Sales & Marketing USA & Canada External Articles - Hospitality Net

Advertisement

External Article

September 7, 2009

Chicago 2016: Hospitality workers rally for Olympics bid | chicagotribune.com

More than 500 members of the city's hospitality industry rallied Thursday around Mayor Richard Daley's 2016 Olympic bid. "The reason we're here is to let everyone on the planet know that Chicago's hospitality community is excited and ready to serve the world in the Chicago 2016 Olympics," said Tim O'Malley, publisher of Concierge Preferred, the visitor marketing company that organized the rally at the Hyatt Regency Chicago.

chicagotribune.com

Chicago, Illinois, United States

External Article

September 2, 2009

#1 Orlando Hotel Reveals the Secret to 100% Guest Satisfaction

Radisson Orlando Lake Buena Vista FL - While today everyone focuses on hotel room rates, a recent study says guest satisfaction plays major role in the decision to book a hotel or not. Guests will return and stay with their favorite hotels regardless of the room rates. According to a recent study by Harvard business publishing, 65% of customers are looking for "knowledgeable employees", which most defined as able to "answer my questions without putting them on hold, searching for someone, or transferring them." 62% said "being treated like a valued customer" and 54% said "demonstrates desire to meet their needs."

Orlando, Florida, United States

External Article

September 1, 2009

Business Travelers Give Up Amenities to Cut Costs | nytimes.com

As the recession unfolds, a growing number of budget-minded business travelers are shifting to lower-price hotels, whether by choice or because their bosses are telling them to. The biggest beneficiaries of the shift, travel experts say, are the hotels that keep prices down by not offering amenities like restaurants or meeting rooms.

External Article

August 27, 2009

Luxury Hotel Chains Dropping Five-Star Ratings to Conserve Cash | bloomberg.com

Starwood will let some of its properties reduce their level of service -- and number of stars -- until the industry begins to recover, spokeswoman K.C. Kavanagh said. Hilton Hotels Corp. and InterContinental Hotels Group Plc have already cut the ratings for some locations.

External Article

August 24, 2009

Want a $10 room in Orlando? Hotels slash rates | orlandosentinel.com

Not too long ago, most people didn't want to see the inside of a $10 hotel room. But with travel down noticeably this year because of the recession, even high-end hotels in Orlando are offering eye-opening specials in an increasingly desperate attempt to put more heads in beds.

orlandosentinel.com

Orlando, Florida, United States

External Article

August 24, 2009

Amenities, Growth Help Kimpton Carve Boutique Niche | btnonline.com

Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants president and CEO Michael Depatie recently spoke with BTN hotel editor Michael B. Baker about the boutique chain's role in the meetings industry and growth plans.

External Article

August 24, 2009

NBTA Names Michael McCormick Executive Director, Ices ACTE Merger | btnonline.com

The National Business Travel Association tomorrow will name Michael McCormick as its new executive director and COO, BTN has learned. Meanwhile, NBTA today in a dispatch to members said it has yet to enter merger discussions with the Association of Corporate Travel Executives, claiming the ACTE board "has refused to enter the financial due diligence process."

Ad #1 Hotel PMS

See why hotels are switching to Mews

Revenue up. Manual work down. Hotels using Mews see 35% higher RevPAR and 45% more upsells. Book a free demo.

Ad Tambourine One

All you need is one.

Some call it a website with a booking engine built in. Some call it a booking engine with a website built in. We call it One.

External Article

August 21, 2009

HDC video: US industry outlook (part 1) | hotelnewsnow.com

Despite a bumpy a road ahead, the U.S. hotel industry will recover, according to leaders from some of the top research firms in the country. Mark Lomanno of Smith Travel Research, Mark Woodworth of PKF Hospitality Research and Scott Berman of PricewaterhouseCoopers expounded on that idea with detailed projections during the closing session of the Hotel Data Conference presented by Magnuson Hotels.

External Article

August 20, 2009

Manhattan Hotels Fill Rooms With Low Rates | nytimes.com

No other sector in commercial real estate is suffering as badly right now as the hotel industry. In June, the average occupancy rate nationwide was 54.6 percent — by far the worst performance since Smith Travel Research of Hendersonville, Tenn., began keeping track in 1987. Distress is rampant, with increasing numbers of hotel owners surrendering control of their properties to their lenders.

New York, New York, United States

External Article

August 18, 2009

Travel Buyers Redefining Dynamic Pricing | btnonline.com

Travel buyers and hoteliers, fatigued with repeated renegotiations to keep up with constantly falling hotel rates, are exploring dynamic pricing in hotel program negotiations this year, but largely coming to the table with disparate views of what such pricing would entail. During the seller's market of the past few years, the push for dynamic pricing—negotiating a percentage off the best available rate rather than using a flat rate—came largely from hoteliers, while most buyers saw it as a budgeting nightmare

External Article

August 17, 2009

Analysts make predictions for recovery at 1st Hotel Data Conference | hotelnewsnow.com

People in the business of forecasting have it rough right now. On one hand, people are begging them to predict the future; on the other, people are saying the economic uncertainty is so great forecasting is worthless.

