A bottle of vintage Dom Perignon was bought in bar for £35,000 Photo: PA The methuselah of 1996 Rosé Gold, dubbed the 'King of Champagnes', was sold at a top London hotel. A till receipt shows the buyer left a £10,625 tip – in addition to the £4,375 service charge.
As part of a multi-million pound refurbishment project, The Sheraton Grand Hotel & Spa in Edinburgh has committed to Quadriga's new guest communications portal, Sensiq, as it repositions the hotel for the next decade.
Ms Ibrahim will succeed Bob Cotton on the 19 July 2010. Ms Ibrahim joins the association from London-based World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC). As Chief Operating Officer at WTTC, working with governments and industry across the world, Ms Ibrahim has advised on policymaking and the development of planning frameworks for the long-term success of travel and tourism. As a keen promoter of public and private sector dialogue, she has been instrumental in the establishment of the Global Travel & Tourism Summit – the annual meeting of world leaders to discuss and agree key priorities for the industry. Prior to joining WTTC in 2000, Ms Ibrahim was in charge of the American Express Global Passport and Visa Unit for five years. She studied at the London Metropolitan University, graduating with a BA in Leisure and Tourism Management, and has recently graduated with distinction in her MBA from the Open University.
The Savoy Hotel has always been associated with style and decadence, so when it was closed for a £118million upgrade in 2007 the public eagerly awaited its glamorous reopening. But the project, which is already running 11 months behind schedule, has just been put back for a second time, delaying the opening until late August or early September this year.
HBSi, an IBS Group company, has added UK hotel company Ramada Jarvis to its growing list of customers in Europe. Jarvis is HBSi's first hotel customer in the UK. The major UK franchisee of the Ramada brand, Jarvis hotels owns and operates more than 40 hotels throughout the UK.
Hoteliers in London could see double-digit revenue per available room (RevPAR) growth this year, according to the latest Hotel Market Outlook, a quarterly report issued by Deloitte.
Hoteliers in London could see double-digit revenue per available room (revPAR) growth this year, according to the latest Hotel Market Outlook, a quarterly report issued by Deloitte.
Hampton Hotels, part of the Hilton Worldwide portfolio of brands, today announced the opening of three hotel properties in the United Kingdom, located in Birmingham, Braintree and Shrewsbury. The converted hotels are owned by Osborn Securities and managed by Hilton Worldwide. These hotels increase the UK Hampton by Hilton estate to five, creating more than 500 additional rooms.
Wyndham Hotel Group, the world’s largest hotel company with more than 7,100 hotels and 11 brands, today announced an agreement with CHI Hotels & Resorts of Malta, its joint-venture management partner in EMEA, to operate a new, 200-room upscale hotel to be constructed along the waterfront in Cardiff, the capital of Wales.
Dorchester Collection is pleased to announce an appointment at its new country house hotel & spa, Coworth Park, opening in late Summer 2010. Lisa Lernoux-Dock has joined the company in the role of Director of Sales for Coworth Park reporting directly to General Manager, Zoe Jenkins. Lisa joins six months prior to Coworth Park’s opening in order to build early awareness of the new property in the groups and leisure markets, and establish the hotel as the best country house hotel and spa in the UK. Previously Lisa has held various senior positions in the hospitality industry, most recently as Sales Development Director at Chewton Glen for seven years, and as a Senior Sales Manager with Destination Management Company, PGI UK, beforehand. In 2008 Lisa was awarded the Tim Gasson Award by the Hotel Booking Agents Association, accredited to an individual for their outstanding promotion of the HBAA. Coworth Park comprises a Georgian manor house, converted stable block and cottages set in 240 acres of mature parkland in the stunning Royal Berkshire countryside. On the doorstep of Windsor Great Park and Wentworth Golf Course guests at Coworth Park will be able to enjoy numerous outdoor leisure pursuits as well as its eco-luxury spa with 10 treatment rooms and swimming pool. Coworth Park will be the only hotel in the UK to have two polo fields and an equestrian centre stabling some 40 horses. There will also be a marquee set up in the grounds for wedding and social events catering for up to 250 people.
2009 was one of the toughest years yet for the hotels sector with a RevPAR decline of almost 10%, but green shoots are emerging. Our latest UK hotels forecast 2010-2011: On the comeback trail predicts growth of over 3% this year and nearly 5% in 2011, with London storming ahead of the Provinces.
Two hotels in the UK -- Doubletree by Hilton, Bristol South, Cadbury House and Ramada Encore London West -- have become the first to install Sensiq, Quadriga's new guest communications portal. Launched in December 2009, Sensiq is designed to dramatically improve the guest experience and create new value opportunities for hotels.
Lloyds Banking Group will say today that it is to breathe new life into the owner of De Vere hotels, the group behind The Grand in Brighton and Cameron House on Loch Lomond, which has been under pressure to renegotiate bank loans.
Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC Wednesday put London's landmark Park Lane building Grosvenor House Hotel up for sale, according to real-estate consultancy and agent CB Richard Ellis. The property, a five-star establishment with 420 rooms and 74 suites over eight floors, could be the most expensive hotel ever to come to market in Europe. Industry experts estimate a price tag of between £500 million and £600 million ($750 million to $900 million), but cautioned that pricing was highly dependent on buyer interest. CB Richard Ellis is acting as agent for the sale, but wouldn't disclose details on pricing.
A comfy bed and a power shower would probably keep most hotel guests happy but what if you have to pay for everything else that comes with your stay? The man behind low-cost long haul airline AirAsia and a string of budget hotels in Malaysia and Indonesia is to bring his 'Tune' brand of hotels to London as part of a £150 million deal announced today.
Three of London's most prestigious hotels could end up being controlled by the Irish government. The Irish Times has reported that the Berkeley, Claridges and the Connaught may be about to be taken over by the Republic's National Asset Management Agency (Nama). The hotels are owned by financier Derek Quinlan's Maybourne Hotel Group.
"Limited Edition" usually implies something extraordinary and rare which offers something better, more exclusive and more desirable... well, that's exactly what Virgin Limited Edition does!
The CRC is a mandatory cap-and-trade scheme introduced by the UK government and directed at non-energy intensive, non-transport industries which are not covered by the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) or Defra’s Climate Change Agreements (CCAs).
To Grow Online Sales - Forget Facebook and Twitter, Rather Focus on Payment Systems
The travel industry is putting entirely too much faith and energy into online social networking when there is little demonstrable positive return on investment. There is another issue that should be moved to the top of the agenda. That issue is payment systems, which is the real driver for online sales. Says Feature writer Ken Smith.
For a recent presentation, I was asked to provide an outlook for the London. As the current market conditions make it quite difficult to predict 2010 performance, I decided it would be way more fun to look even further into the future—the 2012 Summer Olympics. And whilst I don’t have a crystal ball, we at STR and STR Global do hold historic data on the past four Summer Olympics: 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia; 2000 in Sydney, Australia; 2004 in Athens, Greece; and 2008 in Beijing, China. This gives great insight on how world events like the Olympics affect a hotel market.