Gregory Viaud Appointed Resort Manager At Four Seasons Resort Orlando at Walt Disney World Resort - FL, USA

Gregory Viaud has recently been appointed as the new Resort Manager at Four Seasons Resort Orlando at Walt Disney World Resort. Viaud joins the Orlando property from Four Seasons Hotel Philadelphia at Comcast Center, where he served as Hotel Manager. A 16-year veteran of Four Seasons, Viaud has traveled the globe with the company, working at properties in London, Bora Bora, Maui, Bali and Los Angeles, in addition to Philadelphia.

Viaud graduated from the Vatel Nimes Hotel and Tourism Business School in the south of France and carries hospitality, tourism and adventure in his heart. His trajectory with Four Seasons began at the Park Lane London hotel in 2004. Later, he traded in city life for island living, relocating to Bora Bora, Bali, and then Hawaii. During this tenure, Viaud advanced to Food and Beverage Director and learned to love the natural beauty of a remote location. After eight years in the South Pacific Islands, Viaud and his family embarked on a journey to explore the US mainland, establishing a home in Los Angeles at Beverly Wilshire, A Four Seasons Hotel followed by his move to Philadelphia and now, Orlando.

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Christoph Leonhard Appointed General Manager At Oriental Residence Bangkok, Thailand

Christoph Leonhard has rejoined ONYX Hospitality Group as the new General Manager of Oriental Residence Bangkok. He will be leading the ongoing success of the city-center hotel, which will soon be reintroduced as part of the newly-announced Saffron Collection. Having held rooms division and GM roles with ONYX Hospitality Group's Amari brand for close to a decade in Hua Hin, Koh Samui, and the Maldives, Christoph also gained experience from leading companies and brands like The Peninsula, St Regis and Accor.

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Middle East's hotel performance increases in July 2020

The hospitality industry in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) continues to see marginal improvements each month as properties adapt to COVID-19. According to the latest data from STR, July was a stronger month than June, though performance as a whole is still low compared to the pre-pandemic.

For the Middle East, occupancy was down 41.8 percent to 35.3 percent compared to July 2019. The average daily rate (ADR) meanwhile fell 9.6 percent to US$106.93, and revenue per available room (RevPAR) dropped 47.4 percent to $37.70.

Compared to June 2020, this is a step towards the right direction for the Middle East, where occupancy was just 33.6 percent the month previous. ADR and RevPAR also improved from $97.31 and $32.72 respectively.

Looking at the UAE individually, occupancy in July 2020 was down 40.7 percent to 37.8 percent. ADR only fell by 3.6 percent to AED326.98, though RevPAR slipped by 42.9 percent to AED123.44.

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Dubai College of Tourism receives accreditation from Institute of Hospitality

Dubai College of Tourism (DCT), part of the emirate’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) has received accreditation for eight of its core certificate and diploma programmes from London’s Institute of Hospitality.

The UK entity is responsible for boosting the career development of tourism professionals across the globe. Based in more than 100 countries, the Institute of Hospitality works across the hotel sector, food service, leisure and tourism to make sure educational programmes uphold international standards.

DCT submitted eight programmes for accreditation, namely, Certificate in Culinary Arts; Certificate in Events; Certificate in Hospitality; Certificate in Tourism; Diploma in Culinary Arts; Diploma in Events Management; Diploma in Hospitality Management; and Diploma in Tourism Management.

Commenting on the accreditation, Essa Bin Hadher, general manager of DCT, said: “Dubai College of Tourism is proud to receive this globally recognised accreditation from the Institute of Hospitality. It is testament to the integrity of our international standards across curriculum and faculty and allows us to provide students with the highest quality and relevant training that helps them achieve their academic goals, as well as enabling us to meet the needs of the industry. Gaining accreditation by such a prestigious professional body is also a recognition of DCT’s commitment to continuously strive for excellence to ensure that our graduates are even more readily welcomed by employers in the tourism sector.”

