Where to Find Hotel Deals? Try a Hotel.

When reserving a hotel room, do you book directly with the hotel, or through an online booking site like Expedia or Priceline?

If you answered the latter, hotels are trying to change that. And you may stand to gain.

A few weeks ago Hyatt Hotels began offering discounts to members of its loyalty program who book their rooms through Hyatt instead of a third party such as Travelocity. The announcement came after Marriott International introduced new discounted rates for loyalty program members who book directly with Marriott (which created an unambiguous marketing campaign called “It Pays to Book Direct”). Both chains announced their discounts in the wake of Hilton Worldwide, which said in February that it was rolling out the largest marketing campaign in its nearly 100-year history to tell its loyalty program members that they would receive discounts on rooms at more than 4,500 hotels around the world if they booked directly.

Hotels have been trying to get travelers to book through their websites and call centers for years, but now major chains are going further than ever to woo travelers away from third-party booking sites, which charge commission fees and have been a barrier to hotels marketing directly to their guests. (Stay tuned: When asked during its most recent earnings call about hotels offering discounts for direct booking, Expedia said that it was considering more flexible ways to work including “testing link-offs from our site on to the direct sites of some of our chain partners,” said Mark D. Okerstrom, Expedia’s executive vice president and chief financial officer.) With hotels and booking sites vying to be the point of sale, travelers are in a position to win, not only scoring perks like room upgrades, but lower rates too.

The discounts at Hyatt hotels are for properties in the United States, Canada and Australia and apply to members of its loyalty program, which is free to join at Hyattgoldpassport.com. Members who book directly can now receive up to 10 percent off reservations made through Hyatt.com, its app, call centers and travel agents. The chain also offers a best-rate guarantee. Later this year, guests who book directly will be allowed to make on-demand requests to their hotel through the app. They can also check in online and manage their reservation on their smartphones.

The new rates at Marriott are available more broadly, at over 4,200 hotels worldwide, to loyalty program members (it’s free to join at marriottrewards.com) who book directly on its website, app, call centers or through certain corporate travel professionals. Karin Timpone, Marriott International’s global marketing officer, said in a statement that the company wants “to help dispel the myth that other travel websites offer better rates for our hotels.” If guests find a better rate within 24 hours of booking directly, Marriott will match that rate and offer an additional 25 percent discount.  hotels in lucknow

Hotels Use Instagram Communities to Curate Travel Guides for Guests

At a time when buzz words like “local” and “authentic” are used to describe nearly every travel experience these days, marketers are turning increasingly to social media, and to residents themselves, to come up with the very content that enables other travelers to have those very kinds of experiences.

Instagram, in particular, is increasingly becoming the channel of choice among hotels, not only for social media marketing opportunities, but as a resource for providing curated travel content for their guests, straight from the locals who live there, as well as from aspiring guests.

“Specific to travel, if you look at the travel booking process, especially the discovery and inspiration phase, traditionally that was coming from TV and print,” said Tom Jauncey, head of brand partnerships for Beautiful Destinations, a creative tech agency that helps travel brands create social media content for Instagram and Snapchat. “Now, we’re in this world of social media where consumer attention is changing. They’re not necessarily reading from magazines but looking to their phones and Instagram to find out the types of places they want to go and where they can stay.”

Jauncey added that “the most progressive hotel brands have a social-first approach, and are using that social first content across other distribution channels for marketing.” Those brands, he said, are looking for unique visual perspectives, and employing the use of aerial form drone video and photography, time lapses, and much more, to produce stunning visual content.

The latest hotels to use Instagram as a way to provide content for their guests are Starwood’s The Luxury Collection of properties, and The Embassy Row Hotel in Washington, D.C. Both are using Instagram in unique ways to not only engage with their guests but create content that goes beyond simple reposts or online Instagram feeds.

Somewhat similar to what Airbnb is now doing with its new City Guidebooks feature, which assembles recommended travel tips on activities from different hosts in a variety of cities, both of these brands are using Instagram communities to come up with useful guidebook, or tour-like content for their guests. Google is also reportedly working on a similar feature for its new travel assistant app that would consolidate reviews and tips from Local Guides users to create guidebook-like content for app users.

The Embassy Row Hotel’s IGDC Walking Tours

In Washington, D.C., The Embassy Row Hotel enlisted the help of a local photographers’ community, called IGDC, to help them create four different Instagram walking tours for guests this summer.

Here’s how it works: Earlier this year, IGDC ran a contest on its Instagram account for local photographers to submit their best images for certain city landmarks in and around Dupont Circle, where the hotel is located. After poring through all of the entries, IGDC and the hotel handpicked 16 winning photos and their photographers. Those photos were used to put together informational cards with maps, highlighting the most Instagrammable spots for guests to take photos and visit, and they include The Phillips Collection, the Woodrow Wilson House, the Brass Band at the metro, and the Spanish Steps, among others.

Beginning on May 6 and running through August, the hotel will have a new card each month that features four photos and four different spots for guests to explore. The debut of the first walking tour will coincide with First Friday Dupont, a neighborhood art walk.

Coincidentally, IGDC, which was established in October 2011, uses Instagram to feature photos from local photographers from throughout the D.C. area and it got its start from local photo walks and events among local shutterbugs.

“We were just formed with our photo walks and events that revolve around photography,” said IGDC Founder Holly Garner. “We create together, and our role in the city and how we document our time in the city has gotten the attention of companies and museums around town who want to tap into the local perspective.” Those other local businesses and organizations include the National Gallery, West Elm, and Drink Juicery, Garner said.

