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Hotel News in Brief

Aug 04, 08 | 1:46 am

One of the world's largest, luxury airport hotels, meetings and events venues opens today at London Heathrow's Terminal 5 (T5). The 5-star, 605-bedroom Sofitel London Heathrow connects to T5 by bridge and is just 21 minutes from central London via the Heathrow Express. It also offers the largest onsite, undercover parking facilities in the area. At the heart of Sofitel London Heathrow are the legendary Sofitel values of luxurious 'art de recevoir' and noble 'hôtellerie savoir-faire'. These values ensure every guest enjoys moments of 'plaisir', élégance and 'bien être' during their stay. "The Sofitel London Heathrow is not an airport hotel, it's a five star luxury hotel which just happens to be at an airport," explains Surinder Arora, chairman of Arora International Hotels, owners of the Sofitel. The hotel's Concept Architect is Stephen Williams, who previously designed the Conrad Hotel in Chelsea Harbour, while the hotel's glamorous interiors have been designed by KCA International's Khuan Chew, who is renowned for her work on the Burj Al Arab in Dubai. Khuan Chew has focused on the concept of a 'gateway to the world' as her design inspiration and themes of country and continent resonate throughout the hotel. 'Antarctica', for example, takes centre stage in the entrance lobby with a dramatic water fountain centrepiece commissioned from RHS Chelsea winner, David Harber. Among Chew's touches in the hotel's fabulous 165m2 Imperial Suite are the first Swarovski crystal bathrooms featured in a European hotel.

Australia's largest hotel group, Accor, is inviting displaced Starbucks workers to submit resumes and expressions of interest to work at the group's 140 hotels across Australia. Accor has hotels in most locations where Starbucks stores are set to close, and with strong demand for experienced hospitality workers for its restaurants and function departments, Accor believes it can provide both full-time and casual work for some of the employees made redundant. Locations where Accor has hotels and Starbucks stores will close include the Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Canberra, Newcastle, Port Macquarie, Sydney City, Darling Harbour, Parramatta, Bondi, Adelaide, Hobart, Melbourne and Ballarat. Accor operates hotel brands such as Sofitel, Grand Mercure, Novotel, Mercure, all seasons and Ibis. Starbucks workers are invited to email Accor's human resources team at careers.au@accor.com or visit the website www.accorhotels.com.au/careers and submit details of their background.Accor's Vice President - Australia, Simon McGrath, said that many of the Starbucks employees had built solid careers with the company, and their levels of training and operational skills would make them attractive potential employees for Accor's hotels."Experienced and well-trained hospitality staff are the key to our industry, and with Accor's current and future growth plans, we are always looking for qualified staff to help continue our growth momentum," said Mr McGrath. "There is always pressure in our industry to attract and retain skilled hospitality workers, and while the loss of jobs at Starbucks is regrettable, we will hopefully be able to provide alternative employment opportunities for at least some of the displaced workers. "With the multitude locations and brands, in city, regional and suburban locations, our network of hotels will hopefully provide an excellent range of job opportunities in our restaurants, bars and function departments for Starbucks workers."

 
Best Western Unveils Convention Special Guest. Today Best Western unveiled their special guest speaker for this year's Annual National Convention. Peter Hillary (son of famous adventurer, Sir Edmund Hillary) and adventurer in his own right, will be appearing as the keynote speaker. "Peter is a perfect fit for this year's convention. He embodies leadership, change management and environmental protectionism - three initiatives Best Western is discussing at the Convention and working hard to initiate this year," says Rob Anderson, Executive Director of Best Western Australia. The main theme for this year will be ‘I Care', the brand-new program designed to revolutionise customer service in Best Western hotels globally. In addition, the program covers:

• Environmentally-sensitive business practices,
• Building a successful business and,
• Detailed news on Best Western's exciting plans for the future.

Marty Fields, star of Blue Heelers and Sea Change, is performing as this year's Master of Ceremonies. The official opening of the Convention takes place on Tuesday, 5th August 2008 at 8.30am. Media are invited to attend sessions on Tuesday 5th of August for free. Please contact Shaun Greenwood or Jennie Everingham to confirm your attendance. A copy of the full Convention program is attached or, log on to: http://online.bestwestern.com/publish/01/syd/en/meetings___events.-generalContent-0006-DownloadFile.tmp/08_PROGRAM.pdf  to download your copy

