Address Fountain Views all set to open for business The property comprises 193 rooms

 Emaar Hospitality Group’s Address Fountain Views is all set to open for business, officials have announced. Bookings for the seventh Address hotel in Dubai, are open for stays from October 2019 onwards. Located in Downtown Dubai, the hotel has 193 guestrooms. peaking about the hotel, Chris Newman, chief operating officer of Emaar Hospitality Group, said: “Address Hotels + Resorts has raised the benchmark in service excellence. Our new addition – Address Fountain Views – assures the same personally enriching experience while defining its own individuality, which is the hallmark of every Address hotel.” He added that the property will appeal to both leisure and business visitors. Guests staying on the Club Rooms will be able to access the Club Lounge. The restaurant at the property interprets a luxury apartment and guests can choose from the dining room, the closet, a library or the outdoor terrace. The restaurant will serve authentic Mediterranean cuisine combined with Arabian inspired flavours.

Shaza Hotels recently announced the opening of the Al Badayer Oasis– a Sharjah collection lodge by Mysk.

Owned by Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq), Al Badayer Oasis is a desert retreat set against the dunes of central Sharjah. Shaza Hotels’ president and CEO, Simon Coombs stated: “We are delighted to expand our presence in the UAE with Al Badayer Oasis and Shurooq. This latest opening, joining two other properties- namely the Kingfisher Lodge and Al Faya Lodge in the Sharjah Collection- creates a three-in-one travel circuit for visitors to discover the culture, traditional Arabian hospitality and natural beauty of Sharjah.” Featuring 21 rooms and 10 tents and showcasing by Arabian decor, Al Badayer Oasis is designed for luxury camping experiences. Included in the facilities are a restaurant offering authentic Emirati cuisine, an all-day-dining eatery, two meeting rooms, an indoor pool and a gym. The property also comprises an amphitheatre in the heart of the Caravanserai to host live events. Al Badayer Oasis will also offer recreational activities such as quad biking, horse riding, desert safaris and camel tours.

"Sing with Me": Big Traditional Concert at Lale Bistoun Hotel

Welcome experience

Hoteliers can use the power of welcome throughout every facet of the guest experience, both within and beyond property borders. Welcoming strategies can be developed for different arrival times and in consideration of guest profiles. For travelers who arrive late, something comforting waiting in their rooms, may be just the welcoming feeling needed after the stress and fatigue of travel. Housekeeping teams can be trained to deliver something appropriate for any late arrival such as chamomile tea, warm cookies, and especially a welcome note acknowledging their late arrival with an offer to help make them comfortable, even at that late hour.

Call center in a hotel

A centralized office of a company that answers incoming telephone calls from customers or that makes outgoing telephone calls to customers (telemarketing, sometimes referred as a Central Reservation Office (CRO). In its simplest form, it consists of a telephone and a reservation agent. Generally, call centers have the ability to place multiple reservations at the same time through central reservation systems (CRS), usually through an 800 number. Hotel companies may have call centers that serve many different properties within the corporation. Airlines and car rental companies usually have one centralized call center in each of the different countries where they operate, all interlinked through the CRS. Centralized call centers have the advantage of providing consistent service and decreasing the company’s costs, such as management and training. Multibranded companies, however, may have different call centers and, in some cases, different CRSs within their system, mostly due to mergers and acquisitions.

Data mining

A process that employs a combination of machine learning, statistical analysis, modeling techniques, and information technology to discover hidden facts, previously unknown patterns of behavior, and trends. Companies can use this knowledge to make business decisions in their marketing, sales, customer service, production, credit, and finance activities more quickly more accurately, and with higher confidence. As a marketing tool, data mining is often used to study customers and their purchasing behavior in order to look for patterns that describe the behaviors and permit businesses to perform market segmentation in new ways. Through intelligent segmentation and response analysis data mining has helped companies to retain customers and to become more relevant, by designing products and services that meet the needs of customer ‘segments’ and to communicate with them more effectively. Moreover, data mining assists the improvement of customer relationships through profiling, profitability, value, and loyalty analysis.,

Radisson Hotel Group launches multi-brand global platform

The website will comprise all hotels within the group’s portfolio RADISSON Hotel Group has launched its new multi-brand and ‘mobile-first’ global website in several launguages. The new website comprises the group’s portfolio of more than 1,100 hotels across the world. The group will also launch the Radisson Hotels mobile application by the end of July 2019, officials said. Speaking about the platform, Radisson Hotel Group’s executive vice president and global chief commercial officer Eric De Neef said: “The launch of RadissonHotels.com is a key milestone on our journey towards the top. Having one single touchpoint for all our brands will strongly enhance the user experience and drive SEO value. RadissonHotels.com is a core commercial initiative of our five-year operating plan, which is transforming our business.” The platform showcases every property from across Radisson Hotel Group’s seven distinctive brands, including the Radisson Collection, Radisson RED, Park Plaza, Park Inn by Radisson and Country Inn & Suites by Radisson – as well as the art’otel brand managed by the group’s strategic partner, PPHE Hotel Group.

