Meeting Planners Optimism Rising

As U.S. lodging industry performance has turned positive in 2010, so too has the attitude of meeting planners, though not quite to the same degree.  While the temperament of association, corporate, government and independent planners cannot be characterized as exuberant, the emergence of optimism provides hope for hoteliers that the group demand segment is now on the path towards recovery.

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buuteeq Launches First Digital Marketing System for Independent Hotels

Seattle, WA. (Hospitality Business News) January 18, 2011 — Independent hotels now have a new resource to help them master the challenges of digital marketing. buuteeq, an easy-to-use, subscription-based Digital Marketing System (DMS) that enables independent hotels to create and manage high-performing websites, mobile and social channels, promotions and reservations all from one place, launched today after a year in development and testing.
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David Dodwell of Nisbet Plantation on Nevis Named Caribbean Hotelier of the Year

NEVIS,   West Indies — (Hospitality Business News) David Dodwell, the owner of Nisbet Plantation Beach Club on Nevis and hotel industry veteran, has just been named the 2010 Caribbean Hotelier of the Year – the highest professional honor given by the Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association. Peter Yesawich of Ypartnership presented Dodwell with the award in front of an international audience of hospitality leaders and tourism officials at the 2011 Caribbean Marketplace in Jamaica.

Dodwell, who has more than four decades of hospitality career experience and also owns The Reefs – a renowned beachfront hotel in Bermuda, was honored by the Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association for his achievements in the areas of hotel operations, food and beverage, marketing, property maintenance, staff training and motivation as well as his commitment to the environment and the St. Kitts and Nevis community. He becomes the 33^rd recipient of the distinguished golden conch shell and joins an elite list of the most accomplished hotel leaders in the Caribbean.

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US travel to Cuba to shake up Caribbean

PUNTA CANA, Dominican Republic -- I happened to be visiting this stunning beach resort on the day when the Obama administration announced new measures to allow for more U.S. travel to Cuba, and I couldn't help wonder whether a gradual increase of U.S. visitors to Cuba won't hurt all other Caribbean tourism spots.

Granted, last week's measures do not amount to a lifting of the U.S. travel embargo on Cuba and will not result in an immediate avalanche of U.S. tourists to Cuba. The new measures will make it easier for schools, churches and cultural groups to visit the Communist-ruled island, allowing them to organize charter flights as part of a plan to increase ``people-to-people'' contacts.

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10 Sage Hospitality managed Coco Key Hotels to be auctioned off

Ten operating hotels managed by Denver's Sage Hospitality Resources in seven states and owned by a variety of investors are to be auctioned off next month.

Most have been marketed under the "CoCo Key Water Resort" brand and feature indoor pools and other water-sport amenities.

The properties are in Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey and Ohio.
The auction is being managed by the hotel division of Jones Lang LaSalle and Real Estate Disposition Corp. and is being conducted online via the real estate auction website auction.com.

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Bank-owned hotels in San Diego on the rise

Hotel occupancies and revenues may be on the rebound, but that hasn’t kept foreclosures at bay in San Diego County, which has the second highest number of bank-owned properties in the state, according to a lodging report released Friday.

By the end of 2010, 16 hotels accounting for nearly 1,700 rooms had been foreclosed on, a 433 percent over 2009 when there were just three real estate-owned hotels, reported Atlas Hospitality Group, which tracks defaults and foreclosures among California hotels. The county was second only to San Bernardino, which had 17 bank-owned hotels, Atlas said.

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HYATT announces agreement to rebrand Waikiki hotel

CHICAGO (Hospitality Business News - Jan. 20, 2011) — Hyatt Hotels Corporation (NYSE: H) announced today that a Hyatt affiliate has signed a franchise agreement with The Chartres Lodging Group, LLC, for a Hyatt Place hotel in Waikiki, Hawaii.  Under the agreement, the hotel, which is currently operating under the name Ocean Resort Hotel Waikiki, will undergo an extensive renovation and will be re-branded in the fall of 2011 as the 425-room Hyatt Place Waikiki.

Kokua Hospitality, LLC (http://www.kokuahospitality.com/), also announced its appointment by Chartres Lodging and Morgan Stanley Real Estate to manage the Waikiki property and oversee its renovation and repositioning.  Once the renovation is completed, Kokua will continue to manage the property.  The Ocean Resort Hotel Waikiki was acquired in December 2010 by a joint venture of Chartres Lodging and Morgan Stanley.