While the Destination Hotels property has invited IGDC to the hotel for events in the past, the walking tours project allowed both to work together much more closely than ever before.

“Out hotel is very active on social media, and we’ve hosted [IGDC] for dinners and events before, and we thought this would be a perfect synergy between the two,” said Sarah Vinning, director of marketing for The Embassy Row Hotel. “What better than to feature these photos and tips on D.C. from the real experts on Instagram? I know when people travel, they are looking on Instagram for tips and inspiration already. We just went one step further to develop something we could give directly to our guests as soon as they arrive.”

In Garner’s opinion, asking locals to participate in delivering travel advice and tips to guests makes perfect sense.

“I think it’s a pretty smart strategy, in my opinion,” said Garner. “We are the boots on the ground, so to speak. We know this city really well. When people are visiting D.C and don’t really know it beyond tourist books, by looking at local photographers and Instagram, they get a feel for this city beyond the same old places those books tell you to go to. It can be so much more refreshing and interesting. You’re taking advice from locals, and not from people who are paid to tell you where to go or what to do.”

The Luxury Collection’s Global Explorers Campaign

Working with Beautiful Destinations, The Luxury Collection recently created an Instagram campaign inviting Instagram photographers to apply to become a “global explorer” by sharing one of their most inspirational travel moments on the social media channel and using the hashtag #theluxurycollection.

After receiving a certain number of entries, Beautiful Destinations and The Luxury Collection will pick, on a rolling basis, up to two to four photographers to send to one of its properties around the world. There, they will be asked to film video and capture photos of the destination and the hotel. That content will then be accumulated into Digital Destination Guides that guests can easily access; in fact, the guides will be the first thing they see when they sign on to use one of the hotel’s Wi-Fi networks.

On May 1, for example, The Luxury Collection announced it will be sending four photographers to Venice to capture social-first content of The Gritti Palace and Hotel Danieli, as well as the surrounding area.

Jauncey said The Luxury Collection, which had been a client of Beautiful Destinations since November 2015, came to his team with the idea of doing destination guides but wasn’t sure yet what kind of editorial format to use. “We said, ‘What if it’s all visuals?’ We pitched them the idea to use drones and video and amazing photography to sell the destinations and the experiences around them,” Jauncey said.

This campaign also marks the first time Beautiful Destinations has asked its Instagram community to participate in a campaign. “We thought it would be really interesting to plug into that community and inspire our content creators to create content for our clients and have all these great personalized stories,” said Jauncey.

Hoyt H. Harper II, global brand leader for The Luxury Collection said that, in addition to curating content developed by the Instagram community, the guides will also feature content from experts in the field, including local hotel concierges.

He also said, “We know our guests are socially active, and we know that 75 percent of our target consumers visit travel websites for fun at least once a month for fun or for inspiration. We want to provide them with that information and inspiration though the channels that they visit.” view hotels in lucknow

Top 10: the best luxury hotels in Rome

An insider's guide to the top luxury hotels in Rome, including the best for rooftop restaurants, Colosseum views, sumptuous spas and lavish bedrooms, in locations including the centro storico and the Piazza di Spagna.

The First Luxury Art Hotel Roma

When is a hotel not a hotel? When it’s also an art gallery – one which showcases the work of Italian and international artists in both common areas and bedrooms. This 29-room urban refuge is a good, discreet alternative to larger luxe palaces, and in its decked rooftop bar it has one of the best panoramic perches in the centro storico. The rooms follow the compartmentalised layout of Roman apartments, making them intimate and homely (some even have fireplaces). The main ground-floor restaurant is the gourmet’s choice; it’s worth putting barman Luca de Filippis through his paces – ask him to mix you a Frankenstein, then sit back and enjoy the show.  view hotels in lucknow

Simhastha fair fails to set cash box ringing for hotels

Hoteliers who licked their chops expecting Simhastha pilgrims to book up rooms are staring at vacancy.

Hotel industry experts say most pilgrims visit Ujjain for a day and go back by evening, thanks to new four-lane roads from Indore, Dewas and Barnagar connecting the historical city.

“They are either taking a late evening flight or train out of Indore and other nearby cities. The room occupancy level in our hotel is about 75%, which is below our expectations,” said Arpit Agrawal of Rudraksh Resorts.

Some hotels are also receiving cancellation requests after adverse media reports about mismanagement during the first shahi snan on April 22, and soaring temperature.

Indore Hotels Association president Sumit Suri attributed the less-than-expected crowd at Simhastha to soaring temperatures and people’s preoccupation with the marriage season.

“Expectations of hoteliers in Indore were not very high as good hotels have come up in Ujjain. But even then, the response has been poor so far. It’s likely to improve during the second week of May,” he told HT. The association has 85 hotels under its umbrella with a combined capacity of about 2,000 rooms and the average room tariff is about Rs 3,000 per day.

Average room occupancy for major city hotels in 2015 stood at 70-75%, propped by increase in the number of business travellers and tourists. Almost all the good hotels have taxi services where they provide the tourists with a chauffeur-driven vehicle and charge on the basis of distance. Taxi aggregators Uber and Ola are also providing daily services from Indore to Ujjain, and the administration is running buses every five minutes from Indore.

“We are happy that road infrastructure and transport services have improved …, but from the business point of view the response has been lukewarm,” Agarwal said.

