Airbnb began in 2008 when two designers who had space to share hosted three travelers looking for a place to stay. Now, millions of hosts and travelers choose to create a free Airbnb account so they can list their space and book unique accommodations anywhere in the world. And Airbnb experience hosts share their passions and interests with both travelers and locals. Airbnb helps make sharing easy, enjoyable, and safe. We verify personal profiles and listings, maintain a smart messaging system so hosts and guests can communicate with certainty, and manage a trusted platform to collect and transfer payments. CONTACT Airbnb Airbnb Airbnb Airbnb.com Support@Airbnb.com
Create: Jun 7, 2019 Edit: Jun 9, 2020 International Hotel Online ReservationsBooking.com was formed when bookings.nl, founded in 1996 by Geert-Jan Bruinsma, merged in 2000 with Bookings Online, founded by Sicco and Alec Behrens, Marijn Muyser and Bas Lemmens, which operated as Bookings.org. The name and URL were changed to Booking.com and Stef Noorden was appointed as its CEO. In 1997, Bruinsma wanted to post an ad in De Telegraaf, the Dutch newspaper with the highest circulation. The ad was rejected since De Telegraaf only accepted ads with the phone number, not with a website. In 2002, Expedia refused to buy bookings.nl. In July 2005, the company was acquired by Booking Holdings (or Priceline Group, as it was named at the time) for $133 million, and later it cooperated with ActiveHotels.com, a European online hotel reservation company, purchased by Booking Holdings/Priceline for $161 million. In 2006, Active Hotels Limited officially changed its name to Booking.com Limited.[7] The integration successfully helped its parent improve its financial position from a loss of $19 million in 2002 to $1.1 billion in profit in 2011. This acquisition was praised by some social media as “the best acquisition in Internet history” since no other acquisition in the digital travel market had been shown to be as profitable. Darren Huston was appointed as Chief Executive Officer of Booking.com in September 2011 by its parent company, and also served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Booking Holdings since 1 January 2014 until his resignation on 28 April 2016 after an at-work relationship was revealed. CONTACT Bookingcom Bookingcom Bookingcom Booking.com Support@Booking.com
Create: May 30, 2019 Edit: Jun 9, 2020 International Hotel Online ReservationsIn a bid to create solid long-term investments, the Bayerische Versorgungskammer (BVK) has partnered with GBI AG, a German project development company, to invest in and manage hotel properties in Europe’s Germany (D), Austria (A), and Switzerland (CH) — or DACH — region via a fund created by Frankfurt-based Universal-Investment. The new fund’s strategy is to build a high-value, long-term portfolio. An initial investment of €500 million ($560 million) will go towards this goal. With about €77 billion ($98 billion) of managed funds, the BVK is one of Germany’s most important institutional investors. BUILDING A NEW PORTFOLIO The collaboration between GBI and BVK officially began in early 2019 when the purchase of the fund’s first hotel property, the Lindner Hotel Am Michel in Hamburg, was decided. “Set in a perfect downtown location in one of Germany’s most dynamic hospitality markets, this 4-star hotel is a fitting first step for the fund,” says Simon Behr, Director of Fund Management & Transaction at GBI AG. Opened in 2008, the 4-star hotel set in Neanderstreet has 259 modern rooms and comes with a large events and conference space with seven meeting rooms. After being run by Lloyd Fonds AG for over 10 years, it has now been sold to BVK’s new fund.
