The Washington Post recently wrote that the Marriott is mulling the idea of putting a new hotel in the Baghdad, Iraq ‘Green Zone’.

The development team would have to overcome some serious obstacles. Besides security issues, the Baghdad infrastructure has been seriously ravaged by the war.

The Marriott wants to expand its Middle Eastern presence, and the United States government is eager to have investment and development take place in the war torn Iraq.

“As with any opportunity, we carefully consider all the factors involved,” said Marriott spokesman John Wolf. “We’re evaluating this, just as we are considering opportunities elsewhere.”

Times Square was not the commercial mecca it is today, where prostitutes and drug dealers are now difficult to find. Back then it was still, as Bill Marriott once wrote, a “run-down, seedy area that might or might not come back to life.” Building hotel there was “a huge risk.”

But Marriott went ahead, installing one of the most elaborate hotel security systems of its time. Entrance to the hotel was limited. The lobby was located on the eighth floor. Times Square turned around, and today the Marquis is among the company’s most profitable hotels.

- Washington Post

Read the full article.

Wyndham Hotel Group has agreed with the Days Hospitality Inc. of Markham, Ontario to build 17 new Ramada Inns in Eastern Canada over the next 10 years.

One of many brands not slowing down their expansion regardless of the economic turmoil of the past year in the United States and world markets, the hotel industry continues to charge on.

The group went with the Ramada Inn because it is “positioned as a global leader in midmarket lodging and emphasizes the importance of service, product quality and high standards,” according to Scott McPhail, Days Hospitality chief operating officer.

“We are focused on growing and strengthening the Ramada brand,” said Mark Young, Ramada brand senior vice president. “This agreement with Days Hospitality is a testimony to that commitment. Our growth in Canada, Asia and Europe demonstrates the brand’s increasing success.”

Read More Here.

Located in Copenhagen, the Brochner Hotels chain has become the world’s first 100% CO2 neutral hotel chain.

“There are a great number of major international hotelchains which are working actively today with economy measures with regard to energy and climate reductions and which have set up ambitious goals of becoming climate neutral one day. However, we are actually - as far as I know - the first chain in the world, which has gone the whole length already now,” says General Manager Kirsten Brøchner.

The chain is small, with only 4 hotels all located in Copenhagen. Their achievement is none the less something to take note of.

Hotel chains around the country have begun an effort to be more green and environmentally friendly, some of which have popped up in and round such hot tourist destinations as San Francisco, California.

Read more here.

The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) has announced plans to take up the green challenge.

PATA will be investing in two sustainable tourist projects “as part of a range of measures to reduce the carbon impact of the PATA CEO Challenge.”

In his opening comments at the Challenge, outgoing-PATA Chairman Brian Deeson said that PATA would contribute to Thai Royal Project, a sustainable development initiative in northern Thailand, as well as the not-for-profit organisation Atmosfair, which manages carbon-reducing projects worldwide.

In January 2008, PATA signed an agreement with EC3 Global, managers of the Green Globe brand in Asia Pacific, to “use its science and systems to help significantly reduce the carbon footprint of key elements of the CEO Challenge”. Green Globe is the leading international environmental benchmarking and certification programme for the travel and tourism industry.

Most of their attention is being focused on participating in the Royal Project in Thailand.

“While this is new territory for us, we have tried to do everything possible to reduce our emissions, as well as learn how we can improve our performance for future events. Our approach is to mitigate where possible and offset where we can’t,” MR Deeson said.

Read the PATA Press Release.

Golden Tulip, a Switzerland-based hospitality group, has announced big expansion plans.

With over 900 hotels in their portfolio, the Golden Tulip Group is looking to strengthen their presence across all of South East Asia with the opening of 40 new hotels over the next 4 years.

“Our strategy is to develop economy business hotels in capital cities in Southeast Asia and our four- and five-star brands, Royal Tulip and Golden Tulip Resorts, in resort areas. We are proud to be a multi-brand hospitality company,” said President and CEO Mr Hans WR Kennedie.

10 Asian countries are slated for numerous hotels, most of which are under active negotiation. Thailand, Cambodia, Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia, and others are the list.

“Our expansion in Southeast Asia will be achieved through the management and leasing of individual hotels, alliances, joint ventures, and the merging and acquisition of existing hotel groups. We’re setting up a hotel property investment fund to finance future projects,” said Mr Hans WR Kennedie.

