Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:HOT), along with Silver Hotel Group, today announced the debut of its new destination sensation brand, Aloft Hotels, in the Greater Toronto Area with the opening of Aloft Vaughan Mills. Located in Vaughan, the hotel is the second Aloft hotel in Canada, joining the Aloft Montreal Airport which debuted as the world's first in 2008.
Toronto—Expectations are running high as the debut of the eagerly anticipated Ignite Business Event Expo (iBE) is only weeks away. The two-day trade show, taking place at the Direct Energy Centre, June 12-13, will feature a number of new initiatives that are bound to shake up the status quo of a meeting industry event. Listen to a veritable roster of Canadian marquee speakers within a showcase format, featuring the inspiring stories of Craig and Marc Kielburger, Dr. Greg Wells, Patricia Lovett-Reid and Sonia Verma. Kevin O"Leary, popular panelist on the hit CBC show, Dragon"s Den delivers his hard-hitting analysis on business, the value of work and the freedom of money.
As president and chief operating officer, Glennie will be responsible for the global operations of all three leading hotel brands and other entities within the FRHI portfolio, and will also provide direction, guidance and leadership support in the areas of financial performance, strategic planning, and owner relations. With the global hotel leader looking to aggressively grow its brands, Glennie will also work closely with the company's development team on executing a new growth, development and expansion strategy that places a greater emphasis on acquiring, repositioning, and securing long-term management contracts. Most recently, Glennie held the position of president real estate & development for FRHI and was responsible for directing the company's global growth and development strategy, asset management activity, and real estate functions. Prior to this, he also served as the company's executive vice president, real estate, where he spearheaded several programs and initiatives related to the company's hotel real estate portfolio. Prior to joining FRHI in 2005, Glennie was president and CEO of Ripplewood Lodging and the Phoenix Resort company. Before this, he was employed by Boca Resorts, Inc. as president of the Boca Raton Resort & Club, and senior vice president, resort operations for the group. Earlier in his career he held a variety of management positions with RockResorts and also served as manager of New York's Waldorf-Astoria. Glennie holds a Bachelor's Degree in Hotel Administration from the University of Surrey in the United Kingdom.
He joined Four Seasons in 1988, on the front desk at Four Seasons Hotel Toronto. “This is where I first got to know both our guests and this unique company,” says Schreifels, referring to the service culture that was born in this city and has since spread to 85 hotels and resorts around the world. “To come back to this great hotel now, with the opening of our new location coming soon, is a dream opportunity for me.”
VFM Leonardo displays hotel visuals to millions of online travel shoppers each month. Hotels are increasingly turning to online visual merchandising best practices and the VBrochure Online Merchandising System to tell their stories online, stand out, and capture more bookings.
The Fairmont Royal York, Toronto, has appointed Andrew Den Oudsten as hotel manager. Den Oudsten brings over a decade’s worth of experience to his new role. A native of Australia, Mr. den Oudsten began his career as a hotelier in 1996 and has worked in various hotels throughout Australia and Asia. Prior to joining the The Fairmont Royal York, Toronto, Mr. den Oudsten worked at the Jumeirah Beach Hotel, Dubai, the InterContinental Pudong Shanghai and the InterContinental Singapore. A graduate of the University of Queensland, Mr. den Oudsten holds bachelor degrees in the fields of both Applied Science and Education.
IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) [LON:IHG, NYSE:IHG (ADRs)], the world's largest hotel group by number of rooms, will roll out the green carpet for the grand opening of the Holiday Inn Toronto Downtown Centre on April 6. The new hotel is Canada's largest Holiday Inn property with 513 rooms over 23 floors and features 9,000 square feet of modern, multi-functional event space. The grand opening marks the completion of the hotel's $20 million renovation project.
"We are delighted to be able to bring The Ritz-Carlton brand to Canada. Toronto is a key gateway city for our customers and this hotel complements the portfolio of Ritz-Carlton properties around the globe beautifully," said Herve Humler, president and chief operating officer of The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L.L.C. "Toronto is a cosmopolitan city with true international appeal, attracting visitors from all over the world, whether they are visiting for business or pleasure. The opening of The Ritz-Carlton, Toronto helps to put this vibrant destination on the map for discerning luxury travellers."
Ignite Magazine has just made matching up events with venues so much easier for its readers by becoming the Canadian media partner and Canadian portal for Cvent. Event planners can simply go to Ignitemag.ca for direct access to the Cvent Supplier Network (CSN), a free sourcing tool that takes care of the matchmaking between their event and meeting needs, with a robust selection of suitable properties.