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Chipotle fires hundreds, draws protest

Chipotle Mexican Grill said on Thursday that it had fired a substantial number of the 1,200 employees at its 50 Minnesota restaurants after a federal immigration audit found some were illegal workers.

The circumstances of the firings, which began in early December, sparked a protest by several dozen people around noon on Thursday at a downtown Minneapolis Chipotle restaurant. Minneapolis police arrested eight participants after they chained themselves together inside the restaurant. They were cited for trespassing.

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When Is A Franchisee’s IT Obsolete?

It just got a lot tougher for franchise chains to crack the whip when it comes to IT mandates. A Florida judge has said Burger King can’t immediately shut down several franchisee stores for missing a deadline to purchase new POS systems. The $2.5 billion chain will now have to go though more legal proceedings and possibly a trial. Or it can settle what has become the most visible case in a set of messy disputes over IT upgrades that should have been installed by the end of 2009.

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Las Vegas tourist sues for refund after sex act led to ‘tragic’ arrest threat

A tourist says he was traumatized when Las Vegas police threatened to arrest him after he complained about an act of prostitution in his hotel room.

Hubert Blackman of New York City filed a lawsuit this month against a Las Vegas company he identified as Las Vegas Exclusive Personals. The lawsuit says the business operates on Paradise Road.

Blackman, a college student, said in an interview Thursday that he was on vacation and staying at the Stratosphere on Dec. 17 when he called Las Vegas Exclusive Personals to arrange for a stripper to come to his room and dance for him.

Blackman said the woman, who appeared to be in her mid 20s, stripped and performed a lap dance for $155 and a sex act for another $120.

He said that the next morning, he called Las Vegas Exclusive Personals to demand his money back, saying he was dissatisfied because the entertainer didn't stay for the promised one hour and left after a half hour.

Blackman said he also told the company he was incapable of making an informed agreement with the stripper because he was drunk at the time.

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Reader poll: 81% say no to hotel pay-per-view, go for 'free'

Echoing a decade-long decline in hotel movie rentals, 81% of the 2,357 people who responded to USA TODAY's latest traveler poll Thursday said they do not order hotel pay-per-view movies.


Specifically, 66% of respondents said that instead of renting a movie, they watch free programs on the TV set. Another 15% said that they used to rent movies, but today bring their own DVDs or watch movies online on their laptop or digital device

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The World is sinking: Dubai islands 'falling into the sea'

But the World, the ambitiously-constructed archipelago of islands shaped like the countries of the globe, is sinking back into the sea, according to evidence cited before a property tribunal.

The islands were intended to be developed with tailor-made hotel complexes and luxury villas, and sold to millionaires. They are off the coast of Dubai and accessible by yacht or motor boat.

Now their sands are eroding and the navigational channels between them are silting up, the British lawyer for a company bringing a case against the state-run developer, Nakheel, has told judges.

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Hodges Ward Elliot closed $2.4B in transactions in 2010

ATLANTA--(Hospitality Business News)--Hodges Ward Elliott, Inc. (HWE), the nation’s premier hotel brokerage and investment banking firm, today announced that it closed on $2.4 billion in transactions in 2010, led by a strong fourth quarter. The company predicted a solid increase in transactions in 2011 due to pent-up buyer demand, an increase in available financing and a positive outlook for the hotel industry over the next few years.
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Wyndham to franchise and manage Dream and Night boutique hotels

PARSIPPANY, NJ--(Hospitaliy Business News - January 20, 2011) - Wyndham Hotel Group, part of the Wyndham Worldwide family of companies (NYSE: WYN), today announced it has entered into an agreement with Chatwal Hotels & Resorts, LLC, gaining exclusive rights to franchise and manage its Dream^® and Night^® boutique hotel brands globally.

Dream and Night hotels currently are open in New York; Bangkok, Thailand; and Cochin, India. In addition, the 108-room, Art-Deco-inspired Dream South Beach is scheduled to open early this year in Miami Beach, Fla., adjacent to the former Versace Mansion on Collins Avenue. The company also has announced plans to open a Dream hotel in New York's Meatpacking District during the second quarter of this year and expand in South Asia.
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Hersha Hospitality to aquire Capital Hill Suites

PHILADELPHIA--(Hospitality Business News)-- Hersha Hospitality Trust(NYSE: HT), owner of select service and upscale hotels in major metropolitan markets, announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to purchase the 152 room Capitol Hill Suites, Washington, D.C. for approximately $47.5 million, or $312 thousand per key excluding closing costs.

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