Hotel Industry News In Brief

May 07, 12 | 12:09 am

Some current conversation starters…

Sir Richard gets the cold treatment

Passengers on board Virgin Atlantic flights might wonder if the cabin pressure has gone to their head when they start seeing little bearded men floating in their gin and tonic. Thanks to the airline’s marketing bods, drinks in Virgin’s new Upper Class will be served with ice cubes bearing the grinning face of Virgin president Sir Richard Branson.
Known as Little Richards, the ice cubes will, according to the PR blurb, give passengers the chance to "enjoy some chill out time with Mr Branson at the bar - the longest of any airline".
Apparently, the ice cubes have been created using the exact measurements of Sir Richard's head. The mould took a team of four skilled designers a painstaking six weeks to create using detailed photographic techniques and laser scanning technology to create the perfect likeness.
And here's the result.... Source TravelMole.

TripIt Launches Personalized Recommendations: Hotels and Offers Tailored for Each Traveler.

Easily Book a Hotel, Get Deals on Nearby Activities, and Organize Trip Plans - All in One Place

TripIt, the leading mobile trip organizer from Concur (Nasdaq: CNQR), announced a new way for travelers to get personalized recommendations on hotels and nearby restaurants or activities, by organizing their itineraries on TripIt.com. TripIt's hotel recommendations are personalized based on the traveler's past trips and preferences – and for TripIt Pro users, reward point programs are factored in. Travelers can explore other hotels nearby on a map view of their itinerary, and make a reservation without leaving TripIt.com. Hotel reward points can be earned for their stay, and there are no booking fees. By TripIt. Source from Sacramento Bee to read more of this article.

Key Appointments in the Industry

Congratulations to these new appointments…

Kimpton's FireSky Resort & Spa named Cheryl Martin as general manager. After serving four years as assistant general manager for the downtown Scottsdale resort, Martin stepped into the general manager role last month. Martin brings more than two decades of hospitality experience to the position. She joined the FireSky team in 2005 as the director of banquets and was promoted to assistant general manager two years later. Prior to joining the Kimpton family, Martin held various roles in banquet operations, including director of food and beverage at a handful of Phoenix-area resorts.

In tandem with the completion of a $35 million refurbishment, the Hyatt Regency Greenwich has also redesigned its management, naming Shaheryar Adil as the new general manager of the hotel. Adil recently left a post as general manager of the Hyatt Bellevue in Philadelphia, which attracts a similar clientele. Adil's experience in overseeing the Bellevue property has prepared him well for his new post in Greenwich, said Anne Farb, director of sales and marketing at the Greenwich hotel. A resident of Greenwich, Adil has previously held management positions at other Hyatt hotels in Chicago, Houston, Boston, Indianapolis and Washington, D.C. He studied hospitality in Switzerland and earned an MBA in management principles from Cornell University.

The Latest in Hotel Openings

Kimpton’s Hotel Palomar Phoenix at CityScape will open its doors on June 5, 2012 in the heart of downtown Phoenix, marking the completion of the highly-anticipated development project, CityScape Phoenix. The hotel, just steps from major sports arenas, entertainment venues and cultural attractions, will add 242 spacious and contemporary guest rooms and suites and more than 10,000 square feet of stylish, flexible meeting space to the city's lineup and will bring even more energy to the downtown Phoenix area. Situated at the heart of CityScape, a $500 million mixed-used development of shops, restaurants, bars, entertainment venues and offices, the completion of Hotel Palomar Phoenix will be the final step in the six-year process undertaken by Phoenix-based RED Development in partnership with the City of Phoenix. US Casino magnate Steve Wynn said Wednesday his company had been given permission to build a huge new casino complex in the Chinese gambling resort of Macau.

Wynn, chairman of Wynn Resorts Ltd, said in a statement the 20-hectare site on the resort's Cotai district, developed by the company's Chinese subsidiary, would be "the single most important project in the history of Wynn Resorts." Wynn Macau Ltd has already said it plans to build a casino complex with 2,000 hotel rooms and a casino in Cotai along with a convention centre, shops and restaurants. Wednesday's statement said the territory's government had approved the project and work could now begin, but did not give any more details about the project or say when it was expected to open. The new development will be the latest in a series of Las Vegas-owned casino developments in the former Portuguese colony since it opened its casino industry to foreign investment in 2002. It will also be the second Wynn casino in Macau. The first, the Wynne Macau, opened in 2006 and includes 1,000 hotel rooms and nearly 500 gaming tables.

Preferred Boutique, the fast growing brand of intimate hotels and resorts by Preferred Hotel Group, is pleased to announce its newest and first member in Maldives - Dusit Thani Maldives. Launched in 2005, Preferred Boutique has rapidly grown to over 130 hotels and resorts worldwide and recognized as a brand which defines luxury experiences ranging from palaces to tent camps, and from hip urban hotels to private islands. Located on Mudhdhoo Island in Baa Atoll, the newly opened 100-villa Dusit Thani Maldives is a local pioneer in green initiatives. Biodegradables are used for composting, fertilising and landscaping while staff do their part by cultivating a herb and vegetable garden lowering the carbon footprint and reducing the reliance on imported produce. To ensure minimal impact on the environment, the resort invested in state of the art engineering for optimum energy and resource efficiency. Its approach includes solar thermal heating and heat recovery pumps, all metered for power consumption in guest rooms and public spaces. An on-site water-bottling factory produces still and sparkling mineralized water to reduce one-way plastics. Additionally the hotel laundry is heated by a diesel steam boiler using minimal electricity. LED (light emitting diode) lights also illuminate all guest areas at the property. There is also a resident marine biologist to educate guests about the local marine life and is actively involved in a national shark conservation campaign and protection of the island's sea turtle nesting.