BUSINESS TRAVEL
globenewswire | May 12, 2023
Today, Hotel Equities (HE) and National Hospitality Services (NHS) announced they have formed a strategic alliance. The NHS portfolio of 38 hotels will integrate into HE’s management platform creating strategic growth opportunities for associates and optimizing systems to create a more dynamic and powerful operations and sales engine. The alliance leverages efficiencies and resources to drive elevated performance across the combined portfolio of approximately 300 hotels and resorts throughout the United States and Canada.
“Since opening our first hotel in 1996, we have lived our promise to maximize earnings and value for the ownership groups we represent. Our partnership with Hotel Equities allows us to take that commitment to the next level," said founder and President of NHS, Norman Leslie. "The synergies and shared cultures of both companies ensure that our stakeholders will continue to see strong and growing returns for our ownership groups. This is an exciting time for our industry – but management must perform at a pinnacle level to deliver the returns that investors are seeking. That’s exactly what we will be able to do with this partnership."
“This alliance has been forged from a shared vision for future growth and a commitment to foundational values,” said HE’s President and Chief Executive Officer, Brad Rahinsky. “NHS’s track record of success and its stellar associate-centric reputation are well established in our industry. This alliance enables them to stay independent while honoring their legacy and unlocking the added scale, support and resources of HE’s collective platform.”
A key benefit from the alliance is the focused efforts on labor concerns, recruitment and retention with the added proprietary training and development resources and benefits HE has available to all of its associates and partners. NHS’s nearly 1,200 associates will bring HE’s total to more than 9,000 with access to additional perks including a sabbatical program, daily pay option, HE Marketplace and peer management training programs to spur and support continuous career growth.
“Not only will our team members have added growth opportunities by being part of an expansive portfolio but they also have the ability to tap into additional benefits and training programs to catapult their careers,” said Sarah Koustrup, Chief Strategy Officer for NHS. “Partnering with a group that invests heavily into its people was a huge deciding factor in moving forward with an alliance; it’s what we are most proud of.”
“Our people-focused and performance-driven model creates immediate value add for all of NHS’s stakeholders,” added HE’s Chief Operating Officer, Bryan DeCort. “As all new NHS associates are fully integrated into the HE ecosystem, owners will also experience real performance lift.”
“We continue to look for scale with the right groups where we both add value to the relationship in many ways,” said HE’s Chief Development Officer, Joe Reardon. “The alliance makes everyone better not only from cost savings to ownership groups but even more on the people side of the business. We are particularly excited about the growth opportunity this allows us in the Midwest.”
“The best-in-class systems, operations management and buying power of our combined efforts will not only elevate the guest experience at all of our hotels but also allow us to intensify our focus on NHS’s owner and asset management services with even more opportunities for property acquisitions, financing and enhanced operations management,” Leslie added.
About National Hospitality Services, LLC
National Hospitality Services (NHS) is a nationally recognized, award-winning hotel real estate investment and development company with a portfolio of 38 assets throughout the United States. NHS was founded by President Norman Leslie in 2001 and is led by Leslie and Chief Strategy Officer Sarah Koustrup. More information about NHS can be found at www.nhshotels.com.
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BUSINESS TRAVEL
prnewswire | March 24, 2023
The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) and the Saudi-based Sustainable Tourism Global Center have unveiled groundbreaking new data detailing the total water usage of the global Travel & Tourism sector.
In one of the largest research projects of its kind, WTTC can for the first time ever, accurately report and track the impact the sector has on the environment.
The findings were launched today at the United Nations in New York at the UN 2023 Water Conference.
Direct Water Use
Speaking at the UN Headquarters, Chris Imbsen, Director of Sustainability at WTTC, revealed that Travel & Tourism's entire water footprint is just 0.6% of the global water use according to the latest figures (2021).
In 2019, when the sector was at its peak, the sector's total water footprint was only 50% higher, but still less than 1% of the global total at 0.9%.
Travel & Tourism's direct water use is significantly lower – in 2019 it was 0.2% of the global total and has fallen by half to just 0.1% of the global total.
Much of the sector's water use is indirect, through its supply chain, with agriculture and food production accounting for two-thirds of Travel & Tourism's entire water footprint.
Between 2010 and 2019, the Travel & Tourism sector in Europe and Africa reduced direct water use. In Europe, direct water use fell by 8% and in Africa, direct water use by the sector fell by 6%.
Julia Simpson, WTTC President & CEO, said: "This ground-breaking new data reveals our sector's water consumption for the first time ever, revealing that Travel & Tourism uses less than 1% of the water used around the world, with the overwhelming majority of that usage coming from the sector's supply chain.
"The data also shows that whilst the sector has grown economically around the world, its direct-use water intensity has decreased.
"The data is the most in depth study of the sector's water use, and like the world-first climate footprint data we released at our Global Summit in Riyadh last year, we can also reveal individual countries' Travel & Tourism sector's water footprints. This will enable governments to work with the sector to further reduce water usage."
Water Intensity
The water intensity of Travel & Tourism per unit of GDP has also fallen since 2010, across both direct and indirect use.
In 2010, the sector used 0.57m³ of water for every $1 contributed to the global economy. In 2019 this fell by 19% to reach 0.46m³ of water for every $1 contributed to the global economy.
In a world-first, this comprehensive research covers 185 countries across all regions and will be updated each year with revised figures.
