Newsletter - March 8, 2002

HOTEL VALUES IN INDIA  TO SHOOT UP: HVS

After taking a severe beating following the September 11 terrorist attacks in the US, the value of hotels in the country is projected to shoot up substantially during the next financial year with property values rising in Delhi, Goa and Jaipur by over 24 per cent.

The sky rocketing hotel values had steeply declined in all major cities as a fallout of September 11. In Delhi, it dipped by over 14 per cent, Goa by over 26 per cent, Jaipur by 20 per cent, Mumbai by 22 per cent, Bangalore by around 14 per cent and Kolkata by 15 per cent during 2001-02, Hotel Value Services (HVS) International said in its latest study.

HVS, consultancy for hotel valuation and appraisal, also projected that while the values are expected to rise in some cities, there could be exceptions like Mumbai and Kolkata where values may dip by another four per cent and nine per cent respectively for next financial year.

This decline will be due to substantial increase in new room supply in these two cities, HVS said projecting a dip of 15 per cent in Kolkata and over 22 per cent in Mumbai during 2001-02.

HVS International, while forecasting the key valuation trends said the methodology employed for the future projections has been based on actual operating data from a representative sample of four star, five star and five star deluxe hotels. (PTI

THISTLE HOTELS CLAIMS 200 PCT ONLINE GROWTH

The company revealed the rise in its financial results for the period ending 31 December 2001.

Internet sales recovered quicker following 11 September than offline sales, according to Euan Mitchell, director of distribution at Thistle Hotels.

“Online revenues are reaching the two to three per cent mark, but our target is to bring online revenue into double figures,” claimed Mitchell. At peak times last year, weekly online sales reached £110,000.

Overall turnover for the year was £305.3 million.

Currently, 25 per cent of online sales come from third-party sites such as Travelocity and Lastminute.com; the remainder comes directly from www.thistlehotels.com.

Mitchell said that business-to-business revenues accounted for only a small percentage of online sales.

Although the company operates a non-revenue-generating WAP site, plans outlined last July to launch SMS services have not yet materialised.

“Mobile is not something we are focusing on at the moment, and our WAP site does not yet generate revenues. But in 12 to 18 months we expect to see WAP being integrated into PDAs, so we are ensuring that our site is able to meet this demand,” said Mitchell.

HOTELS FIND BETTER WAYS TO MONITOR MINIBARS

Charlotte.com   -  Minibars are smarter than they used to be.

Hotel management may use an automated system that tracks exactly what you've taken and when you took it, so at checkout the charges already will be on your bill.

With the automated systems, the hotel also can know what and when you like to eat and drink, information you may not have planned to share.

For hotel operators, minibars have long been considered a necessary evil requiring a lot of oversight to be profitable. That may surprise many guests, considering that you usually pay for minibar convenience with prices two or three times what they would be at a grocery or liquor store in the area.

Minibars with sensors that can register each time the door is opened helps cut the amount of checking hotel staffers do to see if anything's been removed.

Last year, Bartech Systems International, which has about 13,000 automated minibars in U.S. hotel rooms, introduced an enhanced version of its "e-fridge" that can be linked to a handheld computer. Using the handheld, a hotel employee can quickly determine what's been taken from the minibar and what needs to be replenished, which reduces hotel labor costs, said Bartech vice president Phillipe Duverger.

HOTELIERS CONCERNED ABOUT AIR ROUTE CUTBACKS

RTE Interactive News  -  Cutbacks by major airline carriers on North Atlantic routes will greatly hinder the tourist industry's recovery efforts this year, according to the Irish Hotels' Federation. The Federation, which met in Westport, County Mayo, today, said that fewer seats on transatlantic flights could mean 50,000 less tourists and a loss of €38m in tourism income.

The Federation, which represents more than 1,200 hotels and guesthouses countrywide, warned of a very difficult year ahead. It said that last year's foot and mouth crisis cost the industry over €300m with US tourists falling by 14% to below the 1m mark.

Now, a special report commissioned by the Federation has warned that plans to get overall tourist numbers back up to the 6.3m people who came here in the year 2000 are "very unlikely" to succeed.

