The Word Food Exchange is to hosted in Southern Australia, where it is expected to boost Culinary Tourism in the region.

Tourism Minister Jane Lomax-Smith today announced the event will be held from 21 to 25 September and will be a major boost for the State’s gourmet tourism appeal.

“Hosting this event is a South Australian first,” Dr Lomax-Smith says. ”Sophisticated food and wine travellers already understand that South Australia’s wine, food and agriculture are among the best in the world. The World Food Exchange will examine programs that can accelerate the State’s campaign to become a world-leading culinary tourism destination. South Australia is in a good position to make the most of the growing global trend for sustainable culinary tourism.”

The program will include regional tours, speakers, and media presentations.

Attendees will be immersed in the food and wine culture of the Barossa, and given a taste of the world-class and ecologically sustainable seafood and aquaculture industries of the Eyre Peninsula.

Read More about the event here.

More than a third “seek out hotels that are environmentally friendly,” according to a new survey of 1,155 business travelers commissioned by Big Four firm Deloitte.

The survey says 38 percent have researched green lodging facilities, while 28 percent say they’re willing to pay 10 percent more for green accommodations.

Surprising to some, today’s business travelers are concerned with their accomodations green practices on multiple levels.

Business travelers expect hotels to recycle (77 percent), and use energy-efficient lighting and windows (74 percent and 59 percent, respectively). To a lesser extent, they expect hotels to give guests the option of not having sheets and towels changed every day (52 percent). Using environmentally safe cleaning products is expected by 49 percent of those surveyed.

eHotelier

Many hotels have begun pushing their green marketing and practices for good reason.

Those who have been quiet on the subject or unwilling to make changes might do best to consider implementing recommendations and highlighting their ‘green spirit’ in their marketing campaigns.

Read the article here.

Travelodge, the UK’s fastest growing budget hotel company, announced the acquisition of two hotels from Swallow Hotels and an exchange on a further 5 hotels for a total investment of £69.9 million.

The hotels are located in England, Scotland and Wales and will follow the preferred leasehold model of Travelodge. This expansion adds another 669 rooms to the Travelodge portfolio.

Paul Harvey, Travelodge’s Property Director, said: “As price and location continue to drive consumer behavior we are seeing customers shift to budget hotel accommodation. These new hotels, in some of the top UK tourist spots, will add nearly 700 new rooms to our portfolio - helping us to make hotels available to more people than ever before.

“We continue to actively seek and pursue, new development and growth opportunities are looking to open a further 4000 new rooms in 2009″.

- eHotelier.com

The Travelodge brand opened with its first budget hotel in 1985 and now operates over 330 hotels and over 22,500 rooms.

Read more here.

The power the Internet can have over customer buying decisions is more visible in the Hospitality Industry than anywhere else. With 8 out of 10 clients relying on 3rd party recommendations online and using online services to research and book their next stay, it is clear that eMarketing strategies will only continue to grow in importance budget.

Jitendra Jain recommends 5 steps for getting your Hotel’s eMarketing campaign off on the right foot in this article.

1. Keep information concise and search engine friendly. Avoid using Flash-heavy websites that won’t be found by search engines, and use one site with different sections for content and information rather than several microsites.
2. Use Customer Relationship Managers to reach your client base in the right way at the right time. Use your collected data to market custom packages to clients who want them.
3. Use internet marketing services and 3rd party outlets to promote your services and hotels online.
4. Use Web 2.0 features to create a buzz about your product. From blogs to press releases, get your advertising to grow on a viral level.
5. Use the Interactive functionality of the internet to your advantage. Whether capturing details about a customer and their reason for their stay or getting them more involved in the process to start and finish a larger percentage of bookings, make sure you use the tools of the platform to their maximum.

Park Plaza Hotels expects to double their number of rooms.

The group recently signed development contracts with Russsia, Croatia, and the UK. 

The deals - all signed within a few weeks of each other - include new hotel developments in Russia’s premier business travel destinations such as Moscow and St. Petersburg, resort and conference hotels on the breathtaking Istrian Coast, and the Company’s first art’otel in the UK in London’s Hoxton area of the City. 

President and CEO Boris Ivesha said:

I am delighted to be able to announce such key developments for Park Plaza Hotels that not only expand our brand network into new markets but that we anticipate will exceed the goals set last July at the time of our AIM listing.  We have a commitment to our stakeholders to grow the business through contracts with reputable strategic partners and these valuable developments in key destinations are testament to that dedication.  

