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ATLANTA Lodging stocks, particularly those for North American hotel franchising companies, tend to rise and fall with each other, the movement of each stock price, if not the price itself, [...]

ATLANTA Bass Hotels & Resorts, based here, announced the promotion of John Sweetwood to the role of president, Americas division, replacing Thomas Arasi, who will leave Bass at the end [...]

PARIS Last month's US$19 million merger between Century International Hotels Ltd., Singapore, and Sydney-based Park Plaza Kemayan Ltd. (PPK) ends the search for a strategic partner by Century CEO Brian [...]

DUBLIN Analysts are bullish on Jurys Doyle Hotel Group, based here, saying that among numerous lodging mergers executed during the current market boom, the Jurys acquisition of Doyle Hotel Group [...]

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, ILLINOIS The agreement struck by Cendant Corp., Parsippany, New Jersey, to purchase the brand names and franchise rights of AmeriHost Inn and AmeriHost Inn and Suites from Amerihost [...]

THE PRICE OF LIFE, wildlife that is, is factoring into hotel room rates in Asia Pacific. Endangered animals, such as the green turtle shown here coming face-to-face with Bell Captain [...]

ASIA/PACIFIC Hilton Xiamen, Xiamen, China; 375 rooms open early 2001; contact Hilton International. Four Seasons Hotel Shanghai, China; 440 rooms to open in 2002; contact and management: Four Seasons Hotels [...]

ATHENS The June repositioning of the Athens Chandris as the 5-star Metropolitan Athens heralds the rebirth of Chandris Hotels. Company operators expect the US$14.3-million renovation of the 364-room property to [...]

SYDNEY Between the Olympics, aggressively priced airfares and a weak Australian dollar, the land down under is on its way to achieving a record tourism target of 4.7 million international [...]

Starting this month, Before & After will appear as a regular monthly feature in HOTELS magazine, created as a showcase for the spectacular hotel renovations that occur each year all [...]

On page 28 of the July issue, the byline for 'Recruit & Hire Differently' should have read, 'Contributed by Tom Shanahan, principal of CustomerService.com, consultant, seminar leader and speaker. Send [...]

PARIS Accor's purchase of a 20% stake in Poland's largest hotel group, Orbis Hotels, seems on the surface a straightforward, pragmatic deal. After all, it falls in line with the [...]

ATLANTA Overdue financial reporting, drooping share prices and public jousting with disgruntled investors are usually signs of a public company in trouble, and Lodgian, based here, looks to be no [...]

The 200-room Radisson Hotel Kuwait Inaugurated earlier this year one of the world's mast unique conference centers, which also just happens to be the world's largest wooden dhow. Weighing more [...]

Establishment of data warehouses from legacy systems was proven effective in enhancing hotels' marketing performance. In the case of Canadian Pacific Hotels, a system developed by Sulcus Hospitality of Greensburg, PA called Legacy Solutions was utilized which allowed the company to establish 27 databases on its 27 hotels. The database contains guest stay histories, reservation information and data on current in-house guests.

Michael Glennie is considered one of the hotel and resort industry's most successful managers, having worked for firms including Laurence Rockefeller's RockResorts and Little Dix Bay. Glennie, who supervised a $110 million renovation of the Waldorf-Astoria of New York, is also credited with the success of the Boca Raton Resort and Club, of which he is president. Glennie has earned the respect and admiration of his colleagues in the industry due to his business acumen, flexibility, and leadership.

The hotel industry is experiencing 'barriers to entry' in many urban markets due to such factors as: space constraints; construction costs; and sometimes, historical property protections. Adaptive re-use of existing buildings is becoming an attractive option.

Hoteliers realized that experiential advertising is the key to establishing product differentiation in the highly-competitive hotel industry of the 21st century. Westin Hotels and Resorts was the first to use this type of advertising through its 'Who is he/she sleeping with?' campaign. It received astronomical response, thus, inspiring other hotels companies to follow suit. Other hotel companies planning to launch similar advertising campaigns are Omni Hotels, The Dusit Group, Heritage Hotels and Country Inns and Suites by Carlson.

