Hotel Industry News In Brief

Oct 04, 12 | 12:09 am

Some current conversation starters…

Shore Hotel in Santa Monica, California, is celebrating its first birthday, but the property is giving out a gift — to a fan or guest who accepts a unique challenge.

Shore Hotel is encouraging people to bake a birthday cake inspired by the property and deliver it on October 7, the hotel’s big day. The winning baker will receive a celebratory room rate of US$1/night that must be redeemed by December 31.

The iconic Raffles Hotel Singapore is celebrates its 125 birthday, a fantastic achievement for one of the globes most iconic hotels.

Immortalized in the novels of Somerset Maugham and Rudyard Kipling, Raffles Hotel, Singapore's colonial-styled architecture and lush tropical gardens exude an atmosphere of timeless elegance. The royal party of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge recently stayed here and in its time it has hosted royalty, poets, movie stars, writers, the famous and the infamous - and has seduced the hearts and minds of thousands more. It is ideally located for those wishing to explore Singapore's sights, culture and retail opportunities with the Raffles Arcade hosting a fine selection of elegant international brands including Tiffany and Co. and Louis Vuitton. It is grand without being forbidding, which is why it is loved by all. Don't forget to try a legendary Singapore Sling in the Long bar.

According to STR Global, RevPAR at hotels in Hong Kong grew 8.7% year-to-August 2012 to HK$1,520.61, supported by buoyant occupancy levels that remained well above the 80% mark.

This RevPAR performance resulted from the highest occupancy and ADR achieved for a January-to-August period since 2000. "Hong Kong, as a financial centre and hub for conferences and events, is a strategic gateway for conducting business with China and the rest of the world," said Elizabeth Randall Winkle, managing director at STR Global. "Hoteliers in Hong Kong have benefited from continuous annual demand growth since 2010, helping to reach the highest performance levels since 2000. Whilst economic activities are expected to remain challenging during the rest of 2012 and into 2013 in China and globally, we expect to see, according to our latest forecast, occupancy to level off around the 84% mark until the end of 2013, and ADR growth to slow slightly to 3.6%." Hong Kong's RevPAR for the first eight months of 2012 benefited from ADR growth (+8.3 in Hong Kong dollars or +5.7% in Chinese Renminbi) and high occupancy levels, which has remained above the 80% mark since October 2010. Looking at the past 12 years, the recent peak performances were supported by increasing demand, which grew 2.9% on a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for the January-to-August period over the past 12 years with supply increasing 2.4% CAGR over the same period. Focusing on hotel performance by market segment, Hong Kong Island's luxury and upper upscale hotels saw the highest ADR YTD, reaching HK$2,381.2 (+6.4%) or CNY1,941.2 (+3.8%). Hong Kong Island upscale and upper midscale hotels reported the highest occupancy level, ADR increased by 12.3% in HK$ or 9.7% in CNY YTD.

Key Appointments in the Industry

Congratulations to these new appointments…

Alliance Hospitality, a hospitality management company based in Raleigh, North Carolina, today announced the appointment of Rob Cote to the position of Vice President of Operations. Most recently, Mr. Cote served as Vice President of Operations for Interstate Hotels and Resorts. He worked closely with hotel general managers to improve operating results for a portfolio of hotels owned by Inland American REIT. His business acumen, assessment skills and leadership resulted in significant improvements across all metrics of the balanced scorecard for the portfolio. Mr. Cote initially joined Alliance Hospitality in 2009 and contributed to the growth and expansion of the company’s managed hotel portfolio. During his tenure, he directed the acclaimed Aloft Chapel Hill, which was chosen as the Hotel of the Year for Aloft branded hotels by Starwood Hotels & Resorts. Prior to joining Alliance Hospitality, Mr. Cote held the distinctive positions of Vice President of Operation and Regional Director of Operations for both Shaner Hotel Group and Noble Investment Group as well as over 15 years of operations experience with Marriott International. The scope of his engagements included full service, extended stay, and select service hotels. Mr. Cote also served on Marriott’s Business Council in 1995 and 1996 that created the foundation of today’s cluster sales & marketing platform. In his new role with Alliance Hospitality, Mr. Cote is responsible for oversight of a portfolio of Hilton, Marriott, IHG, and Starwood Hotels within the managed division of the hotel management company. Rolf Tweeten commented, “Rob’s expertise in hotel operations, combined with his extensive experience with working with hotel owners and investors will advance our goal of providing the highest caliber of operations support to the Alliance Hospitality portfolio of hotels.”

