Industry News Archives - Page 5 of 96

15th February 2017

Hotel Brand Due To Open First Property In Cuba

The 246 rooms and suites will range in size from 430 square feet to more than 1,600 square feet, with ceiling heights of 14 to 16 feet. Kempinski said the Manzana de Gómez, an iconic building in the heart of the old city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, built in the early 1900s as Cuba’s first European-style shopping arcade, is home to many museums, restaurants, and other attractions. Other amenities include a rooftop terrace and swimming pool, with views overlooking Old Havana (La Havana Vieja), and a Resense-managed spa that is nearly 11,000 square feet, as well as three restaurants, a lobby bar, cigar lounge, and business centre.

Kempinski Hotels plans to open a five-star hotel in Cuba this spring, the luxury hotelier announced on Feb. 7. The Gran Hotel Manzana Kempinski La Habana will be located in the historic Manzana de Gómez building in the heart of Old Havana.

Hotel brand due to open first property in Cuba

27th January 2017

New Sydney Venue Opens

The Sydney ICC has recently opened, with 378,000 square feet of exhibition space, 86,400 square feet of meeting space and 54,000 square feet of an open-air event deck. There are three theatres, the 2,500 seat Darling Harbour Theatre, the 1,000 seat Pyrmont Theatre, and the ICC Sydney Theatre which can seat up to 8,000 delegates. Outside the venue, Tumbalong Park features an amphitheatre and events space for up to 11,000 delegates. The venue had a total project cost of $1.3 billion.

18th January 2017

Airbnb – How Will It Affect The Hotel And Meeting Industry?

Morgan Stanley recently published a survey of 4.000 people which has shown that 12% of leisure and business travellers have used Airbnb and this figure is increasing.

The estimate is that next year 18% leisure and 16% of business travellers will use the service and there is opportunity for further increase as both categories are 90%+ satisfied and only 41% of our survey sample was aware of Airbnb and 25% had tried it.

Price is the primary reason that people use Airbnb, however 66% of American Airbnb users earn more than $75,000 a year, contradicting the popular belief that the users are college students, millennials and individuals with lower incomes.

Less than half of Airbnb demand coming at the expense of traditional hotels:

42% of Airbnb users are substituting traditional hotels
36% switch from bed & breakfasts
31% are using Airbnb rather than staying with friends and family
20% are using Airbnb rather than holiday rental
7% of Airbnb users stay 1 night (it is 25% for traditional hotels)

The report indicates that Airbnb is taking business from non-hotel, leisure, longer-duration stays, rather than corporate single-night stays due to safety and privacy concerns, amenities such as loyalty programs, business centres, restaurants etc. Overall around 70% of hotels’ business is from corporate demand. Morgan Stanley’s survey shows that Airbnb leisure use is growing faster than corporate use and however, it could have negative impact on annual hotel occupancies and annual RevPAR growth.

17th January 2017

London Heathrow Marriott Reveals New Conference Space!

London Heathrow Marriott has unveiled its brand new conference and meeting space after undergoing an extensive, multi-million pound refurbishment programme.

This is 14 fully, redesigned meeting rooms with the vision to provide state-of-the-art conference facilities. The new conference space now offers a maximum meeting room capacity of up to 480 people and all rooms are equipped with innovative technology such as Write on Walls, Barco Clickshare, LED screens, Bluetooth sound bars and an integrated PA system.

Speaking about the refurbishment, general manager, Ron Vos, said: “We are delighted with our new conference space and we’ve had very positive responses from the show-rounds so far.“The renovation covers 900 square metres and we’ve moved away from the traditional, offering innovative, modern solutions for our meeting delegates. The space is perfect for larger conferences and exhibitions – proving to be especially important given the fact that many overseas conferences are opting to stay in Heathrow instead of going in to Central London.We’re keen to provide our visitors with the very best stay and I’m sure the new conference facilities will play a pivotal role in delivering guest satisfaction.”

