Hotel News In Brief

Jan 18, 13 | 12:00 am

Some current conversation starters…

Luxury London hotel The Langham has selected Transport Media to run a year-long full taxi livery campaign in central London.

The branded fleet will now carry the Langham trademark in a bid to attract both international tourists and local residents. Wrapped in The Langham’s trademark pastel pink, the cabs will be adorned with the strapline: “Experience The Legendary Langham London”. The gold typeface communicates the hotel’s luxurious status with the Langham web address spread across the rear of the taxi.

Viceroy Hotel Group is opening the Hotel Zetta in San Francisco next month and is getting very creative with its marketing approach to attract attention in a crowded market place.

Inspired by the design concept of reuse and repurpose, the hotel is launching its “Reboot” campaign, partnering with San Francisco companies and GreenCitizen to turn old technology into art. The hotel will gather used technology (mobile phones, small electronics, chips, games etc.) from various companies based in San Francisco. Using recycled wine barrels, drop stations will be set-up at SAY Media and in a showroom at the property. Hotel Zetta will be collecting the items through January 31, and will use them for an art installation crafted by a local San Francisco artist. The final artwork will be displayed at the grand opening of the hotel. Any remaining tech items will be recycled through GreenCitizen. In addition, Hotel Zetta has partnered with local Kara’s Cupcakes and will be sending a “Zetta Van” to deliver free cupcakes to multiple nearby corporate headquarters. During the dropoffs each company will receive more information about the pending hotel and employees of these companies will be encouraged to take photos and post on Twitter using the hashtag #ZettaSF2013 as well as post on the hotels’ Facebook page.

When well-heeled Muslim guests check into the Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten Kempinski in Munich, they know the management and staff will do everything they can to meet their special religious requirements—a marketing trend hoteliers in the West are beginning to emulate as Muslim travel takes off.

“We’ve had long experience with Arab guests, many of which are royalty from the Gulf region, and so we know that providing things like the proper cuisine, prayer carpets and Arabic-speaking staff is important,” said Axel Ludwig, GM of the 300-room property. “And guest satisfaction drives demand for our luxury suites,” he points out. Other amenities include some 50 Arabic-language TV channels, a qiblah, which indicates the direction of Makkah for the five daily Muslim prayers, and a prayer room for the guests’ personal staff and security team. “And a special option we provide is the Islamic halal food prepared by a Lebanese chef for our room service” as Muslim guests generally prefer to dine in their suites, Ludwig said. “We are also introducing an Arabic-language iPad so they can order anything they need like newspapers or other items.” Several of Kempinski’s other European properties offer similar services. The Grand Hotel Kempinski Geneva has a separate breakfast section with halal items, such as chicken sausage, and serves fresh and dried fruit, juices, Arab pastries and other Middle Eastern refreshments during the summer high season and Muslim holidays.

Key Appointments in the Industry

Congratulations to these new appointments…

The Hotel Association of New York City, Inc. announced its new slate of officers for 2013, including the election of Geoffrey A. Mills, Managing Director of the Crowne Plaza Times Square Manhattan, to Chairman of the Board. Mr. Mills, who last year served as Board Secretary, prior to that as Treasurer, and has been on the Executive Committee and Board of Directors of HANYC since 2003, has worked in positions of increasing responsibility throughout the hospitality services industry in New York City for more than 30 years. Honored by The Food & Beverage Association of America as "Hospitality Man of the Year”, he also has particular expertise in labor negotiations and an ongoing interest in finding creative solutions to unusual problems throughout the hospitality industry.

All Inclusive Collection has appointed Ash Tembe as VP of global sales. In his new role, Tembe will oversee corporate global field sales for the company’s Hard Rock Hotels in Mexico and the Dominican Republic, the first and only all-inclusive Hard Rock Hotels. He will also develop innovative global share strategies and budget planning based on regional and country-specific needs. Prior to this role, Tembe served as director of North American field sales for Palace Resorts, VP of resort sales & marketing at Bimini Bay Resort and Marina and regional director of customer business development for Royal Caribbean International in the Northeast. He has also held leadership roles at Sandals and Beaches Resorts, Sunburst Holidays and Pan American World Airways.

The Latest in Hotel Openings

The 58-room Alpina Gstaad, Switzerland, has welcomed its first guests, the first new luxury hotel to be built in this Alpine village in 100 years. The hotel is located in Gstaad's hilltop area known as Oberfort, five minutes from the center of the village in the center of the Bernese Alps. Bordered by an acre-and-a-half of gardens, the hotel features three restaurants, a full-service spa, fitness center, indoor lap swimming pool, outdoor pool, cigar lounge and private movie theater. Constructed over a four-year period, the project cost an estimated $337 million.

Tune Hotels continues to expand its global presence with the opening of its first ever Scottish hotel, Tune Hotel Haymarket, Edinburgh. Perfectly positioned opposite Haymarket station, Tune Hotel Haymarket has 179 en-suite bedrooms. Mark Lankester, Group CEO of Tune Hotels, said, “Introducing the Tune Hotel brand to Scotland was an important business move for us. The demand for a low cost hotel that offers good quality basics and importantly a great night’s sleep is becoming ever more important as tourists and business travellers are swayed by price but unwilling to trade down. Edinburgh is an immensely important trade and tourism hub and we’re excited to take part in and contribute to its continued success.

The Sheraton Hotel in Needham said it has completed a $13 million renovation that included everything from guest room and lobby upgrades to new ballrooms. The national Sheraton Hotel brand is spending over $6 billion to upgrade all of their hotels and Needham is the first one completed in Massachusetts, officials said. The hotel has also appointed a new general manager, Gurki Singh, to oversee the property.

Louvre Hôtels Group is looking to ramp up its successful expansion drive in 2012 by opening 80 to 85 new properties around the world this year. Louvre's growth plan will initially focus on Brazil, China, India and Russia, where the hotel firm plans to "capture natural growth of those markets," said Matthieu Evrard, chief development officer. The group will then look for further growth opportunities in the European market, Evrard said.