Create: May 12, 2019 Edit: May 14, 2019 International NewsAs the owner of ten excellent hotels in tourism hubs of Iran with more than 3000 beds, Arya Hotels Corporation hosts and serves more than one million Iranian and foreign passengers every year. Relying on its more than twenty royal restaurants and auditoriums, an experienced staff and luxury amenities, Arya Hotels Corporation holds thousands celebrations, seminars and gatherings every year. Moreover, its gym and recreational complexes including swimming pools and saunas serve their members very deservedly every day. CONTACT AryaHotelsGroup AryaHotels.com Info@AryaHotels.com 021 888 107 88 Qaem Maqam-e-Farahani St, Show'a sq
Create: Apr 29, 2019 Edit: Jan 16, 2022 Iran Hotel ChainsMarriott International is an American multinational diversified hospitality company that manages and franchises a broad portfolio of hotels and related lodging facilities. Founded by J. Willard Marriott, the company is now led by his son, Executive Chairman Bill Marriott, and President and Chief Executive Officer Arne Sorenson. Marriott International is the largest hotel chain in the world. It has 30 brands with more than 7000 properties in 130 countries and territories around the world, over 1.2 million rooms (as of September 2017), and an additional 195,000 rooms in the development pipeline. It is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area.In 2017, Marriott was ranked #33 on Fortune's "100 Best Companies to Work For" list, its twentieth appearance on the list.. CONTACT MarriottBonvoy MarriottBonvoy MarriottBonvoy Marriott.com
Create: Apr 28, 2019 Edit: Nov 12, 2022 International Hotel ChainsThe hotel is owned and operated by MGM Resorts International and has a 120,000-square-foot (11,000 m2) casino with over 2,000 slot machines and 87 table games. After the 2008–2009 renovation work, the hotel's management modernized the property in its design to contain a total of 4,407 rooms (including 442 suites). The hotel's rooms line the interior walls of the main tower, which has a pyramid shape, and other recent 22-story twin ziggurat towers. The hotel is named for the city of Luxor (ancient Thebes) in Egypt. As of 2010, the Luxor was designated as a 4 Key rating from the Green Key Eco-Rating Program, which evaluates what is known as "sustainable hotel operations." The hotel features inclined elevators. Facilities Luxor Las Vegas includes 20,000 sq ft (1,900 m2) of convention space, four swimming pools and whirlpools, a wedding chapel, Nurture Spa and Salon, and 29 retail stores Luxor Las Vegas has the largest atrium in the world (by volume) at 29 million cubic feet (820,000 m3). At 42.3 billion candela, the Luxor Sky Beam is the strongest beam of light in the world, using curved mirrors to collect the light from 39 xenon lamps and focus them into one intense, narrow beam. On a clear night, the Sky Beam is visible up to 275 miles (443 km) away by aircraft at cruising altitude, such as over Los Angeles. Each of the 39 lamps is a 7,000 watt[33] Xenotech fixture costing about $1,200. When at full power, the system costs $51 an hour to operate, with $20 per hour of that just for its 315,000 watts of electricity. The beam has operated reliably since first enabled on October 15, 1993. The lamp room is about 50 feet (15 m) below the top of the building and serviced by a staff of two workers during the day. The room's temperature is about 300 °F (150 °C) while the lights are operating. Since 2008, only half the lamps are lit as a cost and energy saving measure.
Create: Apr 14, 2019 Edit: Apr 17, 2019 International NewsIHG buys luxury hotel operator Six Senses Hotels Resorts & Spas from Pegasus Capital Advisors for $300 million. Revealing a move which increases IHG’s global presence and adds a hefty number of luxurious properties in some of the world’s most desirable and exotic destinations, the purchase of Six Senses by the hospitality goliath has been announced. Huge acquisitions are always a hot topic in the hospitality industry, and the latest news that industry giant InterContinental Hotel Group has bought luxury hotel group Six Senses from Pegasus Capital Advisors certainly falls into that category. For the cool price of $300m, IHG now takes control of all of Six Senses’ 16 hotels, 18 management contracts in the pipeline and more than 50 deals currently in negotiation. The move reflects IHG’s ambition to expand further into the luxury market, and Six Senses’ portfolio of idyllic properties in the Maldives, Thailand, Oman and Portugal, to name but a few, fully cements this intention. Six Senses will sit above IHG’s other luxury acquisitions of late, including Regent Hotels and Kimpton Hotels. Keith Barr, Chief Executive Officer of IHG, said, “Six Senses is an outstanding brand in the top-tier of luxury and one we’ve admired for some time. You only have to look at its iconic hotels and resorts to see how this acquisition will further round out our luxury offer. With a focus on wellness and sustainability, Six Senses has been voted the world’s top hotel brand for the past two years, which is a testament to its impressive management team who bring deep experience to IHG’s luxury operations.” The acquisition was conducted for $300m in cash and involves the sale of the Six Senses brand and its management business. While Six Senses has been operating as an asset-light business, IHG intends to grow Six Senses substantially over the next 10 years to reach a total of approximately 60 properties. The purchase does not include any real estate assets, but focuses on incorporating Six Senses spas, which total 37 under the Six Senses and LivNordic brands. The process of acquisition is a complex one, further complicated by the spa element, so no doubt both IHG and Six Senses were grateful that consultancy firm Horwath HTL Health and Wellness were on hand to advise. The company’s experience in wellness undoubtedly proved invaluable, and Ingo Schweder, Managing Director of Horwath HTL Health and Wellness, spoke of the trajectory of the wellness industry, saying, “With IHG’s acquisition of Six Senses, we see yet another major hospitality group making a large, strategic investment in wellness, signalling that wellness is not a fad but, in fact, the new reality and a necessary component of the hospitality business. People are becoming increasingly concerned about their health and wellbeing and investing in themselves to ensure an optimal status of health whether at home or while traveling.”
