Just as some have feared but so few forecast officially, this Summer’s travel was not as big a hit as expected. When Accor Hotel Group warned their investors profit may not meet expectations last week the recession’s effect on hoteliers was cemented for the season.
Marriott
Big OTAs and Big Hotels in Price Fixing Lawsuit
A federal lawsuit naming the likes of Expedia, Orbitz, Booking.com, Travelocity, Trump International Hotels Management, Intercontinental, Kimpton, Sabre Holdings, Priceline, Marriott, Starwood, and Hilton alleges the companies conspired to fix hotel room prices. According to the news from Reuters, the suit claims the travel giants did so in an effort to fend off competition from smaller online retailers.
Marriott’s Gay-friendly ‘Be You, With Us’ Campaign
Marriott International, Inc has recently announced the Be You, With Us campaign, a movement targeting lesbians, gay, bisexuals and transgender travelers.
The Curious Case of Room Key
A news release yesterday via Business Wire tells of conglomerate hotel booking site Room Key’s coming out of Beta status. What’s curious about this news is not so much the fluffy nature of it, but claims of millions having flocked to the startup to book their hotel rooms. At least this is the feel of the announcement. A bit of one of those “non-event” specialties creative PR agencies excel at perhaps? What’s the real story?
Roomkey: On the Verge of Success & Failure At Once
Roomkey. If there were ever a more appropriate name for a hotel booking channel, a more symbolically significant potential for branding, that would have to be perfection. Roomkey.com actually does have that possibility. But, like all great ideas and initiatives, the big time hoteliers’ 3rd interjection of intelligent engagement, has it’s problems too. There’s room for lots of niche products in travel, but is Roomkey an escape hatch or a marketing channel? And if exit marketing is introduced, even niche traffic and conversions could be scared away.
Who’s the Big Bad Wolf of Hotel Marketing?
Just out, the Distribution Channel Analysis study via the American Hotel Lodging Association (AH&LA) and STR, has been released. The detailed study, supposedly aimed at helping “all” hoteliers better understand hotel room distribution, discusses distribution channel mix, among other salient hotel profitability instances. But, is the study really meant for all hoteliers, or just the fat cats?
Marriott Extends Helping Hand to UK & Europe Youth
Marriott Hotels across Europe and the UK will donate £1 euro €1 to relieve youth unemployment throughout February, the company announced. As part of the “World of Opportunity” initiative announced last week, the “You eat – we give” program is designed to afford the disadvantaged a leg up in reaching their full potential.
Accor Hotels Rises and Falls with Europe for 2012
Accor Hotels, the largest hotel player in Europe, has announced guarded optimism for business going forward into 2012. According to their assessment, demand for rooms in Europe looks stable, while concerns over debt burdened South Europe put a damper on expectations.
Connected Spotlight – Mr & Mrs Smith
Good news may not travel as fast as it once did, or either there may just not be so much of it out there. Whichever the case you find, one couple knows how to show off their expertness. Mr & Mrs Smith helps guests and online visitors escape the mediocre. Let us show you how.
Marriott Mobile Powers Smartphone Vacations
Marriott Mobile enables travelers to quickly find nearby hotels, book a room, check their upcoming reservations and get details about their hotel.
Preferred Hotel Group Picks RateGain for Intel
RateGain, a company whose BrandGain innovation we just covered on Argo News, has just announced Preferred Hotel Group’s adoption of their iRate advanced intelligence tool. RateGain’s cutting edge rate shopping system, combined with the hotel groups iRate program, will afford managers real time advantage across multiple channels.
Acentic Named Supplier to Marriott in Europe
According to the news from Acentic, that leading supplier of broadband and interactive solution for the hotel industry has been selected by Marriott International to supply in-hotel technologies across Europe. The time for hotels to either keep up or fall behind in digital connectedness is at hand.
Luxury Brand JW Marriott to Open 12 New Hotels
In news from Bethesda, Md, JW Marriott has announced plans to open 12 all new hotels by year end 2012. This will bring the global portfolio of accommodations to total 64 hotels and resorts in 27 countries.
The India – China Hotel Room Bottleneck
Where growth in the hotel business is concerned, the Asia hospitality sector is overdue for even more spiraling expansion. Believe it or not, China and India are the most underdeveloped hotel markets in the world outside the US, according to a report from STR Global. Accordingly, there are over 100,000 rooms under construction in China and 30,000 in India.
Marriott International Adds Three New Renaissance Hotels for Europe
Marriott International announces three new Renaissance hotels in Europe. Two hotels in France, and one in Switzerland, bring Marriott’s projects total 27. Evidently the company’s promise to double their presence in Europe by 2015 is on track.