TO USHER IN 2022, Best Western Hotels & Resorts is offering a new program to allow guests Best Western Rewards to use points to cover the cost of booking a hotel room. The company said its "Pay with Points" will benefit hoteliers as well.
Under the new program, BWR members do not have to reach a free room night threshold, but can redeem points for discounted room rates at hotels in North America immediately. During a beta test of the program in which a few Best Western hotels allowed BWR with at least 5,000 points to apply points to their hotel stays, one third used a combination of BWR points and cash to book stays of two nights or more.
That ultimately boosted the bottom line for the participating hotels, the company said. Also, 35 percent of Pay with Points redemptions were for hotels where members had not previously stayed.
"Pay with Points is designed to help both BWR members and our hoteliers. Our hotel owners will benefit because BWR members are being introduced to new properties within our portfolio," said Dorothy Dowling, Best Western's senior vice president and chief marketing officer. "We're always looking to provide our rewards members with new promotions and benefits, and we're excited to introduce Pay with Points to Best Western-branded hotels across North America."
HILTON HAS LAUNCHED a new extended-stay brand, Project H3, designed to meet the needs of the rapidly expanding $300 billion workforce travel market, looking
for apartment-style accommodations for 20 nights or more. Launching in the U.S. as Hilton navigates the final stages of the trademark process, this lower midscale,
extended-stay brand is the newest addition to Hilton's portfolio, the company said in a statement.
Hilton is engaged in more than 100 active development conversations with many owners expressing interest in multiple locations. According to the statement, the
product provides a foundation for the long stay, allowing guests to make the most out of every day, and delivers an exciting investment option for developers
looking to diversify their portfolio under the Hilton name.
"Project H3 is perfectly positioned to serve the unique needs of the long-stay traveler, thanks to its innovative design, strong value proposition for our owners
and of course, the hospitality our team members offer every day," said Chris Nassetta, Hilton president and CEO. "We aim to serve any guest, anywhere in the world,
for any travel need they may have, and this new brand represents a greater opportunity for us to grow our portfolio while providing the reliable and friendly service
our customers expect from Hilton."
Hilton's in-house research shows long-stay travelers, including traveling nurses, military personnel, and those experiencing workforce relocations, place quality
time and comfort above all else. In addition, those looking for a long stay will book an average of 20 or more nights and desire a reliable home base that allows
them to maintain their routines while delivering simplicity, consistency and convenience.
EXTENDED-STAY ROOM revenues in traditional hotels outperformed those in extended-stay hotels by 21 percent, indicating potential for further development in
the extended-stay sector, according to consulting firm The Highland Group and Kalibri Labs. For the 12 months ending June 2023, guest-paid room revenue for stays of
seven consecutive nights or more totaled $8.97 billion in traditional hotels, compared to $7.39 billion in extended-stay hotels.
"Traditional hotels are still accommodating more extended-stay demand than extended-stay hotels despite the latter's substantial gains in market share over the
last 25 years," said Mark Skinner, partner at The Highland Group.
Accommodated room nights tallied 74.3 million and 72.2 million, respectively. Nationally, extended-stay demand (ESOC) constitutes 53 percent of extended-stay hotels.
In traditional hotels, ESOC is 13 percent, yet the room count is tenfold compared to extended-stay establishments, the report said.
THE AHLA FOUNDATION recently held its 6th Annual Night of a Thousand Stars awards gala, recognizing leaders in the hotel industry and presenting
Mark Hoplamazian, Hyatt Hotels Corp. president and CEO with the third annual Arne Sorenson Social Impact Leadership Award. The event also raised close
to $1 million to support AHLA Foundation initiatives.
Lina Patel, director of strategic franchise initiatives at Red Roof, also was recognized at the event held during the 2024 America's Lodging Investment
Summit at the J.W. Marriott in Los Angeles. Shatterproof, a national nonprofit that promotes addiction treatment, also recognized Hoplamazian during ALIS.
"The Night of a Thousand Stars Gala brings our entire industry together to celebrate the work and dedication of the unsung heroes of hospitality-the
individuals at the heart of our industry," said Anna Blue, AHLA Foundation president.
Experience authentic South Italy in all its glory with this 5-night Holidays to one of the most beautiful towns. Book now your Maratea Holidays and enjoy your holidays to Charming Maratea.
IHG HOTELS & RESORTS marked the 15th anniversary of the IHG Army Hotels military lodging program, part of the U.S. Army's Privatization of Army
Lodging initiative. The program offers military guests, veterans and their families on-post accommodations under the Holiday Inn Express, Candlewood Suites
and Staybridge Suites brands.
