Best of hospitality in the news – part 16 – 12 December 2016
How to avoid a hostile reception – Why do hotels still bother with receptionists?
As a rule, when Gulliver first arrives at a hotel, he would prefer not to have to deal with another human. There are three main reasons for this. The first is that he is, by nature, cantankerous. The forced jollity of the initial exchange with a receptionist does not come easily after an exhausting trip.
The Economist
Hotels.com tests a mobile app that generates a guest room key
Expedia Inc’s online travel agency brand Hotels.com is testing a mobile app that will let guests check in and check out — and generate electronic room keys — at partner hotels.
tnooz.com
Dirty work? Not so in hotel sector, where paper qualifications come second
Amid the slowing economy and uncertain job market, many Singaporeans have said they are unsure of where to start looking for opportunities in several growth industries. To that end, TODAY has launched an eight-part weekly series that looks at the openings available, the prospects and how workers can equip themselves with the skills for these positions. In the previous instalments, we looked at the logistics and food manufacturing industries.
todayonline.com
Hotel legend, Three Square Food Bank founder Hilton dies
Eric Michael Hilton, vice chairman emeritus of Hilton Hotels Corp. and founder of Three Square Food Bank, died this morning at his home in Las Vegas, according to his nephew Anders Hansen
Las Vegas Sun
Chinese Investments in US Hotels Accelerates With HNA Group’s 25% Stake in Hilton Worldwide
In October, China’s aviation and shipping giant, HNA Group, made headlines with its announcement that it would pay $6.5 billion for a 25% stake in Hilton Worldwide Holdings from Hilton’s biggest shareholder, Blackstone Group LP. The bid is HNA’s second investment in a US hotel company this year. Earlier, one of its divisions purchased Carlson Hotels, owner of such brands as Radisson, the Park Plaza, Country Inns & Suites by Carlson and the Club Carlson hotel rewards program. Last year, the company had also acquired a 15% share in Red Lion Hotels. Its stake in Hilton covers brands including Conrad Hotels & Resorts, Curio, Doubletree and Hilton, as well as Hilton Worldwide’s planned spinoffs of its Park Hotels & Resorts and Hilton Grand Vacations.
Weeks earlier, the Los Angeles Times reported that Starwood Capital Group announced that China Life Insurance Co. is heading a group of investors planning to buy a stake in its portfolio of 280 US hotels worth about $2 billion. Meanwhile, China’s Anbang Insurance Group Co. earlier this year completed a $6.5 billion transaction for 15 US hotels that were part of Blackstone’s Strategic Hotels & Resorts real estate investment trust. (Anbang burst on the US lodging scene in 2014 when it bought the New York Waldorf-Astoria hotel for an astounding $1.95 billion.)
Forbes
Hotels groups in UAE build on as growth slows – A boom in construction comes despite falling revenues per room
Hoteliers in the United Arab Emirates are bracing themselves for some fresh competition: another 54,000 hotel rooms are set for construction by 2020, according to a report this year by TopHotelProjects — an increase on present numbers of more than a third.
Financial Times
Hotel magnate starts new burst of projects in Las Vegas
Hotel mogul Gary Tharaldson, a decade after selling $1 billion worth of properties, is building another burst of hotels in Las Vegas and other cities across the country. The North Dakota developer is constructing a six-story, 169-room Hilton Garden Inn and a six-story, 157-room Homewood Suites on Dean Martin Drive near Harmon Avenue, just south of condo complex Panorama Towers. He also filed plans to build a five-story, 113-room TownePlace Suites and a five-story, 135-room Home2 Suites at the Tropicana Avenue-Interstate 15 interchange, across the street from In-N-Out Burger where the now-demolished Golden Palm hotel stood, Clark County records show.
Review Journal
Hotels offer better, faster Wi-Fi
Hotel guests have repeatedly complained about the state of Wi-Fi while traveling, and hotels are finally heeding the call for improvements.
USA Today
America’s Most Overrated Hotel
Ocean House, a five-star hotel in Rhode Island is a bust, while nearby Castle Hill Inn a quirky pleasure.
Barron’s
When bling is not your thing: Inside Hong Kong’s top boutique hotels
Hong Kong has some of the glitziest hotels in the world, all offering plenty of ways to live lavishly. But if your tastes run to more understated comfort, you might want to skip the bling of the five-star classics and opt for something quieter. Enter the city’s many boutique hotels.
CNN
10 Design Ideas to Steal from Luxury Hotels
In her new book, a travel and design writer highlights striking hotel bedrooms, living spaces, libraries, and bathrooms. In this case, copying is certainly allowed.
townandcountrymag.com
Design your own pop up hotel
For your next vacation, forget about taking inspiration from Instagram. You’re going to go where nobody has been before, on a trip that nobody has ever taken—and that nobody after you will ever take again.
IOL