Hotel News Now’s Independent Insights newsletter each month features a news roundup from the independent hotel sector. Subscribe to the free monthly newsletter here.
Managing virtual payment cards
As credit card data breaches continually make the news, businesses have looked for more secure methods for transactions. Virtual payment cards, which operate similarly to traditional credit cards, have proven a reliable option. However, they also have created some headaches when the very aspects that make them safe prevent a guest trying to check in.
The Hotel Electronic Distribution Network Association created a best practices guide with Hotel Technology Next Generation to address the issues hoteliers face adopting this technology. Hoteliers and technology consultants shared best practices with Hotel News Now on how to check guests in who are paying with virtual credit cards and how to process the virtual cards.
SeaWorld eyes hotel project in San Diego
SeaWorld Entertainment Inc. is pursuing plans to develop a hotel in San Diego in hopes of reclaiming sagging revenues, according to the Los Angeles Times. The company is partnering with hotel developer and operator Evans Hotels, which already has two Mission Bay resort hotels near the theme park.
The project still is in early planning stages and years away from construction, according to the story.
Baha Mar update
The power struggle continues in the saga of the Baha Mar resort complex in the Bahamas. The latest media reports out of the Bahamas say that Baha Mar Limited CEO (and original owner of the property) Sarkis Izmirlian and other members of Baha Mar’s board have resigned over disagreements in the direction of the project.
At the end of October, the Bahamian Supreme Court appointed Deloitte and Touche as receivers of the property at the request of the China Export-Import Bank, effectively taking Izmirlian out of the decision-making process.
Preferred partnership targets child exploitation
Preferred Hotels & Resorts partnered with Love146, an international human rights organization whose mission is to end child trafficking and exploitation. Through the partnership, Preferred will committ a combination of financial and educational resources. Preferred made an initial $20,000 donation to Love146 and hosted a fundraising auction earlier this month. In addition, all Preferred Hotels & Resorts associates will go through Love146’s Child Trafficking Prevention Training.
Deals and developments
- Interstate Hotels & Resorts added the 562-suite The London NYC hotel in midtown Manhattan to its management portfolio.
- The CIM Group purchased the Martha Washington Hotel in New York City and will convert the property to a Redbury Hotel under the management of sbe Hotel Group.
- Associated Luxury Hotels International added the Grand Fiesta American Puerto Vallarta to its membership portfolio. The Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, resort opened in September.
- The Fairfax at Embassy Row in the Dupont Circle neighborhood of Washington, D.C., joined Preferred Hotels & Resorts.
- West Street Hotel in Bar Harbor, Maine, was named the No. 1 hotel in New England by Condé Nast Traveler magazine and was ranked No. 71 in the magazine’s Top 100 Hotels In the World list.
- The Blue Moon Hotel in Miami, Florida, completed a renovation of its 75 guestrooms. The hotel is managed by HHM and is part of Marriott International’s Autograph Collection.
- The Society Hotel opened in Portland, Oregon, in October. The combination hotel and hostel was built as a renovation of the city’s former Mariners Building, which was built in 1881.
- Pacifica Hotels purchased the El Colibri Boutique Hotel & Spa in Cambria, California. The 34-room hotel is Pacifica’s fifth property in the Moonstone Beach area.
- Small Luxury Hotels of the World named Filip Boyen its new CEO, effective in October.
Compiled by Stephanie Ricca.