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George Seli

71 posts
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  • 1 min

Luxury Lodgings in an Iconic Locale

🏨 InterContinental San Antonio Riverwalk, part of IHG's 2024 Texas pipeline with 15 properties, opened August 2024. Steps from its namesake riverwalk, near The Alamo and The Pearl, it offers 390 rooms, 18,000 sq ft of space including the 8,200 sq ft Pecan Ballroom. Managed by Scarlett Hotel Group and owned by Trailbreak Partners, amenities include a rooftop pool, fitness center, four restaurants, and a Les Clefs d’Or concierge service.
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  • 3 min

PM Hotel Group and Sightline Hospitality Find Common Ground and Join Forces

💰 PM Hotel Group and Sightline Hospitality announced a strategic merger aimed at expanding PM's Modus by PM Hotel Group through Sightline's experiential travel expertise. The merger will maintain the PM Hotel Group name. The combined entity results from a shared history and values, focusing on performance and opportunity for high performers. The merger brings 22 new properties to PM's portfolio, reaching a total of 85 with expansion in the West Coast mountain regions and the first Hawaiian property. Distinctive brands like RESET and evo Hotels, targeting Millennials and Gen Z, will now be part of the portfolio, reflecting the demographic shift in travelers towards younger generations seeking experiential travel.
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  • 5 min

Team Effort: A Holistic Approach to Security for Smaller Properties

🛡 Klaudio Simic, VP of Operations at Practice Hospitality, advocates a security culture at smaller hotels lacking dedicated teams due to rising wages and labor shortages. Training across all departments, including housekeeping and maintenance, is emphasized for incident response and guest safety. hihotels also supports this approach, utilizing resources like the AHLA's "No Reservations" video and First Responders Toolbox. Risk assessments are conducted regularly, considering local crime rates and property vulnerabilities, with solutions tailored to property scale. Basic technology investments like adequate lighting, secure door locks, and surveillance cameras are essential. Partnerships with local law enforcement facilitate a coordinated response to incidents. Guest asset protection focuses on staff training, key control, and guest communication, including in-room safe usage and secure storage options.
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  • 3 min

5 Pro Tips for Successful Renovations

🔧 Since 1979 with The Adolphus Hotel Dallas renovation, CMCA Design has specialized in hotel renovations while keeping hotels operational, a complex task requiring effective communication with guests. Managing Principal Jill Cole emphasizes early involvement of the design team, owner input on procurement decisions, scheduling time for brand review (typically 10 working days), creating detailed visual representations for stakeholder approval, and holding weekly progress calls. Model rooms, taking at least three months to build, help visualize the end result despite the high cost.
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  • 5 min

Easing the Load: Insights From Miele Into Modern Washer Technology 

🔓 Miele, Inc., established in 1899 in Germany, has 125 years of experience in the European commercial laundry equipment market and roughly 41 years with Miele USA in Princeton, New Jersey. Their washers and dryers support sustainability by using 25-30% less water and energy, and feature patented honeycomb drums that extend textile life by 3-5 times, reducing lint by 90%. Miele's touchscreen-enabled machines offer customizable programs and support multilingual operations in over 30 languages. They provide stacked models for space efficiency, with dryers requiring only 15-20 minutes for nearly dry textiles post-wash. Miele's remote maintenance system, Miele MOVE, is available in Europe and coming to the U.S., offering proactive care via WiFi. They recommend hotel operators choose equipment based on productivity, reliability for 30,000 hours of operation (15-20 years), and vendor support, including their own technicians and trained partners.
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  • 3 min

Revving Up: BWH Hotels Convention Focuses on Driving Performance

🏎 BWH Hotels' 2024 Annual Convention, themed “Accelerate,” started with a Welcome Reception at NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, North Carolina. The event stresses teamwork and efficiency, illustrated by a pit crew video with a 1.8-second pit stop record. BWH Hotels North American properties achieved a 2.5% year-over-year increase in ADR and a $1 billion revenue milestone with a 6.2% growth, marking 43 months of consecutive growth. Worldwide sales hit $8.5 billion. BestREV 2.0 is aiding 1,350 North American hotels in setting rates. Guest experience is prioritized, as shown by a Medallia score of 82.3% across 2,000+ properties. The loyalty program will pay back $64 million to members this year, $17 million more than last year, and partnerships like Canary aim to enhance guest messaging and upselling. A new global marketing campaign, “Life's a Trip,” has been launched, including Olympic ads.
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  • 2 min

A ‘Modern West’ Oasis in the Sonoran Desert

🏡 In Tempe, Arizona, the 148-key dual-branded Fairfield Inn & Suites and TownePlace Suites Hotels opened in March, managed by Aqua-Aston Hospitality. They feature a custom-designed 30-meter saltwater pool and Old West-themed Way Station restaurant with a weekly live music event. The pool area includes a hot tub, firepit, and 'peninsula' living room with firepits seating. Artist Randi Egley created the "Vistas and Valleys" poolside mural inspired by the native desert. The design emphasizes luxury fabrics and indigenous flora to reflect the desert environment and modern western culture.
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  • 1 min

Urban Waterfront Destination

🏨 Marriott Long Beach Downtown, located near Long Beach attractions, opened July 2024 with 376 rooms. Owned by Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc., the hotel features Art Deco style, a rooftop pool, panoramic views, and over 21,000 square feet of meeting space. Executive Chef Leo De Leon heads the all-day restaurant, Local Current, and guests have 24-hour access to The Market. The hotel sits on Long Beach’s Promenade, opposite the Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center.
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  • 2 min

4 Advances in Sanitization Treatments and Technologies

😷 Payne from Pure Wellness notes a shift in the hospitality industry towards better sanitization due to the pandemic, with a focus on air quality. Pure Wellness offers a seven-step process including air purifiers. They recommend DFS technology for 99.97% filtration efficiency at 0.3 microns. Innovations include water filtration with Vitamin C & E, allergy-friendly mattress encasements, and sanitary check-in procedures with antimicrobial keycards and contactless options. Hotels can create wellness rooms on separate floors for additional revenue.
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