Hotel News In Brief

Mar 22, 13 | 12:00 am

Some current conversation starters…

Golf RFP has launched the fully functional version of its Request for Proposal (RFP) website designed to connect golf groups with golf courses through a simple bidding process. This is the golf industry’s first and only online solution that addresses the group business segment.

Golf RFP is a free service to any user, golf organizer or meeting planner that would like to use the service to secure a golf course for their next golf event. “If you have been tasked with finding a golf course and planning a golf event, there’s not an easier way to start the course selection process than by using Golf RFP” said Gary Lorfano, Golf RFP founder. Our goal is to save any planner valuable time by contacting several golf courses by using the Golf RFP website instead of contacting each course individually. Golf RFP’s network of golf courses will benefit from the marketing efforts designed to drive group business to their courses. “To create RFP’s for our network clubs, Golf RFP will market and promote the service to meeting groups like Meeting Professionals International, American Society of Association Executives, Financial & Insurance Conference Planners and the Society of Incentive & Travel Executives to name a few” said Lorfano. Once an RFP is submitted to Golf RFP, it will be distributed to our network of courses that have joined. To join Golf RFP, a course must join as a Member Club or Premier Club. Fees range from $600 for a Member Club and $1,000 for a Premier Club, and include special advertising benefits on the Golf RFP website. To learn more about joining Golf RFP, please visit the website at http://www.golfrfp.com/courses.html.

Carousel, Royal Plaza on Scotts’ award winning buffet restaurant, has marked another milestone with the arrival of its two millionth guest.

The entrance of the buffet restaurant was all decked out to welcome the lucky one, who received a warm reception from the cheering hotel associates. Ms Ng Lay Peng, the winner, walked away with $18,888 worth of hotel room and F&B credit. For being a very special guest, the winner gets access to a dedicated private number to ring for room and dining reservations or for enquiries. Guaranteed seats at popular buffet restaurant, Carousel, and exclusive invites to upcoming food promotions and events will also be extended to the winner for an entire year. “We are all excited to welcome Carousel’s two millionth guest and also look forward to celebrating more milestones here at Royal Plaza on Scotts. This is our way of saying thanks to our guests who have been ever so supportive of the hotel and buffet restaurant,” said Patrick Fiat, General Manager, Royal Plaza on Scotts. RP had also treated a group of children from Movement for the Intellectually Disabled of Singapore (MINDS) Lee Kong Chian Gardens School and their caregivers to lunch in Carousel. The hotel hoped to create an opportunity for the children to enjoy the buffet spread as a treat, while spending quality time with their caregivers. The treat was also a gesture of appreciation for their dedicated caregivers.

After years of inactivity, Vienna’s sparse global branded 5-star footprint is expanding and will continue to do so throughout 2013 and early 2014.

Traditional names such as the Sacher, Imperial and Bristol have dominated Vienna’s luxury hotel history, along with some unique small high-end properties. Now a “raft” of new hotel companies is investing in the city, tapping into its new tourism potential and demand for 5-star brands, according to Astrid Pockfuss, media manager for the Vienna Tourist Board. “Vienna’s hotel industry is booming at the moment, particularly the premium segment with a constant flow of new rooms coming onto the market,” she said. A host of recent and pending newcomers include the 202-room Ritz-Carlton, Vienna (August 2012), the 304-room Kempinski in the Palais Hansen building (March 2013), Sol Melia’s 255-room ME Vienna (fall 2013) and a 143-room Park Hyatt (early 2014). “Among the projects slated to open a little further down the line in 2015 are a 320-bed Four Seasons hotel in the city center (first district), and a 128-room Hotel im Palais Schwarzenberg in the third district,” Pockfuss added. “The bed count of 58,100 end of December (2012) is set to rise to 62,300 by the end of 2013, and 63,500 by the end of 2014,” she said.

Key Appointments in the Industry

Congratulations to these new appointments…

Hickory Global Partners announced today the appointment of Christopher J. Dane, CTIE, veteran travel industry executive, as president. Dane is well known for long service as a managing director at American Airlines, a founder and executive vice president of Vacation.com, and most recently president of HRG North America’s Affiliate Program and HRG/Executive Travel Associates, divisions of the third largest travel management company in the world. Hickory is the newly re-launched corporate travel agency consortium that is leveraging data-driven, revenue management business methods to change the way the model delivers ROI for agency and supplier partners alike. In the past Dane was president of the former Hickory Travel Systems, a Hickory legacy firm, but left that post over differences with ownership. INTRAVEL, a holding company of The Traina Companies, acquired the assets of the 40-year brand in April of 2011. A year later Dane was brought onboard as general manager to transition the newly rebooted shop from start-up to full operation. During more than three decades of travel industry experience, Dane has held influential executive positions in the airline, travel agency, tour operator and consortia markets, at both traditional and new economy businesses. He has contributed to strategic planning at companies such as TripAdvisor, Sabre and Cendant.

James Carroll, President and CEO, Crestline Hotels & Resorts, Inc., today announced the promotion of Vicki Denfeld to Executive Vice President, Sales & Marketing for the company. Ms. Denfeld joined Crestline in 2002 as Vice President of Sales & Marketing, and over the past 11 years has been promoted to Senior Vice President and now her current role as Executive Vice President. When Ms. Denfeld joined Crestline, she brought 20 years of management experience in hospitality sales and marketing. Ms. Denfeld began her career with New York Airlines, spent 10 years with The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company in various sales and marketing management positions, and has also held sales leadership positions at the Miraval Resort in Tucson, AZ, and KSL Resorts.

The Latest in Hotel Openings

India-based boutique operator, The Park Hotels, has revived its visual identity and promise, which will be launched at its 12 hotels on April 1. Two years in the making at a cost of US$2.25 million, the group reported it will offer a new look and feel across the hotels, as well as new experiences rooted in the brand promise “Anything But Ordinary.” The new logo focuses on the ‘THE,’ which both pays homage to The Park being a place to see and be seen, as well as a nod to its position as the original “Park Hotel” in India. The new identity’s simple black and white logo is intended to help bring the colours and richness of The Park’s environments to the fore, and also further differentiate it from its competitors.

RFR Holdings LLC is unveiling the new concept for Paramount, the iconic hotel in New York City's theatre district. The property, originally designed by theatre architect Thomas Lamb, has undergone a US$40 million renovation. Paramount will reopen Billy Rose's Diamond Horseshoe after a 61-year hiatus this fall to complete the property. The design team, which included Stonehill & Taylor Architects and Meyer Davis Studio, drew inspiration from the dramatic and fantastical elements found in many of Lamb's theatre for a look that includes dark woods, sculptural chandeliers and a palette of blues, reds and neutrals. The 597 guestrooms and suites now have a modern and minimalist look and views over Times Square. Paramount offers two loft-inspired entertainment suites. The two-story living room-style lobby centres on a stainless steel fireplace and includes a DJ booth.

Washington Marriott Marquis is scheduled to open in spring 2014 with 1,175 rooms, 49 suites, and over 105,000 square feet of function space, including a 30,000 square-foot Grand Ballroom with 22' ceilings and two junior ballrooms. Washington Marriott Marquis will be conveniently located next door to the Walter E. Washington Convention Center – and connected via an underground concourse. Set to be the epicenter of downtown, the hotel will transform this neighborhood and introduce a new, exciting venue for social gatherings, business travelers and meetings and conventions. The property will also serve as a brand-new social hub for local residents with a grand atrium lobby, a state-of-the-art bi-level fitness center, and five separate retail and restaurant spaces.