Hotel, big retail eyed for New Yorks Moynihan Station

A marble hallway where a tiny jail housed postal thieves; expansive rooms obstructed by dingy drop-ceilings; and wide hallways overlooking the inner courtyard of the James A. Farley Post Office—this now-obsolete but prime Manhattan real estate could be transformed into a boutique hotel that will occupy the top floors of what will eventually become Moynihan train station.

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Battle for control of Benihana

Before Rocky Aoki died in 2008, he took his wife around the world visiting Benihana restaurants so she could absorb his vision first-hand.

Now Keiko Ono Aoki is ready to put those lessons into practice, trying to grow the business that was her husband's life. But getting to this point has involved years of fighting between Keiko and Rocky's children ---- which may not be over.

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Benihana's next course

Benihana needs more guests like the Waserstein family.

They have been coming to the Benihana in North Bay Village for more than 30 years to celebrate family birthdays like last week's dinner that brought about a dozen members of three generations together for Steve Waserstein's 42nd birthday.

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Modern TV Technology

Many TV sets today, including LG, Samsung, Panasonic, Vizio, Sony and several others, but not Westinghouse, offer a large variety of “apps” built directly into their higher end HDTV models whether they be LED, LCD, or Plasma. These TV sets are now equipped with WiFi capabilities, and also LAN (RJ45 inputs). This added functionality, allows you to save huge amounts of money, and in many cases increase your pay per view revenue.


HOW DOES THIS WORK?
If you can currently receive OTA (over the air) TV programming via a regular TV antenna, you will find that in over 90% of the U.S., and many other countries, you can supply your guest with local TV stations on a FTG (Free to Guest) basis. Free, with no fees to any company or individual. In most areas you with find the type of signal that the local TV stations are being broadcast in is 1080i format. Your cost for that content is $0.00 [local license fees may apply].

Now for the most interesting part, the built in “apps” in the HDTV with WiFi, and/or LAN enabled, are all VOD content. An interesting free “app” is AP® NewsTicker. It is a screen crawl positioned on the bottom of the screen, about 1 – 2 inches high, which feeds the latest breaking news in the areas that you are interested in (sports, politics, stock market, weather alerts, world news etc.) The following is only a partial listing of available “apps”. Some are free, some are PPV, where you, the hotelier, can make extra commissions: NetFlix, Vudu, Yahoo, Accu Weather, Cinemania, Explore 3D, FaceBook, YouTube, Blockbuster, Google maps, Hulu Plus, Napster, Pandora, SPS TV, and Texas Holdem. Plus you can go to the TV set’s main “app” menu and drill down to exactly what you want to watch, i.e., sports, kids, games, news, etc. More and more content is being added as this article is being written. There are several accounting systems that can charge the guest for extra bandwidth, or PPV content [This is still in Beta as of this writing]. However, the choice is yours.

WHAT ARE THE PITFALLS?
By now you are probably wondering what are the pitfalls. First and foremost, you will need a WiFi enabled TV set. With this you also require additional Internet bandwidth but there is a huge bright spot here. If you are building a new property you don’t need to install a wired TV network. You can simply deploy a WiFi network. In the case of a retrofit, there is no need to start breaking walls for HSIA cables. There is no need for cable. We have previously seen costs of over $500,000 for this. However, you will need more WiFi Access Points.

IS THERE MORE TO COME?
You bet there is. Just keep on reading this series right here, or contact the writer, Les Spielman at ceo@hacl.net .



Les Spielman is CEO and founder of Hospitality Automation Consultants Ltd., an independent consulting firm with more than 30 years of hands on experience in the lodging industry

Ladbrokes Earnings More Than Double on World Cup Betting, Slots

Ladbrokes Plc, the U.K. bookmaker founded in 1886, said third-quarter operating profit more than doubled, boosted by betting on soccer’s World Cup and higher win percentages on games.  Operating profit gained 128 percent to 51.1 million pounds ($81.4 million) in the period, the Harrow, England-based company said in a statement. Ladbrokes said the company is “on track” to meet its full-year forecasts.

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St Andrews Old Course Hotel owner posts losses

Its redevelopment of the former Craigtoun Hospital into the luxury accommodation known as The Duke's Residence was cited as the main factor, and the economic climate was also blamed.


During the year, the company also bought nearby Hamilton Hall for £11.5 million, which it intends to convert into luxury apartments.

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Chicago Fairmont cancels senior trip reservation

With five days to go before the senior class trip, the Senior Class Council was forced to change its plans for housing nearly half of the trip’s participants. The Fairmont Millennium Hotel had agreed to house 128 of the trip’s 272 participants but pulled out of the contract with the Senior Class Council (SCC) on Wednesday after

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Businessman Acquitted of Rape Rap Sues Standard Hotel

After seeing his name dragged through the mud, an Australian businessman acquitted of trying to rape a maid is suing The Standard hotel for $10 million. Matthew Moorhouse, 42, was accused of throwing the unidentified maid onto the bed and trying to force himself upon her, until another worker came to her rescue. But he convinced a jury that the maid made up the story after he caught her rifling through his bag. His lawsuit against The Standard charges that the hotel's "racy atmosphere contributed to the false charges against him," the Post reports.

Maybourne Hotel Group denies it is to be sold by Irish government

Claridge's owner the Maybourne Hotel Group has dismissed media reports it is to be sold by the Irish government. The owner of some of London's most prestigious hotels - including the Berkeley and the Connaught - released a statement that it was "categorically not for sale".

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Rajasthan (India) hotel owner held for 'assaulting' foreigner

JODHPUR (Rajasthan): A hotel owner in Rajasthan's Jodhpur district has been arrested for allegedly molesting and assaulting a tourist from Netherlands who had to spend the night in the bathroom to fend off his advances, police said on Monday. Identified as Narendra Singh, the owner of the hotel in Bap sub-district, some 170 km from this popular Rajasthan tourist town, was held on Sunday night, a police official said.

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Hotel records helped bust Boston child-prostitution ring, report says

The Boston Globe updates us on the ugly side of the hotel world: Prosecution of a major, child-prostitution ring that sometimes operated out of hotels. Key to prosecutors' case? Confirming the girls' stories with hotel records, which included multi-day stays paid in cash.

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