The Hilton Garden Inn in Portsmouth, New Hampshire faced a stressful morning today when a gas leak sickens elven of its guests.

The hotel closed at 10 am after “an exhaust vent malfunctioned and caused a buildup on the basement level of odorless and colorless carbon monoxide.”

Firefighters and ambulances showed up immediately at the Hilton Garden, but thankfully, none of the guests was injured or intoxicated seriously.

The well-known chain of hotels, Best Western International, has recently announced the opening of its first hotel in Ukraine.

The Best Western Sevastopol Hotel in Sevastopol, is located right on the sea port, in a great cultural area of the country.

Suzi Yoder, Vice President of International Operations at Best Western International commented:“With the first Best Western property in Ukraine, travelers are able to stay with a trusted friend while exploring a city and nation rich in history.”

“The Best Western Sevastopol Hotel will be ideal for foreign tourists and business people traveling in and out of Crimea’s main resort destination.”

The United States faced a critical year in 2009 with the global crisis and one of the most affected industries was the hospitality.

According to the STA database report, the U.S. has ended “the week virtually flat with a 0.8-percent decrease to 48.4 percent. Average daily rate dropped 4.8 percent to finish the week at US$95.34. Revenue per available room for the week fell 5.6 percent to finish at US$46.14.”

This is just the begging of 2010 and there is time to recuperate what has been lost, but apparently the U.S. is still facing economic problems in the hotel industry.

In a recent report, the Canadian hospitality industry has posted mixed results of its performance for the first month of 2010.

According to the STR database the occupancy for the hotel industry ended with a decrease of 58%, while “revenue per available room for the week rose 1.1 percent to CAD$65.50.”

“Among the provinces, Manitoba reported the only double-digit occupancy increase, rising 10.0 percent to 61.4 percent, followed by New Brunswick with a 9.1-percent increase to 45.6 percent. British Columbia experienced the largest occupancy decrease, falling 11.0 percent to 51.9 percent.”

According to a recent report by STR Global, China had a drastic change in its hotel performance in 2009. In contrast to China’s fast growing economy, the hospitality industry has been suffering since the beginning of last year.

Experts and professionals had predicted that China’s economy will soon overtake Japan’s; however, the decline in RevPAR went down 21 %.

“The nationwide downturn in hotel performance nevertheless reflects the impact of the global financial crisis of late 2008 and 2009.”

Hotel Brokers International (HBI) is well-known to be one of the largest brokerage organizations in the country. With more than 30 offices, the HBI has recently announced a change in its board officers.

“Mr.Tony DeGeorge, CHB, of Greene, Canfield, DeGeorge, Ltd. will succeed Jeffrey W. Westgor, CHB, of Westgor & Associates, Inc. as president.”

President DeGeorge commented: “The past year brought numerous changes to our industry and in turn to our organization. As individual brokers we were unable to control the economy and its impact on the hotel real estate industry; yet, collectively as an organization we took control in moving HBI forward for the coming year.”

The SBDC for Enterprise Excellence and EcoGreenHotel is pleased to announce its first invitation to visit the hotel and to enjoy the presentation of the rapidly changing green hospitality industry.

Mr. Jeff Kiec, Corporate Director of Sustainability for EcoGreenHotel, will be in charged of presenting energy efficiency as well as innovative technologies and green marketing for managers.
Among some of the studies,you will find:

• “Eco labels” for hotels

• Swimming pool energy and chemical use reductions

• Wireless Energy Management Systems

• Guest room and back of the house recycling programs

• Web-based marketing strategies

Tuesday, February 16th 2:00pm - 3:30pm

Please RSVP to JKiec@EcoGreenHotel.com

Marriott International, Inc. has announced that they are waiting for the fourth quarter results, as they are not yet available. However, the company believes that the last quarter of 2009 might have better results compared to last year’s report.

Mr. Marriott said: “For Marriott, the fourth quarter looked better than we expected outside North America, while things in the U.S. and Canada were also a little better. Leisure travelers are responding to the terrific values we’re offering. We’ve also seen business travel and large meetings start to pick up, which is big for our industry.”

It is a matter of time, results will be posted soon and Marriott International Inc. will be able to evaluate their situation for the last quarter of 2009.

The new Hyatt Place Fort Lauderdale Airport-South was opened thanks to the hard work of the Hyatt Hotels & Resorts and OTO Development, LLC.

The hotel features 149 spacious rooms, all with a 42′ HDTV, complimentary WiFi, complimentary continental breakfast a more than 1,500 square feet of meeting space.

Corry Oakes, CEO and president, OTO Development, LLC commented:”Annually, more than 20 million passengers are already flying through Hollywood International Airport and nearly four million cruise passengers are utilizing Port Everglades.”

The Radisson Blu Madrid Prado is a boutique hotel located just across the Prado Muesum in Spain. The hotel will be managed by the Rezidor Hotel Group.

The Radisson Blu Madrid Prado has 54 guestrooms designed by Spanish interior designer Sandra Aruela and Isabel Lopez.

Kurt Ritter, President & CEO of Rezidor commented: “This hotel is a perfect addition to the young and stylish portfolio of Radisson Blu. We are delighted to be present in the key market of Madrid now and look forward to our further future business development in Spain.”