According to the report, the €28m earmarked for marketing and promotions this year is welcome but falls far short of what is needed. The Federation has called for a "tourism recovery fund" of €20m and that the money be used to help the industry trade out of "the most difficult 18 months periods since the 1991 Gulf War".

John Power of the Federation said that the scrapping of US routes and seat reductions of 20% was a "seriously regressive step", which would making tourism recovery efforts extremely difficult this year.

CONRAD HOTELS EXPANDS IN EUROPE

Conrad Hotels has signed a Hotel Management Agreement with Mount Juliet, Ireland’s premier golf and sporting Estate.  This Agreement, which will take effect at the end of March 2002, will involve Conrad managing and marketing the hotel and conference facilities for Mount Juliet.

These operations will be marketed under the name of Mount Juliet Conrad and include Mount Juliet House, the Hunter’s Yard and conference rooms, the recently developed Spa facility and the Rose Garden Lodges. 

An award winning property, Mount Juliet is part of one of the world’s most prestigious championship golf estates, which hosts many international competitions on its Jack Nicklaus designed golf course.  It will welcome the WGC American Express Championship 2002 in September.  In addition, its Mount Juliet Golf Academy attracts golfers of all levels.

Commenting on the Agreement Dr. Tim Mahony, Chairman of Mount Juliet said:

“This is a tremendous boost for all of us at Mount Juliet.  Our aspirations have always been based on the highest international standards, while maintaining a very distinctive Irish personality.  We are happy that Mount Juliet is now established as a significant luxury destination within Irish tourism.  Personally, I believe this Agreement will not only have significant advantages for us in Mount Juliet but indeed for Ireland as a top quality tourist destination”.

Mr. Clement Barter, President, Conrad Hotels added:

“I am delighted that Mount Juliet selected Conrad Hotels for this Management Agreement.  It’s a perfect match, as Mount Juliet has all the qualities we are looking for: an ideal location, an international reputation – made through its championship golf estate’s achievements - and excellent business and leisure facilities.  It is an exceptional property which reinforces our presence in Ireland and complements our growing portfolio of fine city and resort hotels in Europe and worldwide.”

Conrad Hotels represents the luxury portfolio of the Hilton family of brands.  Established in 1985, Conrad Hotels has earned a reputation for exceptional style and personalised service among the world's most demanding business and leisure travellers.  There are presently 13 Conrad hotels (14 as of end of March 2002, with the addition of Mount Juliet) operating in major gateway cities and exotic resort destinations across Asia, Australia, Europe, the Middle East, North America, and South America.  Mount Juliet Conrad will be Conrad Hotels fourth hotel in Europe.

Conrad Hotels is expanding and continues to explore opportunities to further enhance the brand's presence in the luxury hotel segment in suitable locations around the world.  New hotels will open in Bangkok in 2003 and in Bali in 2004.

DORCHESTER GETS 21ST CENTURY MAKEOVER

The Dorchester in London is embarking on a multi-million pound refurbishment programme to benefit business travellers. Leave your laptop at home and find all the facilities you need in luxurious surroundings.

A high-tech system will enable guests to work and play in the comfort of their hotel room providing access to Word, Powerpoint and Excel, email and internet facilities.
Laptops can be connected to the system via a high-speed link at the desk. Guests may print documents and make business presentations with ease.

The custom-built console will contain a fax, DVD, CD player and printer with modems for UK and US plugs. Never miss a call with the revamped phone system built to handle several incoming and outgoing calls simultaneously, complete with voicemail facilities.

For entertainment, these screens provide news, sport, film, music, shopping and international channels.  Each room will have 60 films to choose from, including 15 of the latest releases, and more than 2,500 music tracks. All bedrooms and bathrooms will be totally refurbished and upgraded in the existing "English country house" style.

Larger desks are being designed and lighting fixtures improved. Bathrooms will feature new de-misting mirrors and new shaving mirrors. The Boardroom Business Centre is open six days a week to help guests with all their business requirements. And E-Butler is on hand to satisfy computer and entertainment problems.

