FROM THE EDITORS
By Eric Stoessel
All the major hotel companies talk about global growth, but I don’t think any of them say it with such an array of foreign accents like the executive team from Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group.
On Thursday morning in the Bahamas, sitting side by side on a panel at a press briefing were Gordon McKinnon, Carlson Rezidor’s chief branding officer; Kurt Ritter, Rezidor’s CEO; Hubert Joly, Carlson’s CEO; Thorsten Kirschke, Carlson’s chief operating officer; and Iype Abraham, the commercial development director for the Edwardian Group converting its portfolio of 13 Radissons in the London area to Blus.
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CHECKING IN
By Carlo Wolff
I’m sitting at a table on the patio of a first-floor restaurant at the ultra-luxurious Meydan Hotel outside Dubai, the striking city at the forefront of Emirates entrepreneurialism. This is but one of seven Meydan Hotel restaurants. It’s Nov. 29 and the weather is mild. The sky is expectedly starry—we’re in the Arabian Desert, after all—it’s about 80 degrees, and the Dubai Meydan Racetrack before us is lit up. The hotel, at a kilometer, is the longest building in the world.
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By Les Spielman, Hospitality Automation Consultants
Over the past 25-plus years of attending the Consumer Electronics Show, I’ve witnessed the birth, and quick demise of many new technology innovations. One item I recall fondly was the first showing of an item called Bluetooth. I was so struck by the possibilities of this new technology that I spent most of CES at the Ericsson booth. I could easily see its various uses beyond mobile phones. I was lucky enough to get in touch with my stockbroker and bought a lot of Ericsson stock. The rest is history.
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By Paris Wolfe
Paul Whetsell, new CEO for Loews Hotels & Resorts, had only been in the office five or six days when we caught up with him. He's been on the board of Virgin Hotels and was previously CEO and chairman of Interstate Hotels & Resorts. In his new position Whetsell will oversee $500 million in discretionary capital for the acquisition of existing hotels and development of new properties.
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The Washington Square Hotel in New York City’s historic Greenwich Village has seen a lot in the past 110 years. Once a residential hotel, it became a grand apartment hotel. Then, the not-so-grand low-rent home to struggling artists, poets, actors and musicians. Now it’s back on top as a boutique hotel. Click here for pictures.
TODAY'S TOP READS
The Latest Hotel News From Newspapers, Magazines and Websites:
Former Trump Hotel in Fort Lauderdale Headed to Foreclosure Auction
FL's Number One Consumer Complaint, Timeshare Resales
Timeshare Spin Off Drags Marriott Earnings
Super Bowl Was Major Windfall for Area Hotels
Click here for more Top Reads
HOTEL HAPPENINGS
• Eros Management opens first Tryp by Wyndham in United States. The173-room hotel is located in NYC's Times Square area.
• Concord Hospitality is committing $355M to develop 15 hotels in 2012. The company expects to reach 14,000 total rooms.
• Because of Super Bowl bump, February hotel prices in Indianapolis rose 31% over the previous year and 30% over previous month, according to Trivago Hotel Price Index.
• The U.S. hotel development pipeline dropped 1.6% in January, according to STR. That accounts for 2,736 projects and 293,000 rooms. Rooms under construction rose by 3.4%.
• It was mostly a down week -- Feb. 5-12 -- for Canadian hotels. RevPAR fell in Montreal (-.08%) and Toronto (-.04%). However, it was up 5.4% in Vancouver, according to HVS.
Follow hotel news as it happens with Lodging Hospitality on Twitter.
ON THE ITINERARY
Feb. 26-29
La Quinta Conference
Hilton New Orleans Riverside
www.lq.com/lq
Feb. 27
HSMAI Adrian Awards Gala
Marriott Marquis, New York
www.adrianawards.com
Feb. 27-29
6th Annual HR in Hospitality Conference & Expo
Hyatt Regency San Francisco
www.HRinHospitality.com
Feb. 28
HSMAI Digital Marketing Strategy Conference
Marriott Marquis, New York
www.hsmai.com
March 3-6
Council on Hotel and Restaurant Training (CHART)
Semi-Annual Hospitality Training Conference
Renaissance Austin (TX)
www.chart.org
March 4-5
Ocean City Hotel-Motel-Restaurant Association Spring Trade Expo
Ocean City (MD) Convention Center
www.oceancitytradeexpo.com
March 5-6
Hotel Association of Canada Conference
Sheraton Centre Toronto
www.hotelassociation.ca
March 6-9
Digital Signage Expo
Las Vegas Convention Center
www.digitalsignageexpo.net
Click here to see the schedule for 2012.
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