Create: Apr 9, 2019 Edit: Apr 10, 2019 International NewsCreate: Mar 25, 2019 Edit: Apr 10, 2019 TV
Overlooking Sausalito’s boat-filled harbour on Richardson’s Bay, Casa Madrona Hotel & Spa is unveiling a multi-million-dollar renovation with a focus on the lobby and a new Wellness Experience. The recent renovation focused on the following spaces: newly constructed modern lobby with 20 foot stone wall and co-working space; the spa with three bright treatment rooms; a dedicated Wellness Courtyard with a 62-inch television featuring Fitness-On-Demand workouts; and nine dedicated Wellness Guest Rooms, with tech forward amenities. The final stage of the renovation, due to be completed in Spring 2019, is a cutting-edge fitness room with Peloton spin bikes and classes. Giving guests a glance into the future, Casa Madrona will be the first hotel to introduce a sleep fitness program leveraging innovative technology and personal biometrics.
Create: Mar 14, 2019 Edit: Mar 17, 2019 International News3H Group shells out $10.25 million for the Brickell development site, where a Residence Inn by Marriott was being planned 3H Group has paid $10.25 million for property located in Miami’s Brickell, which the company plans to use as a new hotel development site. 3H Group, a US-based organization with its headquarters in Tennessee, paid approximately $200 per square foot for the site, which is located in Brickell at 1741 Southwest Second Avenue in Miami. BIG PLANS The site totals four properties and covers roughly 30,000 square feet, marking a significant investment for the company. The seller of the site was the Doral-based Hotelex Properties, which initially planned to build a 206-room Residence Inn by Marriott, property records show. The company paid $6.05 million for the assemblage in 2014. The Brickell site is in front of the Homewood Suites by Hilton Miami and near the Habitat Residence Condo Hotel.
Create: Feb 26, 2019 Edit: Mar 5, 2019 International NewsHotel News - Red Planet Japan announces the $59.5 million acquisition of the Thailand-based hotel arm of its parent company Red Planet Hotels Limited on the back of a series of expansion announcements in the Asia Pacific region. Red Planet Japan has announced that it is acquiring the Thailand-based hotel arm of its parent company Red Planet Hotels Limited. Industry experts say the acquisition is likely to be completed by the end of the first quarter of the financial year 2019. Red Planet Japan will acquire a half dozen hotel-owning companies in Thailand, all of them from its parent company. This will make for a total acquisition consideration of 6.5 billion Japanese yen or $59.5 million. The acquisition includes five operating hotels, located in Surawong (Bangkok), Patong (Phuket), Asoke (Bangkok), Pattaya, and Hat Yai. It also includes a sixth property that is currently under development in Sukhumvit Soi 8 (Bangkok). The operating hotels being acquired in Thailand have a recorded sales that totals 692 million Japanese yen ($6 million) in 2017 and 787 million Japanese yen ($7.1 million) in 2018. As a result of this acquisition, Red Planet Japan’s portfolio will increase to a total of 15 hotels in Japan, Thailand, and the Philippines, including five hotels under development. EXPANSION OF JAPANESE TOURISM Japan, like many markets with easy access to Southeast Asia, has undergone a tourism boom in recent years. Factors such as the expansion of low-cost carrier routes, the loosening of visa requirements, and a growing affinity for Japanese culture, has fueled a substantial increase in the number of tourists travelling from Southeast Asia to Japan in recent years, especially from Thailand.
Create: Feb 25, 2019 Edit: Feb 26, 2019 International NewsThe twelfth international exhibition of tourism and affiliated industries of Tehran began this morning (Tuesday, February 12rd) with the presence of vice president and head of the Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism, his deputies, executives, provincial executives and a group of activists and tourists of the country's tourism industry. In the opening ceremony of the 12th International Exhibition of Tourism and Related Industries of Tehran, which was held at the Persian Gulf Hall in International Exhibition, a number of ambassadors, delegates and delegations from foreign countries, including the Minister of Tourism and Antiquities of Iraq, also attended. . While pointing to the presence of 660 domestic companies and 57 foreign companies during the exhibition, Deputy of Tourism Minister, Vali Teimori said: The 12th International Exhibition of Tourism and Affiliated Industries of Tehran with Domestic Tourism Trends and focus on provincial offices , will be held. In a short statement, Vice President and Head of the Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization, Ali Asghar Monsein said: "In today's world, the tourism industry has grown exponentially compared to other industries that are developing." The head of the country's tourism service said: "I am very hopeful for the future of the tourism industry in the country, and I received good signs about it, because in the first nine months of this year, the number of tourists entering the country crossed the border with 6 million people.
Create: Feb 12, 2019 Edit: Feb 13, 2019 Regional News