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Marriott International Appoints Felitia Lee Controller and Chief Accounting Office

Marriott International, Inc. (Nasdaq: MAR) today announced the appointment of Felitia Lee as Controller and Chief Accounting Officer, effective August 28, 2020. Ms. Lee will be the Company’s principal accounting officer and report to Leeny Oberg, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Ms. Lee succeeds Bao Giang Val Bauduin, who is taking on the role of Chief Financial Officer for Consumer Operations, Technology and Emerging Businesses for the company. Ms. Lee joined Marriott in May 2020 supporting management of the company’s accounting operations.

“Felitia brings a strong track record of leading large organizations through change and delivering results,” said Leeny Oberg, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Marriott International. “Felitia has significant financial experience in controllership, audit, shared services and acquisitions and integrations. I look forward to her and Val playing pivotal roles in leading Marriott into the future.”

Prior to Marriott, Ms. Lee served as Senior Vice President and Controller for Kohl’s Corporation where she led financial reporting, Sarbanes-Oxley processes, capital management, tax planning and compliance.

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Zomato report says 10% restaurants have closed down, 30% more could shut due to Covid impact

New Delhi: Nearly 10 percent dine-out restaurants across the country have shut down while 30 percent more restaurants currently not operating due to COVID are not likely to reopen even after the pandemic ends, a new report by leading food delivery company Zomato said.

According to the report released Wednesday, these restaurants are among the 83 percent dine-outs that are currently non-operational. The remaining 43 percent of restaurants that are shut are likely to open as the situation improves.

“Out of the 83 percent restaurants that are not open for business, 10 percent of restaurants have already shut down permanently… an additional 30 percent restaurants might not reopen at all. The remaining 43 percent, which are closed right now, is likely to open as the situation becomes better,” said the report.

The rest of the dining industry is operating at just 8 to 10 percent of the gross merchandise value (GMV) from earlier levels pre-pandemic levels, it said.

“Nearly 60 percent restaurateurs said they estimate to retain less than half of their original business volumes for a few months even post-COVID,” the report said.

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Spinneys reveals 24 winners of F&B incubator programme

ocally-owned supermarket Spinneys announced the winners of its incubator programme for micro food and beverage suppliers in the UAE, which launched in May 2020.

Participation in the programme surpassed Spinneys’ expectations with more than 160 local businesses entering submissions. In response, the grocer has increased the number of winners, with 22 brands to be fast-tracked onto Spinneys’ shelves, and another two companies accepted into its product development programme.

The initiative has also been recognised by the UAE government’s Food and Water Security Office for its contribution to the country’s National Food Security Strategy.

Her Excellency Mariam Almheiri, Minister of State for Food and Water Security, says: “A leading objective for the UAE Food and Water Security Office is to support local food production, which includes helping innovative start-ups to enhance domestic agriculture and re-imagine the UAE’s food sustainability landscape. This aligns with the objectives of the National Food Security Strategy and the directives of our wise leadership, which recognises the importance of local tech-enabled production to strengthen the UAE’s food security.”

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Downtown Waterfront Hotel Announced for Panama City, Florida

The St. Joe Company (NYSE: JOE) and the City of Panama City, Florida execute a long-term land lease to bring a new hotel and restaurant to Panama City’s downtown waterfront district. Under the terms of the lease St. Joe will lease a City-owned parcel to develop, construct and operate a waterfront hotel and standalone restaurant on a portion of the Panama City Marina property fronting beautiful St. Andrews Bay, which has a deep water channel to the Gulf of Mexico.