STARWOOD EXPANDS IN CHINA WITH THE OPENING OF
SHERATON SHENYANG LIDO HOTEL

Starwood's portfolio in China grows to fourteen with the opening of Sheraton
Shenyang Lido Hotel

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.  is pleased to announce its 14th property in China, the Sheraton  Shenyang Lido Hotel, which will welcome its first guest on 16th March 2002.

Standing majestically on Qingnian Street, in the prestigious city center of
southern Shenyang, the Sheraton Shenyang Lido Hotel is the newest and
largest addition to the city. The hotel is located in the heart of the
newly established Central Business District, within minutes driving distance
from The International Exhibition Center, the city center, the railway
station in the North and Taoxian International Airport.

"Starwood is a major hospitality player in China and has expanded from eight
hotels in China in 1998 to 14 hotels today, with another 5 hotels under
development and scheduled to open in China over the next 6 to 18 months,"
said Miguel Ko, President of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. Asia
Pacific. "In addition to the gateway cities, Starwood has supported the
commitment of the People's Republic of China government towards the
development of regional and inner cities which is expected to see strong
economic growth. Sheraton Shenyang Lido Hotel is well-positioned to cater
to the growing needs of business and leisure development in the northern
part of China," added Ko.

Starwood's Area Managing Director and Vice President for China and Taiwan,
Qian Jin, stated, "Shenyang, a city founded 2,000 years ago is the
transportation hub that connects northeast China to the rest of China and
the world. As the capital of Liaoning Province, Shenyang is the largest
city and center of industry, science and technology in northeast China, with
an economic strength ranking of 5th in the country. We are confident that
Sheraton Shenyang Lido Hotel will be the prime accommodation choice to serve
this flourishing industrial city."

The Sheraton Shenyang Lido Hotel boasts 623 beautifully appointed guest
rooms and individual appointed suites and the signature Sheraton's
Presidential Suite. In this five star hotel, all accommodations feature
spacious and elegantly furnished guestrooms with a comfortable bed and a
large duvet, beautifully appointed large bathrooms, a wide range of bathroom
amenities, fluffy bathrobes and slippers, evening turn down service,
unlimited complimentary bottled mineral water, walk in wardrobe with a
private safe, shoeshine service, a large writing desk with internet
connection, IDD Lines with personal voice messaging system and a wide range
of cable/Satellite TV programs.

Sheraton, the largest brand of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.,
has more than 375 hotels in over 67 countries. In China, Starwood's
portfolio currently includes ten Sheraton hotels in Suzhou, Xian, Beijing,
Chengdu, Guilin, Nanjing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Wuxi and Hong Kong; two
St.Regis hotels in Shanghai, Beijing and one Westin hotel in Macau.

http://www.starwood.com

WHAT SPA-GOERS WANT

New study finds basic treatments are most popular at hotels and resorts

While treatment menus grow ever more creative, it’s the traditional massage that most people seek, revealed a study released by the Lexington, Ky.-based International Spa Association.

Of 400 adults surveyed by an independent firm, 88 percent cited massage as their treatment of choice. Of those, 74 percent favor Swedish massages. Other types, such as deep tissue massage and shiatsu, were cited by fewer than 20 percent of respondents. Among other findings:

• Sixty-seven percent said they base their choice of a resort or hotel at least some of the time on the availability of spa treatments.

• Treatments, atmosphere and food are key factors in selecting a spa. Exercise classes and personal growth sessions were not high priorities.

• Manicures, pedicures and facials also were favorites (86 percent), followed by fitness/sports facilities (56 percent) and body wraps/exfoliation (50 percent).

THEMES FOR ANYWHERE

These crowd-pleasing Theme Party ideas will work wonders no matter what the venue

Sure, the casino night works in Las Vegas, the Western party is perfect for Scottsdale and the luau is a natural in Maui. But what happens when a majority of the attendees has been there — and done precisely that — one too many times? Or perhaps the meeting is being held in a place with no natural theme tie-ins…and few natural charms.

