The latest hotelier to jump onboard the blogging bandwagon is Brad Nelson, Marriott’s Culinary VP and Corporate Chef who aims to follow in the footsteps of Marriott’s big kahuna, Bill Marriott, by starting his own food blog titled "Marriott in the Kitchen".

Fleishman-Hillard, the communications company behind the buzz and PR, says "Brad travels all over the world, working with Marriott chefs to try new tastes, develop recipes and menus and gather more flavor for the company’s hundreds of restaurants. Collecting pictures (He’s also a photographer, natch) and recipes from his travels, he’s long wanted to share his traveling adventures, recipes and photos with the world"

Another set of great videos - this time with General Manager, Francisco Giles of the Renaissance Dubai Hotel. Francisco runs through some of the key management tips he keeps in mind when on the job - true words of wisdom from a dynamic individual who was declared GM of the Year at the Hotelier ME Awards in 2007.

YoungHotelier.com has released a series of insider videos focusing on the art and science of Molecular Gastronomy. The videos are taken at Tang Restaurant in Dubai, which happens to be the only one of its kind in the Middle East. Here is a sample video involving the use of liquid nitrogen in cooking at Tang:

St. Regis Continues Dynamic Growth Path as it Announces Plans to Expand in the Middle East

NEW YORK, Feb 25, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:HOT) announced plans to debut a St. Regis hotel in Bahrain, one of the most thriving travel destinations in the Middle East. The St. Regis Bahrain will be located on a reclaimed island facing Manama's city centre. Scheduled to open in 2011, the 300-room hotel will introduce an unrivaled dimension of luxury and bespoke service at one of the world's best addresses.

On Wednesday January 23 2008, LTI – International Hotels and Pyramisa Hotels & Resorts, saw the official grand opening of their newest and largest Resort in Egypt, LTI – Pyramisa Beach Resort . With over 100 VIPS in attendance, the Minister of Tourism Mr.Zoheer Garanah and the General Abu Baker El Rashid, Governor of the Red Sea, officially opened LTI – Pyramisa latest addition to their portfolio.

With the spectacular W Hotel in Doha set to open this year, there are plenty of opportunities for young talent to showcase their abilities at this landmark property. Check out the details below, including a full release on the hotel and some visuals!



W HOTELS. DOHA. QATAR. PRE-OPENING OPPORTUNITIES. TALENT. SHOW. Auditioning now for the following talent:

> Welcome Office - Welcome Agents
> Welcome Office - W Insiders
> Whatever/Whenever - Concierge
> Beverage & Food – Servers
> Beverage & Food – Hostesses
> Beverage & Food – Bartenders

According to a fresh release yesterday, Starwood Hotels & Resorts have said that more than 300 Hotels belonging to the Sheraton and Four Points by Sheraton brands in the U.S., Canada and Caribbean will Implement a 100% Smoke-Free Policy. This follows Westin's pioneering move to ban smoking in it's North American properties...a move replicated by various others chains in the industry.

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 11, 2008--Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: HOT) announced today that its Sheraton(R) and Four Points(R) by Sheraton hotel brands will implement a smoke-free policy at more than 300 hotels and resorts throughout the U.S., Caribbean and Canada. Sheraton and Four Points by Sheraton have begun converting all smoking guestrooms to non-smoking in preparation for the new policy. In addition, all public areas will also be 100% smoke-free*.

Dubai is certainly doing a lot in terms of tourism development - a keystone to this is water sports, which Dubai is a superb host to. The Mina Seyahi complex in Dubai is one of the key drivers to water sports in the city and offers a great location to watch events (live and in person) that would normally be only covered on television. The Maktoum Sailing Regatta will be held from 21-29 February 2008 and the video below offers a glimpse into the event and sailing in Dubai.

A hotel ecommerce professional shares his take on the art and science of Web Page Optimization, a key for any hotel or business website aiming for high visibility and traffic on the Web.

Web Page Optimization at Sheraton Doha: As it is a known fact that while eCommunications evolve, internet has become a mainstream media outlet used frequently throughout the day. Studies show that the web is the leading medium at work and second leading medium at home behind the television. The ease of communicating being provided by the internet is embraced by different sectors particularly the hospitality industry.

In the Middle East, as the number of hotels grows, the competitions are becoming so aggressive in marketing specially the hotel’s presence in the virtual world. Ergo, the eCommerce initiatives of hotels top with the Search Engine Optimization (SEO) which plays a vital role in hotel’s eExposure.

While the online marketplace is gaining ground in terms of channel mix, especially for established hotel companies, the GDS still contributed significantly to the distribution break-up. Travelclick reports that there is a growing influence of GDS Hotel Promotions on the bookings realized by hotels. The release is provided below...