This agreement comes after nearly two years of planning, discussions and public meetings between St. Joe, the City and local residents. St. Joe initially expressed interest in the project in September of 2018 in a letter to the City and reaffirmed that interest in November of that year after Hurricane Michael, a Category 5 storm, caused significant damage to the City’s downtown district. In the time since, St. Joe has held four public events to gather feedback and share conceptual plans with local residents. “We believe that a vibrant downtown with a mix of residents, shoppers, businesses and visitors benefits the community as a whole,” said Jorge Gonzalez, President and CEO for St. Joe. “We are making this investment in downtown Panama City with the anticipation that it can be a catalyst for other investments that over time, will make downtown Panama City a vibrant destination to live, work and visit."

The hotel and restaurant represent the first step towards implementing the award-winning Strategic Vision for Historic Downtown created by renowned design firm Dover Kohl & Partners. The vision was adopted in 2019 following a community-led effort that included workshops, focus groups, town hall meetings and design charrettes. The vision documents can be seen at www.rebuildpc.org.

The leased property and most of the downtown Panama City area are in a Qualified Opportunity Zone (QOZ), federal capital gains tax incentive program that was created in 2017 to encourage private investment in order to spur economic development and job creation. St. Joe created a QOZ fund for the downtown Panama City area.

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Cruise trips are back. This is what they look like now

Boarding in the Italian port of Genoa for a seven-day Mediterranean cruise on August 16, travel agent Valeria Belardi prepared herself for a voyage like no other.

Belardi was one of some 3,000 pioneering cruisers onboard MSC Grandiosa, the first cruise liner to return to the Mediterranean following the global shut down of the multi-billion-dollar cruise industry in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.

The voyage was characterized by COVID testing, social distancing, hand sanitizing and temperature checks, but it was, Belardi told CNN, also relaxing and enjoyable. More importantly, it was, reportedly, virus-free.

MSC Cruises wouldn't confirm exact numbers, but the Grandiosa was operating at about 60% of its 6,300 passenger capacity.

There were day trips, including sightseeing in the Maltese capital Valletta and the Sicilian city of Palermo. While onboard, Belardi enjoyed pre-packaged snacks on the deck, relaxing evenings by the pool, and a trip to the spa.

"I think cruises could be the safest holiday, right now," said Belardi, who owns travel company Vivere & Viaggiare Roma Pittaluga.

But MSC Grandiosa is almost alone in its return to the high seas.

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Hotelogix, AxisRooms and RepUp Merge to Offer the Most Powerful, Full-stack Solution for Hotels

Hotelogix, a Cloud PMS company, AxisRooms, a distribution company and RepUp, a guest experience management company have announced their merger into Hotelogix PTE, headquartered in Singapore. This three-way merger marks the radical beginning of a new era of hospitality solutions that will now be re-imagined and delivered by this integrated platform which will cover operations, distribution, reputation, marketing automation, and guest-facing technologies.

The merger has given Hotelogix PTE an aggregate customer base spanning 100+ countries, powering 10000+ hospitality businesses ranging from hotels, resorts, boutique hotels, hostels to aparthotels, campsites, villas, vacation rentals, independents, and chains. With 200+ employees, the new entity has emerged as one of the largest SaaS providers for the hospitality sector in the APAC market and aims at aggregating 20K+ customers in the next 3 years.

Hotels today use multiple systems through a guest's lifecycle, from pre-booking to post-checkout stages, which then require integration of various systems leading to high costs, broken experience, delayed implementation, and fragmented support. Worst still, it leaves guests with sub-optimal stay experience. The core objective of the merger is to harness the power of data across operations, distribution, and customer experience systems to deliver exceptional value and seamless experience to its clients' customers.

Aditya Sanghi who will continue to be the CEO at Hotelogix said, "With this merger, we will have a wide range of solutions to offer which will give superior value to our customers and increase our share of wallet. This definitely gives us a huge competitive edge against our competitors at a global level.

Prabhash Bhatnagar, founder of Hotelogix adds, “Our decade-plus experience has given us a presence in more than 100 countries. The merger will add to our arsenal of offerings, and will help fuel our growth in many of these geographies quickly.”