For fresh theme parties and events that can be staged in ballrooms from Seattle to Baltimore, M&C asked noted event specialists to share some of their best ideas.

As one example, there’s the fine-art approach. While not every destination is graced with a world-class art museum, attendees nevertheless can view masterpieces such as the “Mona Lisa” and “Blue Boy” just about anywhere in the 50 states and beyond.

Indeed, any venue can be transformed to resemble a high-brow museum: Use rich colors to drape walls, and employ damask cloths and candelabras to dress up tables laid with fine patterned china and crystal. For centerpieces, Janet Elkins, president of Los Angeles-based EventWorks, likes to use copies of Renaissance still-life masterpieces, enhanced by live flowers and fruit that overflow onto the tables.

Around the perimeters of the ballroom are “living works of art” — groups of actors who keep very still, standing or sitting within a large gold frame atop a riser. The evening also can feature tableaux of famous works of art, each a replica of a painting or sculpture featuring actors made up and costumed to resemble the subjects of the original pieces. The various scenes are narrated by a host, who gives the audience a background on the works and the artists who created them. A classical music quartet or even a small symphony adds the perfect musical note for the evening.

Hip to be square

Everything about this function, conceived by Extraordinary Events, headquartered in Sherman Oaks, Calif., is square — quite literally.

Beginning with square gobo patterns artfully superimposed onto the ballroom and reception area carpets, the evening has a neat geometric symmetry. Tables are square, as are the chargers, plates and glassware. Linens sport square patterns, and centerpieces are, of course, square. Creative lighting casts square shapes onto all walls in various colors and patterns.

Nerdy-looking waiters (with horn-rimmed glasses and Brylcreemed hair) carry the theme, as they present food on square platters. For musical selections, be sure the Huey Lewis tune, “Hip to be Square,” is played at least once during the evening.

Minimalist chic

It’s not easy getting a reservation for 500 at a trendy, chic restaurant; there might not even be a venue that fits the bill within 100 miles of the meeting. Why not re-create the same intimate, elegant ambience in a ballroom?

The trick is in the lighting and linens, says Janet Elkins. She prefers a white-on-white look for the tables, with each table draped with a white tablecloth and overlaid with sheer fabric with a white pattern woven into it. Centerpieces can be a highly stylized mixture of wood and matte-black containers filled with wheat grass and single-color fruits and flowers.

Centerpieces can be spotlighted, while the rest of the room is kept dim, with soft amber or yellow light coming from elegant metal lamps or strategically placed ceiling fixtures. Or, keep the room dramatically dark, with the only light coming from tables themselves, which are glow-lit from underneath. The rest of the room can be enhanced with tall black metal-framed “windows” filled with fabric.

Elkins also recommends setting up couches, cocktail tables and bar stools in the bar and reception areas. Lounge entertainment can be provided by a piano player or torch singer.

Heavy metal

Color is an interesting — and cost-effective — way to enliven and theme an event. Using three different metallic shades, Extraordinary Events has created the “heavy metal” theme party. The color scheme is used throughout the reception area and ballroom, with metallic beaded “waterfalls” hung from the ceilings and walls covered with panels in metallic shades. Seating features metal-colored couches set around the bar area, as well as tables of brushed metal in the shapes of triangles and squares topped with frosted Plexiglas and lighted from within.

Dinner can get the Midas touch, too, with desserts leafed with silver or gold. And while heavy metal music might not mesh with the tastes of some attendees, a golden-voiced crooner or silver-tongued speaker might fit the bill.

Mob scene

It’s not wildly out of the ordinary to theme an event around a popular movie or TV show. But the show with the most “bada bing” today is The Sopranos. Westfield, N.J.-based special events firm Impact Productions throws a party any mob will enjoy. Guests receive “talking” invitations featuring a blatant Joisey-accented thug calling the attendees to a “family” get-together.

Throughout the venue, guests interact with people made up as Sopranos look-alikes, get customized license-plates supposedly made by penitentiary inmates, collect fake IDs and passports, or grab a cigar from the stogie stand. Centerpieces are lower halves of torsos — both trouser-clad males and shapely feminine legs decked out in various moll-style getups.