Park Plaza Hotels offers one of the most flexible models in the management, franchise and development market today with two brands - Park Plaza Hotels & Resorts and art’otel - providing affordable luxury to the discerning needs of the modern-day business and leisure traveller.

Read more here.

The Austin Concention Center is hosting a display of the hotel room of the future entitled Guestroom2010.

While many of the features of the room are still in the proto-typing phase, most of its gadgets, gizmos, and wow factors are quickly becoming a reality, and may be implemented within the next few years.

How about checking in and unlocking your hotel room with your cellphone? Sounds pretty neat, and now you don’t have to worry about returning that key at the end of your stay, or waiting in line to check in and receive it after a long flight.

Forgot your charger? No problem. Just set it on the Wildcharger pad from WildCharge, a thin conductive surface, and away it goes to charging. 

Need a relaxing bath? Forget about that jacuzzi tub. We’re going to the next level.

Fountainhead VibrAcoustic Bath tub enhances the aquatic experience with colored lights, original music and “sound-therapy” vibrations. Bathers can choose from four pre-set sound/vibration experiences, modify the lighting and adjust the vibration intensity according to their personal preferences.

My personal favorite is answering the phone while laying down in bed, without answering the phone.

The perCushion from Urban Tool, currently in development, is an ergonomic pillow-style cushion that features a microphone, speakers and Bluetooth capability, so you can pick up calls without having to find your phone or even raise your head. It’s slated for launch toward the end of the year.

The future looks exciting for the hotel industry as far as amenities is concerend.

Read the whole article here.

Regardless of current market and economic woes spanning the globe, major Hotel brands continue to develop and extend their brand’s reach. Marriott Hotel is the most recent to announce major growth plans.

The Marriott International announced plans to create 18 new hotels between now and 2012, 9 of which have been announced.

Once all the hotels have been launched, the Marriott International porfolio will contain 59 hotels in China.

“We are thrilled by the continued growth of our hotel portfolio in China,” said Ed Fuller, president & managing director of international lodging for Marriott International.  “In just 11 short years, we have been able to significantly grow our presence in mainland China in primary urban centers and now we are expanding our reach into secondary markets and territories throughout the country. Thanks to our diverse brands portfolio, we are providing consumers with a wide choice in accommodations in terms of the type of hotel travel experience selected and the price paid.”  

Marriott Internaional has 130,000 under development or construction worldwide, with over 55,000 of them already having broken ground and begun construction.

Read More Here.

Hotels failing to offer the latest technology free to their guests are going to miss out.

“One of the greatest challenges facing the hotel industry in 2008 is to ensure that guests enjoy a guestroom experience which they have in their living room at home,” said Ted Horner, one of Australia’s leading hospitality technology consultants

With the wide spread use of iPhones, iPods, notebook computers and blackberrys, hotels that fail to offer the tools for these gadgets free to guests will miss out on a large profile of clients that refuse to go without.

And the free part is important.

Read more about The Hotel Show conference where these issues were discussed here.

Modern day travelers are not to be duped. They are willing to search far and wide for the best deals, and the best hotels. More than ever, Hotel marketing and advertising does less to push a potential customer into the deal. So what is the final push? Third party recommendations.

With the explosion of Web 2.0 Social networking websites like TripAdvisor.com, customers can now get easy access to hundreds if not thousands of third party opinions. Likewise, they become more and more skeptical of advertising text — they want to know the dirty details.

In a tightly pinched US Economic setting, participation in these third party websites have become more important than ever before. Customers are more concerned than ever for getting their money’s worth and at a good price on top of that.

Read this article for good ideas on WEB 2.0 Design for Hotels and how to help boost sales.

According to Adrian Loveridge, chairman of the Small Hotels Committee of the board of the Barbados Tourism Authority (BTA), small hotels in the Caribbean are under threat to sell out as a result of the economic pinch.

“If smaller properties are struggling financially, they could be easy targets [for those making offers to purchase the property],” he said, adding the small hoteliers will be tempted to take the “soft option”.

Smaller hotels, (those with fewer than 75 rooms) have been being sold and bought up, with over 27 deals taking place over the past 15 years. With the new economic pinch, these smaller hotels may find the option of selling out the best way to go.

Smaller hotels cannot afford the marketing of larger chains and do not have the tour operated force behind their operations. In an effort to save the small carribean hotels, Mr Loveridge has begun an innitiative for collective advertising to promote the summer season. The summer season tends to hit small hotels harder, with occupancy between 20-25%.

Read more here.