The ‘home stay’ scheme has also failed to take off due to strict registration norms.

view more hotels in lucknow

Greetings From Asbury Park, Opening First Hotel in 50 Years

Designer Anda Andrei and hotel operator David Bowd have transformed the vacant Salvation Army Retired Officers Home into The Asbury, a 110-room hotel that will permit guests to check in at any time of day, for accommodations ranging from ocean view suites to rooms featuring bunk beds that can sleep up to eight.

The company has spent about $46 million on the property, which had an outstanding judgment of $8.5 million against the previous owners at the time of foreclosure.

From the ground floor to the roof, the hotel offers options for the spectrum of Asbury Park's diverse visitors, whom Bowd calls "a melting pot" of young, old, artists, musicians and gays.

Previous rebuilding attempts in Asbury Park — made famous by Springsteen's 1973 album "Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J." — have seen grand ideas and great expectations collapse because of shallow pockets in economic downturns. But iStar Inc., which is developing the hotel and beachfront, believes it has a long-term strategy.

"It's all part of elevating the customer experience and trying to make the waterfront great," said senior vice president Brian Cheripka. "You have this eclectic community. This urban vibe. This little city by the sea, and there's this opportunity to get it right."

The beach has been drawing crowds since the late 1800s, and the city once boasted as many as 100 hotels and 600,000 annual visitors, said Asbury Park Historical Society president Don Stine.

Its popularity started to wane in the 1960s, when the development of the Garden State Parkway, a highway that runs the length of the state, opened access to other shore towns and a mall drew customers away from the shopping district. That, in tandem with a race riot in 1970, had Asbury withering away, with seagulls outnumbering humans on the beaches and many hotels being boarded up or becoming de facto homes for the deinstitutionalized, who wandered the streets and boardwalk through the 1980s.

Back then, the city seemed gray and depressing even on a sunny day.

"There was more demolition than construction, especially at the beachfront," Stine said. "You had to have faith Asbury would come back, and I think we're into a great revival of the seashore resort's prime real estate," he said.

The revival began with spurts of development in the 1990s and early 2000s, initially fueled by gays seeking a cheaper alternative to New York's Hamptons and Fire Island. Developers built condominiums and rejuvenated downtown storefronts, which sold or rented for less than other oceanfront towns.

A range of restaurants opened, and a series of annual festivals drew patrons to the city's two major hotels

MAN'S NECK SLASHED AT CENTER CITY HOTEL; SUSPECT CHARGED

Philadelphia police have charged a man accused of slashing another man's neck inside a Center City hotel.

Police say it stems from an argument around 1 a.m. Saturday at a party on the 15th floor of the Embassy Suites on the Ben Franklin Parkway.

Two men got into a dispute while inside a room at the hotel. One of the men allegedly pulled out a razor and slashed a 24-year-old man in the neck.

target growing US serviced-apartment industry

Hotel or serviced apartment? That is a question investors might begin to consider more frequently as serviced apartments expand in the United States.

Operators and investors discussed the reasons for investing in one product or the other at the first Serviced Apartment Summit Americas. Similar conferences have been held in Europe, where the industry is more mature.

Sean Worker, CEO of BridgeStreet Global Hospitality, a major player in serviced apartments—more commonly known in the U.S. as “corporate housing”—opened the conference by asking how to increase consumer awareness of the industry.

“How do we bring ourselves to the fore?” he said. “How do we bring relevance to our space as do residential and hospitality? How do investors perceive our space?”

Worker and other speakers said they see strong opportunity for serviced apartments as both baby boomers and millennials seek an urban lifestyle that is often found in this kind of accommodation.

“There is no longer a stigma to renting,” Worker said. “It is now often a long-term preference.”

The need for benchmarking
Because the industry is so fragmented, serviced apartments have not enjoyed the kind of data and statistical measurement that hospitality has for many years, and that can be a problem for investors.

“What is the effect of the absence of data?” Worker said. “What is the effect on the investor community when there is a lack of transparency in how we perform?”

Vail Brown, SVP of global business development and marketing at STR, called for an industrywide effort to establish the kind of statistics that STR has been recording for the hotel industry for the last 30 years. (STR is the parent company of Hotel News Now.)

“When this conference started in 2013 in Europe, there was interest in bringing competitive benchmarking to serviced apartments,” she said. “I hope that interest will continue to grow. … As the serviced apartment industry grows and transparency improves, we will see which industries are providing better returns and where margins are better.”

Brown said the process of benchmarking the serviced-apartment industry could begin very easily; it’s just a matter of people in the business agreeing to a single set of measurements.

“This needs to happen for corporate housing,” she said. “It would be great if that happened in the next 12 months but that may be too aggressive a time frame.”

Meanwhile, the serviced apartment industry is growing domestically, according to Mark Skinner, partner with the Highland Group, a consulting company that tracks the extended-stay and corporate housing industries. He said the latter enjoyed almost $3 billion in annual revenue in the U.S. in 2015 and $261 million in Canada. The average stay was about 85 nights, which has been consistent for several years.

“The key takeaway for this product is that inventory is flexible,” Skinner said. “It is leased and then subleased to the tenant. Because the units are leased from the residential apartment community, inventory is based on the availability of apartments. As residential has picked up, demand has increased in line with overall lodging trends.

“The variability in the performance of serviced apartments is far less volatile than hotel or extended stay because operators can vary supply depending on demand.”

A good investment?
An ongoing question at the conference was how serviced apartments shape up as a real estate investment when compared to other lodging options.

