According to data complied by STR Global the European hotel industry has mixed year-over-year results when reported in U.S dollars, Euros and British Pounds.

The data revealed that when counting occupancy, average daily rate and revenue per available room, the results for this first quarter in the European hotel industry has gone from double-digit losses to single-digit gains.

James Chappell, managing director of STR Global has commented: “The annual Easter mismatch has had a positive effect on European performance but has only extended to a very limited number of markets.” Europe itself has fallen 14% in RevPAR.

There’s a huge concern about Europe, according to James Chappell:

“I think we can look forward to some eye-watering numbers in April.” Chappell added. Hopefully, with summer hitting Europe, there’s hope that things might change, but time will tell.

The Hilton Hotels Corporation and its senior executives Ross Klein, Global Head of Hilton Luxury & Lifestyle Brands, and Amar Lalvani, Global Head of Hilton Luxury & Lifestyle Brand Development were sued by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc in the U.S District Court for the Southern District of New York.

The Lawsuit alleges that Mr. Ross Klein, former President, Starwood Luxury Brands Group, and Mr. Amar Lalvani, former Senior Vice President, Starwood Luxury Brands Group were stealing massive amounts of property and highly confidential Starwood information which was used to expedite Hilton’s entry into the lifestyle hotel market.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts has announced that they have filed the lawsuit and that they are seeking preliminary and permanent injunctive relief and compensatory and punitive damages from Hilton, Klein and Lalvani.

According to the latest European HotStats survey by TRI Hospitality Consulting, lower room rates are working out to keep London hotel occupancy high.

Among the top 10 most visited European cities, London is first in the list to be the city with an average of 76% of occupancy for the first three months of 2009; however, its average room rate came in fifth place at 140.40 Euros.

Other cities like Paris, Amsterdam and Vienna had higher average room rate than London, but the percentage in occupancy was lower. It ranged from 53% in Vienna to 68% in Paris.

Undoubtedly, the strategy of lowering prices in a time of crisis has made London a much more popular city among its sister cities in Europe.

The March 2009 STR/TWR/Dodge Construction Pipeline Report released this past week commented that at the end of the first quarter of the calendar year, the Canadian hotel development pipeline includes 224 projects comprising 25,793 rooms.

Comparing this numbers to February 2009, this represents a 1.1% decrease in the number of rooms in the pipeline and a 3.6% increase in the numbers of rooms in the pipeline compared to March 2008.

In the chain-scale segments, the pipeline experienced double-digital, year-over-year increase in four of the seven segments.

The luxury segment increase a total of 23.4%, including rooms total in the active pipeline.

Top 5 Hotels In Cuba

Cuba offers many great, luxurious Cuban hotels- here are just a few that come highly recommended:

1- The Hotel Saratoga

The Hotel Saratoga in picturesque Old Havana. Overlooking the intersection at Paseo del Prado and Dragones Street, it faces the Capitolio building with an astonishing view of the world renowned Partagas Cigar Factory and the Gran Teatro de La Habana. Each room is equipped with a minibar, security box, private bathroom, telephone, and satellite television. While perhaps standard in American hotels, these are rare conveniences in Cuba. The hotel itself provides a laundry service, car rentals, cyber cafe, room service, a swimming pool, a bar, and an in-house babysitter. The Saratoga has recently been refurbished in the neo-classical style, with a mezzanine bar and a spectacular rooftop pool that allows views of the old town and port.

2- Melia Habana Hotel

Business visitors will enjoy accommodations at the Melia Habana hotel in the heart of Miramar, the center of Havana’s business trade. In-house food facilities are extensive, offering a Miramar restaurant buffet, as well as a la carte restaurants featuring Cuban, Italian, and Barbeque cuisine. Hotel features include a fitness room, tennis court, beauty salon, medical services, events hall, sauna, swimming pool and internet access.

3- Parque Central

Hailed as the most luxurious international hotel in the city, Parque Central offers modern facilities in the heart of historic Old Havana. The terrace holds a tropical bar with a swimming pool.

4- Hotel Nacional de Cuba

Hotel Nacional de Cuba is situated atop a prominent promontory overlooking the pristine coastline. Amenities include restaurants, convention halls, car rentals, currency exchanges, fitness rooms, massages, laundry services, medical services, a pool, a cigar shop, and virtually every convenience a visitor could ask for.

5- Santa Isabel

Santa Isabel holds its traditional, historic charm and features, despite being recently renovated and reopened in the 1990s. Features include an in-house babysitter, cyber café, bar, car rental, restaurant and art gallery.

Brought to you by Floridita Travel

Simon Vincent was selected to be the hotelier of the week for ehotelier.com. He’s the President of Hilton Europe and a board of member of Hilton’s International Operations.

In an interview with Tom Otley from eHotelier, he commented about the hotel industry in Europe. He said that in Europe things are “pretty tough for us”; however, he’s confident that the Doubletree and the Garden Inn brands will keep showing revenue growth despite the global crisis.

He also commented that for the Hilton Hotels chain, the places that have been declining drastically have been in Spain and Portugal. Meanwhile, the UK was strong through the summer, but in October, it started to be tough.

Mr. Vincent also added that Germany has been the best in continental Europe, but this big chain is waiting to see what will happen in the near future.

It has been confirmed that EasyBus and VisitBritan, the Britain’s National Tourism Agency, have paired up to promote Britain as a top destination.

VisitBritain and EasyBus are launching a campaign in which they’ll promote Britain with online advertising, offline and microsite initiatives.

Due to the fact that the Sterling is 30% weaker against most of the European Union currencies, these two companies have analyzed that it will be cheaper and more affordable for EU travelers to visit Britain. As a matter of fact, this is one of their principal approaches in the campaign to promote Britain as the best European country to visit.

Dr. Judi Brownell has released her report “Fostering service excellence through listening: What hospitality managers need to know” in which she explains the importance of listening in hospitality employees.

According to her research of 83 hospitality managers, she found out that listening is the highest asset that a manager must employ. In an industry where services are key to promote businesses, managers must execute the skill of listening effectively when approaching their employee.

Despite cultural differences and backgrounds, managers must comprehend their staff, and articulate their feedback to them considering age and gender.

To have access to the whole report by Dr. Judi Brownell visit the official website.

The 29th International Tourism Fair will be held in Havana, Cuba on from May 4th to 8th and it will offer an interesting survey of opportunities for the U.S travel industry if the new travel to Cuba legislation is approved.

The Fund for Reconciliation and Development executive director John McAuliff said:”This is an annual trade show at which the full range of domestic and international travel service and facilities available in Cuba are represented.”

McAuliff hopes that President Obama confirms to “loosen remaining travel restrictions for all Americans” by the time the conference is held. However, there’s no legal obstacle for writers or journalist covering this event in Cuba, if they are “employed as journalist” by a recognized firm or newspaper.

The Marriott International Hotel has recently opened its third hotel in North Ryde, a suburban area of Sydney.

The President and Managing Director of International Lodging for Marriott International, Ed. Fuller said “the Courtyard brand have been embraced by travelers globally”. Fuller added he was very excited about the new Courtyard Hotel opening and future expansion on the horizon.

There are more than 600 Courtyard hotels in the world and the Courtyard by Marriott North Ryde will be added to that list.

The Courtyard by Marriott North Ryde features a restaurant and a bar that serves breakfast every morning. It has conference rooms, business center and fitness center.

The hotel is located close to Macquarie University, a big mall and the Macquarie Center.