Anil Kumar Prasanna, CEO at AxisRooms said, "The future of hotel technology needs to be open and accessible to every hotel partner or technology provider. If hotels want the full range of services or just a part of the stack, we want the technology to integrate as seamlessly as possible and be available to all partners with this merger."Ravi Taneja, co-founder of AxisRooms adds, "We have worked closely with Hotelogix and RepUp for a few years; customer-centricity has been our common focus, together we will enhance this joint vision to greater heights and create legendary customer experiences."

Pranjal Prashar, current CEO at RepUp said, "We are very excited to partner with two of the finest companies in the hospitality technology ecosystem with whom we have always had significant working synergies. With our customer-centric and in-depth machine learning approach, coupled with other individual technological prowesses of the merging entities, we will continue to deliver solutions of high relevance for our customers."

Accel Partners, Vertex Ventures, Saama Capital and Seedfund amongst others are existing investors of the companies and are backing this merger. Jagadeesan Kumar (JK), Managing Partner at JV Advisors LLP acted as the exclusive financial advisor for the three companies.

COVID-19 impact: Hospitality sector's revenue loss estimated at almost Rs 90,000 crore in 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a severe hit on the revenues of the Indian hospitality sector – organized, semi-organized and unorganized. The total revenue loss for the sector in 2020 is estimated at Rs 89,813 crore as against total estimated revenue of Rs 1,58,113 crore in 2019, a report said.

Of this, the revenue loss for organized players is seen at Rs 40,309 crore, semi-organized at Rs 8,379 crore, and unorganized at Rs 41,126 crore.

“The markets were set on a path to recover the grounds lost due to the past disruptive events and supply overhang as the year 2020 started on a positive note with strong performances in the first two months. The onset of COVID-19 and the subsequent travel restrictions and nation-wide lockdown, however, has had an unprecedented impact on the sector,” a report by HVS India and ANAROCK said.

The occupancy rate in 2020 is likely to fall 31.6 percent while Revenue Per Available Room (RevPAR) down by 57.8 percent.

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Accor deal with Inter Continental could lead to wave of consolidation

Rumors of a merger between Accor and InterContinental Hotels Group could foreshadow a wave of acquisitions in the hospitality industry.

The two giants have reportedly discussed a deal internally, though no official moves have been made.

Ralph Hollister, a tourism analyst at GlobalData, explained: “Although this deal seems to be just speculation, the enormity of this potential merger proves that industry consolidation could be accelerated due to behemoths acquiring, merging or striking partnerships with each other to increase market share.”

He added: “Many reasons for a merger between the two companies make the prospect plausible, especially during the current Covid-19 induced economic downturn, during which both companies have experienced significant losses.

“A major reason for this merger would be that th

e newly formed company could achieve savings in central costs.

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Global tourism lost $320 billion in 5 months from coronavirus, says UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres

The tourism global industry has been devastated by the coronavirus pandemic, with USD 320 billion lost in exports in the first five months of the year and more than 120 million jobs at risk, the UN chief said on Tuesday.

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a policy briefing and video address that tourism is the third-largest export sector of the global economy, behind fuels and chemicals, and in 2019 it accounted for 7 percent of global trade.

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Accor signs 14 hotels across Northern Europe in first half of 2020

Accor signed a total of 14 properties across Northern Europe in the first half of this year, including four hotels in the UK and Ireland.

A new Ibis Budget hotel is set to open in Glasgow in 2022, next to the group’s forthcoming Tribe property, and Business Traveller has previously reported on the following UK and Ireland signings this year:

Accor’s Tribe brand to open Manchester airport property

Accor to open Ireland’s first Fairmont with the refurb of Carton House

Accor adds Sheffield and Bournemouth properties

In mainland Europe, a total of ten properties were signed in Benelux – six in Belgium and four in the Netherlands.