“As with any major developing industry, the key piece will always be capital,” said Greg Hartmann, managing director at Jones Lang LaSalle’s Hotels & Hospitality Group. “While multifamily residential and lodging are well-versed in how capital works, it is less so with serviced apartments so that defining the industry will be important.”

In some situations, serviced apartments are appealing because of their limited amenities.

“Revenue from alcohol is a challenge, and the fact that there is little alcohol connected with serviced apartments makes the segment attractive,” Sameer Kazi, head of real estate investments at SEDCO, an investment firm based in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. “In addition, there is a lower risk involved with the segment because revenue is not as variable as with a hotel.”

However, for a major lodging investor, serviced apartments may not be large enough yet to consider.

“We like to invest in large, full-service, flagged hotels,” said Anthony Balestrieri, director of joint ventures and equity investment real estate for MetLife. “We need to put out big dollars that earn money over time. I can’t get out of bed without putting $30 million to work.

“For us, we have decades of data to look through for certain products, and we need to understand demand generators in a market. A company like Oakwood (a large corporate housing operator) might be large enough for us to invest in, but we do need size.”

Middle East/Africa performance for Q1,

Hotels in the Middle East reported negative results, while hotels in Africa reported mixed results for the three key performance metrics when reported in U.S. dollar constant currency, according to Q1 2016 data from STR.

Compared with Q1 2015, the Middle East subcontinent reported a 3.3% decrease in occupancy to 71.9%. Average daily rate for the quarter was down 8.1% to US$188.55. Revenue per available room dropped 11.1% to US$135.63.

The Northern Africa and Southern Africa subcontinents experienced a 4.4% decrease in occupancy to 53.5%. However, average daily rate was up 9.0% to US$107.58, and RevPAR increased 4.2% to US$57.56.

Performance of featured countries for Q1 2016 (local currency, year-over-year comparisons):

Lebanon reported decreases in each of the three key performance indicators: occupancy (-8.4% to 44.3%), ADR (-9.3% to LBP215, 601.32) and RevPAR (-17.0% to LBP95, 422.47). According to STR analysts, political unrest and security concerns played a major role in the lowest Q1 ADR in Lebanon since 2008. Travel to the country has declined, reflected by a 5.1% decrease in demand for the quarter, while supply grew 3.7%.

Mauritius experienced a 4.7% lift in occupancy to 76.7% as well as double-digit growth in ADR (+11.4% to MUR7, 416.66) and RevPAR (+16.6% to MUR5, 687.28). The absolute occupancy level was the highest for a quarter in Mauritius since the first three months of 2008. The performance can be attributed to a 4.7% increase in demand combined with flat supply. March was the top RevPAR month of the quarter at +23.7%.

South Africa posted increases across the three key performance metrics: occupancy (+2.8% to 65.0%), ADR (+9.7% to ZAR1, 238.43) and RevPAR (+12.8% to ZAR805.32). With demand outpacing supply, hoteliers were able to raise rates to further drive RevPAR. STR analysts point out that first quarters have been particularly strong in South Africa since 2012, driven primarily by rate. The weakening of the South African Rand against the U.S. dollar, euro and British pound has made the country a more affordable destination.

Performance of featured markets for Q1 2016 (local currency, year-over-year comparisons):

Amman, Jordan, saw a 3.8% increase in occupancy to 50.3%, but a 3.4% decrease in ADR to JOD111.13 left RevPAR nearly flat (+0.3% to JOD55.86). Supply went basically unchanged for the quarter, while demand grew 3.8%, leading to the increase in occupancy. According to STR analysts, Jordan’s hotel industry is being affected by regional conflicts in Syria and Iraq, thus, rates have continued to fall. 

Cairo, Egypt, recorded positive results in the three key performance measurements. Occupancy rose 7.8% during the quarter to 56.7%; ADR was up 5.9% to EGP837.72; and RevPAR increased 14.1% to EGP474.77. March was a particularly strong month with double-digit increases across the key metrics, including a 26.7% spike in RevPAR. STR analysts cite an 11.1% increase in group business during the quarter as reason for a 10.2% overall lift in demand. After a weak fourth quarter in 2015, revenue managers have confirmed a strong demand increase, especially with airport properties.

Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, reported decreases across the key performance metrics: occupancy (-9.9% to 67.3%), ADR (-5.0% to SAR868.76) and RevPAR (-14.4% to SAR584.42). Occupancy and ADR during the quarter were hurt by a 4.2% increase in supply. At the same time, demand dipped 6.1%, and the pipeline in the market remains robust.

Middle East and Africa performance for March 2016 (U.S. dollar constant currency, year-over-year comparisons):

Compared with March 2015, the Middle East subcontinent reported a 0.4% decrease in occupancy to 75.4%. Average daily rate for the month was down 6.1% to US$188.06. Revenue per available room dropped 6.5% to US$141.74.

The Northern Africa and Southern Africa subcontinents experienced a 5.9% decrease in occupancy to 56.4%. However, average daily rate was up 10.3% to US$107.21, and RevPAR increased 3.8% to US$60.49.

Fibra Inn Completes Acquisition of the Casa Grande Ciudad Juarez Hotel

The transaction was paid with resources coming from debt issuance, representing a final investment of Ps. 111.3 million plus taxes, acquisition-related expenses and corresponding VAT expenses.