VFM Leonardo today announced that they have expanded their Marketing Group to include a function focused on fostering best practices and educating lodging industry marketing professionals on online visual merchandising for hotels. This new group will work with marketing and e-marketing executives at VFM Leonardo's major hotel brand clients to share best practices for creating rich visual experiences and syndicating them for display on the sites travel shoppers use when planning their trips online.
Throughout the course of his 20-year hospitality career, Loges has held top leadership positions at renowned hotels and resorts in the Canadian provinces of British Columbia and Ontario. Most recently, he spent six years as general manager of the AAA Four Diamond Toronto Marriott Bloor Yorkville, where he successfully executed two multi-million dollar renovations. During his accomplished tenure, Loges also created and implemented new initiatives to improve employee morale; he increased food and beverage revenues and guest satisfaction; and he achieved recognition from Marriott for managing the company’s top event hotel in the country. Loges previously served four years as general manager of the 389-room Richmond Hotel and Convention Centre, located just outside of Vancouver, British Columbia. Under his direction, the property implemented new policies that increased sales, improved employee relations and elevated service standards. Prior to this role, Loges spent five years at the 250-room Ocean Pointe Resort Hotel & Spa in Victoria, British Columbia, where he held assistant general manager, director of catering and banquet manager positions.
The kitchen at Taste, Touchstone on Lake Muskoka’s casually elegant restaurant, has a new executive chef behind the grills. Beginning this month, Guy Bedard will be serving up delicious meals to residents and guests of the 30-acre resort community.
The downtown Toronto Intercontinental Hotel, located in the heart of the city's entertainment and financial districts, has formed a unique artistic pairing in a partnership with Timothy D. Mohan, the renowned Metis artist. Mohan's original works have been chosen to create a stunning lobby art gallery exhibition, in the heart of the entertainment and financial districts.
Christiane Germain, Co-President of Groupe Germain, announces Paul de La Durantaye will also oversee Hôtel Le Germain Maple Leaf Square as its General Manager effective immediately. He assumes these responsibilities in addition to his current role as General Manager of Hôtel Le Germain Toronto on Mercer Street, a position he has held since 2009. De La Durantaye is a multilingual, Ontario native with an impressive international career as a luxury hotelier in Monte Carlo, Québec, Toronto, Scottsdale, Acapulco, Vancouver as well as resorts in Charlesvoix, Muskoka, Tremblant and Whistler. He has more than twenty years of experience with Fairmont Hotels and Resorts in increasingly senior positions.
David’s commitment to excellence and his expertise in the travel and tourism industry ensures that he will be an effective leader for the hotel’s dedicated staff and continue The Hazelton Hotel’s fine tradition of delivering an extraordinary level of service to valued guests.
Westmont Hospitality Group was the proud recipient of the Sport Alliance of Ontario's Sport Citation Award on April 15th at the 2009 Ontario Sport Awards Ceremony at Atlantis Pavilion, Ontario Place in Toronto. Westmont was recognized based on its significant contribution to amateur sport and sustained corporate leadership in the Ontario sport market over several years.
Homewood Suites by Hilton, the international brand of all-suite, residential-style hotels, and Hampton Hotels, the international brand of nearly 1,800 hotels, today announced the opening of their first dual-branded development in Canada. Located within minutes from Toronto’s Pearson International Airport, the two buildings boast 126 Hampton rooms and 128 Homewood brand suites and are joined by a shared common area, pool and fitness center. The hotel is owned by Bayview Toronto Airport Corporate Centre Ltd and managed by Bayview Hospitality, Inc.
Located in the city’s trendy Queen West neighbourhood, the Gladstone is Toronto’s oldest continuously operating hotel. Home to 37 artist-designed guest rooms including eclectic favourites like Queen Suite of Queen Street which fuses the graffiti-tagged back alleys of Queen Street with the property’s Victorian past, or the peaceful and contemplative Sugarbush room that reminds guests of a snow-blanketed Ontario winter, complete with galvanized sap buckets as lampshades.
TORONTO, ON -- Ontario tourism education leader OTEC (Ontario Tourism Education Corporation), now entering its 19th year as Ontario's Tourism Sector Council, Training, and Human Resource Organization, is gearing up to deliver five new programs for the tourism, hospitality and education sectors in Ontario. Nearing the completion of a successful year, with significant new partnerships serving the workforce development and customer service needs for the Province, OTEC is better equipped than ever to help the industry plan and implement effective training and human resource strategies.
I recently shared the stage in Las Vegas at the annual Hotel Electronic Distribution Association Conference (HEDNA), with four travel industry marketing and distribution experts as a moderator for a Panel with the topic, "Economy in Transition" and what that means to the hospitality industry. " As we bring 2009 to a close, thankful to have survived one of the toughest economic downturns, we examined the lessons learned and top takeaways as the industry moves forward in 2010.