Buffalo Lodging Associates is proud to announce the promotion of Steffi Snelling to the general manager position for the Homewood Suites UCF Area – Orlando hotel, located at 3028 N. Alafaya Trail in Orlando, Florida.
The Orlando Sentinel takes an in-depth look at Walt Disney Co.'s progress building standalone hotels in light of last week's news that Disney abandoned plans to build one. Since it scrapped plans to build a hotel in suburban Washington D.C., Disney doesn't have a single standalone hotel project in its publicly known development pipeline, Monday's story notes.
The Metro Orlando area has consistently maintained its status among the most visited cities in the world, with annual visitation routinely registering in the mid‐ to high‐40 million range over the last several years (2004‐2009), and surpassing a record 50 million visitors in 2010. From 1999 to 2010, annual visitation consistently registered in the 40 million range, except in 2010 when total visitation set a new record at 51,455,000 visitors. The forecast for 2011, which is produced by tourism Economics and published by Visit Orlando, predicts that the number of visitors to Orlando will surpass the record set in 2010 with 53,370,000 total visitors. This represents a 3.7% increase over 2010 levels.
Orlando hotel industry veteran Diane Petit has been appointed general manager of Loews Portofino Bay Hotel at Universal Orlando. She most recently served as executive assistant manager at the company’s sister on-site hotel, Loews Royal Pacific Resort at Universal Orlando. The move marks Petit’s latest promotion in a steady rise through the company’s Orlando campus. Petit joined Hard Rock Hotel at Universal Orlando in 2001 as director of food and beverage and was later promoted to executive assistant manager, before being promoted to the same role at Loews Royal Pacific Resort. Her experience in the Orlando hotel industry spans more than 20 years. She worked as assistant general manager at the downtown Orlando Marriott and also served as a beverage manager and restaurant manager at the Hyatt Orlando. Petit resides in Orlando with her husband and son.
The No. 1 hotel in Orlando right now is … Floridays Resort on SouthInternational Drive. Never heard of it? Well, lots of travelers have, and more than 1,800 of them have rated the hotel south of SeaWorld an average 41/2 out of five stars on TripAdvisor, the social-media website that has caught on in recent years with travelers far and near.
Wyndham Hotels and Resorts, LLC, a subsidiary of Wyndham Worldwide Corporation (NYSE: WYN), today announced its expansion in Florida with the opening of its first owned hotel, the upscale, full-service Wyndham Grand Orlando Resort Bonnet Creek, located within the Walt Disney World Resort® gates in Lake Buena Vista. The announcement marks the ninth Wyndham® property in Florida and the third in the state to join the upscale hotel brand in the last 12 months.
Melia Hotels International, one of the world's largest hotel brands, has just announced the opening of its second hotel in the United States in Orlando's coveted Celebration neighborhood. The hotel, which has been rebranded as Melia Orlando Hotel at Celebration, is a 240-unit property featuring luxurious residentially styled one and two bedroom suites formerly operated as the Mona Lisa Suite Hotel.
The Kessler Collection proudly announces David Friederich as the new general manager of its flagship AAA Four Diamond Grand Bohemian Hotel. Friederich’s duties as general manager include overseeing the hotel operations, management of hotel staff, budgeting for the property, project management, crisis control, achieving key business goals and focusing on maintaining and establishing local relationships. David will also lead the efforts to establish the Grand Bohemian Orlando as the corporate training hotel for the Kessler Collection, allowing all chefs, task force members and key Grand Performer hotel staff to be trained with the same consistent level of expertise. David Friederich, a veteran hotelier, has more than 20 years of Five Star and Four Diamond hospitality management experience. Friederich attended Florida International University in Miami, Fla. and began his career in hospitality and hotel management with more than 11 years at Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts. His additional experience in hospitality includes the Four Seasons Olympic in Seattle, Wash., Cloister Hotel in Sea Island, Ga., The Westin Kierland in Scottsdale, Ariz. and most recently, Auberge Resorts.
Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts has entered into a joint venture with Silverstein Properties and Dune Real Estate Partners to develop a 444-room luxury resort at the Walt Disney World Resort. Construction is set to begin on what will be the largestFour Seasons resort in the world this December, with a target opening date in 2014.
Jessica comes to the Hilton Garden Inn Orlando - International Drive North hotel from Hilton Garden Inn Palm Beach Gardens, where she was director of sales for the past three years. Her previous experience includes two years as senior sales manager for a Double Tree in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, and one year as the business development manager for catering at Don Shula’s Hotel & Golf Club in Miami Lakes.
Dan’s 14-year hospitality career started in food and beverage, where his talents quickly earned him a high-profile position as the catering operations manager for the Washington Convention Center. With Weingardner & Hammons Hotels, he served a two-year assignment as general manager of the Embassy Suites Williamsburg, where his skillful leadership elevated the hotel’s performance to the brand’s top 30 percent. He also managed a $3.2 million renovation of the property, establishing his credentials for his next assignment: opening the Springhill Suites Hampton Coliseum in 2007. Before joining HEI this year, Dan was the assistant general manager at the Hilton Garden Inn in center city Philadelphia.