Deutsche Bank Mexico, S.A., Banking institution, Trust Division F/1616 or Fibra Inn (BMV:FINN13, ADR OTC:DFBRY) announced that it has concluded the acquisition of the Casa Grande Ciudad Juarez hotel. The hotel has 145 rooms and operates in the full-service segment. Fibra Inn´s hotel operator will be in charge of the operation of the hotel.

The transaction was paid with resources coming from debt issuance, representing a final investment of Ps. 111.3 million plus taxes, acquisition-related expenses and corresponding VAT expenses. The strategy is to maximize the return of this property focusing on the following:

(i) The conversion of this hotel to the Holiday Inn brand, for which an additional Ps. 110.4 million will be allocated.

(ii) The construction of 50 additional rooms, for which Ps. 57.2 million will be allocated.

The projected cap rate for 2016 is 9.26%. Once stabilized, with the room expansions and the conversion to an international brand, a cap rate of 10.71% is expected for 2018. The rebranding and the room additions are expected to conclude during the fourth quarter of 2017.

This is the 10^th acquisition in Chihuahua and reaffirms Fibra Inn’s leadership position in this highly-dynamic state. This is due to the strongmaquiladora and manufacturing activity in this area, which shall benefit as a result of its proximity to the U.S. border.

As a result of this acquisition, Fibra Inn has a total portfolio of 42 properties; of which 41 hotels are in operation and one is under a binding agreement. The total is 7,027 rooms, of which 221 are currently under construction.

Hotel La Jolla Joins Curio Collection

Upscale Hotel on Pacific Coast Owned and Managed by Khanna Enterprises, LTD Joins Expanding Global Collection

Hotel La Jolla today joins Curio – A Collection by Hilton. Hotel La Jolla, Curio – A Collection by Hilton, is owned and managed by Khanna Enterprises, LTD.

Steps from the ocean and in the heart of one of the West Coast’s most exclusive communities, Hotel La Jolla features a sleek boutique Southern California ambiance with all of the modern amenities today’s savvy traveler has come to expect. Welcoming guests to the modern hotel is a large, sun-drenched lobby living room featuring floor-to-ceiling windows.

“Our hotels are truly a reflection of the local communities in which they reside, and Hotel La Jolla perfectly embodies the understated yet fashionable ambiance of the area,” said Dianna Vaughan, senior vice president and global head, Curio – A Collection by Hilton and DoubleTree by Hilton. “With its design set in earth tones inspired by the nearby iconic Torrey Pines Golf Course, Hotel La Jolla gives curious travelers who are looking for a casual coastal retreat an authentic Southern California experience.”

The 110-room hotel includes the Hiatus Lounge & Pool, a modern oasis boasting fire pits, lush landscaping and a large heated pool where guests can enjoy craft cocktails and small bites. Featuring a wraparound bar, Hiatus Lounge & Pool can also be used as an event space for private gatherings of up to 200 guests. Other hotel features include a 24-hour fitness center with state-of-the-art equipment.

The hotel also offers memorable dining at CUSP, a unique culinary experience with incredible views of the Pacific Ocean from the 11^th floor. Led by award-winning Executive Chef Donald Lockhart, CUSP has locally-inspired dishes featuring seasonal produce, homemade pastas and locally-sourced meats, ensuring guests can experience the best La Jolla has to offer. Popular items include Apricot Crispy Glazed Cauliflower, Red Wine Braised Beef Cheeks and Pan Seared Sea Bass.

“We’re honored that Hotel La Jolla will be included in such a distinguished and unique portfolio of hotels and resorts around the globe,” said Ravi Khanna, president and CEO of Khanna Enterprises, LTD. “Becoming part of Curio will allow our guests to enjoy a local and distinctive hotel experience, while enjoying the benefits of Hilton’s award-winning HHonors program.”

Offering spectacular views of the coastline, the hotel has nearly 1,400 square feet of meeting space on the 11^th floor. The Starling Ballroom, which can be separated into two distinct spaces, features nearly 1,000 square feet of space that can be configured multiple ways for events with up to 80 guests. Additionally, CUSP offers two private dining rooms that can accommodate up to 25 guests. Customized menus, high-speed Wi-Fi and state-of-the-art audio visual equipment ensure any event will be a success.

Hotel La Jolla, Curio – A Collection by Hilton, participates in the Hilton HHonors® loyalty program, which is open to all guests and free to join. Visit here for enrollment information. HHonors members always get our lowest price with our Best Price Guarantee, along with HHonors Points, free standard Wi-Fi, access to digital check-in and Digital Key, and no hidden fees, only when they book directly through Hilton.

To celebrate the hotel’s addition to the Curio collection, guests will enjoy a bonus of 1,000 HHonors points per night for Sunday through Thursday stays with a two-night minimum between July 26, 2016 and October 26, 2016. Diamond HHonors members staying at Hotel La Jolla will enjoy complimentary breakfast for up to two registered guests per room – or bonus points – and space-available room upgrades.

Hotel La Jolla, Curio – A Collection by Hilton, is located at 7955 La Jolla Shores Drive, La Jolla, CA 92037. 

U.S. March Jobless Rates Down over the Year in 270 of 387 Metro Areas

METROPOLITAN AREA EMPLOYMENT AND UNEMPLOYMENT -- MARCH 2016


Unemployment rates were lower in March than a year earlier in 270 of the 387
metropolitan areas, higher in 98 areas, and unchanged in 19 areas, the U.S.
Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Ten areas had jobless rates of 
less than 3.0 percent and 11 areas had rates of at least 10.0 percent.
Nonfarm payroll employment increased over the year in 332 metropolitan areas,
decreased in 51 areas, and was unchanged in 4 areas. The national unemployment
rate in March was 5.1 percent, not seasonally adjusted, down from 5.6 percent
a year earlier.

