. The company’s aggressive focus on NYC is illustrative of its meaningful global growth strategy – Starwood is on track to open more than 80 hotels in key markets around the world this year.
Lewis is an industry veteran of over 25 years, and boasts nearly 15 years of experience with Starwood Hotels & Resorts, the management company of The Westin New York at Times Square. Prior to the past year at the W Times Square, Lewis has held posts at the Four Points in Pittsburgh, Sheraton Suites in Columbus, Ohio, and the Sheraton Gateway Suites in Chicago. She is a graduate of Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana, where she received a Bachelor of Science in marketing.
A panel of leading hospitality academics and executives will discuss "Distribution Management: Who Owns the Hospitality Customer?" at the seventh edition of the Dean’s Leadership Series, presented by the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration (SHA). The panel discussion will be held Monday, November 15, 7:45 - 10:00 a.m., at the Metropolitan Club in New York City.
The Pierre, a Taj Hotel on New York's Fifth Avenue overlooking Central Park, fresh from a $100 million redesign, marked its 80th anniversary on October 1st with a gathering of more than 100 employees in the Grand Ballroom. Sharing slices of a 40-inch-tall hotel replica cake crafted by cake designer Sylvia Weinstock and served by General Manager Heiko Kuenstle, the staff honored their 10 longest tenured colleagues whose combined service exceeds 333 years, and toasted to the next 80 years.
The new InterContinental New York Times Square, which opened its doors in July, has quickly embraced the InterContinental Hotels & Resorts mandate to sustain and enhance its local destination by participating in "Responsible Business Day" on September 21, 2010. In partnership with National Geographic's Center for Sustainable Destinations, InterContinental Hotels & Resorts properties regularly take part in activities that ensure their location remains an appealing place to visit for future generations.
Size doesn't matter. At least that's what a handful of hotels in New York hope lodgers will think when they stay in their small, yet functional and affordable rooms. At The Jane, a tiny red-brick hotel overlooking the Hudson River in West Village, Manhattan's ultra-bohemian neighborhood, space is at a premium. "In my room, I can turn around, and that's about it," said Kai Neuhaus, 33, of Germany. With their wood paneling, velvet benches and Oriental carpets, most of the 150 rooms occupy just 50 square feet (4.6 square meters) and recalls boat cabins. A large mirror hangs on the wall to counter any claustrophobic feelings.
Open Hospitality, a global provider of hotel Internet marketing solutions, has expanded its list of clients with the addition of The Pearl Hotel New York (www.pearlhotelnyc.com). The hotel, located in the heart of Times Square, is a part of the Empire Hotel Group. The Empire portfolio now grows to 8 New York City properties. Open Hospitality will provide website design and Internet marketing services to The Pearl.
Wine & Spirits magazine has named Mark Sayre, sommelier at TRIO at Four Seasons Hotel Austin, to its list of the country’s "7 Best New Sommeliers of 2010." The award, which will be announced in the magazine's October issue, is the result of Wine & Spirits' 8th Annual Sommelier Poll, a survey of 3,200 members of the wine trade, including affiliates of the Court of Master Sommeliers and wine directors at some of the top restaurants in the United States.