External Article

August 17, 2009

Hotwire’s president talks about so-called ‘opaque’ travel sites | sdnn.com

Clem Bason is the president of Hotwire.com, the discount travel Web site. I asked him about the outlook for bargains in the second half of the summer, and to address some of the consumer complaints about so-called “opaque” travel sites.

External Article

August 13, 2009

Are travel agents making a comeback? | cnn.com

f you've booked travel online, you may have been there. nline travel sites flooded with overwhelming options, all claiming the best deals. Extra fees nestled into the fine print amid blaring advertisements. Pounding 16 digits into the telephone after you've booked the wrong flight before finally getting a human voice. A few weeks ago, Darin Kaplan, a tech-savvy 27-year-old California restaurant manager, clicked his mouse hundreds of times, surfing the vast choices offered by online travel booking Web sites like Expedia.com and Orbitz.com to plan his 28th birthday cruise to Mexico before he gave up in frustration.

External Article

August 12, 2009

Top South Beach hotels see occupancy dip | miamiherald.com

The spring and summer weren't kind to the Delano, South Beach's market leader. The pricey getaway saw occupancy drop 20 points amid a nationwide retreat from expensive vacations.

miamiherald.com

Miami Beach, Florida, United States

Ad Tambourine One

All you need is one.

Some call it a website with a booking engine built in. Some call it a booking engine with a website built in. We call it One.

External Article

July 27, 2009

Hotel Review: SLS Hotel at Beverly Hills, Los Angeles | nytimes.com

A grand hotel transports you back in time. In this case, expect to be transported back about a year, to a gilded age when hotel minibars swelled with Champagne and hotel bathrooms featured $85 bottles of lotion. SLS is a throwback. But it’s a wonderful throwback, thanks to Philippe Starck, who has been designing groundbreaking hotels for decades, and Sam Nazarian, the owner, who let him spend more than $100 million on the first in a planned chain of SLS hotels. The result is beautiful and innovative; it’s amazing that Mr. Starck has so many ideas left in him. Indeed, the biggest problem with this 297-room hotel, which opened in November, is that its design is so complex you may feel overstimulated.

Los Angeles, California, United States

External Article

July 23, 2009

How Search Is Key To Booking Travel Plans | mediapost.com

Knowing how consumers research and gather information as they make plans to travel for business and pleasure can help marketers plan campaigns better. The study, "The Traveler's Road to Decision," released Tuesday from Google and OTX, reveals consumer research and buying habits across the Internet.

MediaPost Communications

External Article

July 23, 2009

Dealing with negative guest feedback

The significance of TripAdvisor and other guest feedback forums cannot be underestimated in this age of online hotel shopping. How a hotel deals with what guests say is the most important aspect, according to “The issue of hotel review sites is the hottest topic for hoteliers right now,” said Edward Perry, senior director of e-commerce for WorldHotels and secretary for the Hotel Electronic Distribution Network Association. “It truly has the ability to directly impact the level of business a hotel gets.”

External Article

July 22, 2009

Hotels, airlines offer treats to lure customers | usatoday.com

With many people staying put during these tough times, the travel industry is going to great lengths to woo people back on the road with promotions that range from the creative to borderline kooky. This is not your mother's fare sale or rate cut. British Airways, for instance, is holding an essay contest for grown-ups. It's offering free round trips to those who make the most compelling argument for why they need to travel overseas for business.

External Article

July 20, 2009

The new reality of hotels' group rates | orlandosentinel.com

Hotel prices for groups versus everyday travelers are upside down. But in Orlando, that may be the norm. Struggling with a slump in travel, big-city hotel markets across the nation are taking a page from Orlando's playbook when it comes to pricing hotel rooms. Most of the nation's top 25 hotel markets are slashing the rates they charge everyday travelers, while the prices paid by large groups and conventioneers have fallen just slightly. As a result of this recession-fighting tactic, groups that used to get discounts on high-end hotel rooms for their annual meetings or trade shows are now paying more than walk-in customers for those same rooms.

orlandosentinel.com

Florida, United States

External Article

July 17, 2009

WTF: NYLO vs. Wynn Re: XS

Okay, kiddies. Can't we all agree that suing each other over the gimmicky use of two consonants is a little...excessive? Or should we say "XS-ive"? According to local Las Vegas news station KVBC, Wynn Resorts filed a lawsuit on Monday in U.S. District Court against NYLO Hotels. The dispute? Who has the rights to "XS." Yes, really.

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States