Benchmark Hospitality International, a leading U.S.-based hospitality management company, has appointed Todd Allison executive chef for The Inn at Rancho Santa Fe, located just north of San Diego. The Inn at Rancho Santa Fe is part of Benchmark Hospitality’s collection of Personal Luxury Resorts & HotelsSM. Gordon MacMitchell, general manager, made the announcement. Todd Allison was previously executive chef for Anthology, the restaurant located in San Diego. He has served in the same role for The Hilton Checkers in Los Angeles, Bollinger’s, the restaurant in Santa Barbara, and Studio Restaurant at Montage in Laguna Beach. Earlier in his career he held chef de cuisine, sous chef and tournant chef positions for restaurants and hotels in locations throughout Southern California and Arizona. Chef Allison is a graduate of the Scottsdale Culinary Le Cordon Bleu. Restaurants he has been associated with have received high honors, including the Forbes Five Star Award, the Five Diamond Award, and the Wine Spectator Award.

The Latest in Hotel Openings

Dorsett Hospitality International announced that it purchased via subsidiary an office building in London for £14 million (US$22.6 million) that it will convert into a 260-room hotel. The nine-story The Matrix House building, located near the 30 St Mary Axe skyscraper in London’s financial district, was being held in administration by Grant Thornton UK LLP. Dorsett plans to spend £21 million (US$33.9 million) converting the property into a hotel, including the adding of three stories to the building. The Hong Kong-based Dorsett said it is expecting an ADR of between £127 (US$205) to £147 (US$237) and an occupancy rate of 75% to 82% but did not say when the hotel is planned to open or its name. “We consider the United Kingdom as one of the most popular destinations to tourists and business travellers around the world. Major European countries including the United Kingdom are attracting an unprecedented number of Chinese tourists. In alignment with our development and ‘Chinese wallet’ strategy, we had entered the U.K. hotel market with the successful acquisition of Dorsett London located at Shepherd’s Bush in August last year. We are eagerly looking forward to the opening of this 322-room hotel, which is scheduled to be operational in 2014,” said Winnie Chiu, president and executive director of Dorsett Hospitality International.

Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts has opened a 202-room luxury hotel in a mixed-use development in Toronto, Canada. The Shangri-La, Toronto, is the second hotel in North America and the second in Canada for the Hong Kong-based chain. The Shangri-La, Vancouver, opened in 2009. The Toronto hotel occupies the first 17 stories of a new 66-story tower. The remaining floors contain condominium apartments. The hotel is in close proximity to both Toronto's entertainment district and its central business district. Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts currently owns and/or manages 74 hotels around the world under the Shangri-La, Kerry and Traders brands.

Hyatt Hotels Corporation announced today the opening of Park Hyatt Chennai, marking the 30th hotel in the Park Hyatt collection and the first Park Hyatt hotel to be introduced in the city of Chennai, known as the gateway to Southern India. Designed as a serene and tranquil retreat for the astute business traveler, Park Hyatt Chennai is located next to the prestigious Governor’s residence and is also adjacent to the thriving green area of the Guindy National Park. A 15-minute drive from the city’s domestic and international airport, Park Hyatt Chennai enjoys close proximity to the new developments of OMR (Old Mahabalipuram Road), Sri Perumbudur and the Guindy Industrial Estate. “The opening of Park Hyatt Chennai is a great day of pride for us,” said Yann Gillet, General Manager, Park Hyatt Chennai. “The hotel is truly a reflection of this great city with the art and design thoughtfully encompassing Indian heritage and culture. We’re thrilled to join the Park Hyatt portfolio as the 30th hotel and look forward to providing guests with an ambience of sophistication with service that is gracious and truly personalized.”