 
Benchmark Hospitality International has announced the appointment of Michael Hager as general manager for Stonewall Resort, the award-winning property located near Roanoke, West Virginia.  Greg Parsons, vice president for Benchmark Hospitality, made the announcement. "I am so pleased to welcome Michael to the position of general manager for Benchmark at Stonewall Resort," said Mr. Parsons.  "He brings 30 years of hospitality experience and extensive knowledge of our market to his new role, which will serve our resort well." Michael Hager comes to Stonewall Resort from the Peacock Hotel & Spa in Greenville, South Carolina, where he served as director of hotel operations.  Throughout his career, Mr. Hager has held senior management positions at such distinguished properties as The Greenbrier, located in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia; Oglebay Resort & Conference Center of Wheeling, West Virginia; and Mountaineer Casino Racetrack & Resort in Chester, West Virginia.  He also participated in the development of hotel and conference facilities for Charles Pointe, a large-scale, master-planned community in north central West Virginia.

 
Focus Hospitality Services will open a new, full-service Holiday Inn in Fort Wayne, Ind., later this summer. The 151 room facility is the first full-service hotel to open in Indiana's second-largest city (Pop:  205,000; MSA: 500,000) in nearly 25 years. Construction of the new hotel represents an investment of nearly $20 million and the operation of the new Holiday Inn creates 90 new jobs.

IMHI, MBA in International Hospitality Management, Institut de Management Hôtelier International, ESSEC Business School, Paris-Singapore presents the Class of 2008. The 26th graduation ceremony opened on july 24th with all 50 students processing at the Grand Hôtel Intercontinental Paris and taking their seats in the front rows in the presence of personalities from the ESSEC business school and the industry. Professor Peter O'Connor's speech was a blend of optimism and humor. He spoke of the numerous personal and professional contacts the students had made during their IMHI studies. He also emphasized the importance of the alumni associations (AAIMHI and ESSEC Alumni) and the tight relationship of the IMHI family with the hospitality industry worldwide.      

 
Corporate Social Responsibility Conference: Creating a sustainable & responsible enterprise in China. Benchmark your current CSR policies utilizing findings from The Chamber's 2008 nationwide CSR survey, involving 150 companies. Gain best practice insight from a cross-section of MNCs operating in China. And hear the inspiring story of one man's example to the world of how business can be profitable and environmentally friendly. Event Details: Date: Wednesday, September 10th 2008

• Time: 1:00-6:00
• Venue: JW Marriott Shanghai, 399 Nanjing Xi Lu, T: 5359 4969
• Cost: Early Bird Discount for bookings & payment before September 1st
• Members RMB500 / Non-Members RMB700
• After September 1st, Members RMB600 / Non-members RMB800
• RSVP: http://www.sha.britcham.org/sh/events/details1.php?id=1073
  
  

The Lakes Cairns Resort and Spa's housekeeping team scooped the pool at this year's inaugural Housekeeper Awards announced at a gala dinner on Friday, 25 July 2008 at Cairns Colonial Club Resort. The Lakes Cairns Resort and Spa's executive housekeeper, Jean Lapthorne received the ultimate accolade of "Housekeeping Trophy of Excellence" while the resort's housekeeping supervisor, Sue Affleck, was delighted to take home the "Rising Star Award".  Completing the winning line up was Annie Shannon from Sebel Harbourlights who won the "Judges Encouragement Award". Destined to become an annual event, the inaugural competition was hailed a great success by organizers, the Far North Professional Housekeepers Network Inc. The awards were open to all Professional Housekeepers in Far North Queensland who were judged by an independent panel comprising Tracey Turner - Head of Hospitality and Tourism Faculty TNQ TAFE, Cam Charlton - past Chairman of TTNQ and experienced Tourism Awards judge and Tony Crook - retired former General Manager of Cairns International Hotel.

Tampa-based McKibbon Hotel Management, Inc. will celebrate the opening of its second property at Avion Park Westshore on Friday, August 1, when guests are welcomed at the Hilton Garden Inn Tampa Airport/Westshore. The Hilton Garden Inn has 171 rooms.

 
$120 million sale of Noosa resort sets new Sunshine Coast record. Consolidated Properties has partnered with UK-based investment group BlueSky Capital and an international consortium of investor to pay $120 million for Seahaven Resort, the last substantial freehold property on Noosa Main Beach. CB Richard Ellis Directors Rob Cross and Rem Rafter negotiated the sale of the landmark Noosa Heads property following a recent Expressions of Interest campaign. The sale price is believed to be a record for a single property on the Sunshine Coast and translates to more than $25,000 per square meter of land. Mr. Cross said Seahaven had generated unprecedented interest, given the site's iconic location. The property offers close to 100 metres of frontage to both Noosa Main Beach and Hastings Street, one of the country's most sought after shopping strips.