Hilton Hotels Corp manages to deliver quality to its customers and employees. The company implements a value-creation strategy which improved its RevPAR index, maximized revenue, increased operational effectivity and re-designed brand management. Hilton devised the Hilton Value Chain which serves as a tool for performance assessment. The strategy has resulted in improved employee performance, share-of-market growth and customer satisfaction.

Asia's leading hotels have dealt with the two-year old regional economic crisis by using a combination of strategies to lower costs. The hotels, however, first made sure that they did not sacrifice their five-star standards in the process of instituting cost-cutting programs that trim operating budgets, reduce waste and lower purchasing expenditures. Asian hotels have also worked to generate new revenues in the face of falling occupancy rates.

Major US hotels are conducting marketing research on profiles, needs and services desired by women business travelers. At present, women comprise 40% of all business travelers in the US, amounting to 17.2 million women. Within the next 10 years, women business travelers are expected to outnumber men. Among the factors which women travelers considered most important in choosing hotels were security features, convenience, responsive service, affordable prices and brand recognition.

The International Hotel and Restaurant Assn convened its fourth annual pan-European Hotel Technology Exhibition and Conference (EURHOTEC) on Feb 24-26, 1999 in Vienna, Austria. Several seminars and training courses were offered, mostly centered on the impact of technology advances on the hotel industry. IHRA officials focused their efforts in calling all hoteliers to recognize the need for tech-education among hotel staff and mapping strategies to combat Y2K data change problems., Have you ever considered that at some point in the very near future your hotel might be housed in a multi-use facility, like a shopping mall, where it could share [...]

NORTH AMERICA Let's start with a disclaimer: This article is not intended to be a comprehensive examination and/or evaluation of any hotel company guest loyalty program. This is an article [...]

Radisson SAS Hotels Worldwide has become one of the fastest growing European hotel chains. It currently operates 94 hotels with an additional 17 being developed in 34 countries. In 1998, its rates increased by 7% to $107 while occupancies remained stable at 72%. Revenues also exceeded $900 million with a 10% growth expected in 1999. Radisson Pres and CEO Kurt Ritter outlines his four-step strategy for expanding in the European market., BELGIUM During the past couple of years, rumors had it that Brussels-based Radisson SAS Hotels Worldwide was ripe for the auction block. And although President and CEO Kurt Ritter admits [...]

Procurement departments have become a major source of revenue and competitiveness for hotel companies. Patriot American Hospitality, for instance, has outsourced its purchasing function to obtain cost-savings of 7% to 10%. Bass Hotels & Resorts is developing a worldwide procurement system for its different brands. Marriott International has consolidated its purchasing functions under a separate business unit, Marriott Marketplace which will also market procurement services to other hotels., UNITED STATES The booming hotel market of the past few years has spawned competition that reaches beyond rates and occupancies. These days, hotel companies are in heady competition for franchisees [...]

In-room Internet for hotel guestroom is potentially profitable and cost- effective. Several cost-effective options for the installation of in-room Internet are available, such as, the access through existing copper phone wires as well as access phone lines. Hotels can also utilize the CAIS Internet call OverVoice, which has 50 times more speed than dial-up modems. is also another cost-effective option to gain access to the Web.

The International Hotel & Restaurant Assn's 1998 European Hospitality Technology Exhibition (EURHOTEC) in Nice, France was an astounding success judging from the response of attendees and the increasing number of exhibitors. The steady number of attendees, which numbered 1,100, all signed for the three-day exhibition while the number of exhibitors increased from 78 to 92. The attendees were treated to several visionary hotel technology presentations from speakers, who extolled the benefits of information technology on hotel service.

Hoteliers are divided on how to boost telecommunications revenue without the hassles of additional investment. Some sectors believe the best way is selling or renting of additional products and services such as video conferencing, cellular phones and Internet access. But others back the upgrade of the hotel's telephone systems through a complete system overhaul, consultation, micro management or all three.

Promus Hotel Corp.'s System 21 integrated hotel management system, based on Microsoft BackOffice client/server software, is aimed at facilitating on-line training and improving customer service. The new system, which uses Microsoft Visual Basic plus Microsoft Visual C++, offers a range of hotel services including guest information, reservations, occupancy, call accounting, check-in and check-out, in-room services, housekeeping and energy management. Promus' companywide hotel operating system will be in place by early 1998.