Metropolitan Area Unemployment (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

Ames, Iowa, and Sioux Falls, S.D., had the lowest unemployment rates in
March, 2.4 percent each. El Centro, Calif., had the highest unemployment
rate, 18.6 percent. A total of 195 areas had March jobless rates below the
U.S. rate of 5.1 percent, 181 areas had rates above it, and 11 areas had
rates equal to that of the nation. (See table 1.)

El Centro, Calif., and Yuma, Ariz., had the largest over-the-year unemployment
rate decreases in March (-4.1 percentage points each). Three other areas had
rate declines of at least 2.0 percentage points. The largest over-the-year
rate increase occurred in Casper, Wyo. (+2.6 percentage points), followed by
Odessa, Texas (+2.2 points). 

Of the 51 metropolitan areas with a 2010 Census population of 1 million or more,
Austin-Round Rock, Texas, had the lowest unemployment rate in March, 3.1 percent.
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, Ill.-Ind.-Wis., had the highest rate among the large
areas, 6.6 percent. Thirty-six large areas had over-the-year unemployment rate
decreases, 11 had increases, and 4 had no change. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim,
Calif., and Memphis, Tenn.-Miss.-Ark., had the largest rate decreases (-1.7 percentage
points each). The largest over-the-year rate increases occurred in Chicago-
Naperville-Elgin, Ill.-Ind.-Wis., and Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, Texas
(+0.6 percentage point each).

Metropolitan Division Unemployment (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

Eleven of the most populous metropolitan areas are made up of 38 metropolitan
divisions, which are essentially separately identifiable employment centers. In
March, San Francisco-Redwood City-South San Francisco, Calif., and San Rafael,
Calif., had the lowest unemployment rates among the divisions, 3.2 percent each.
Gary, Ind., had the highest division rate, 7.5 percent. (See table 2.)

In March, 33 metropolitan divisions had over-the-year unemployment rate decreases
and 5 had increases. The largest decline occurred in Los Angeles-Long Beach-
Glendale, Calif. (-2.1 percentage points). The largest over-the-year rate increase
occurred in Elgin, Ill. (+0.8 percentage point).

Metropolitan Area Nonfarm Employment (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

In March, 332 metropolitan areas had over-the-year increases in nonfarm payroll
employment, 51 had decreases, and 4 had no change. The largest over-the-year
employment increases occurred in New York-Newark-Jersey City, N.Y.-N.J.-Pa. (+193,200),
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, Calif. (+145,300), and Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington,
Texas (+129,900). The largest over-the-year percentage gain in employment occurred
in Ocean City, N.J. (+9.5 percent), followed by Madera, Calif. (+7.5 percent), and
St. George, Utah (+6.2 percent). (See table 3.)

The largest over-the-year decreases in employment occurred in Lafayette, La.
(-9,300), Houma-Thibodaux, La. (-6,500), and Odessa, Texas (-4,100). The largest
over-the-year percentage decreases in employment occurred in Casper, Wyo. (-7.2 percent),
Houma-Thibodaux, La. (-6.6 percent), and Odessa, Texas (-5.3 percent).
 
Over the year, nonfarm employment rose in 50 of the 51 metropolitan areas with a
2010 Census population of 1 million or more and fell in Rochester, N.Y. (-0.5 percent).
The largest over-the-year percentage increase in employment in these large
metropolitan areas occurred in Richmond, Va. (+4.5 percent), followed by Orlando-
Kissimmee-Sanford, Fla. (+4.3 percent), and Austin-Round Rock, Texas (+4.1 percent).  

Metropolitan Division Nonfarm Employment (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

In March, nonfarm payroll employment increased in 37 of the 38 metropolitan
divisions over the year and was unchanged in Lynn-Saugus-Marblehead, Mass. The
largest over-the-year increase in employment among the metropolitan divisions
occurred in New York-Jersey City-White Plains, N.Y.-N.J. (+154,800), followed by
Dallas-Plano-Irving, Texas (+112,600), and Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, Calif.
(+97,700). (See table 4.)

The largest over-the-year percentage increase in employment among the metropolitan
divisions occurred in Haverhill-Newburyport-Amesbury Town, Mass.-N.H. (+5.3 percent),
followed by Dallas-Plano-Irving, Texas (+4.8 percent), and Brockton-Bridgewater-
Easton, Mass. (+4.3 percent).

_____________
The Regional and State Employment and Unemployment news release for April
is scheduled to be released on Friday, May 20, 2016, at 10:00 a.m. (EDT).
The Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment news release for April
is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, 

The New Frontier of Hotel Revenue Management

A Discussion between Jeremie Catez, former revenue manager at Accor’s Novotel Times Square and the founder of Beewake and our own Alex Shashou, President and co-founder of ALICE

If the person at your hotel in charge of room booking is singularly focused on top line revenue, there’s a chance you’re missing out on bottom line profit. As booking becomes more competitive and customer acquisition costs rise, it’s time for your revenue manager to maximize profits in a holistic way.   

