At the recently held AGM, the HOSPA Council ratified the appointment of the Association's Deputy Chairman Chris Upton as the new Chairman of the Hospitality Professionals Association for Finance, Revenue Management and IT. He succeeds Paul Dukes who has stepped down, due to ill health, after seven years of devoted service at the Association's helm.
Today, Morgans Hotel Group opened its newest hotel, Mondrian London at Sea Containers, a 359-room luxury hotel fusing inventive food, beverage and entertainment offerings with groundbreaking design to produce a vibrant hub on London's South Bank. The first Mondrian-branded hotel outside the United States, Mondrian London at Sea Containers represents the evolution of the Mondrian brand, offering guests and locals an urban boutique hotel experience that is youthful, energetic, and aspirational, while remaining distinctly authentic to its South Bank London location.
Thomson's collection of Scene hotels, launched for summer 2014 as the perfect choice for sun seekers looking for a smart holiday base in some of the coolest party destinations, has significantly increased with the integration of the '2wentys' youth brand into the range. The new look Thomson Scene will provide holidaymakers aged 18-35 with the perfect break in 86 hotels in 34 resorts in 20 destinations, combining chilled pool days with lively nights out.
Swiss International Air Lines – (SWISS) will be promoting its premium service 'Swiss First' to upmarket travellers staying in Acentic's 4 and 5 star hotels in Europe. The 'Swiss First' advertising campaign will run through Acentic Media targeting guests through the hotel in-room TV which will target 12,000+ rooms in 35 hotels. The activity is aimed to reach over 4.5 million affluent business and leisure travellers and deliver over 8.5 million ad impressions over the campaign.
Marriott Hotels in the UK has asked five thought leaders including TV presenter and charity founder, Katie Piper, and England rugby ace, Danny Care, to share their vision of the hotel guest room of the future. Marriott Hotels is now calling for the public to vote on their favourite elements of the rooms on www.travelbrilliantly.co.uk/guestroom before 20 October 2014. All voters have a chance of winning a four day trip to Marriott's new hotel, Istanbul Marriott Hotel Sisli, Turkey. From an interactive Instagram wall and selfie sticks to mind controlled projectors, the room designs are packed full of innovations and technology that reflect the needs and wants of the Millennial traveller. Visitors to the site will vote on the best elements of each room design to create one winning concept that will be built as a show room in Westfield London (from 27 October to 2 November 2014). While the show room will not be replicated at Marriott Hotels; it represents a creative example of co-created innovation that aims to inspire the future of travel. How the Tribes Were Born Following the launch of Marriott Hotels' global campaign Travel Brilliantly in 2013 that represented a bold move in amplifying the brand's dedication to leading the future of travel, Marriott Hotels in the UK set out to discover more about the lifestyle habits of Gen Y's – 18-35 year olds - in Britain. The survey findings identified the emergence of five Gen Y Tribes grouped together by similar attitudes, lifestyles and aspirations. The tribes are:
This article will be of interest to stakeholders in new golf resort developments as well as existing schemes as we focus on transactions across Europe since 2008, which demonstrate a structural change in the ownership market.
The recent sale of Surrey's Wentworth Club to the Chinese Reignwood Group and other recent activity appears to have marked the start of an economic recovery, as investors make positive moves to enter and re-enter the volatile golf hotel market. Following a period of inactivity and bouyed by reduced unemployment and the prospect of real wage increases, with over €386 million of single asset investment in 2014 alone, attention has turned to businesses centred around a key golf attraction that also provide multiple revenue streams and future development potential.
Hilton Worldwide has ppointed Chris Jung as general manager of the newly re-launched Conrad London St. James, the latest addition to Conrad Hotels & Resorts’ luxury portfolio. With 11 years of extensive knowledge in international luxury hotel management spanning four continents, Jung brings strong commercial insight and a wealth of expertise to the position.
With London's profitability bouncing back with positive year-on-year comparison in August, the UK Provinces go from strength to strength with gross operating profit per available room (GOPPAR) showing a double digit growth, and West Midlands hoteliers recording an 11.1% surge in this metric, according to the latest HotStats.
