Lately Starbucks (SBUX) has been trying to change things up. They finally got free Wi-Fi with free digital content, they are trying to slow down the process of making drinks (which seems to me about the equivalent of clipping a bird’s wings), and now they’re talking about adding booze to the menu. Irish coffee, anyone?
Read More:
Sunday, October 24, 2010
When Alan Parker moved Whitbread from beer to hotels no-one got it, they do now
After defying his critics and reshaping former brewer Whitbread into a focused budget hotels and coffee shops group, is Alan Parker planning a quieter life after he retires on his 64th birthday next month? It doesn't look like it.
"The day after I retire, I fly to Dubai for two days of meetings," says the departing chief executive.
"I then fly back, fly to Paris for another board meeting, come back and drive to Devon, where I'm chairman of the board of governors at my old school. I hope it's not always going to be like that."
Read More:
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Fort Myers woman reports theft of thousands in cash while she was staying at motel
A 71-year-old Fort Myers woman reported that she left between $20,000 and $100,000 in cash behind in a hotel room.
The woman was staying at the Value Place motel in May while she and her husband were having their home remodeled.
She reported the missing cash to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office on Thursday.
According to the incident report, the woman said some of the cash was in a plastic Walmart bag and envelopes from Bank of America and Wachovia Bank.
The victim also told investigators that she kept the cash stored under blankets in the hotel room’s closet.
She didn’t realize she left the money in the room until after checking out and when she called management, they told her that her room had already been cleaned and that no money was found, the report states.
She also told investigators that she didn’t report the incident because she was embarrassed.
The woman was staying at the Value Place motel in May while she and her husband were having their home remodeled.
She reported the missing cash to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office on Thursday.
According to the incident report, the woman said some of the cash was in a plastic Walmart bag and envelopes from Bank of America and Wachovia Bank.
The victim also told investigators that she kept the cash stored under blankets in the hotel room’s closet.
She didn’t realize she left the money in the room until after checking out and when she called management, they told her that her room had already been cleaned and that no money was found, the report states.
She also told investigators that she didn’t report the incident because she was embarrassed.
Hyatt pledges financial support for Bermuda resort
A Park Hyatt hotel in St. George’s has moved a step closer to becoming reality, with Hyatt throwing its financial weight behind the project.
The Park Hyatt group has agreed to invest heavily in the $300m scheme and become a stakeholder.
The move paves the way for developers Bazarian International to push ahead with the project, which will see a 100-room hotel, condominiums and villas built on the site of the old Club Med.
Read More:
The Park Hyatt group has agreed to invest heavily in the $300m scheme and become a stakeholder.
The move paves the way for developers Bazarian International to push ahead with the project, which will see a 100-room hotel, condominiums and villas built on the site of the old Club Med.
Read More:
Goldman selling 3 NYC hotels
Goldman Sachs Group Inc.'s real estate investment funds are marketing three hotels in New York City, according to sources who have been approached to purchase them.
The Whitehall Funds are trying to sell the Park Central New York Hotel, Doubletree Metropolitan Hotel and the Sofitel New York.
Read More:
The Whitehall Funds are trying to sell the Park Central New York Hotel, Doubletree Metropolitan Hotel and the Sofitel New York.
Read More:
European hotel chain heads to Manhattan
Wyndham-owned hotel chain TRYP is to open a property in New York, the firm confirmed October 21, marking its first expansion into North America.
TRYP, which is predominantly present in several European cities such as Paris, Lisbon, Frankfurt and Madrid, is the latest chain to announce a new property in Manhattan.
Read More:
Chaperone for sex addicts tops odd hotel requests list
London: Check out the travelling oddities! A list of strange requests that hotels get from their guests has revealed that asking for a chaperone for a group of sex addicts takes the cake.
Hotel chain Best Western revealed the list, which also included a group of animal-lovers requesting reiki classes for their pets, and another asking for twin rooms, so guests and their dogs could each have their own bed.
