AMERICAN MAKEOVER FOR ROMAN HOTEL
Rome Cavalieri has becomes the first hotel in Europe to join The Waldorf=Astoria Collection,
the luxury brand of Hilton Hotels Corp. During the coming 12 months the hotel will enjoy a
complete makeover, which will include a third outdoor swimming pool within its extensive
grounds, as well as a new state-of-the-art congress centre, with a separate entrance. The
Waldorf Astoria Collection currently has four properties in the US. Its only other property
is the 46-suite Qasr al Sharq in Jeddah. Hilton is also developing new Waldorf Astoria hotels
and residences in key cities around the US, including Orlando and Beverly Hills. Rome
Cavalieri is the only hotel in Italy to boast a Michelin-rated three-star restaurant. It has the
largest conference facility of any five-star hotel in Europe with a capacity for 5,500 delegates.
REZIDOR UP TO SPEED
The Rezidor Hotel Group is offering free
high-speed internet access for everyone
attending meetings and events in a Radisson
SAS hotel in Europe and the Middle East.
Rezidor marketing chief John Kennedy
said: “Getting connected to their corporate
networks, checking emails or downloading
documents is important to our meeting
guests… even if they… are just visiting us
for the day. Most of our properties have
installed wireless internet access… delegates
can also go online from the lobby or further
public areas.” Users just need a day-pass,
which is available at reception.
RITZ GIVES BACK
Ritz-Carlton Hotels has launched Give Back
Getaways, to allow guests to offer their time
to improve and assist the local communities
in which they are vacationing. Give Back
Getaways include restoring homes in the
ancient water town of Wuzhen, China,
planting native cypress trees in the Florida
Everglades, building homes with Habitat for
Humanity in Jakarta, Indonesia, and New
Orleans and attending music therapy sessions
with children mainly with autism and Down’s
syndrome in Istanbul. In Cancun, Mexico,
guests will be able to help protect endangered
turtles. www.givebackgetaways.com
GREEN TRIPS MADE EASY
Online travel agency RezHub.com has
become the first site to feature green travel
ratings and information, in every hotel
search. Hotels that have earned a RezHub
Green Score now appear highlighted in green
with a Green Score rating and information
about their environmental activities. The site
also donates 20% of the proceeds of every
trip to a customer-chosen, environmental
non-profit group. Eco-friendly hotels are
available in the US, Canada, Mexico, the
Caribbean, Australia, UAE, Germany and the
UK. In determining Green Scores, RezHub
came up with a list of Green Amenities
or initiatives hotels offer, including
involvement in energy conservation,
donating to non-profit organisations and
using compact fluorescent lighting.
HOTEL MERGER MOOTED
The mooted merger between Premier Inn,
Britain’s biggest hotel chain with 500-plus
properties, and Travelodge, to create a
budget hotel giant is “50 to 60% likely to
happen”, reports The Times. The newspaper
cites sources “close to the talks” saying
that Premier Inn’s parent Whitbread is in
early-stage talks to acquire its rival from
Dubai International Capital (DIC) in a
cash-and-shares deal worth an estimated
€750m to €875m. The proposed transaction
has not been welcomed by all shareholders;
one institutional investor said it would like
Whitbread to either spin off its Costa coffee
chain or auction its hotels, citing Accor,
Starwood Hotels & Resorts, InterContinental
Hotels Group and DIC itself as possible
bidders. Last month Travelodge, which has
330 hotels and 44 more in the pipeline,
reported a 30% earnings jump in to £55.8m
in 2007, from revenues 20% higher at
£243.8m. It has three hotels in Spain, and
recently announced a €1bn programme
to open 100 more Travelodges across the
country by 2020.
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