A new Novotel Living property is set to open at Brussels airport, alongside an Ibis Styles hotel, and other signings in Belgium include a Mercure property in Hans-Sur-Lesse, an Ibis Styles hotel in Bredene, an Ibis in Geel, and an Adagio Access in Brussels.

Meanwhile in the Netherlands, there were signings for Accor’s Tribe and Mercure brands in Amsterdam North, as well as forthcoming Ibis Styles and Mercure properties at Rotterdam airport.

Commenting on the news Phillip Lassman, vice president of development, Accor Northern Europe said:

“The first half of the year has posed a unique set of challenges for Accor and the hospitality industry as a whole. However, the strength of our proposition remains and through the dedication of the Accor team and hard work of our partners we have delivered an outstanding set of development results, with 14 new signings collectively adding over 2,000 rooms to our network in the past six months.

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Christian Wiendieck Appointed General Manager At Kempinski Hotel Jinan, China

The soon-to-be-opened new top luxury hotel in Shandong province, Kempinski Hotel Jinan, is now headed by General Manager Christian Wiendieck, who has just been appointed to his new position. A seasoned hotelier, he can look back on an outstanding career of more than 20 years within the Kempinski brand, joining the Jinan pre-opening team from his last assignment as general manager at Kempinski Hotel Fuzhou.

A native German, Christian Wiendieck started his Kempinski journey in 1997 in the Food and Beverage Department at Kempinski Hotel Bristol Berlin and continued as Food and Beverage Director at Kempinski Hotel Munich Airport. After three years at Grand Hotel des Bains Kempinski St. Moritz, he was promoted to his first general manager position at Kempinski Hotel Adriatic in Croatia, followed by stints in Italy and the United Arab Emirates.

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HT-NEXT Debuts a Simulated Hotel Environment to Bring Tech Solutions to Life in a Virtual Format

The producers of HT-NEXT announce that the industry-leading conference for the hospitality technology industry will debut a unique format among virtual events: HT-NEXT will unfold inside a simulated hotel environment that brings to life technology solutions for the "new normal" of hotel operations.

Originally planned as a virtual hybrid event with a physical meeting in Scottsdale, Ariz., HT-NEXT is moving to a fully virtual experience for the safety of all stakeholders, now taking place Dec. 1-3, 2020.

"We've been developing HT-NEXT with a unique virtual program since early this year. In moving entirely online, we're excited to bring the industry together in real-time with a purpose-built experience, as safely as possible," said Abigail A. Lorden, publisher of Hospitality Technology magazine, which produces HT-NEXT.

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Middle East opens just seven hotels in Q2 2020, reveals report

The Middle East’s pipeline of hotels has shown signs of slowing down as COVID-19 forces workers to stay at home and funds dry up amid difficult economic situations. In Q2 2020, just seven hotels opened in the region.

According to Lodging Econometrics’ latest Construction Pipeline Trend Report for the Middle East, the region’s hotel construction pipeline stood at 591 projects/169,538 rooms in Q2 2020. This is a seven percent drop in terms of projects and a six percent drop in rooms YoY, as well as being the fourth consecutive quarter of deceleration since peaking in Q2 2019.

Projects scheduled to start construction in the next 12 months are down by 31 percent by projects and 34 percent by rooms YoY to end the second quarter at 109 projects/25,658 rooms. Projects in the early planning stage are at 119 projects/26,422 rooms. Altogether, only 1,469 hotel keys entered the region in the quarter.

Hospitality projects under construction, however, are at an all-time high of 363 projects/117,458 rooms.

Countries with the most projects in the construction pipeline are Saudi Arabia with 210 projects/69,610 rooms and the United Arab Emirates with 186 projects/55,797 rooms, followed by Egypt with 60 projects/14,641 rooms, then Oman with 36 projects/6,967 rooms. Dubai continues to lead the construction pipeline in the UAE with 144 projects/44,895 rooms, revealed the report.