Read More:
Hotel chain Best Western revealed the list, which also included a group of animal-lovers requesting reiki classes for their pets, and another asking for twin rooms, so guests and their dogs could each have their own bed.
Read More:
Brothels Used as Hotels for Korean Grand Prix’s
Brothels are being used as hotels for F1 staff because the Korean Grand Prix does not have enough hotel rooms available. Although major F1 staff members such as drivers and team bosses have been able to secure normal rooms, the rest have not. They are forced to stay in $225 a night make-shift hotels which are really brothels.
The unfortunate F1 staff members are complaining about the condition of their rooms at the brothels. Some people say that the conditions go beyond unsanitary since there have been discoveries of “piles of used condoms beneath the beds.”Read More:
Fort Lee celebrates construction start on 1,000-room hotel
FORT LEE - With heavy equipment rumbling in the background and a high-rise stairway looming above, Army and civilian leaders gathered to celebrate the formal kickoff of one of the biggest construction projects ever in the Tri-Cities.
About 80 people assembled Friday morning on the edge of the 26-acre parcel on Mahone Avenue near the new Army Logistics University to see the formal groundbreaking for a long-awaited 1,000-room Army Lodging facility. Actual construction began several weeks ago on the 530,000-square-foot, $120 million military hotel, which is expected to open sometime in 2012.
Read More:
About 80 people assembled Friday morning on the edge of the 26-acre parcel on Mahone Avenue near the new Army Logistics University to see the formal groundbreaking for a long-awaited 1,000-room Army Lodging facility. Actual construction began several weeks ago on the 530,000-square-foot, $120 million military hotel, which is expected to open sometime in 2012.
Read More:
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Ledgestone Hospitality, LLC Signs Three Hotel Management Contracts in ten days
(Hospitality Business News) Shorewood, MN - Ledgestone Hospitality, LLC announces the addition of three hotels to their management portfolio. Cedar Falls Win Lodge, LLC; Davenport Lodge & Suites, LLC; and Lincoln Lodge & Suites, LLC contracted with Ledgestone Hospitality, LLC to manage the Wingate Inn & Suites of Cedar Falls, Iowa; the AmericInn Lodge & Suites of Davenport, IA and Lincoln, NE, respectively.
Based inShorewood , Minnesota
“These properties further expand the diversity of our portfolio and demonstrate the breadth of our capacity as a management company,” said Ken Garvin, president.
“These new contracts involve hotels that span various segments of the industry. All these properties are in lucrative markets. Our goal is to further strengthen their competitive position within their respective markets. We expect to add significant value through enhanced operations and aggressive marketing at these hotels. We are excited to work with each ownership group in exceeding their expectations.”
Ledgestone Hospitality, LLC is a fully integrated hotel management company specializing in upscale, limited service properties and is currently managing 17 locations including: AmericInn, Baymont Inn & Suites, Country Inn & Suites, Hampton Inn & Suites, La Bellasera Hotel & Suites a luxury boutique property, Microtel Inn & Suites, Ramada, Super 8 and Wingate Inn & Suites. Ledgestone Hospitality is turnkey property management company led by industry veterans with more than seventy-five years of combined experience. Implementing professional best practice management techniques together with the most cutting edge tools sets Ledgestone apart from the typical management company. The style of this premier hospitality management company is to utilize a very hands-on and personal approach ensuring the success of a diverse hotel portfolio.
Based in
Three Brazilian Hotel Companies join forces to create Allia Hotels
(Hospitality Business News)
Three regional hotel groups in Brazil have announced the formation of Allia Hotels, the largest 100% Brazilian hotel chain in the country. As a result of this alliance between Bristol Hotels, based in Minas Gerais; Plaza Inn Hotels, based in São Paulo and Solare Hotel Group, based in Maranhão, Allia Hotels has a combined 40 hotels in operation and more than 3,000 rooms with approximately 1,600 employees.
