G6 Hospitality, known for its iconic economy lodging brands, Motel 6 and Studio 6 in the U.S. and Canada, is hosting its annual convention at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort in Hawaii, bringing together thousands of its franchisees and corporate representatives from the U.S. and Canada.
Magnuson Hotels today announced its certification to the US Franchise Registry, the national listing of brands approved by the US Small Business Administration (SBA).Hotel projects that utilize SBA approved brands receive a streamlined process and faster financing approvals, cutting months off the typical loan process. As many local and regional lenders are nervous to make loans in an unstable economy and often unfamiliar with national hotel brand franchising contracts, the SBA franchise certification helps secure loan guarantees with the SBA.
The Ritz-Carlton will assume management of ONE Bal Harbour Resort & Spa on October 2, 2014. The luxury resort will become The Ritz-Carlton Bal Harbour, Miami marking the tenth property in the hotel company's award-winning Florida portfolio.
As hotel industry veteran Eva Ferguson celebrates 30 years with the IHG Owners Association - the last nine as President - she says she is most proud of taking the Association global and building a team to direct an organization where "everything we do is aimed at helping InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) franchisees."
With hotel owners and operators under 40 making up an ever-growing portion of the industry and increasingly involved in decision-making, how are hotel companies getting input from these younger professionals? How are they helping to shape the current and future state of the hospitality industry?
ResorTime L.P., a division of Grand Pacific Resorts, proudly re-launches its website www.ResorTime.com with a Brand Identity backed by a promise to provide unsurpassed value and service to timeshare owners and renters looking for condo-style rental accommodations at exceptional resorts worldwide.
Carlson, a global hospitality and travel company, today announced the completion of the acquisition from JPMorgan Chase & Co. ("JPMC") for the 45 percent equity interest JPMC indirectly held in Carlson Wagonlit Travel (CWT). Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Forbes Travel Guide—the originator of the Five-Star hospitality rating system and formerly Mobil Travel Guide—announced that it will begin rating properties in the Caribbean and Mexico. It will unveil the region's first group of five star properties in 2015, and will expand further in Latin America in coming months. The company also named Lourdes Hainlin Vice President, Client Services, to drive its growth in the region. Hainlin reports to Peter Kressaty, Forbes Travel Guide's Senior Vice President, Client Services.
Magnuson Hotels, the world's largest independent hotel group, announced today the complete rebranding of the Magnuson Grand Hotel Maingate West. Formerly franchised by Wyndham Worldwide as the Ramada Kissimmee Maingate West, the hotel will upgrade its local, regional, and national market to attract travelers via an affiliation with Magnuson Hotels' global portfolio of nearly 2,000 hotels.
Carlson Wagonlit Travel (CWT) today releasedTap into mobile: managed travel in the digital economy, an investigation into the impact of mobile in the managed travel space. The free-to-download study suggests that mobile bookings are set to climb steeply over the next decade and will influence not only the entire traveler experience but will shift how travel managers control their travel programs, using the latest mobile technology to help support and connect to their travelers. Both travelers and travel managers expect mobile booking to increase significantly, reaching 25 percent of online transactions by 2017.In addition, CWT's research predicts that mobile bookings will more than double in the next two years.CWT research also shows that it took up to eight years for online booking tools to reach the same level of activity that mobile is expected to achieve in the next three years. The study highlights the high expectations that both travelers and travel managers have for mobile travel services and their awareness of the advantages and benefits it will bring.Supporting the idea that traveler experience is key, the study highlights that neither travelers nor travel managers expect mobile to significantly drive down travel costs; instead ease of doing business, productivity and traveler wellbeing all rank higher as key benefits of mobile. As a result, managed travel apps are becoming more sophisticated, and companies who act now will reap the most benefit, as they steer travelers towards the apps that support the travel program.The study also highlighted that an estimated average of 62 percent of travelers already carry company smartphones and 56 percent of companies surveyed already, or plan to, have a 'Bring your own device' policy. Globally, travel managers also consider the potential impact of mobile on the travel program to be high, rating it 6.8 overall on a scale of 1 to 10.David Moran, CWT executive vice president, Global Marketing & Enterprise Strategy, said, "We have been planning for this shift for some time and are getting ready to launch new mobile services, such as mobile booking through CWT To Go later this year. While 80 percent of travelers and travel managers told us they want a one-stop-shop app so they don't have to juggle between best-of- breed consumer apps, there isn't an app on the market today that answers all their needs, and that's what we're excited about – building on CWT To Go to create the corporate travel app that appeals to both travel managers and travelers."Looking to the Asia Pacific region, CWT's research shows:
A leading travel industry forecast finds U.S.-originated business travel grew nearly 3% year-over-year, with company spending for business travelers increasing 7.6% to $71.2 billion during 2014 Q1 / the first quarter of 2014. This indicates rising management confidence in the economic recovery, which tends to accompany increased travel budgets and fewer travel restrictions. Overall, U.S.-generated business travel spending is expected to increase 6.8% to $292.3 billion in 2014.