Jeremie Catez, former revenue manager at Accor’s Novotel Times Square and the founder of Beewake, knows a lot about this. At Accor, Catez implemented a Revenue Management culture through the entire property; not just in sales, but in the restaurant as well as at the front desk. Catez also started selling guest rooms during the day in order to maximize profitability. Now with his new companyBeewake, Catez lets users book daytime space – rooms at hotels, meeting rooms for day use, office spaces, desks or coworking spaces – to make it easier for hotels to leverage underutilized guest rooms and meeting spaces for an additional revenue stream. 

The following is a discussion between Catez and ALICE’s Alex Shashou about ways to reimagine the revenue management role: 

Start with a reexamination of the name:

Jeremie: The biggest problem with the revenue management status quo at hotels right now might be in the name. If revenue is the sole priority, how much opportunity for profit is being missed? It makes a lot more sense to be focused on profit. Since the battle for hotel bookings and distribution has increased costs, and more hotels are being owned by private investors, it makes sense that the job description be much more focused on profit management than revenue. 

Alex: That’s a great point, Jeremie. 

In most industries, companies have a holistic appreciation of revenues and costs. Yet hotels seem so focused on rates and occupancy, there is a lot of opportunity being missed. As highlighted in our data ebook last month, one hotel of ours goes so far as to rate their guests for cleanliness. If a housekeeper can save a few minutes turning each room, there are cost savings to be had. Or If you have two people sharing a room, spending more on F&B versus a single corporate traveller who doesn’t eat at the hotel, there is more revenue per booking to be had. Yet with revenue managers almost entirely focused on attracting bookings, who is responsible for factoring all these other revenue opportunities into the equation? 

Establish a more reliable customer lifetime value for dynamic pricing:

Jeremie: Correct. We have to start looking at lifetime value of our customers and adapting around this dynamically through as many data points as are available. Hotels are getting there, but there’s a ways to go. Most hotels aren’t recording rich enough data in their CRMs to even begin charging dynamically around the value of the guest and their costs of service and ancillary spend on hotel services. Ideally, everyone should see different prices. 

Alex: We have seen this model many times, often relating to a guest’s social status but are yet to see hotels really push the boundaries of a CRM that is integrated into all the guest’s spending and habits. 

Jennifer Ridgely Torsleff Named Senior Director of Revenue Optimization for John Q. Hammons Hotels

With 18 years of hospitality experience, Torsleff will be responsible for leading the JQH revenue optimization department in successfully establishing and executing strategies that achieve or exceed corporate goals for 35 JQH hotels and more than 1 million square feet of superb meeting space.

John Q. Hammons Hotels & Resorts (JQH) yesterday announced that Jennifer Ridgely Torsleff has been promoted to senior director of revenue optimization for the Springfield, Mo.-based company. 

With 18 years of hospitality experience, Torsleff will be responsible for leading the JQH revenue optimization department in successfully establishing and executing strategies that achieve or exceed corporate goals for 35 JQH hotels and more than 1 million square feet of superb meeting space.

Most recently, Torsleff served as regional director of sales and revenue optimization for JQH, where she was responsible for overseeing a team of area revenue managers for a group of hotels representing a range of brands within the company’s award-winning portfolio. Her experience also includes serving as a regional director of revenue management and an area revenue manager for JQH during her six years with the company. Prior to joining JQH, Torsleff was director of revenue management with The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, LLC. She also worked for Prism Hotels & Resorts, including in the roles of corporate director of revenue management and area director of sales. Torsleff received an Associate of Science in hotel & restaurant management and a Bachelor of Science in hospitality management from Johnson & Wales University, where she graduated summa cum laude. She is active in the community with an emphasis on supporting child-related causes.

“Jennifer leads by example. She is a committed and proven hospitality professional with a keen ability to cultivate the best in teams,” said Phill Burgess, JQH’s vice president of sales and revenue optimization. “We anticipate great things from Jennifer in her new role as senior director of revenue optimization.”

The Best New Hotels for Couples: Hot List 2016

Palazzo Dama, Rome This former private villa not only has the fabulous location—steps from the Piazza del Popolo—but the rooftop patio, the pool (in Rome!), and the underground dance club filled with local PYTs. This place feels expensive, but actually isn’t. 

Best to opt for a room not facing the street, although are well sound-proofed with double-pane windows and all are decorated in calm, soothing tones quite different from the Rococo details of the communal areas. We particularly love the huge crystal chandelier in the basement gym, purportedly from The Plaza in New York (plus the complimentary in-room mini-bars including half bottles of champagne).

Many hotels refuse to have a room number 420 in their buildings - here's why

Even if you've stayed in your fair share of hotels, you might not have noticed something quite odd about them.

Apparently many hotels refuse to have a room number 420 - and they've come up with inventive ways to get around the issue.

Why? Well, the room 420 can encourage guests to partake in some naughty behaviour (more on that below) so hotel bosses would rather try to eliminate the problem than clean up after it

Beijing Hotel Worker Failing to Stop Kidnap Attempt

Surveillance footage showing a hotel worker failing to intervene as a female guest was attacked has triggered anger in China.

The pair struggled for about three minutes after the assailant pounced while the victim searched for her room key after exiting an elevator. The Chinese woman was forced to the ground, with the attacker putting his hands around her neck.

A staff member who witnessed the woman being accosted did nothing to come to her assistance during Sunday's incident at the Beijing Wangjing 798 Heyi Hotel on Sunday night.

A female hotel guest finally came to her rescue and the victim fled.

"THE REAL HORRIFYING THING THOUGH IS THAT PEOPLE SAW THIS AND KEPT SILENT!"
In an interview with CCTV, the victim — who was identified as Wan Wan — said the attacker had followed her from the hotel's gate.