With its strong push into leisure tourism and hospitality, Saudi Arabian cities top the list in terms of pipeline size. Riyadh has a record-high 62 projects/12,414 rooms planned, while Jeddah has 50 projects/10,705 rooms and Makkah has 31 projects/32,387 rooms.

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IHG Loses 103 Hotels to Sonesta

Service Properties Trust (Nasdaq: SVC) today announced that it will transfer the branding and management of 103 hotels to Sonesta International Hotels Corporation, or Sonesta, from InterContinental Hotels Group plc (NYSE: IHG), or IHG. As previously announced, SVC sent notices of termination to IHG for failure to pay SVC’s minimum returns and rents due for July and August 2020 totaling $26.4 million, plus accrued interest, and IHG had until August 24, 2020 to avoid termination by making payment to SVC. SVC did not receive any payment from IHG by August 24, 2020, nor does SVC expect to receive any payments from IHG in the future, and the management agreements with IHG will be terminated. The effective date of the termination is November 30, 2020, which is the same date that SVC currently plans to transfer the branding and management of these hotels to Sonesta.

SVC’s management agreements with IHG cover 103 hotels (three InterContinental®, five Kimpton® Hotels & Restaurants, 11 Crowne Plaza®, three Holiday Inn®, 20 Staybridge Suites® and 61 Candlewood Suites®) in 30 states in the U.S., the District of Columbia, Ontario, Canada and Puerto Rico. Upon transfer to Sonesta, SVC expects that these hotels will be operated under the Royal Sonesta, Sonesta and Sonesta ES Suites brands. There are currently 80 Sonesta branded hotels worldwide.

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Radisson Hotel Miami Beach Announced

Radisson Hotel Group today announced the signing of Radisson Hotel Miami Beach. The hotel will offer 216 guest rooms and suites. With its exceptional oceanfront location, guests will have endless opportunities to relax in the outdoor pool or walk around the beautiful butterfly garden. Those looking for more entertainment can visit the sundeck, which will host special events and poolside barbeques. Prior to opening its doors in Q4 of this year, the property is undergoing a multimillion-dollar renovation to further enhance the guest experience with state-of-the-art amenities and services.

“This hotel is a phenomenal addition to our Radisson portfolio, serving as a top destination with stunning oceanfront views and fantastic amenities for every type of traveler,” said Phil Hugh, chief development officer, Americas, Radisson Hotel Group. “We are excited to see our growth in Miami with this hotel opening just a few months before the opening of the newly constructed Radisson RED Miami Airport. Our development team is working diligently to expand our footprint in more key gateway markets, with beautiful hotels like Radisson Hotel Miami Beach.”

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Ginger Announces The Signing Of Three New Hotels

MUMBAI, AUGUST 25, 2020: Ginger Hotels announces the signing of three new hotels –two in Chennai and one in Patna –designed around the brand’s lean luxe philosophy of offering a vibrant, contemporary and seamless hospitality experience to its guests. The two Chennai properties will take the total number of Ginger hotels in the city to five, while the Patna property will be the brand’s second hotel in the city.

Commenting on the signings, Ms. Deepika Rao, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, Ginger Hotels said, “Ginger Hotels recorded unprecedented growth in FY 2019-2020 with the addition of 1,250 rooms to its portfolio across India – the highest any single brand in the country has signed in the year. These three new signings carry this momentum further.”

The 99-room Ginger located in Sirusari, Chennai is a management contract with M/s KVSN Properties Pvt. Ltd. Ginger Pallavaram, Chennai, which will feature 108 rooms, is a management contract with Ravin Hotels Pvt. Ltd.

Ginger Bailey Road, Patna with 95 rooms, is strategically located, connecting Danapur and Patna city. This hotel will be a fully fitted lease agreement with PSVS Enterprises LLP.

As state capitals, Chennai and Patna are both high demand markets. With the addition of these hotels in different micro-markets, the Ginger brand deepens its market penetration in cities that are important commercial hubs of India.