Sheraton on the Park, Sydney has recently announced the appointment of Brad Mercer as Hotel Manager. He will report directly to Sean Hunt, Regional Vice President, Starwood Pacific Hotels and Managing Director, Sheraton on the Park.
Optimism amongst leading Australian hoteliers is on the rise again after two years of declining demand, falling revenues and stagnant investor demand. Under a theme of “Back on Track” delegates at the annual Australia, New Zealand and Pacific Hotel Industry Conference (ANZPHIC) held in Sydney this week heard speakers from various parts of the industry deliver generally positive news about recent market trends and encouraging forecasts for the near and longer term future for the industry here.
The 10th Anniversary of the Annual Australian, New Zealand and Pacific Hotel Industry Conference (ANZPHIC) kicked off officially today at the Hilton Sydney, Australia. More than 400 hotel owners, investors, developers, operators, lenders, advisers and other stakeholders joined in this annual event to get updated with the latest market happenings, share experiences and network.
The new Apple iPad has only just arrived in Australia but already some early adopter hospitality operators are cashing in on the hype and incorporating the new technology into their businesses. The Rydges Hotel in North Sydney yesterday launched the new tablet computers as a replacement to its paper menus in its 50-seat Mundo Global Tapas restaurant and in the hotel’s bar.
Craig Platt names his 10 biggest gripes with staying in hotels. Despite the impression Fawlty Towers might have given, running a hotel shouldn't be that difficult. Yet many establishments seem to get it wrong when it comes to basic parts of their service. Here are 10 of the most annoying things hotels consistently get wrong.
As the impact of the GFC on hotel guest demand, room rates and capital markets finally begins to abate in Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific, astute owners and operators are looking to the future and working hard to get their hotels, resorts and serviced apartments Back on Track.
Sofitel Luxury Hotels has also appointed Tony Chisholm to the position of General Manager for Sofitel Brisbane Central, effective early April 2010. Mr Chisholm comes to Brisbane from Vietnam where he was joint General Manager of both the Sofitel Dalat Palace and Novotel Dalat (now rebranded Mercure Dalat), as well as Club Coordinator for the Dalat Palace Golf Club. Since moving to Dalat in January 2008 he proved instrumental in improving the image and luxury repertoire for both Dalat properties and will bring a wealth of hospitality experience to Sofitel Brisbane Central.
HotelsCombined.com.au today revealed Australian domestic and international travelers' favorite destinations for 2010, according to the top 10 locations booked through the leading international hotel price comparison website.
HBSi, an IBS Group company, has expanded its relationship with Brisbane, Australia-based Flight Centre, as well as adding its prominent companies, Liberty Travel and GOGO Worldwide Vacations to its client roster. All three are now live on HBSi's iDemand GatewayTM through an interface with the Calypso software platform from Tourism Technology.
THE sweeping overhaul of the private equity-backed Stella travel and hospitality group sent it crashing to a $667.1 million loss in 2008-09 but directors say it is now in robust financial health and expects solid profit growth this year.
Accor Vacation Club, based in Robina on the Gold Coast has announced a Senior Executive appointment with CRAIG WOOD being appointed as CEO, effective immediately. Craig Wood, has served as Chief Operating Officer at Accor Vacation Club for close to 2 years and has over 20 years in the holiday ownership industry. Craig will continue to grow the business by introducing new, innovative ideas and exploring synergistic opportunities within the Accor group to take the Club into 2010. He has an impressive history in the hotel branded Vacation Club Industry with his immediate past role as GM and Regional Director of Marriott Ownership Resorts in the Middle East.
Orient-Express Hotels Ltd. (NYSE: OEH, http://www.orient-express.com), owners or part-owners and managers of 49 luxury hotels, restaurants, tourist trains and river cruise properties operating in 25 countries, today confirmed that it has entered into a sale and purchase agreement to sell Lilianfels Blue Mountains, its 85 key hotel in Katoomba, New South Wales, Australia, to an undisclosed buyer for AUD 21 million (US$ 19.3 million).
One of Australia and New Zealand’s largest accommodation providers, Stella Hospitality Group, announced it had changed its name to Mantra Group. The company name change follows the recent announcement that the Stella Group has been restructured and recapitalized with Stella Travel Services and Stella Hospitality Group being separated into two independently operating businesses.
Eight Hotels Australia continues to rapidly expand in key gateway cities and is proud to announce that Limes Hotel Brisbane has become the eighth hotel in the collection. Owned and operated by Brisbane local Damian Griffiths, just one year old, Limes has made an indelible mark on Brisbane's boutique hotel scene. Designed by Alexander Lotersztain, the property features 21 luxurious guest rooms and Brisbane's hottest open air roof top champagne & cocktail bar complete with outdoor cinema.
In a special ceremony with the Hon. Martin Ferguson MP, Minister for Resources, Energy and Tourism, Australia’s Hyatt hotels announced today the launch of the Pacific School of Hospitality (PSOH). Showing a continued dedication to employee training and customer service, participating Hyatt hotels in Australia including Grand Hyatt Melbourne, Hyatt Hotel Canberra, Hyatt Regency Coolum, Hyatt Regency Perth, Hyatt Regency Sanctuary Cove, Park Hyatt Melbourne and Park Hyatt Sydney have launched the PSOH, which provides associates working in these hotels with continuous workplace learning.
Jenny Milner has been appointed Business Development Manager for the Sofitel Sydney Wentworth hotel in the city’s CBD. Ms Milner comes to Sofitel with more than 10 years experience in the hospitality industry, previously working with the Starwood Hotel group and Orient Express Hotels in Hong Kong, the USA (Hawaii) and Sydney. She has spent the past 6 years specialising in business development and sales, and most recently worked beyond travel spending the past three years in Human Development and recruitment. Sofitel Sydney Wentworth is back at the top of Sydney’s five-star hotel list, winning the title of “Deluxe Hotel of the Year” in the 2008 Australian Hotel Association (NSW) Awards after a $10 million revitalisation.
Though not immune to the global economic recession, the Australian hotel industry is faring well in local currency terms (Australian Dollar), according to data compile by STR Global, the leading provider of market data to the world’s hotel industry.
A new venture by Australia's leading boutique hotel operator in response to our guests' desire for experiential travel, to live like locals and enjoy home-size living space and amenities.
In a recent viral campaign to promote tourism to the Great Barrier Reef and Whitsunday Islands, Tourism Queensland awarded one lucky winner the "job" of living on Hamilton Island in the Great Barrier Reef for six months, in exchange for him blogging about his experiences and acting as an ambassador for the beautiful region. After the campaign's huge success, Hamilton Island turned to SynXis for its technology and expertise to manage and streamline the distribution of its hotel inventory. Since its introduction in February this year, website bookings have increased more than 50 percent over the same period as last year and conversion rates have gone up over 85 percent with the new booking engine.
Libra OnDemand has recently teamed with McLaren International Pty Ltd to expand distribution of its coveted Customer Relationship Management solution throughout Asia Pacific. Libra OnDemand, an independent software vendor based in Celebration, Fla., is the hospitality industry's first on-demand CRM solution built entirely on the salesforce.com platform. Libra OnDemand provides a comprehensive suite of hospitality-specific web-based applications to manage customer relationships, drive loyalty initiatives, focus sales, manage catering events and perform on-demand business analytics.