Police in China's central province of Henan later arrested a suspect in connection with the attempted abduction. Police have not yet determined when he will be returned to Beijing to potentially face charges.

The ordeal came to light after the victim created a social media account on China's Twitter-like Weibo service on Tuesday and posted the video and chronicled her experience. By Friday, she had accumulated more than 279,000 followers.

The footage also quickly became a top trending topic on Weibo with 273 million views and 2.5 million conversations about the attack.

"I was literally shaking when watching this video," one user wrote.

"As a man, I felt very scared watching this incident," another said. "The real horrifying thing though is that people saw this and kept silent!"

The hotel released a long statement expressing regret over the incident and defending its staff member's reaction.

"We'd like to apologize ‎to our customer and the public," the statement added. "We have insufficient hotel security ... and should pay more attention to our customers."

Speaking to CCTV, Wan added: "I don't need a face-to-face apology. I only need the problems solved that I mentioned on Weibo.

Vince Neil and Nic Cage brawl at Las Vegas hotel, report says

Vince Neil and Nic Cage got into a brawl after Cage pulled Neil off of a woman at the Aria Hotel in Las Vegas, TMZ reports.

Neil and Cage were in the hotel when a woman asked the actor for his autograph, and the former Motley Crue lead singer pulled her down to the ground by her hair, the website says.

That's when Cage, 52, started fighting Neil, eventually getting him outside where he was videotaped putting Neil in a headlock and imploring him to calm down.

Neil, 55, was cited for battery, the report says.

Motley Crue retired after playing their final show in Los Angeles on New Year's Eve.

Cage won an Oscar for "Leaving Las Vegas," which is what Neil is probably doing right about now.

Police arrest man suspected of Beijing hotel 'assault'

The 24-year-old male suspect surnamed Li was caught in Henan province on Thursday night, Beijing police said on their Sina Weibo microblog.
The video, taken from the hotel's CCTV footage, was viewed widely online in recent days and sparked public anger.

The hotel's parent company has apologised over the incident.

Read more: China hotel 'assault video' sparks anger and debate
The video was uploaded on Sina Weibo, a popular microblogging network in China, earlier this week and quickly went viral, with posts about the subject attracting more than two billion views.

It shows a woman being approached by a man in a black jacket, who then appears to attack her.

The uploader of the video, who used the screen name "Wanwan" and claimed to be the woman in the video, said she did not know the man, and that a staff member who saw them did not intervene.

The incident took place at the Beijing branch of the Heyi hotel chain, known as Yitel in English.

Homeinns, the parent company of the hotel, has apologised for "insufficient security management and customer service".

Mistrust of authorities

Following news of the arrest, "Wanwan" wrote: "The suspect has been arrested, and Homeinns has apologised, so two of my requests have been met."
"The last few days have been exhausting, and the incident has affected my everyday life, and friends have also suggested I seek support from a psychologist."

She added that she hoped her life could go back to normal, and thanked her supporters for their help.

While news of the suspect's arrest was welcomed by many on Sina Weibo, some also expressed disappointment in the authorities.
"When something happens, it seems like taking to social media is more useful than dialling 110 [the police number in China]," one user said.
Another user, VIP-GGG, commented: "I'm still very angry! Your police statement came too late! We forced it out of you! There are thousands of other women like Wanwan whose cases haven't been resolved!"
China has seen several incidents in recent years where bystanders have refused to help those in need.
Many are reluctant to intervene because there have been cases where injured people have subsequently blamed those who came to their aid for causing the injuries - and sued them.

Woman's body found in suitcase behind San Diego hotel

The body of a young woman was found Wednesday inside a suitcase behind a hotel in downtown San Diego, police said.

San Diego police said a man who lives in the area spotted the suitcase near some trash bins in a parking lot behind the Chadwick Hotel around 11 a.m., CBS affiliate KMFB reported.


Lt. Ray Valentin told KFMB Wednesday afternoon police had scant information, including the victim's identity or her age.

"This is a tragic scene right now, what we've got here, but we're going to do everything in our power to find who conducted or did this to this person," Valentin said.

Police wouldn't say if there were any obvious signs of trauma to the body. The county medical examiner's will perform an autopsy to determine a cause of death.

Investigators asked anyone with information to contact the San Diego police department or CrimeStoppers.

© 2016 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Hotel’s embarrassing Wi-Fi fail

IT’S bad enough that, in this day and age, we all too often have to fork out extra just to use the internet connection in our hotel rooms. Outrageous, right?

Well when this guest went to pay up during his overnight stay at a hotel called the Cherry Tree Inn, he ended up getting an extra surprise. Imgur user PizzusChrist posted online a receipt showing his randomly generated wifi username, and it’s rather unfortunate.

Yep, it’s that popular swear word starting in ‘f’ and ending in ‘k’.
And just to show it truly was a bizarre coincidence, he posted more receipts showing other usernames, proving they are all a series of random letters and numbers.

Having to pay up exorbitant amounts for hotel Wi-Fi is a major point of frustration among Australian travellers.
Earlier this year, Australian hotels were ranked 24 out of 50 for quality and availability of free wireless broadband in an international Wi-Fi study. South Korea and Japan were rated first and second, but the US came in at 40 and Indonesia at 48.

While the internet speed in Australian hotels was generally judged to be quite good, only 42 per cent of places were found to provide free access in all areas. The percentage was the lowest of any country other than China — on 32.7 per cent