TravelClick recently launched a viral marketing campaign including a short video titled "So, You want to be a Hotel eMarketer?", featuring spoofs of various celebrity characters like Ozzy Osbourne, Borat, Ali G, Woody Allen and more. Check out the video here

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: HOT) anticipates another year of extraordinary growth in 2008, building on the company's record-setting success in 2007. Early this year Starwood will mark a milestone with the opening of its 900th hotel, and expects to increase its portfolio by 50% over the next five years, driven by aggressive global expansion across all its brands and the unprecedented growth of its two new brands, Aloft and Element, which both expect to open their first hotels this year.

Starwood's active pipeline includes 500 hotels and 120,000 rooms. Approximately half of Starwood's new hotels are expected to open outside of North America, reflecting the company's impressive growth in dynamic international markets. The global hotel giant expects to add 80 - 100 hotels to its portfolio this year, up more than 50% from the number it opened in 2007.

A contact recently invited me to a Beta of a new online tool / site called NotchUp.com. The title had me intrigued: "Get Paid to Interview For Jobs: Companies save time & money. You get paid. Everyone wins."

After a little investigation, I discovered this may be primarity targeted at residents of the U.S. at present, however it DOES present an interesting solution to the recruiting problem...and perhaps a few problems? I'm curious to see how this tool will develop and how they'll manage to keep out those trying to make a quick buck. The Notchup site claims that this method will work as unfilled positions cost a company every day that they remain so (therefore companies would pay and enjoy savings from 66-75% versus using a job board or recruiter!)... and fraud can be prevented by obtaining feedback from companies that interview applicants (i.e. how seriously they took the interview, etc). There are still some glitches to iron out but an interesting feature is the ability to import your profile from LinkedIN, though not everything imports correctly, especially education and notes, with other elements like recommendations left out completely.

Hyatt Hotels & Resorts has launched Hyatt Retreats, a new collection of value-added packages available worldwide. Whatever mood strikes, Hyatt’s Amour, Balance, Awaken and Explore packages offer the solution, accentuating the special offerings and distinct location of each participating Hyatt hotel in over 45 countries. In addition, through January 31, 2008, Hyatt Gold Passport’s partnership with MasterCard Worldwide® offers guests the opportunity to earn 2,000 Hyatt Gold Passport bonus points when booking any Hyatt Retreats package.

Silverjet Business Class to London. 30 Minute Check In. Private terminal in London. Silver Class from $1099 One Way!

The latest Silverjet (raunchy) advert above. :) Silverjet (claims to be the most “sivilised” airline in the world) is a British all-Business Class airline based at London Luton Airport that operates services to Newark Liberty International Airport and Dubai International Airport. Silverjet Aviation Limited was created in 2004 by Lawrence Hunt. Silverjet is the only airline to offer a private passenger terminal at London Luton Airport. The airline also has a private check in area at Newark Airport separated from the normal check in desks, and uses the executive terminal at Dubai International Airport for arrivals and departures. The Silverjet fleet consists of the following aircraft as of December 2007: 3 Boeing 767-200(ER) (+2 orders for delivery March 2008. Read on…

Ouch! This Hotels.com ad was featured right before a new report on credit card data loss / fraud related to Hotels.com. How's that for bad timing...? Must've made the folks over at Hotels.com cringe (to say the least).

tags: advertising, hotels, hotel, hotels.com, hospitality, fraud, credit-card, data-loss, commercial, advert, tv, bad-timing

Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts, Asia Pacific's leading luxury hotel group, is offering five-day/four-night “Pre-Olympic Vacation” packages at its four Beijing properties. Available until 30 June 2008, the four specially designed themed packages give leisure travellers insight into the multifaceted Chinese capital in the lead-up to the 2008 Olympic Games.

All four packages feature visits to Olympic sites such as the Bird’s Nest and Water Cube. Highlights of the “Art and Sport” package include a Peking Opera School tour, dinner at the late Peking Opera Master Mei Lanfang’s private mansion and a tour of the renowned 798 Art District, a hub of Chinese contemporary art. Guests will also visit the Beijing Sport School, where they can watch China’s future Olympic medalists train.

Research outlining key trends and drivers shaping industry through to 2020 to be unveiled at Dubai’s Hotel Show

A massive $3.63 trillion is being invested in hotels, leisure projects, aviation developments, cruise lines, tourism promotion and supporting infrastructure, across the Middle East, according to the preliminary results of a research programme unveiled today. The study covers 13 Middle Eastern countries for the period to 2020 and is to be published in full at the Hotel Show 2008, the Middle East's leading supplies exhibition to the region’s hospitality sector, taking place at the Dubai International Exhibition Centre from 8-10 June 2008.

The Middle East Industry Outlook 2020 is an update of a groundbreaking research study by Fast Future and Global Futures and Foresight (GFF) on the Future of Travel and Tourism in the Middle East. The study is sponsored by the Hotel Show, Siraj Capital, Nakheel and Silverjet. Strategic partners on the study are the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) and IMEX Frankfurt.

