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Hotel News in Brief

Jun 29, 09 | 1:45 am

Shuja Zaidi, General Manager of Makkah Hilton and Towers in Saudi Arabia has scooped the General Manager of the Year award at the Kingdom Hotel Expansion & World Investment Summit in Riyadh beating 25 other nominees from across the Middle East. Furthermore, Hilton HHonors, the company's customer loyalty programme, won three awards for Best Customer Service, Best Award Redemption and Best Award in Europe, Middle East & Africa in this year's Freddie Awards, where the public rates frequent airline and hotel guest loyalty programmes. "Shuja has managed our largest and most profitable property in the region with 1,413 rooms since 2003. He balances creative strength with tactical knowledge, and leadership with team spirit. He is known for his consultative management technique, his mentoring of managerial talent for Hilton and his merit-based system of advancement. Last year, we also appointed him as Vice President, Projects, Saudi Arabia, to support our development ambitions in the Kingdom," said Jean-Paul Herzog, President, Hilton Hotels, Middle East and Africa. The Kingdom Hotel Expansion & World Investment Summit and Awards, organised by Naseba, is one of the industry's most prestigious trade events and recognises hospitality leaders who have transformed the face of the industry.


Rising fuel prices and economic uncertainty to dampen July 4th holiday travel, AAA says but millions traveling will find travel bargains and lower airfares, which give air travel a slight boost. AAA today projected the number of Americans traveling on vacation this Fourth of July holiday weekend will decrease 1.9 percent from 2008 with approximately 37.1 million travelers taking a trip of 50 or more miles away from home. Last year, 37.8 million Americans traveled during the same period; a 10.5 percent decline from the 42.3 million travelers who vacationed in 2007. The July 4th holiday is typically the busiest time of year for auto travel since nearly all school-aged children are out of school at this time and, as a result, parents are more apt to take family vacations at this time. AAA said the projected slight decline in leisure travel is mainly due to ongoing uncertainty about the strength of the economy; especially rising joblessness and sagging personal incomes. The recent rise in gasoline prices may also be causing some travelers to limit or abbreviate their holiday plans, although its impact on overall vacation costs remains minimal, AAA said. "Many Americans remain cautious about the outlook for their personal finances and these attitudes are reflected in the slight decline in travel we are forecasting for the upcoming holiday weekend," said Robert L. Darbelnet, AAA President & CEO. "Those who do vacation this summer will find a plethora of attractive discounts and special offers resulting in some outstanding vacation values. If you can afford to go, this summer is a smart time to travel."


Starwood Hotels & Resorts has announced the grand opening of the largest dedicated hotel customer contact centre in China; the Starwood Customer Contact Center in Guangzhou. "The opening of this Customer Contact Center also presents to us the opportunity to provide the local talent with training and job opportunities... We are looking at having this centre operate 24/7 to support both China and global operational needs for Starwood," said Qian Jin, Senior Vice President for Operations, China & Taiwan, Starwood Hotels & Resorts.


The Gauteng, diamond mines and giraffes are a far cry from the Perfume River in Hue, but the aroma and ambiance will be all South Africa along these banks at La Residence Hotel and Spa August 7-9. In the first celebratory event of its kind in Vietnam, the country's foremost South African chefs are gathering, cooking and exhibiting South African hospitality at the landmark Hue hotel next month. The signature attraction of Discover South Africa will be a Safari Dinner and tribal dancing. The chefs themselves will both manage the stoves and grills, and interact with guests as unofficial cultural ambassadors. "We sometimes forget that Vietnam is host to an amazing array of human resources - people who are by nature inquisitive, sharing and downright fun to be around," said Carmen Marienberg, general manager of La Residence. "We'll be raising the spirit and spirits of South Africa here on Song Huong (Perfume River)."