New Study Finds GDS Hotel Promotions Have a Growing Influence on Bookings: Now over 50 percent of travel agents with ad recall, book the advertised hotel: CHICAGO (February 6, 2008) — TravelCLICK, Inc. the leading provider of emarketing solutions for the hotel industry, today released results from a survey that demonstrates travel agents continue to increase their reliance on Global Distribution Systems (GDS) promotions for hotel bookings. Conducted for TravelCLICK by Phoenix Marketing International, the online, biannual survey included 500 travel agents from 30 countries, representing the four major GDS systems—Amadeus, Galileo, Sabre, and Worldspan.

We interview Deborah Koehler, a dynamic and inspiring teacher, coach and student. Deborah is a globally renowned management coach involved in coaching and training world’s top ranking CEO’s, GM’s and managers. Harvard University educated business psychologist/counselor and expert in corporate and cross culture management, her clients have included one of the conception leaders of American Idol, Shell Oil, United Distillers, Fremantle, Kantar Group, Goldman Sachs, McKinsey, Geller Inc, Mindshare and individuals leading business professional in high profile positions. She is currently a visiting lecturer at GATE (Hotel Management Institute) Nepal.

Above - the P&O Cruises "Shiver" Commercial P&O Cruises launched a set of commercials at the end of December 2007, with a distinctly "different" feel. The commercials have been received with mixed praise and criticism... I for one like them, especially "Shiver" above... a little chilly, but then again the commercial certainly leaves a lasting impression and remains in memory. The message is also beautifully communicated - the direction, editing and camerawork is brilliant! Watch the other two, Butterflies and Weight below... not as haunting as Shiver... but also well created.

I received an email from a new site on the travel block - they call themselves AirOpinion.com and aim to bring to Air Travel what TripAdvisor.com brings to the world of hotel reviews. Unfortunately, when I checked the site, I got an error "PHP has encountered an Access Violation at 097E9878"...an embarrasing start, no doubt :| Attached is a cached screenshot of the site...more information on the concept and features below...

Kango.com has introduced a new travel blog search widget which hopes to alleviate the trouble most of us go through searching for (and through) good travel blogs / posts. The widget employs custom Google search and scours the contents of selected travel blogs which have made it on the list. A great promotion tool, no doubt, for Kango itself, but also a good value addition to most travel blogs to help their readers search for more travel content out there...

Sheraton Hotels and Resorts Introduces Exciting New Offerings to Enhance the Guest Experience Guests of Sheraton(R) Hotels & Resorts are waking up to new comforts as the most recognized hotel brand in the world introduces several new signature room amenities. Sheraton properties throughout North America are rolling out new bath amenities, through an exclusive partnership with Bliss(R), and serving up Starbucks(R) products, both coffee and Tazo(R) teas. The guest room refresh is one component of a larger effort to revitalize the guest experience at Sheraton's 408 hotels across 75 countries, and is currently rolling out nationwide.

Kenya has always been considered a safe haven in East Africa and is a great tourist spot for beach holidays and African safaris. However the recent post-election clashes and continuing violence in the country has torn apart the economy - tourism and the Kenyan hotel industry has been hit hard. News reports indicate a high number of hotel closures and lay-offs with declining visits. At the Coast of Kenya, which accounts for about 2/3rds of the hotel industry, 20 hotels have been shut down (of 150 hotels with 32,000 beds in the region) and others are recording a dismal 10 - 20% occupancy. It is clear that the situation is headed towards a spiral if nothing is done to bring warring parties to an agreement - the hotel industry, which took some time to recover from the blasts half a decade ago, is right back where it started at that point, much to the dismay of hotel operators and tourists.

YoungHotelier.com has just added their second installment of funny cuts and bloopers from various hotelier interviews on their site - check them out for a laugh or two! :)

Nepal is fast making a name in hospitality...and Hotel Management Education! GATE is the latest hospitality academy to make its debut in this beautiful country and plans to offer professional hotel education in combination with Swiss Hotel School - SSTH (Passugg / Chur). GATE has also announced a strong drive towards international ISO certification and strong ties with global Coffee trademark Illy Cafe and will introduce a branch as well as Barrista courses in the future. The school also announced scholarships for students from India, something very new to the region. Looking forward to seeing what impact the school has with it's new trend setting approaches to long-term and craft-level hotel / hospitality courses. Good luck GATE!
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Official Info: GATE (The Global Academy of Tourism & Hospitality Education) opens in Nepal: bringing the best of the West to the East! Switzerland has a long history in benchmarking excellence in hotel management education in the world. With Surprisingly similar geography: Nepal also a small landlocked country situated between two economic giants of Asia, (China and India) Is following Switzerland tradition of excellence in Hotel Management. GATE - Global Academy for Tourism and Hospitality Education has started its first session with 50 students and will soon admit international students. It is located on a lovely plot of land over-looking Kopan Monastery in Kathmandu, the capital valley of Nepal!