During HITEC 2011, RateTiger will be releasing the new version of the premium XML gateway. The enhancements have been made in response to detailed operational and revenue strategies and customer demands in the evolving sales landscape. RTConnect v.3.5 has increased its bi-directional rate and inventory connectivity to more than 750 global sales channels worldwide and provides new functionality for content and online guest review management.
Mark Beaupre will oversee 10 diverse restaurants and lounges and a multi-million dollar banquet operation. Formerly Director of Food & Beverage and Executive Chef at the JW Marriott Orlando, Grande Lakes, Beaupre brings more than 25 years of hospitality and culinary experience to the world’s largest Marriott. Beaupre is poised to further develop the outstanding reputation of the Orlando World Center Marriott by building on the team that has carefully established and nurtured the Four-Diamond property. A native of Maine, Chef Mark Beaupre graduated from the Culinary Institute of America. Prestigious awards and accolades garnered over the years include the Food & Beverage Excellence Award, J. Willard Marriott Award of Excellence Nominee, Award of Culinary Excellence and Marriott’s Culinary ACE award. His kitchens have received the distinguished Gold Platter Award and the Culinary Excellence Award from the IFMA Association.
KABA, the provider of Saflok and ILCO electronic locks, announced it completed installation of its Saflok Quantum Adese RFID lock system in the 1,641-room Peabody Orlando hotel. The project included installation of Saflok Quantum RFID locks in all 891 rooms of the Peabody Orlando’s existing facility during renovation as well as in the property’s new 750-room tower. Click here to learn more about KABA locking systems.
With more than twenty years of hospitality experience, Mueller has acquired valuable insights into making people feel at home. Greeting his office visitors with gummy bears and savory snacks, Mueller shows his hospitable philosophy and explains that any failure can be a success if a valuable lesson is learned, “People, Parties and Partnerships” rule all, and being surrounded by visionary staff and collaborative attitudes yield the greatest success stories. Perhaps those wise words have something to do with his recent promotion. In his new role as Resident Manager, Mueller leads and manages hotel operations, implements and oversees the daily quality process of the hotel, and is responsible for the hotel’s daily operation.
Schembri brings more than 24 years experience to the Hilton Orlando in a variety of capacities within the hospitality industry. Most recently, she served as the director of conference services at the Arizona Biltmore. Prior to that position, Schembri worked for the Pointe Hilton Tapatio Cliffs Resort as assistant director of meetings and conventions, director of catering, convention catering manager as well as catering sales manager. Additionally, she served the resort as director of events and oversaw a staff of 140 employees across five departments.
The Peabody Orlando, is pleased to announce the appointment of Erika Johnson (pictured) as the new spa director for the hotel’s new 22,000-square-foot spa. In this newly created position, Johnson, a corporate team member of WTS International, will be responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations of the new spa and fitness center, which is set to open September 23 as part of the hotel’s $450-million expansion. WTS International and Johnson collectively bring more than 40 years of hospitality, spa and recreation experience to The Spa at The Peabody. Prior to joining The Peabody Orlando, Johnson held various roles at Walt Disney World Resort, South Seas Plantation Resort and Pinehurst Spa & Resort. While at WTS International, Johnson has worked as an account executive overseeing more than a dozen WTS leisure facilities and was involved in numerous openings and the daily operations of spas, fitness centers, residential community clubhouses and resort activity centers throughout Florida. Her move to The Peabody Orlando allows her to focus in on developing the best spa and fitness facility Orlando has seen. Johnson is a graduate of East Stroudsburg University and has a bachelor’s degree in recreation and leisure management.
A new iPhone® mobile application, or “app,” is now available for a free download in advance of the 2010 Hospitality Industry Technology Exposition and Conference (HITEC). Featuring the conference schedule, exhibitor information, maps and more, the app offers customized conference content for attendees. There is also a mobile Internet version which can be used for Android®, Blackberry® and other Internet capable devices. HITEC starts next week, June 21 – 24 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla.
IDeaS Revenue Optimization, the leading provider of pricing, forecasting and optimization solutions and services, today announced it will reveal valuable revenue management best practices during an extensive theater presentation series held at HITEC, IDeaS booth 1209. Known for its highly successful webinar attendance reaching nearly 1500 attendees in the first quarter of 2010, IDeaS will provide the opportunity for hotels to gain stronger insight into optimizing guest revenue during live, informative and interactive discussion series with key industry experts.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:HOT) and Turnberry Associates announce the upcoming opening of Sheraton Orlando Downtown Hotel on June 8th. Formerly a Marriott, the hotel will remain open through the reflagging and the ensuing renovations. Sheraton Orlando Downtown will offer 290 rooms, exceptional meeting facilities and easy access to numerous businesses and attractions.