Radisson Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) Hotels Worldwide, Brussels and Africa Israel Hotels and Resorts, Tel Aviv experienced fast growth with their strong marketing techniques. Radisson SAS used to have hotels in Scandinavian countries only, which limited its growth and popularity. The hotel's management, however, worked on establishing connections so that now, Radisson SAS has entered Europe. Further expansions are on their planning stages. Africa Israel Hotels and Resorts also allied with the Holiday Inn Worldwide which resulted to the development of twelve to fourteen hotels.

Sally Bulloch, manager of London's Athenaeum Hotel and Apartments, and Valerie Ferguson, manager of Atlanta, GA's Ritz-Carlton hotel, exchanged jobs for five days in Oct. 1995 as part of Athenaeum's program to let hotel managers learn about hotel management in the US and Europe. Bulloch praised the Ritz-Carlton's excellent staff training program, while Ferguson was impressed by the personal touch of the service at the Athenaeum.

The restructuring and refocusing of Wyndham International, including the sell-off of key assets, is discussed. Head of the company Fred Kleisner says the hotel group will focus on luxury accommodation and acquire new properties regularly.

Pierre Plamondon, general manager of Canadian Pacific hotel, the Chateau Mont Tremblant, is meeting the needs of Generation X through his unique hiring strategies and approach to customer service.

Sir Rocco Forte has raised more than $1 billion and acquired 9 luxury hotels since the 1995 hostile takeover of his company Forte PLC, by Granada.

The annual International Hotel/Motel and Restaurants show will be held at the Thai pavilion in the Jacob J. Javits Convention Center, New York, NY. The show will include exhibitors from the industry, education sessions from hotel design to risk management and discussions on the future of the industry in the new millenium. Culinary seminars and cooking demonstrations are also scheduled to take place during the four-day event. Technology seminars on information technology, e-commerce and in-room internet access are also included.

Hotel executives gathered at a Technology Roundtable in Vienna, Austria, at the Radisson SAS during the International Hotel and Restaurant Assn's conference to discuss the effects of technology on their business. The discussions delved on a broad array of topics including the problems presented by legacy systems, the difficulties presented by the year 2000 transition problem in computers, the technology and marketing problems posed by the euro, and the uses of the Internet.

A panel of hoteliers discussed the impact of technology on the operations and management of their properties. Several of the panelists agreed that the most pressing technology issue facing the industry is how to integrate different systems within a resort complex. Others cited the Y2K bug as a pressing problem and still others pointed to training enough people to properly handle the technology. Other issues that were raised in the discussion were IT expenditures and the Hotel Industry Technology Integration Standards.

The use of an energy management system (EMS) can lower energy costs by using a centralized computer to monitor energy usage in hotels. The Inter-Continental Hotels of London, England and the Caesar Park Cabo de Santo Agostinho Beach Resort in Brazil are some of the establishments that utilize an EMS. An EMS can help determine and can also be used to monitor room occupancy without disturbing guests. The decreased human intervention required by EMS can help the maintenance department divert its resources to other services.

Hotels are saving money in communications costs by using the Internet. Hotels' central reservation systems have the capacity to reduce communications costs with selections of the right communications upgrades bringing down costs even further. Choosing thin PCs can save hotels upgrade costs while bringing the same level of service being given by a fat PC that have upgrade costs as high as $12,500 per computer.

Hotels and specialty restaurants are employing a variety of marketing strategies to attract wine consumers to boost sales. The Ritz-Carlton in California has constructed a special wine room for small dinners and luncheons with customized menus while the Ritz in Boston has a similar venue for wine tasting and dining with its own menu of wines and dishes. The Park Hyatt in Tokyo attracts customers by offering American wines at its New York Grill restaurant to distinguish itself from other hotels that specialize in French vintages. The Woodmark Hotel in Kirkwood, WA features a wine program which allows customers to sample wines by the glass from course to course.

The International Hotel & Restaurant Assn's second pan-European Hotel Technology Exhibition & Conference (EurHotec '97) was held Feb 26-28, 1997 at the Rai Conference Center in Amsterdam. EurHotec '97 centered on the advantages, use and future modifications of the hospitality industry's state-of-the-art systems. Seventy-seven technology suppliers exhibited an estimated 300 products while more than 1,100 hoteliers participated in the conference.