Army Hotels provided more than 40 million room nights across 40 on-post installations in the U.S. and Puerto Rico since its founding in 2009, reinvesting $43 of
every $100 to improve facilities and services, IHG said in a statement.
"It's incredible to see the evolution of our first-of-its-kind military lodging program and our team's dedication to its success," said Chuck Sourbeer, IHG Army
Hotels' vice president of hotel operations. "The program is a testament to our commitment to serving those who serve, with quality accommodations that reflect
the high standards our guests expect from IHG brands. We're proud of the impact we've made on our guests and communities and the relationship we've built with
the Army, and we look forward to the future of our hospitality journey."
Shree kshetra Shirdi is very famous for Shri Shirdi Sai BABA and his divine miracle and this famous pilgrim destination posses very rich and important place in devotes life.
Shree kshetra is located 296 kms from Mumbai and around 200kms away from Pune located in Ahmednagar district. Shree kshetra Shirdi is almost developed and there are many new facilities upgraded like accommodation to security and from cuisine to fun services, many new Hotels and Resorts are opened in Shirdi in terms of better service for visitors. Road are made wider upgraded security system are been installed, local bodies are likely involved in many services to make Shirdi flourish.
More like, 3 to 4 hours from Pune is the journey time. The suitable timing to start journey for Shirdi is early morning so you can reach to your destination as early as possible. The climate in Shirdi is quite humid. Preferred vehicle for the tour are Big compartment vehicles and should be air conditioned like Swift Dzire, Ciaz, Innova, Etios, Ertiga and so on.
At Optimum Travel & Leisure Private Limited many Ac and Non Ac car's are available on rental basis with best compared rate to the market rate and there are pre defined packages exist as bifurcated on no of passengers and the variant of vehicle which can be feasible to the travelers.
Few Tips While Visiting The Shree Kshetra Shirdi:-
-Try to be in cotton clothes in day time or where anything which is breathable, avoid black colors.
-For night use warm clothes.
-Try to choose a decent hotel for accommodation with family; a single man can settle anywhere.
-Try to get knowing about all hidden cost and checkout the timing before getting checked inn.
-Shirdi Mahaprasad is very famous among the devotees. We suggest you at least try yourself once.
-Try to avoid brokers for Hotel booking and other services.
-Best of luck-
There are many famous places in and near by Shree Kshetra Shirdi like:
Shree Kshetra Shani Shinganapur
Sai Baba Chavadi
Dwarkamai Masjid
Maruti Mand
It's the weekend and you're out at the same old place with your friends. Maybe it's pub-crawling with your best mates, or maybe it's having a quick round of office gossip with your colleagues at a café. But one thing's for sure - Hollywood After Hours at Universal Studios Singapore is giving you a new place and new reasons to celebrate.
From now till September, get ready to party at Universal Studios Singapore's Hollywood After Party every Saturday night! Check out the highlights here!
"Enjoy a private 2 days trip to Cairo from Luxor by flight, discover the highlights and must see sites in Cairo, visit Egyptian Museum, Cairo by night, Giza Pyramids, Sphinx,Sound & light show, Old Cairo,Islamic sites, Saladdin citadel, Mohammed Ali mosque, Alabaster mosque, Khan ElKalili, Coptic Cairo, Bablyon fortress, hanging church, Ben Ezra synagouge and more."
Cairns city is the world heritage rainforest area. The premium sights of cairns give excellent look to the city. At night, Cairns offers the popular night markets in the City, nightclubs, waterfront dining and duty free shopping. Book the best and cheap accommodation and enjoy the facilities. More details are given in our site.
THE DEATH TOLL from a series of tornadoes that tore through several states, with some of the most severe damage in Kentucky, is expected to top 100. In response, AAHOA is urging its members to lend a hand to relief efforts.
In Kentucky, at least 70 people were killed as the storms churned through Friday night and into Saturday, according to local media reports. About 110 people were trapped in a Mayfield, Kentucky, candle factory when the tornado hit.
At least two died at an Amazon facility in Edwardsville, Illinois. Deaths were reported in Arkansas, Tennessee and other states as well.
"This will be, I believe, the deadliest tornado system to ever run through Kentucky. Earlier this morning at about 5 a.m., we were pretty sure that we would lose over 50 Kentuckians. I'm now certain that number is north of 70. It may in fact end up exceeding 100 before the day is done," Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear
said in a statement. "The damage is even worse now that we have first light. A couple places have been hit incredibly hard, certainly Mayfield here in Graves County, but everywhere along the line of this tornado that touched down and stayed down for 227 miles."