Hospitality has always been considered an art and a key part of the 'service' industry. Hotel keeping may have evovled from inns and mom & pop outfits as early as society but a refinement of service and experiences have been the keystone to hospitality success and evolution over the years. Great hospitality jobs today require a great start in terms of education and theory just as much as experience, which one starts building up on their way up the career ladder. There are a plethora of hotel management schools, colleges and universities out there today (education is big business!), but how does one rate and choose a great hotel management school? This article goes about listing ten tips to choosing the best hotel management school for students, parents and professionals, be it on campus or online, with a variety of information resources and links to help. Visit http://www.hotelmanagementeducation.com or http://www.thebesthotelschool.com

tags: hotel-schools, hotel-management, hotel-education, colleges, universities, education, hotels, hospitality, tourism

YoungHotelier.com continues its tradition of reaching out to hoteliers, young at heart, to learn, communicate, help and have fun with its latest addition - an exclusive discussion forum / board targeted at bringing hoteliers together. The forum is called the "TEA Lounge" (TEA standing for Talk, Engage and Ask) and is available free to all to join. Visitors or new members can also watch a short video explaining the features, how to join and a dose of humor - visit www.younghotelier.com/lounge

Enjoy! Holiday Inn does a take on broadway - She's your friendly red-hot receptionist, alright! :) LOL

tags: hotels, resorts, hospitality, humor, comedy, musical, reception, receptionist, holiday-inn, song, video, broadway, front-office

Emirates Business 24/7 reported - The UAE has come out on top of an international index ranking the world’s best destinations for resorts and hotels. The Emirates beat such luxury locales as the Maldives, Australia, Tahiti, and Bermuda in the 2007 Country Brand Index issued by New York-based Future Brands. The study found the UAE ranked as the best for resort and lodging facilities because it boasts a wide-variety of hotel accommodation – from family-friendly beach resorts to the world’s only seven-star hotel, Burj Al Arab, in addition to the largest number of new properties under construction.

In Dubai, developments in the pipeline stretch out to 2020 and are in line to deliver 80,000 extra hotel rooms by 2010, with 100,000 people employed in the sector. The UAE’s investment in the tourism industry stands at more than Dh878 billion, with Dubai leading the field with Dh454bn in projects followed by Abu Dhabi with Dh305bn, according to a recent report. The UAE was also awarded third place among the most popular emerging destinations under the category ‘Rising Star’ after Croatia and China, who came in first and second respectively. For fine dining, the country came in seventh, topped by destinations like France, Italy, Singapore, Japan, the US and UK. The Emirates was also in the top 10 for best business destinations.

DTCM Director-General Khalid A bin Sulayem stated that the 10-year old system in place for the 5 star system of hotel ratings will soon be replaced (possibly in the first quarter of 2008) with a tougher system which will be mainly applied to all new hotels and hotel apartements.

The number of visitors to Dubai reached seven million last year, according to statistics from the department. The emirate’s hotels netted earnings of up to Dh11 billion in the first 10 months of 2007, compared with Dh8.7bn in 2006. Hotel occupancy in the emirate is the highest in the world. Last year, the rate stood between 70 per cent and 100 per cent in winter, and from 60 per cent to 90 per cent in summer,” said Bin Sulayem.

The new rating system would mean better quality standards and tougher control, ensuring that even self-service hotels apply for classification. This may be an important move in ensuring that Dubai's aim to become a premier tourist destination in the Middle East is boosted by the quality expected by visitors. With the number of hotels and hotel rooms in the market on a steady rise, service quality will become a crucial competitive factor that may decide if hotels fill up or not!

tags: dubai, hotels, hospitality, DTCM, classification, 5-star, ratings, rating-system, dubai-hotels

According to the Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts' research, checking emails before you go to bed has the equivalent effect on the body of drinking a double espresso.

And, in an increasingly demanding working world, Brits are losing one night's sleep a week to this sleep-deprivation epidemic.

Fuelled by spiralling use of PDAs, mobiles, laptops and Blackberries, business travellers are potentially robbing themselves of a good night's sleep by failing to switch off gadgets early enough before going to bed.

For those of you who have iPods and/or use iTunes, you may be familiar with the concept of “Podcasts” You can now download free podcasts (12 videos at present) related to the Le Meridien LM100 initiative and the creative people we have onboard already. Use the link below to load the podcast directly in iTunes and then watch on your computer or iPod!

LM100: Le Méridien’s experiences are defined and enriched by a group of cultural innovators and artists called Le Méridien100. The group comprises a global array of visionaries, from painters to photographers, musicians to designers, chefs to architects. LINK: http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=270156795 (you must have iTunes installed)

tags: le-meridien, lm100, culture, innovators, artists, hotels, resorts, hospitality, podcast, video, lm100-podcasts

15 new openings with Hilton hotel in every capital city; UK is number one international source market for Hilton Hotels in the Middle East Hilton Hotels Corporation anticipates doubling its portfolio in Middle East & Africa over the next five years in line with the company's strategic focus on development and growth. Currently with 43 properties and 15 new openings scheduled over the next three years in the Arabian Peninsula, Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, Morocco, Algeria, Africa and Indian Ocean, the Middle East's leading hotel brand (ref. Business Development Research Consultants 2007 survey) is targeting a Hilton hotel in every capital city.

Unique Online Technology Enables Visitors from Shanghai to San Francisco to Pick up a Pillow and Join the First Ever Virtual Pillow Fight at Sheratonplay.com and Multiple Other Sites Technology Enables Visitors to Book Reservations While They Play

The feathers are flying as Sheraton Hotels & Resorts starts a worldwide pillow fight through the use of unique online technology showcased at a new interactive website, Sheratonplay.com. The site invites visitors from across the globe to pick up a pillow and join a live virtual pillow fight, while simultaneously enabling them to book reservations or search travel options. Sheratonplay.com, developed to support the brand's goals to bring people together and allow them to interact while traveling, uses online technology in an unprecedented way by enabling multiple web users to interact "live" simultaneously on the same or multiple web pages.

Helping High-Achieving Business Travelers Experience the Ultimate Stay Using international dance forms as a metaphor to express its global reach and the synchronicity of its staff, Marriott International, Inc. (NYSE:MAR) has launched a dynamic and sophisticated multi-media advertising campaign to support its global, nearly 500-hotel-strong upscale, deluxe Marriott brand.