Entertainment can be a band or deejay playing lots of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Bobby Darin and, of course, The Sopranos theme song. Italian food — heavy on the red sauce — and wines complement the event.

Other touches recommended by Lauren Roth, Impact Productions’ partner and executive producer: Have the party broken up by earnest “FBI agents,” who then turn a blind eye after accepting a bribe from the host, and distribute take-home gifts to make a don proud: brown paper bags filled with pasta, Italian bread and a bottle of custom-labeled olive oil.

Crashing the wedding

Guests enter the ballroom for a banquet and immediately think they’ve walked in on someone’s wedding (or 50th anniversary, bar mitzvah, etc.). The room is set up with a dais, cake, band and “guests” (actors) milling about. The group is advised by the banquet captain that the space was double-booked, but the corporate guests are asked to join the celebration. Once they figure out the joke, the evening proceeds like a traditional wedding, with an open bar, several-course dinner, cake and Viennese table. Guests jam on the dance floor to campy wedding tunes like the “Chicken Dance” and the “Hokey Pokey.” As a parting gift, give attendees Jordan almonds tied with a ribbon featuring the company name, suggests Stephanie Tirrell, director of sales and marketing for Activity Planners Inc., the Las Vegas-based firm that created the concept.

Fiesta Latina

The next best thing to being in an exotic place is enjoying the foods and music of the culture. And those pleasures can be replicated practically anywhere. Ft. Lauderdale-based special events firm Comcore invites groups to savor the many delights of Latin American nations such as Brazil, Cuba, Mexico and Peru.

The event features food stations serving traditional dishes from each country, including grilled, sliced meats from Brazil; paella from Cuba; tortilla soup and Kahlua flan from Mexico, and seafood ceviche and purple potatoes from Peru. Cocktails should be Latin-inspired as well: Corona beer, mojitos (Cuban cocktails), margaritas, sangria, caipirinhas and other rum drinks fit the bill.

Tropical hues, including teal, magenta, hot pink, orange and yellow,are used for decor and table linens. The Brazilian station has a rain forest look, with tropical plants and a running stream. At the Mexican station, large clay pots along with colorful serapes are placed on top of the table. The Cuban station, set among stately palms, features a cigar roller, and the Peruvian station displays clay and ceramic pots, plates and linens with Incan prints.

For entertainment, music can run the gamut from Brazilian jazz to hot Cuban beats, from Mariachi brass to soft woodwinds from Peru.

Pillow party

Literally tired of the traditional round tables and ballroom chairs? Create a themed event using elegantly upholstered and draped king- and queen-size beds. John Daly, president of Santa Barbara, Calif.-based event firm John Daly Inc., suggests laying thick pieces of plywood in the center of the beds, under the bedding, to provide a stable perch for guests’ tableware.

A ballroom can be divided into semi-private “sleeping quarters,” thanks to judicious use of draped fabrics. Beds can be arranged singly and in groups. Soft overhead lights and candles illuminate the room. Guests check their shoes at the door. The theme is furthered by the wait staff clad in silk pajamas.

Good neighbors

In the spirit of giving, arrange a charitable event that involves members of the local community. For example, Comcore recently went into action for a company that wanted to underwrite the cost of a new home to be built by Habitat for Humanity, the Atlanta-based organization that invites volunteers to help create housing for low-income individuals.

For this type of event, attendees are bussed to the site of the future home, where they are joined by the owners-to-be, neighbors, construction workers and others donating their time to help fulfill Habitat for Humanity’s mission. The evening kicks off with a groundbreaking ceremony. Afterward, the crowd is treated to a community barbecue and block party, with all the works. Guests, dressed casually and wearing hard hats emblazoned with the company or Habitat logo, sit at picnic tables and benches and feast on such all-American fare as chicken, ribs, hot dogs, corn on the cob and watermelon.

Traditional carnival games can be set up for entertainment; if little ones are in attendance, clowns, balloon artists or storytellers can be pressed into service to help keep them occupied. Similar events can organized in conjunction with other types of charities. 

Source:  M&C Online