Studio 6 Katy, Texas, a new-build extended-stay hotel, is now open in the Houston suburb. It is owned by Sharin Patel and Ripan Modi.
The 63-suite hotel was built under the new design parent company G6 Hospitality introduced last year. Nearby attractions include Rhodes Stadium and Legacy Stadium, Nelson Water Gardens and Nursery and Typhoon Texas Waterpark. The hotel also is pet friendly, and G6's recently implemented "Clean@6" cleaning and safety protocols are in effect at the new property.
"Katy is a vibrant town and popular destination for business and tourism, and we are excited to partner with G6 Hospitality to bring more affordable lodging options to the area," said Modi, who also is the hotel's general manager. "We chose to open a Studio 6 because of the brand's longstanding commitment to leaving the light on for guests, which has been of even greater need for those required to continue travel during these times. Whether guests are looking to stay for an extended period or just a night or two, our goal is to make traveling affordable and accessible for all."
THE HOTEL INDUSTRY is poised for a fairly strong year in 2023 despite remaining concerns about a downturn, according to a pair of reports. Continuing demand
is expected to overcome extra labor costs and economic vagaries to propel performance above pre-pandemic levels, according to the reports from the American Hotel
& Lodging Association and STR.
The state of the industry
AHLA's 2023 State of the Hotel Industry Report projects that demand, nominal room revenue and state and local tax revenue all are well on the way to recovery.
Operational challenges, such as staffing shortages and economic factors will replace COVID as hoteliers' top concerns, the report predicts.
"Three years after the unprecedented hardships our industry faced due to the pandemic, hotels continue to make significant strides toward recovery," said Chip
Rogers, AHLA president and CEO. "2022 saw one of the strongest summer travel seasons ever, and this year we expect hotels to reach new heights in terms of room
revenue, room-night demand and state and local tax revenue. But when inflation is taken into account, our industry likely won't see full recovery for several more
years. Nevertheless, hotel performance is trending in the right direction - great news for our industry and our employees, who are enjoying better pay, more career
opportunities, upward mobility and flexibility than ever before."
STEERED BY SEVERAL factors, including the strong performance by several hotel brands, the Baird/STR Hotel Stock Index increased 1.4 percent in April to a
level of 5,430, STR said in a statement. Growth is slowing, STR said, but will continue for the next quarter or more.
"Hotel stocks increased in April, and the gains were driven by outperformance from the global hotel brands," said Michael Bellisario, senior hotel research analyst
and director at Baird. "RevPAR trends have remained solid in the face of growing macroeconomic uncertainties and continued banking turmoil, and first-quarter earnings
generally have surprised to the upside with positive full-year estimate revisions occurring. The Hotel REITs declined more than 2 percent in April and underperformed
the RMZ, while the global hotel brands gained just over 2.5 percent and outperformed the S&P 500's return by 100 bps."
According to STR, the Baird/STR Hotel Stock Index fell slightly behind the S&P 500, which was up 1.5 percent in April but came in above the MSCI US REIT Index, up
0.7 percent. The hotel brand sub-index jumped 2.5 percent from March to 10,178, while the hotel REIT sub-index dropped 2.6 percent to 1,045, it added.
"The industry continues to revert to normal patterns and calendar shifts with growth slowing as forecasted," said Amanda Hite, STR president. "Monthly demand fell
year over year for the first time since the recovery began in April 2021, but that decrease can be attributed to an extra Sunday on the calendar this year versus
last. Without the extra Sunday, which is historically a low-performance night, demand would have been slightly up from last year. ADR, on the other hand, grew 3.4
percent, while RevPAR was up 1.8 percent - the lowest increase of the recovery thus far. Despite slowing growth, we expect the industry to see further gains
throughout the summer and fall."
THE REVPAR OF U.S. hotels reached an all-time weekly high on a nominal and a pandemic-era high on an inflation-adjusted basis in the third week of June,
according to STR. Boosted by the highest weekly demand of 28 million room nights sold since August 2019, occupancy was the highest of the pandemic-era during the
week.
Occupancy was 71.8 percent for the week ending June 18, up from 70.6 percent the week before and dropped 4.8 percent from 2019. ADR was $155.02 for the week,
slightly down from $155.37 the week before and increased 14.9 percent from three years ago. RevPAR reached $111.29 during the week up from $109.76 the week before
and up 9.4 percent from 2019.
San Diego saw the only occupancy increase, up 0.5 percent to 86 percent, over 2019 among STR's top 25 markets. According to STR, New York City (86.6 percent), San
Diego and Seattle (85 percent) led the major markets in absolute occupancy for the week.