Macdonald Kilhey Court has appointed Martin Jones as General Manager of the recently refurbished Wigan hotel. Joining from Arora Hotel in Manchester, Jones brings 30 years’ hospitality experience, having worked with a number of hotels in the North West. Following a recent £450,000 investment programme at the hotel, Jones’ remit will be to develop the business travel market, as well as leisure. A second AA rosette for the Laureate Restaurant is also a target for the four-star hotel, which sits in ten acres of gardens with views of Worthington Lakes.
The British Hospitality Association (BHA) has relaunched the Restaurant Association and announced the appointment of David Loewi as its new chairman.
HOSPA - the Association that provides unparalleled support for hospitality's Finance, Revenue Management and IT professionals with career development, networking and keeping up-dated with industry trends and developments – is delighted to invite applications for the 2014 HOSPA Career and Future Career Investment Development Scholarships.
Greg, formerly of The Welcombe Hotel in Stratford-upon-Avon, has three decades of experience in the hospitality industry. Greg has forged an impressive reputation and his track record in managing large, complex hotel businesses speaks for itself.
German hotel group Pentahotels has appointed two new general managers to help continue its expansion into the UK. Nicola Crowley is the new general manager at the Pentahotel Warrington, while Daniel Hawkie will take over the role at the Pentahotel Ipswich. Hawkie, who has held positions at Ramada, De Vere Village Hotels and Maid Head Hotels, was previously manager of Kew Green Hotels.
German hotel group Pentahotels has appointed two new general managers to help continue its expansion into the UK. Nicola Crowley is the new general manager at the Pentahotel Warrington. Crowley joins Pentahotel following several positions at InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), where she held executive positions and general manager positions for its Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn brands.
PwC 's latest forecast for UK hotel performance expects growth across the board for the 2014 outturn and into 2015. Overall UK hotels are expected to see a5.6% gain in RevPAR (revenue per available room) in 2015 (to £67.39), driven by a 4% rates growth (to £86.49) and a 1.6% increase in occupancy (to 78%). This is underpinned by a continued strong recovery in the Provinces as well as strong growth in London, especially next year.
Hoffmeister Hotel & Spa, a luxury five-star accommodation provider in Czech Republic has selected eRevMax to boost its online bookings and expand online presence. The property has been using RateTiger Channel Manager to manage their rate and room inventory updates in real-time accurately across all connected sales channels.
The Lodge on Loch Lomond Hotel has increased its sales revenue by over £300,000 in the past year with help from the Guestline property management solutions. The independent family run hotel, nestled on the banks of the Loch Lomond installed Guestline's Rezlynx PMS, distribution and channel manager, online booking manager, PCI manager and Facebook booking manager to drive occupancy and increase RevPar.
The legendary pentastyle is firmly on course for expansion: the international hotel group reached a new milestone in its development this year with now 25 hotels in operation throughout Europe and Asia. Five new pentahotels opened in the United Kingdom in 2014 – in Birmingham, Derby, Inverness, Warrington and Ipswich – and the UK has emerged as the neighbourhood lifestyle hotel brand's biggest growth market. Together with pentahotel Reading there are now six hotels and more than 770 pentahotel rooms in Britain. Existing properties in Germany, Austria, France, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Hong Kong and mainland China have already expanded the penta footprint worldwide.
Tourico Holidays, a global leader in wholesale travel brokerage, today announced that its year-over-year revenue on London-based travel has grown by 28%, driven largely by an increase in traveler demand and the performance of key hotel partners, including Wyndham Group, Marriott Hotels & Resorts, and Park Plaza Group. As a result of the increased activity surrounding London travel, Tourico will double the size of its London-based product team responsible for the management of inventory and partnerships, and will introduce new technology designed to help London hotel partners capitalize on the continued rise in demand.
In this newly created role, Egan will lead industry relations’ efforts within TripAdvisor for Business, a dedicated division that provides the tourism sector with free marketing tools and resources. Egan will act as a liaison for hospitality trade associations and government organisations, building awareness about the benefits, resources, policies, products and services of TripAdvisor. Egan joined TripAdvisor in 2008 as the first dedicated destination marketing specialist in Europe, covering Europe, the Middle East and Africa. In her five years at the company, her key focus has been building relationships within the destination marketing organisation (DMO) sector and educating the industry on the benefits of leveraging user-generated content. As Director of Industry Relations, Egan will act as an ambassador to the global hospitality sector, opening communication channels with leading trade and tourism associations.