Hans Wiedemann believes in fate—how else could he explain all the coincidences that preceded his 2004 appointment as managing director of the legendary Badrutt's Palace hotel? To him, the landmark property in idyllic St. Moritz, Switzerland, is the place the

During the interview for the Corporate Hotelier of the World award, 2009 honoree Sir Rocco Forte made several references to the importance of the highest standards of service. He referred to mentors like Giulio Gelardi, who ran London's Savoy Hotel

Readers of the international trade magazine 'Hotels' have voted the Swiss/Australian 56 year old, Hans Wiedemann, as 'Independent Hotelier of the World 2009'. The magazine 'Hotels' is read in 165 countries and has some 62,330 subscribers. 'Hotels' is the only

Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels today released its bi-annual Hotel Investor Sentiment Survey which shows hotel investors' sentiment for short-term (six month) performance in the Americas increased for the first time following six consecutive semi-annual declines and, while still negative, stands

In this exclusive video interview, STR's Mark Lomanno presents the research firm's revised year-end 2009 and 2010 outlooks, while giving a first look at its 2011 forecast for the U.S. hotel industry.

Signs of a recovery for the U.S. hotel industry might be few and far between as 2009 creeps to a close, but executives at Smith Travel Research think there's reason for optimism in the future. An uptick for the hotel

Nomadix, Inc., the leading provider of network gateway devices, has filed a patent infringement lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. In the suit, Nomadix seeks damages and an injunction for the unauthorised use of

A study published in the Cornell Hospitality Quarterly (CQ) shows how high performance working practices for full-time employees are different from tactics that are best for part-time employees. The study, "Employment Modes, High Performance Work Practices, and Organizational Performance in

SpaFinder , Inc. and Leading Spas today announced that the companies will partner to present Leading Spa's collection of the most exquisite spas in the world to millions of consumers in 27 countries who select and book spa vacations at

Effective leaders today still deal with many of the scenarios in Hailey's HOTEL, and many more in the way of amenities, technology, transportation and training. The constant balancing act of "high touch" and "high tech" often comes down to visibility,

The luxury Ritz-Carlton hotel chain will cease to be a stand-alone division under the Marriott International umbrella as part of a reorganization that the Bethesda-based company plans to complete by 2011. Marriott, the largest hotelier in the United States, until

As China's travel industry heats up, 7 Days Group Holdings Ltd. hopes investors will see the promise in its public offering. The discount lodging chain, which operates more than 280 hotels throughout China, is set to debut later this week

Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts and Jumeirah Group plan to open their first hotels in Brazil as rising incomes in Latin America's largest economy and the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympic games generate demand. "The time is right now

Starwood today announces the opening of six new Westin hotels the remaining six weeks of the year. The upcoming openings underscore the Westin brand's focus on international expansion and will include locations in India: The Westin Hyderabad Mindspace, The Westin

With the holidays fast approaching, travelers are sure to have much more than visions of sugarplums dancing in their heads. Dreams of the perfect holiday getaway will soon be fulfilled with the December 15, 2009, debut of Barceló's newest all-inclusive

Following an extensive search for a new marketing provider with proven success in the Japanese market, the Japan Rail (JR) Hotel Group has announced it will migrate its properties to Sabre Hospitality Solutions' SynXis Central Reservation System (CRS). One of

HBSi, an IBS Group company, has added Getaroom.com to its growing network of travel distribution partners that use HBSi's channel management and connectivity solution. Founded in early July this year, Getaroom is led by CEO David Litman and President Bob

In 2009, the U.S. lodging industry is projected to experience the greatest annual decline in revenue since 1932. In August 2009, PKF Hospitality Research (PKF-HR) released its quarterly econometric hotel forecast, Hotel Horizons®, and is forecasting that the average property

Wyndham Hotels and Resorts has teamed up with Bath & Body Works® to fight the flu and colds by distributing complimentary bottles of the retailer's PocketBacTM Deep Cleansing Hand Gel to arriving guests at 10 Wyndham® airport hotels. The waterless,

Lodging Interactive, a leading interactive marketing agency servicing the hospitality industry and the publisher of the free Chatter Guard Monthly Benchmark Monitor Report has released its October 2009 report.