Hotel News in Brief

Jan 13, 09 | 1:46 am

The King David Jerusalem has once again been voted one of the T+L 500: World's Best Hotels 2009 by the readers of Travel + Leisure magazine. The flagship property of the Dan Hotels and a member of The Leading Hotels of the World, the King David was the only hotel in Israel included among the World's Best Hotels, with a score of 82.88, based on readers' votes in such categories as rooms, facilities, services and value.  Results were published in the January 2009 issue of Travel + Leisure.


Millenium & Capthorne 'check in' to Liverpool with two new hotels - International hotel group Millennium & Copthorne Hotels has completed a deal to open two new hotels in Liverpool's Central Village development, it was announced. The Millennium and Copthorne hotels will be at the heart of the £160million Central Village joint venture between Merepark and Ballymore. The two establishments, which will create in excess of 360 new hotel rooms in the city, are prominently located within the new development. The Copthorne Hotel Liverpool, will face onto Newington Square and the Boardwalk public spaces. The 4 star deluxe Millennium Hotel Liverpool will be created in the refurbished and extended grade 2 listed Watson Building adjacent to the Lewis's building. The hotels, designed by  international award winning architects Woods Bagot, will be aimed at corporate, meetings and leisure customers and will feature conference facilities and function space; a gym/spa; bars and restaurants for both residents and public use and car parking. Both hotels are scheduled to open in 2012 and create more than 200 new jobs in the city.


Guestline are pleased to announce its participation at Hospitality 19th - 21st January, the UK's leading food service and hospitality event in 2009. At the exhibition they will be showcasing their channel manager and distribution solution for hotels -  Roomlynx. Roomlynx streamlines the channel management process by actively connecting to a hotels chosen next generation seamless Central Reservation System (CRS), such as Synxis, providing global distribution system (GDS) connectivity. For more information please visit: www.guestline.com on the unique functionality of their latest PMS, CRS, EPoS and Channel Management solutions.


TMS Asia-Pacific CEO Andrew Chan has announced the promotion of Inez Chan to the newly created position of Regional Director, Business Development - Asia. Ms Chan will take immediate responsibility for all aspects of the company's regional business development, an activity Mr Chan said would play a key role as the company began what he described as a strategic expansion into key growth markets. Joining the hospitality and travel recruitment specialist as an Executive Consultant in 2007, Ms Chan has enjoyed a solid grounding in the region's tourism sector.


Hutong launches ‘Best of the Best' menu in honour of its MICHELIN Star. aqua restaurant group's stunning northern Chinese restaurant, Hutong, has once again topped the dining charts - this time with a prestigious MICHELIN star in the first Michelin Guide to launch for Hong Kong and Macau 2009. In honour of the esteemed win, the restaurant has announced an exclusive celebratory menu of signature dishes, suitably named the "Best of the Best", available from January 9th to the end of March 2009.


E-Hors is proud to announce a new program which integrates E-Hors key locks with our hospitality solution, E-HORS (Electronic Hotel Operations and Reservation System). This new program, E-HORS's very own Key Lock program, is fully integrated with the Front Office module. All key card management can be done directly from one program in E-HORS. There is no need for external servers or interfaces. Room night extension can be done automatically using E-HORS by employees without the need for guests to be present as the key lock management program will only restrict entry after the guest is checked out of the system. For more information please visit: http://www.ehors.com.


Baywood Hotel, Inc. Through an affiliated company, Sunshine Hospitality, LLC, from Doral, FL, is pleased to announce the opening of the Holiday Inn Express Miami Doral. The 4-story property (8436 NW 36th Street, Miami, FL 33166), formerly operated as a Clarion Collection Las Palmas Hotel and Suites, had been upgraded as a Holiday Inn Express in January, 2009, following a huge renovation. For more information please visit:  www.hiexpress.com/miamidoral Hotel code: MIAMD.


Banyan Tree smiles again with Thailand - To encourage tourists to return to Thailand, Banyan Tree Hotels and Resorts is starting 2009 afresh by opening its doors to a global marketing initiative, beginning with a winning collaboration with the Tourism Authority of Thailand. Fourteen years ago, Banyan Tree Group's first flagship property was launched in Thailand. Banyan Tree Phuket offered innovative private pool villas and garden spa pavilions, followed by 60-storey Banyan Tree Bangkok, a premier city hotel. With Banyan Tree Koh Samui expected to be revealed in late 2009, the Group will offer three distinct and memorable experiences of the beautiful Thai kingdom. Says Director of Sales and Marketing, Ms Sunee U-Thaikittisup from Banyan Tree Bangkok, "With our historic strong ties in this country, we are very upbeat about Thailand's potential and are confident that tourists will return.