Read more at ehotelier.com.

Thailand alone is to have 15 new properties, all within the 4 to 5 star class rating.

The Jamaican Observer newspaper recently published a scathing article attacking major Spanish Hotels on the island for diminishing the Jamaican image among tourists.

The article outlines a long list of grievances, from the oversight to flagrant disregard of environmental protocols, irreversible shoreline damage, and shaddy building processes that have resulted in injuries to tourists.

“In the heyday of Caribbean tourism, Jamaica was regarded as a high-end destination whereas Spain was seen as down market - a short hop for the working-class and students fresh out of college with beer money in their pockets. Men like John Pringle and Heinz Simonitsch made Jamaica the destination of choice,” the article details.

“Over the last six years, some six hotel chains coming out of Spain have established cheap but cheerful all-inclusive hotels catering to a more down-market visitor at a time when Jamaica has been trying to reposition itself as a mid- to high-end destination in order to extract the most out of the tourism dollar.”

“Jamaica cannot afford to be the Torremolinos of the Caribbean,” said an industry analyst. “A glut of all-inclusive hotels at US$120 a room per night will hurt us, and the likes of Four Seasons, Mandarin and Trump will steer well clear of Jamaica. The trickle down effect will be minimal. Let’s not forget that the industry depends on gratuities, and these cheap all-inclusives do not provide those. What you will see is that the Jamaican tourism dollar will contract.”

On top of cheapening the Jamaican product, alleged oversights in construction quality and the lack for respect of Jamaican locals and the Jamaican government are getting some residents and officials up in arms.

Read the whole article here.

As part of its ongoing world expansion, Starwood Hotels has just opened a new St. Regis Hotel in Singapore, the first internationally branded luxury hotel to do so in over a decade.

“We define St. Regis by our guests and the experiences and services they demand and expect. Nothing less than an unrivaled dimension of luxury and bespoke service - from arrival to departure, and beyond - will do,” said Ross Klein, President, Starwood’s Luxury Brands Group.

With 299 luxury guestrooms, a much desired downtown address and a new level of service and comfort, the St. Regis has done just that.

Located in the thick of the Embassy District, the hotel is nearby to the financial district, exclusive boutique shops, the world famous Singapore Botanical Gardens, any many other cultural and business assets.

Read the full story.

The Kor Hotel Group will be building a new Viceroy Hotel in New York City, slated to open in 2010.

“Our expansion into New York City is extremely exciting. Visibility in this major international city has been a goal of ours for some time now. We are looking forward to this venture and believe that our Viceroy brand will thrive in the cosmopolitan, urban sophistication that New York exemplifies,” said Kor Hotel Group Founder and CEO, Brad Korzen.

Said to contain 168 well-appointed guestrooms in the top 12 floors of an office building recently constructed. This massive building takes up an entire city block.

World-renowned architects Brennan Beer Gorman (BBG) and interior designers Yabu Pushelberg will be helping out in the design of the new Viceroy, a brand known for their intuitive service and designs.

Read more here.

She doesn’t seem to stay out of the news too well, and after her latest destruction of a Moscow Hyatt Hotel’s wallpaper, she’s been put on the blacklist.

Paris scrawled her name in black marker on the designer wallpaper of the Presidential Suite for a photoshoot, and when Hotel staff found out she was find €4,500 and blacklisted from all Hyatt Hotels.

A spokesman said: “Miss Hilton ruined the wallpaper in the luxury suite. In such a case the client automatically goes on the black list.”

This is just one of many scandals that Paris has been up to in the Russian capital. Read the Telegraph story here.

“We’re building the hotel,” said David Thurman, a principal of Los Angeles-based Foch Investments/Development, which is developing the project. “We have signed agreements with St. Regis.”

A St. Regis Hotel & Residences will be built, with 150 guestrooms and 70 - 80 condo units above that.

A zoning request to permit a higher building height and to extend the land by 100,000 sq. ft. was declined, however, by the Dallas City Planning commision.

Regardless of this denial the development team hopes to begin soon and have the project completed by 2010.

That way, the new project will be ready for the 2011 NFL Superbowl game, to be held at the new Dallas Stars football stadium in Arlington, TX.

Even with the economic downturn and a decrease in consumer spending, it looks like many projects continue to spring up across the country. The new St. Regis being just one of many.

Read the entire article at The Dallas Morning News.