Optima carries out a fine-grained examination of critical statistics, particularly rates and availability, for hotels and travel companies. This analysis eventually delivers deeper insights to the hotel about granular and massive shifts in the marketplace, in order to maintain rate parity across every linked channel.
The InterContinental London – The O2, has strengthened its sales team with the appointment of Suren Hettiarchchi, as Leisure Sales Manager and Maria Georgiou as Business Development Executive. The appointments come on the back of a very successful first six months of business for the hotel, which opened in January 2016. Suren joins the hotel from ICVolunteers Conferences, in Switzerland and was formerly at Grange Hotels, London, Sri Lankan Tourist Board, Whistlestop and Crystal Holidays.
The InterContinental London – The O2, has strengthened its sales team with the appointment of Suren Hettiarchchi, as Leisure Sales Manager and Maria Georgiou as Business Development Executive. The appointments come on the back of a very successful first six months of business for the hotel, which opened in January 2016. Maria was previously Sales Coordinator at Grosvenor House, a Marriott Hotel, and prior to that was at Radisson Blu Edwardian Hotels, May Fair Hotel, Sketch restaurant, London, which she joined having relocated from Switzerland.
Wayne Topley has been appointed the new General Manager at iconic Leeds hotel, The Queens. In his new role, Wayne will oversee the running of all aspects of the hotel, including its conferencing facilities. Having previously worked as Divisional Director with hotel management company, Redefine BDL, Wayne brings extensive hotel management skills to the role.
A new study by hospitality intelligence firm, HotStats, identified that the value of bookings via Best Available Rate (BAR) has increased by more than 235% at hotels in the Regions since 2000.
An overwhelming majority of hospitality professionals reckon it is now harder to find the quality of employees they are looking for than ever before.
Nearly 82% said it was harder than at any time in the past to recruit suitable staff, with a staggering 93% of respondents saying they found it either somewhat difficult (44%) or very difficult (49%).
That's according to new research conducted by The Caterer as part of the Think Again campaign, in association with foodservice firm Sodexo.
Samantha Fulton, former hotel manager at the Shangri-La Hotel at the Shard, has been appointed general manager of the Ace Hotel London Shoreditch.
Jamie Taylor will join the Jurys Inn sales team this month in the newly created role of Director of Business Development, Jurys Inn Hinckley Island. Jamie has extensive sales experience within the MICE segment gained from 14+ years of on property director of sales and regional roles with groups such as IHG, QHotels and Dhillion Hotels.
The Arora Group today (20 October) held an official Ground Breaking ceremony for two new hotels at Heathrow Terminal 4, which will become the largest hotel development at the airport. These two hotels will help serve an expanding airport as the government look to grant the expansion of Runway 3.
Luxury boutique hotel The Wellesley has announced the introduction of 'handy' devices for its guests, complete with bespoke branded cases.
Oakwood Worldwide®, the global leader in corporate housing and serviced apartment solutions, is pleased to announce that Richard Whittaker has been appointed as the Deputy Chair of the Association of Serviced Apartment Providers (ASAP), the trade association for the UK serviced apartment sector.
A major new project, known as COMBAT, has revealed the extent to which Europe's hotel industry is vulnerable to trafficking in human beings, often described as a modern-day form of slavery. It has displayed the shocking reality that a significant proportion of human trafficking occurs within hotels which, by their very nature, can involuntarily facilitate movement and accommodation of perpetrators and their victims. The project provides a practical toolkit designed for hotel businesses to help them prevent their premises being used by human traffickers.
Fairmont St Andrews, the luxury five-star hotel, has appointed Tristan Allen as the new director of food & beverage. Joining from the five-star Culloden Estate & Spa in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Tristan will be responsible for guiding the venue and ensuring the service and standards are met and the performance objectives are achieved in his team of 75 people.
Hilton London Bankside has announced the appointment of Lisbeth Gernow as Director of Business Development. Having previously held the same position at London Hilton on Park Lane, Lisbeth brings in-depth knowledge of the Hilton Hotel & Resorts brand to her new role as well as years of expertise in business development and the hospitality sector. Lisbeth joined London Hilton on Park Lane in 2013 and was responsible for delivering an annual revenue exceeding £65 million. Prior to this Lisbeth was the Revenue Manager at Hilton London Metropole before becoming Director of Business Development from 2009 – 2013.
The UK has recorded its biggest-ever month for tourist visits, with 3.8 million international visitors in July. This dynamic is expected to continue in the upcoming months, especially due to the consequences of the Brexit on the purchasing power of foreign tourists.
LONDON -- STR's preliminary September 2016 data for London, England, indicates significant average daily rate.Based on daily data from September, London reported the following in year-over-year comparisons:
Leading international hotel operator Macdonald Hotels & Resorts has announced the addition of a key member of staff to oversee its well-known Inverness property.
Manchester Marriott Victoria & Albert Hotel is welcoming a new General Manager and Deputy General Manager to oversee another productive era for the landmark property. Peter Hill, who joins the historic, 148-bedroom former warehouse from Holiday Inn, will be overseeing operations as General Manager while his deputy, Fabio Leoni, will be using his decade of experience to support the running of the property, with a focus on people and product. A highly experienced manager, Peter has gained hospitality expertise from across the globe while working for renowned destinations and hotel groups including Disney World Florida, Bass Hotels and Holiday Inn.
Starwood Capital Group, through a controlled affiliate of Starwood Global Opportunity Fund X (SOF X), has appointed Cycas Hospitality to manage its four extended-stay hotels in Earls Court/Kensington, London Bridge, Bermondsey and Tower Bridge.
Rate Growth Continues to Drive Profit Increase for North West Hoteliers In the absence of any occupancy growth this month, the 5.5% increase in achieved average room rate at hotels in the North West was responsible for fuelling a 3.5% year-on-year profit increase in the region, according to the latest data from HotStats.