Airport lounges have long been a way for airlines to offer exclusive waiting areas for elite-class travelers; now a few hotels are entering the game. The Four Seasons Lana’i has a branded lounge in Honolulu, Hawaii, at Island Air’s commuter terminal, for guests to enjoy snacks, nonalcoholic beverages, Wi-Fi and courtesy iPads while they wait for their connecting flight — at no extra cost.
The IHG Owners Association, which has represented thousands of InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) owners for nearly six decades, has been holding regional gatherings to hear directly from IHG owners and operators around the globe. The 2014 Summit series was launched in San Francisco and has visited Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Toronto and Washington, D.C. In addition, meetings have been held in Puebla, Mexico and Sydney, Australia.
London UK/Spokane WA -- Magnuson Hotels, the world's largest independent hotel group, announced today the complete rebranding of the M-Star Cleveland. Formerly the Gateway Inn Cleveland, Georgia, the hotel will upgrade its local, regional, and national market to attract travelers via an affiliation with Magnuson Hotels' global portfolio of nearly 2,000 hotels. "We are proud to welcome Paul Patel and his entire staff, and are fully committed to increasing their visibility and reservations," stated Thomas Magnuson, CEO of Magnuson Worldwide. Corporate, educational, government, and leisure travelers will appreciate this 30-room facility located between Atlanta and North Carolina, within walking distance of Truett McConnell College. The M-Star Cleveland will receive complete global brand representation via an affiliation with the fastest growing hotel brand in history. A top 10 global hotel chain, Magnuson Hotels has added more hotels in the past 11 years than 8 of the top 10 chains combined. The M-Star Cleveland will expand its consumer awareness through Magnuson Hotels' contemporary brand and its massive hotel reservation network including 650,000 GDS travel agents, over 2,000 internet booking channels such as Google, Facebook, Expedia, Hotels.com, Priceline, Global Hotel Exchange, and all major airlines websites.
The IHG Owners Association, which represents the interests of thousands of InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) owners and operators worldwide, monitors important governmental issues on behalf of its members and is proactive to protect the lodging industry. According to Eva Ferguson, who is celebrating 30 years with the IHG Owners Association and has served as its president since 2005, "Our Association strives to ensure that hotel owners and industry entrepreneurs participate in the democratic process and express opinions to safeguard their long-term success."
Magnuson Hotels, the world's largest independent hotel group, announced today the complete rebranding of the Magnuson Grand Hotel Fayetteville. Formerly the GuestHouse Inn Fayetteville, Arkansas, the hotel will upgrade its local, regional, and national market to attract travelers via an affiliation with Magnuson Hotels' global portfolio of nearly 2,000 hotels.
Americans are finally coming out of their great recession hibernation and spending on travel again, according to an upcoming report by travel industry research authority PhoCusWright. U.S. travel incidence, or the percent of adults 18 and over who traveled for leisure, jumped four percentage points in 2013 -- topping out at 65%. This is a big turnaround in spending behavior among U.S. consumers, who had been booking fewer trips in the 2010 to 2013 time frame.
Magnuson Hotels, the world's largest independent hotel group, announced today the complete rebranding of the Magnuson Hotel Fossil Creek. Formerly the Best Western Fort Worth, Texas, the hotel will upgrade its local, regional, and national market to attract travelers via an affiliation with Magnuson Hotels' global portfolio of nearly 2,000 hotels.
Leo Spriggs, President and CEO of Hospitality Management Corporation (HMC), is pleased to announce the promotion of Carl Haynes as part of its growing corporate team. Haynes will be responsible for overseeing HMC hotel projects in the South Texas Shale Oil Play areas. His responsibilities will include working closely with ownership, managing directors, contractors and vendors through the building stage, then once completed, direct management of hotel operations. He has had extensive experience in the hospitality industry managing properties from limited service to upscale resort hotels.
New York is missing out on a big opportunity by battling Airbnb. That was the message from the rental site's co-founder and chief technology officer Nathan Blecharczyk at the Milken Institute's Global Conference in Los Angeles.