On-line electronic locking systems (ELS) have been widely employed in hotels worldwide as a means of saving money and monitoring guest and staff activity. The Mirage Hotel and Casino uses a locking system called Marlok-9000 which actually utilizes optically encoded metallic keys in order to trace all door activities and their corresponding ID numbers and store them for 5 years. Comfort Suites in Nassau, on the other hand, uses the Access Plus, an online locking system developed by Innovation which is equipped with motion and temperature detectors that automatically turns off room lights and HVAC systems when activated.

Sedona Hotels International adopted a two-part expansion strategy in making its way as one of Asia Pacific's promising hotel companies. Originally introduced by Strait Streamship Land as Straits Hotels and Resort in 1992, Sedona operates 11 hotels with 2174 accommodations in 11 countries. Sedona's first strategy involves establishing brand awareness in Asian secondary locations in order to assert its presence in the secondary market. The second part emphasizes on integrated hospitality management by offering services for golf, clubs, restaurants and theme parks. Such a strategy earned the company a total of US$4.5 million revenue in 1996.

Competition in the hotel industry has intensified considerably due to the emergence of new properties and mid-market brands. To remain competitive in such an environment, many hotel companies are turning to strategies focusing on centralized inventory and yield management. Such strategies are no longer employed solely at the property level as they were in the past. Many managers now recognize the value of transferring inventory to a central repository for single imaging across all channels of distribution.

The consolidation of Sheraton New York, Sheraton Manhattan and Sheraton Park Avenue has given rise to a centralization concept known as 'complexing.' This involves automating the hotels' property management systems to align the various facilities' sales perspective for group and transient customers and to be able to provide service to the customers of the different complexes. With 'complexing,' hotel guests can easily relocate from one property to another and take advantage of the facilities offered by each of the three hotels.

Point-of-sale systems manufacturers have developed new products for hotel applications. MICROS-Fidelio, for instance, has introduced the MICROS 8700 Hospitality Management System which allows servers to post food and beverage charges directly to the guest folio. Sable Technologies has added a frequent diner application to its Sable 100NT POS wherein customers are given points based on the amounts they spend which can then be exchanged for prizes.

A growing number of hotel operators are realizing the substantial cost savings that computerized laundry and housekeeping operations can bring. For example, G.A. Braun Inc.'s Windows-based Washnet can bring significant control and efficiency improvements to in-house laundry operations. ProHost, a centralized distribution and delivery system, has allowed Westin Hotels and Resorts to cut linen and amenity expenses by 20%.

The use of advanced technologies in central reservation systems (CRS) of hotels means enhanced customer service and better marketing strategies. Seamless connectivity, guest tracking, database mining, multi-media imaging, and real-time availability are the advancements made in reservation technology which several hotel companies are now trying to use. The technologies, despite increasing demand, are affordable even to small hotel companies due to the influx of service providers and suppliers. Large companies, such as Shangri-La Hotels and Red Lion Hotels and Inns, now boast of their new CRS technology, MERLIN and OSCAR respectively, designed to make their companies more competitive.

Messaging systems vary in hotels, with considerations taken on the type of visitors hotels cater to. Promus Hotel Corp., Memphis uses the Guest Works telecommunications package by Basking Ridge. Portland Regency Hotel, Maine uses SpeechBus by Computer Telecommunication Integration, Inc. May Fair Inter-Continental London uses Meridian Mail by Northern Telecom. The Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua, Hawaii uses Teledex's Message Central. Hotelware's Inn-Cel is the newest in the industry. The services of the messaging systems include basic hotel needs that would help lessen workloads of employees.

The International Hotel Assn.'s technology show called EurHotec '96 was held in Amsterdam, Netherlands from Feb. 26 to 28, 1996. The show was considered a success with more than 70 exhibitors and over 700 visitors from 55 countries. The show focused on technologies affecting the future of the hotel industry. Experts also discussed technology trends for the year 2001 which include the impact of increased Internet access and the use of speech recognition and automatic translation systems.