EOS Investors Acquires Kingston Resorts

EOS Investors LLC, a privately held real estate investment firm, has acquired Kingston Resorts, a multi-property destination located on 2,800 linear feet of Atlantic Ocean beachfront in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Hilton Hotels & Resorts will continue to manage the resort on EOS’s behalf. Kingston encompasses two premium-branded, full-service resorts—the 255-room Embassy Suites Myrtle Beach Oceanfront Resort and the 385-room Hilton Myrtle Beach Resort—and more than 1,600 residential condominiums and townhomes. “EOS is excited to become a part of the long history of Kingston Resorts, the premier oceanfront resort destination in Myrtle Beach,” said Jonathan Wang, president of EOS. “The resort is a great example of an irreplaceable resort in a desirable destination market that defines our investment approach. We are looking forward to the opportunity to work with Hilton and to invest in the resort and build upon Kingston’s long history of success and create the next chapter in the resort’s legacy.”

Banyan Investment Group has acquired and will operate the 110-room Courtyard by Marriott Houston Pearland in Texas.

Banyan Investment Group, a hotel investment and management company that acquires and manages select-service hotels in the United States, has acquired and will operate the 110-room Courtyard by Marriott Houston Pearland in Texas. Located in the Pearland Town Center, the five-story hotel is 15 minutes from NRG Stadium (home of the NFL’s Houston Texans) and within 20 minutes of the Texas Medical Center, downtown Houston, and William P. Hobby International Airport. “We continue to seek institutional quality assets, such as the Courtyard by Marriott Houston Pearland, in major markets with numerous demand generators,” said Andy Chopra, founding principal and chief investment officer, Banyan Investment Group. “The hotel benefits from its location within Pearland Town Center, a popular mixed-used development with 937,000 square feet of open space location within the South Houston marketplace that includes 140 specialty stores, 234-unit apartment complex building, and more than 50,000 square feet of office space. The hotel requires minimal capital expenditures, and we are confident the property will achieve its economic objectives with immediate cash flow.”

Blue Sky Hospitality Acquires Two Marriott Hotels

U.S. hotel owner/operator Blue Sky Hospitality (BSHS) has acquired the 220-room New Orleans Marriott Metairie at Lakeway, La., and the 615-room Long Island Marriott in Uniondale, N.Y. The New Orleans Marriott Metairie at Lakeway is situated in the hub of Metairie’s central business district and a few miles from Audubon Aquarium of America, New Orleans Botanical Gardens–City Park, and the French Quarter. A complete renovation program is scheduled to take place over the next three years. The Long Island Marriott is a recently renovated Nassau County hotel in Uniondale near the LIRR and within a short distance of Hofstra University, Cradle of Aviation Museum, and Jones Beach State Park. “The hotel cycle is maturing, which creates growth opportunities for experienced operators and investors with a contrarian approach to the industry,” said David Fincannon, COO, BSHS. “We have accumulated a substantial portfolio of managed and owned properties in just six months, and we have a substantial appetite to do more. We currently own and operate all 52 properties in our portfolio and now have the infrastructure, operating systems, and structure to take on third-party management contracts. As we grow, we will pivot to focus predominantly on operations on behalf of other ownership groups.”

40% increase in foreign tourists in spring

According to HotelNews, the head of the Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization of Iran announced a 40% increase in the number of foreign tourists in the first three months of this year compared to the same period last year. "In the first three months of the year, we saw more than 3 million foreign tourists arriving, morethan 40 percent comparing the same period last year," said Tourism Deputy Minister "Vali Timuri". "We finished the year 97 with 7 million and 800,000 incoming tourists, which is a 52 percent increase over the year," he continued. This reflects the growth of the desire of foreign tourists visiting Iran.

Support and promotion of tourism start-ups by the country's Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization of Iran

According to HotelNews, the secretary of the "Tourism Startups" Working Group on Iran's e-Tourism Expertise Society announced that the organizing of tourism startups in the country in collaboration with the Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization in order to take full advantage of the new startups. "Tourism in today's world is one of the most important income generating and entrepreneurial industries in all the countries of the world, and with the advancement of technology, the importance of creating and presenting startups in this area is increasing," said the secretary of the E-Tourism Experts Group.