Members of the California Hotel & Lodging Association (CH&LA) won three national Stars of the Industry Awards at the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA) Stars of the Industry Awards luncheon. The Stars of the Industry awards were created more than 40 years ago to honor lodging employees and properties that best symbolizes the quality service of the industry. CH&LA members were recognized for general manager of the year, guest relations and the environmental category of good earthkeeping. The awards were announced during the AH&LA Summer Summit held this afternoon at the Chicago Hilton in Chicago, Illinois. The Outstanding General Manager of the Year award recognizes a general manager who goes above and beyond normal job responsibilities. Nominees are judged on outstanding performance to their property, to the guests, and to their subordinates. The Outstanding General Manager Award winner was Jim Durbin, general manger of the San Diego Marriott Gaslamp Quarter. The Guest Relations Award is given for programs that develop a climate conducive to new or repeat business, create goodwill among guests, provide special services, reverse negative public relations situations, or effectively solve guest complaints. The Guest Relations Award winner was West Inn & Suites, Carlsbad, California. The Good Earthkeeping award recognizes lodging properties that have developed a culture toward integrating environmental management practices that improve everyday operations and the bottom line, while maintaining quality service and meeting guest expectations. The program must demonstrate success in one or more of the following areas: energy conservation, solid waste reduction, effluents and emissions, water conservation, purchasing and business issues. The Good Earthkeeping Award was given to the Orchard Garden Hotel, San Francisco, California. "The California Hotel & Lodging Association is very proud of our award winning members," said Lynn Mohrfeld, President & CEO of CH&LA. "We appreciate the hard work and dedication of the employees and properties for their exceptional and significant contributions to the industry."


The Rezidor Hotel Group, one of the fastest growing hotel companies worldwide, further strengthens the portfolio in Africa: The group announces Park Inn Tete in Mozambique - the property featuring 116 rooms is scheduled to open on Q4 2010. Rezidor's portfolio on the African continent now comprises close to 30 hotels and 6,855 rooms in operation and under development. "This is our second hotel in Mozambique - in Q2 2010 we also will open the Radisson Blu Hotel, Maputo", says Kurt Ritter, President & CEO of Rezidor. "Mozambique's economy has made considerable strides in recent years, and we see a huge potential in this country."


Resorts World at Sentosa today announced that it will complete all structural buildings by July 2009, 27 months after it broke ground in April 2007.The 49-hectare resort is on track for an early 2010 soft opening, which include Universal Studios Singapore, Resorts World Casino, its resident show theatre, part of its dining strip Festive Walk and four hotels - Hotel Michael, Maxims Tower, Festive Hotel and Singapore's very own Hard Rock Hotel. About 60 per cent of the Resort's built up area will open with its soft opening in early 2010. Two more attractions, the Marine Life Park and the Maritime Xperiential Museum, the ESPA and two more hotels - Equarius and Spa Villas - will open progressively. Mr Michael Chin, Executive Vice President of Projects for Resorts World at Sentosa said: "With the hotels and Universal Studios Singapore attractions such as the world's tallest dueling coasters Battlestar Galatica and the Waterworld Stunt Show amphitheatre rising from the ground, the anticipation towards our opening in a few months' time is indeed mounting." Resorts World at Sentosa - closely watched as the resort destination that will boost Singapore's tourism and MICE numbers in 2010 - houses Southeast Asia's only Universal Studios theme park, the world's largest oceanarium, six hotels, a casino and a palette of Las Vegas-styled entertainment, world-class performances, restaurants by celebrity chefs and retail shops.


The PATA-endorsed 2009 International Summit on 'Globalisation of Chinese Higher Tourism Education' featured a keynote presentation from PATA HR Advisory committee member Bert van Walbeek. Mr van Walbeek stressed PATA's interest in supporting tourism education and highlighted the Association's Strategic Intelligence Centre as an important research partner for its members. PATA's Beijing-based Regional Director Kate Chang explains," The aim of the forum was to 'explore an innovative model of international collaboration in terms of tourism education through discussions between tourism academics and industry professionals from home and abroad'. The forum was organised by and hosted by Shanghai Normal University and PATA member Shanghai Institute of Tourism (SIT). China has made considerable progress in tourism education with the establishment of a comprehensive structure and system. Some 400 universities and more than 700 institutes and vocational schools now offer tourism related education in China. PATA President and CEO Greg Duffell reiterated PATA's commitment to establishing closer ties with the SIT during a meeting in Shanghai with the Institute's President Gao Jun.