Allia becomes the third largest hotel chain in Brazil, based on the number of properties, and will have a presence in six states and total revenues of approximately R$ 150 million in 2010.
The company already has a commitment of R$450M for the development of 30 new hotels.
Bristol, Plaza Inn and Solare merge to create the largest Brazilian hotel group
Three regional hotel groups in Brazil have announced the formation of Allia Hotels, the largest 100% Brazilian hotel chain in the country. As a result of this alliance between Bristol Hotels, based in Minas Gerais; Plaza Inn Hotels, based in São Paulo and Solare Hotel Group, based in Maranhão, Allia Hotels has a combined 40 hotels in operation and more than 3,000 rooms with approximately 1,600 employees.
Allia becomes the third largest hotel chain in Brazil, based on the number of properties, and will have a presence in six states and total revenues of approximately R$ 150 million in 2010.
The company already has a commitment of R$450M for the development of 30 new hotels.
"This alliance will give us more ability to grow and invest in expansion, at a time when the prospects are very favorable for the hospitality industry and tourism, besides increasing the management capacity of our enterprises," said André Monegaglia,CEO.
Hotels sprout around New York City
Hotels are popping up everywhere in Brooklyn and the other boroughs outside Manhattan, some in very strange places.
The hotel wave is coming more than a decade after the 1998 opening of the New York Marriott at the Brooklyn Bridge, Brooklyn's first new luxury hotel in a half century. Now dozens of new lodgings are coming to the borough, as well as to Queens, Staten Island and the Bronx.
Read More:
The hotel wave is coming more than a decade after the 1998 opening of the New York Marriott at the Brooklyn Bridge, Brooklyn's first new luxury hotel in a half century. Now dozens of new lodgings are coming to the borough, as well as to Queens, Staten Island and the Bronx.
Read More:
Couple suing restaurant, server in hot sauce case
A Cleveland couple is suing the local Steak ’n Shake restaurant, its parent company and an employee for allegedly serving their son a hot sauce so hot that he had to be hospitalized.
The lawsuit was filed Sept. 30, in Bradley County Circuit Court by Bilbo Law Offices which is representing Tim and Mary Katherine Gann.
Steak ’n Shake restaurant is located at 220 Paul Huff Parkway.
Read More:
The lawsuit was filed Sept. 30, in Bradley County Circuit Court by Bilbo Law Offices which is representing Tim and Mary Katherine Gann.
Steak ’n Shake restaurant is located at 220 Paul Huff Parkway.
Read More:
Dublin hotel prices continue to fall
Dublin now ranks as the tenth cheapest city for hotel prices among major holiday destinations worldwide, according to a new survey.
The latest Hotels.com Hotel Price Index shows that the average price per room in the capital fell 7 per cent from €78 in the second quarter of 2009 to €73 for the same three-month period this year. This means that Dublin continues to be the cheapest city for hotels in western Europe.
Monte Carlo, the city which is the playground of the rich and famous, is the world's most expensive city for holidaymakers with prices having risen by 6 per cent over the past year to an average of €180 per night.
Read More:
The latest Hotels.com Hotel Price Index shows that the average price per room in the capital fell 7 per cent from €78 in the second quarter of 2009 to €73 for the same three-month period this year. This means that Dublin continues to be the cheapest city for hotels in western Europe.
Monte Carlo, the city which is the playground of the rich and famous, is the world's most expensive city for holidaymakers with prices having risen by 6 per cent over the past year to an average of €180 per night.
Read More:
Wallaby mistreated at Irish hotel party
Dublin - Irish police are investigating after an animal, believed to be a sheep wallaby, was manhandled on a dance floor at a large birthday party, and was reported to have died.
A bout 150 people were at a 30th birthday party at Dublin’s Liffey Valley Clarion Hotel on Saturday night when one of them opened a large box and took out an animal.
Read More:
