Forbes Travel Guide today took the next step in its global expansion, announcing the opening of its European headquarters in London, and naming Chris Fradin as Vice President of Client Services for Europe.
Chris Fradin brings seventeen years of sales, marketing and client service experience, most of it in travel and hospitality.
England Rugby and Disney UK have joined forces to create a national advertising campaign to promote this year's galactic-themed Marriott London Sevens taking place at Twickenham on the 16th and 17th May. The campaign includes a television ad featuring Star Wars characters facing up to the England Sevens team, print and social media, digital and PR to promote the galactic themed weekend of exciting sevens rugby.
On the heels of its successful 10th anniversary Incentive Travel Exchange (ITE) celebration, Questex Travel Group today announced it is accepting applications for its ITE at Sea event, the latest addition to the company's Global Meetings and Incentive Travel Exchanges (GMITE) portfolio, designed for qualified buyers and premier travel suppliers seeking to maximize their incentive travel business.
Glion Institute of Higher Education, one of the world’s top three institutions of higher education for an international career in hospitality management, appointed Martin Halsall as Campus Director of its campus in London, effective February 18, 2015. The Glion London campus, hosted by the University of Roehampton in the Western part of the city, opened in 2012.
Hotels in the UK Provinces continued to post positive year-on-year movements across all key performance indicators in February, with the largest increase recorded in gross operating profit per available room (GOPPAR). Once again, this growth outshined London's results which showed a general decline with average room rate (ARR) being the only exception, according to the latest data from HotStats.
Now in its fifth year, Passion4Hospitality 2015, which took place on 19 March at Novotel London West, provided an excellent platform for hospitality management students at the start of their careers. The all-day programme included inspirational stories from a variety of operators at all stages of their careers, speed networking and one-to-one careers advice, the student debating competition and the HOTS Business Game to successfully operate a virtual resort hotel.
The Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group has appointed Nicholas Hughes general manager of the Park Inn by Radisson Northampton. “I am delighted that Nicholas is joining us as general manager in Northampton. I am sure that the hotel will go from strength-to-strength under his leadership,” said Peter Montague, area director, Park Inn, UK & Ireland.
The UK division of Interstate Europe, part of leading global hotel management company Interstate Hotels & Resorts, has announced a quartet of senior appointments to its UK management team. Quentin Neville is an experienced independent purchasing consultant/interim who has worked across a range of sectors with a proven track record for delivering profitability via cost control, revenue streams, quality and service, from an effective mix of strategic and tactical activity.
The UK division of Interstate Europe, part of leading global hotel management company Interstate Hotels & Resorts, has announced a quartet of senior appointments to its UK management team. Barry Dawson joins Interstate from Macdonald Hotels and Resorts, where he has worked throughout his career in a variety of roles stretching back to the late 1990s where he started as a Hotel Financial Controller, before being promoted through the ranks to Hotels Finance Director, the position he has held for the last five years.
Michel joins Interstate from Halfords, where she was Head of Advertising and Digital Media with accountability for advertising, PR and email marketing. Her previous roles have included strategic planning, advertising and campaign management for National Express and FMCG brand management.
Otto Steenbeek has been appointed the new General Manager of London’s five-star luxury lifestyle hotel, Andaz Liverpool Street, with effect from January 15, 2015.
TravelRepublic, one of the leading online travel channels in Europe, has completed 2-way XML interface with eRevMax to offer faster connectivity to its growing base of customers. This integration will help accommodation providers connected to the channel using eRevMax's online distribution platforms, RateTiger & Connect to update inventory, availability and room rates in real-time. TravelRepulic partner hotels will also benefit from eRevMax's Reservation Delivery Service, which facilitates automatic transfer of reservations booked at the channel directly to the hotel systems (CRS/PMS), thereby eliminating chances of missing reservations or overbookings.
American Express Global Business Travel (“GBT”) today announced the appointment of Christine Ourmieres-Widener as Chief Global Sales Officer. In this role, Ms. Ourmieres-Widener, who was previously Chief Executive Officer of CityJet, will be responsible for GBT’s Global Sales organization and Global Client Group, which work with GBT’s largest prospective and existing customers globally, as well as its Global Business Consulting division. Ms. Ourmieres-Widener, who will officially start with GBT in June, will report to GBT’s Chief Commercial & Technology Officer, Philippe Chérèque.
Hotel du Vin are delighted to announce that Philip Lewis will be returning to the group as General Manager of their new acquisition Cannizaro House in Wimbledon. The property was purchased by the group in October 2014 and will go through an extensive refurbishment and rebranding.
Guillaume THEVENOT ESSEC IMHI 2000 has recently been appointed Head of Vacation Rentals to lead a new Business Unit within the French travel group Voyage Privé. Guillaume was previously working for HouseTrip as their Director of Business Development. Prior to that, Guillaume held different positions with Amadeus, TripAdvisor, Booking.com and Priceline.
glh, the London-based hotel group and subsidiary of Singapore listed GuocoLeisure Group, today announces the opening of every hotel Piccadilly (London), the first site for the new every hotels brand, with three more expected to open over the next 18 months.
Carlson Rezidor, one of the largest and most dynamic hotel groups worldwide, further strengthens its network in the United Kingdom by announcing the Radisson Blu Hotel, Birmingham Airport. The property, featuring 220 guest rooms, is scheduled to open in early 2017, and is Carlson Rezidor's 15th Radisson Blu in the country. Radisson Blu – Europe's largest upper upscale hotel brand – is known for stylish and sophisticated design and personalized services following the philosophy "Yes I Can!"
Whilst there has been a continued investment into increasing the hotel guest experience, the UK hotel industry's general lack of investment in technology and gaining insights from business' data – as well as in its online marketing to potential and existing guests – could become one of the most significant stumbling blocks to the sector capitalising on the current upturn in the UK economy.
Veteran hotelier Sir David Michels has announced the launch of a new £200m fund targeting investments in the European hotel sector. The fund will be managed by his management and advisory firm Michels & Taylor, and will primarily focus on the UK, although acquisitions in the rest of Europe will also be considered. The aim of the fund will be to find individual assets which can deliver significant trading improvements in the short to medium term.