This research was made possible thanks to the partnership between WTTC and the Saudi-based Sustainable Tourism Global Center. Under the Saudi green Initiative, more than 60 initiatives have been launched in the past year, representing more than $186 billion of investment in the green economy.
About the World Travel & Tourism Council
The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) represents the global travel & tourism private sector. Members include 200 CEOs, Chairs and Presidents of the world's leading travel & tourism companies from all geographies covering all industries. For more than 30 years, WTTC has been committed to raising the awareness of governments and the public of the economic and social significance of the travel & tourism sector.
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INDUSTRY OUTLOOK
prweb | May 15, 2023
Just in time for spring and the reawakening of Boston’s iconic Public Garden, Four Seasons Hotel Boston has reopened its doors, welcoming guests to a new era of gracious hospitality. The city’s premier address has completed a dramatic design update of its arrival area, lobby and porte cochere, revealing artful and inspired new spaces created in partnership with AD100 designer Ken Fulk. This revitalization sets the stage for a new generation of guest experiences, unforgettable events and cherished memories.
“We are delighted to begin the next chapter of Four Seasons Hotel Boston and introduce an updated vision of luxury that evokes the character and rich history of Back Bay,” said Michael Pedder, General Manager, Four Seasons Hotel Boston. “We look forward to welcoming guests to our reimagined hotel.”
A Grand Hotel Experience on an Intimate Scale
Years in the making, Four Seasons Hotel Boston’s transformation blends the timelessness of the hotel with the grandeur of its verdant Public Garden setting. Drawing inspiration from the elegant homes of neighboring Beacon Hill and Back Bay, where old meets new, Fulk envisioned the hotel as a great residence overlooking stately grounds. He designed a new arrival experience that visually links the hotel to the historic garden on its doorstep. Guests are now greeted in a black-and-white-tiled entry court, enhanced with plantings and lanterns that lead them into the sanctuary of the new lobby.
Four Seasons Hotel Boston’s redesigned interiors welcome guests with a new sense of intimacy. The wide lobby has been masterfully reimagined as a series of smaller spaces that are grand, yet residential in scale. A new front desk crafted in tooled leather stands beneath an expansive original artwork depicting the Public Garden. A mural drawn in Impressionist style with a nod to Maxfield Parrish features the Garden’s flora and fauna, with willows, elm and oak trees surrounding the lagoon, where swan boats glide under the Foot Bridge and one swan holds a key. The key is a clue to a hidden, fanciful mystery closet next to the front desk. Upon their arrival, young guests are handed a large “kids-only” key to the closet and invited to select their own toys for an enchanting beginning to their Four Seasons Hotel Boston stay.
Spaces for Gracious Living, Day into Evening
Hotel guests will discover a collection of lobby-level spaces to enjoy from early morning until late evening. One of the newest is Coterie, a new lounge and restaurant open daily for dinner and bar service, with lunch to follow soon. Conceived as a place for intimate conversation and a retreat from the world outside, Coterie is inspired by Boston’s centuries-old tradition of thinkers and creators gathering to share ideas and socialize. Elevated traditional fare created by Executive Chef Patrice Martineau will be complemented by a selection of classic and signature cocktails, some featuring a custom botanical gin created exclusively for Four Seasons Hotel Boston, and honey from the hotel’s rooftop hives. Here, Fulk’s design evokes a charming estate, richly layered and decorated with a gallery of hand-drawn botanical illustrations and portraits of writers and artists, a soft color palette inspired by garden florals, all accented with vintage lighting and anchored by a zinc-topped bar with leather and brass details.
Opposite Coterie is the Library, a quiet respite offering rich velvet seating accented in silk fringe, where guests can wait for a friend or sit back with a classic cocktail and select from the bookshelves, curated to evoke a collection gathered by a family through the generations. Coffee-lovers and early risers will delight in Sottovento, a glamorous gourmet coffee bar serving made-to-order specialty coffee, tea and beverages – complimentary – every morning, alongside a selection of pastries and light refreshments. Using the hotel’s new Coffee Concierge service, in-house guests of Four Seasons Hotel Boston can place their custom coffee order seamlessly using the Four Seasons mobile app to have it delivered to their room or ready to collect.
Making a return to Four Seasons Hotel Boston this month is Aujourd’hui, the second-floor breakfast and lunch restaurant with its hallmark floor-to-ceiling windows framing panoramic Public Garden views. Sanctuary, a quiet, sixth-floor garden terrace, also makes its debut this month, offering guests a rare private courtyard in the city for quiet reading or enjoying in-room dining al fresco. Also making its return with the hotel’s reopening: The Vaults, refreshment pantries on every guest room floor of the hotel, stocked with snacks, treats and beverages, all complimentary to hotel guests and available 24 hours a day.
About Four Seasons Hotel Boston
Overlooking America's first botanical garden, Boston’s longest-standing Forbes Five-Star hotel enjoys the city's most coveted location, just steps from historic attractions, luxury shopping, and culinary gems. Nestled in the heart of the nation's most walkable city, the sophisticated urban retreat debuted a lobby-level redesign in May 2023. Guests will experience intimate dining and bar service at the new Coterie restaurant and lounge, breakfast at the elegant Aujourd’hui, a complimentary gourmet coffee bar, a pool boasting views of the Public Garden and Beacon Hill, and a 24-hour fitness center. Whether Boston calls for leisure, business, or a celebratory milestone event, Four Seasons Hotel Boston is the choice for travelers of all kinds.
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