London Heathrow Marriott reveals new conference space!

London Heathrow Marriott has unveiled its brand new conference and meeting space after undergoing an extensive, multi-million pound refurbishment programme.

9th January 2017

January 2017 London Openings

The first month of 2017 will see some very exciting new openings in our capital city. Etc. County Hall will open this month unveiling 43,000sqft of new event space. The space located in London’s iconic riverside County Hall venue will have 20 different rooms, the largest accommodating 400 delegates with 2 suites together able to accommodate 900 Four Season Hotel London at Ten Trinity Square will also open and is located near to famous landmarks such as the Tower of London, River Thames and Tower Bridge. The hotel will occupy the lower ground to third floor of the Ten Trinity Square building and will have 100 bedrooms, two ballrooms and three function rooms

4th January 2017

Jurys Inn Oxford Refurbishment

Jurys Inn have unveiled the start of their 11 million pound refurbishment at their Oxford property. This refurbishment is throughout the hotel which means all of the bedrooms are being completely upgraded and the conference space will become a new slicker design. During the investment the venue have announced they will also be growing with an additional 72 rooms and a brand new restaurant. The venue will be finishing the refurbishments in the next couple of months when they showcase the latest Marco Pierre White Steakhouse and Grill, renovated health club. The hotel group and hoping that these changes will increase their desirability in the corporate market and the first signs are promising.

22nd December 2016

Courtyard Marriott Opens In Brussels

Marriott have opened a new Courtyard hotel in Brussels, Belgium. The hotel is located in the city centre and is approximately only 10-15 minute drive from the airport and a shuttle service is available to/from the hotel. With 188 bedrooms and 9 meeting rooms to fit up to 280 theatre style in the largest suites Athens the hotel offers modern and functional space in the heart of the city.
There is also a fitness centre and on-site restaurant.

22nd December 2016

New Conference Centre Planned For Reading Football Club

Reading football club has announced its plans for a new conference centre at the Royal Elm Park development beside the Madejski stadium. The plans have been submitted to reading council and the venue is designed to provide a viable alternative to London venues.

The convention centre will offer a ‘ballroom’ and ‘banquet hall’ capable of hosting up to 4000 people theatre style, and 2000 for a banquet. It will also offer a range of flexible meeting and seminar spaces. The convention centre will also be home to an ice rink which will be able to transform into a meeting hall with a capacity for 2480 people theatre style.

Reading already has an existing range of hotel accommodation, retail and restaurants and has good public transport links which will be enhanced by the arrival of Crossrail and the new green park station.

21st December 2016

Park Plaza London Riverbank Refurbishment Complete

After extensive refurbishment, Park Plaza London Riverbank looks forward to elevating your guest experience to a higher level. Six additional floors of contemporary guest accommodation take the new room count to 489. The newly installed escalators help accompany guests to the award-winning Chino Latino Restaurant & Bar for authentic Pan-Asian cuisine and Latin inspired cocktails while enjoying the breathtaking views of the River Thames and live entertainment. Three new City Suites on the ground floor offer a modern environment for your meeting or event whilst the brand new Executive Lounge on the 12^th floor offers a quiet space with stunning panoramic views of London.

21st December 2016

C&Amp;It Best London Hotel Opening In 2016

C&IT have released what they think to be the top 5 hotel openings in London in 2016 and business is booming in the east of London with some high profile openings:

1. Intercontinental London – The O2 – opened January 2016 with one of the largest pillar free ballrooms in Europe

2. The Doubletree by Hilton London Excel – 260 bedrooms and meeting space for 90

3. Canary Riverside Plaza – opened in June with 230sqm ballroom and an indoor pool that runs alongside the Thames

4. CitizenM Hotel Tower of London – opened in July opposite the Tower of London with the cloudM sky bar with a wraparound balcony

5. Hyatt Place London Heathrow/Hayes – opened in May as the first Hyatt Place branded hotel in the UK and the second will Heathrow in 2017