HOSPITALITY TRENDS
businesswire | May 05, 2023
Life House has been selected to manage two more hotels in California - Hotel Royal in Long Beach and Hotel La Rose in Sonoma County. Life House now operates seven hotels throughout California. Both owners faced similar challenges prior to switching to Life House, including fatigue keeping up with the day-to-day operations and a heavy reliance on expensive OTAs, all while desiring to preserve their connection to the property.
Hotel La Rose, a landmark 48-key property in the heart of Santa Rosa, has been welcoming travelers for over 100 years. The owners were attracted to Life House's ability to enhance their hotel's profitability while allowing them to devote more time to their other businesses. For the hotel’s owners, Lukhbir Gill, Hardeep Gill and Jim McCalligan, preserving the historic charm and unique character that had been cultivated through a century of heartfelt operations was very important.
“We wanted to free up our time, but deeply care about Hotel La Rose and the special experience our guests have enjoyed for so many years. Therefore, we could never see it being flagged,” said Hardeep Gill. “Life House is the perfect solution to operate this historic asset in a very sophisticated manner to optimize profitability, whilst maintaining the specialness & extraordinary charm.”
Hotel Royal, a 1923 Art Deco boutique hotel in Long Beach’s trendy East Village Arts District, had just celebrated its 100 year anniversary when the owner Victor Beauchamp retained Life House to take over management. “I had spent 20 years renovating and building our unique brand,” Beauchamp shared. “I was exhausted and needed help but couldn’t allow our family legacy to become just another corporate hotel. Life House’s personalized approach really appealed to us as a chance to maximize performance and compete with bigger, better resourced hotel brands while retaining what we love most about our property.”
This is a familiar tale for independent hotel owners who pour their heart into their properties but have difficulty keeping up with technological advances and increasing operational complexity. From transition through ongoing management, Life House’s partners have a dedicated Asset Manager who liaises with 140+ corporate experts within all pillars of hospitality operations, ensuring that the hotels employ best-in-class systems & processes at all times.
The owners of both Hotel Royal and Hotel La Rose were encouraged by the 258% increase in NOI versus pre-Life House management that was experienced by a historic property in close proximity to Hotel La Rose. Life House boosted revenue and decreased operating expenses by automating back-of-house functions, increasing profitability without adversely affecting the guest experience.
The Management Agreements for both properties were executed early this year. With an efficient transition process, they have both already launched under Life House management.
We are excited to partner with the owners of these special hotels, as they seek to spend their time in more meaningful ways,” said Rami Zeidan, Founder & CEO of Life House. “We’re excited to continue growing in California as there is an abundance of quaint independent hotels with similar attributes to the many hotels we’ve helped on the East Coast.”
About Life House
Life House is a vertically integrated hotel management & technology company focused on serving small and medium independent hotels with institutional quality service. Life House uses advanced software & operating systems to increase profitability and reliability for independent hotels throughout North America. Life House was founded in 2017 by real estate, hospitality, and technology veterans and is backed by world renowned private equity and venture investors. The company is ambitiously investing in its operational systems to make hotels far more profitable, predictable, and seamless for owners.
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TRAVEL TECHNOLOGY
prnewswire | May 09, 2023
Wego, the largest online travel marketplace in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), recently signed a new partnership with Egyptian Tourism Authority as part of its efforts to boost tourism in the region.
This partnership is aimed at promoting Egypt's rich history, culture, and tourism opportunities. Through this campaign under the theme "In Egypt, your expectations are history", Wego will work closely with Egyptian Tourism Authority to promote this campaign on all its marketing channels and bring travelers the best of Egypt's summer and Eid Al Adha celebrations, including festivals, events, and attractions.
Mamoun Hmedan, CCO and MD, MENA and India, Wego, said: "We are thrilled to announce our new partnership with Egyptian Tourism Authority. Egypt is a perfect destination for travelers looking for a mix of history, culture, and adventure. Summer and Eid Al Adha are the ideal times to visit Egypt. We have recorded over 24 million searches from MENA to Egypt between 1 January to 27 April 2023 and we expect to see a surge around the Eid Al Adha period."
Wego will be presenting its users with a comprehensive guide highlighting the best places to visit, things to do, and experiences to enjoy. To reward travelers, a social media competition will run online to give people the chance to visit this must-see destination.
Egypt has a variety of activities and experiences to offer visitors during summer and Eid Al Adha. Travelers can explore ancient monuments as Egypt is home to some of the world's most iconic ancient monuments, including the Great Pyramids of Giza, the Sphinx, and the temples of Luxor and Aswan.
Amr ElKady, CEO of Egyptian Tourism Authority, commented: "We are excited to partner with Wego for another year. With Egypt's rich cultural heritage, diverse landscape, and welcoming people, and Wego's large user base in MENA, we are confident that we can attract more visitors to Egypt and provide them with an unforgettable experience."
Suzan Mostafa, General director of Tourism Promotion at Egyptian Tourism Authority, said: "We are thrilled to partner with Wego and promote our country through this joint campaign. We will benefit from Wego's large user base in the MENA region, which will enable us to drive more traffic to Egypt and attract holidaymakers in the summer season."
During this period, Egypt comes alive with music, dance, and traditional festivities. Moreover, tourists can explore Egypt's stunning beaches, desert landscapes, all of which make Egypt a unique and unforgettable destination.
About Wego
Wego provides award-winning travel search websites and top-ranked mobile apps for travelers living in the Asia Pacific and the Middle East regions. Wego harnesses powerful yet simple to use technology that automates the process of searching and comparing results from hundreds of airlines, hotels, and online travel agency websites.
Wego presents an unbiased comparison of all travel products and prices offered in the marketplace by merchants, both local and global, and enables shoppers to quickly find the best deal and place to book whether it is from an airline or hotel directly or with a third-party aggregator website.
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HOSPITALITY TRENDS
prnewswire | April 04, 2023
Cambria Hotels, part of the Choice Hotels International, Inc.family of brands, continues its nationwide expansion with the grand opening of its first hotel in Georgia: the Cambria Hotel Savannah Downtown Historic District. The brand's newest downtown addition will provide modern travelers with the upscale amenities they need to discover all the opportunities Savannah has to offer.
To commemorate the grand opening of Georgia's first hotel, which officially opened its doors in December, the Cambria Hotel Savannah Downtown Historic District welcomed community members and distinguished guests to a ribbon cutting ceremony. Guests were treated to a Savannah-inspired reception and property tours featuring the hotel's full-service bar and restaurant, contemporary and sophisticated guestrooms, and state-of-the-art fitness center.
Speakers at the event included Janis Cannon, senior vice president, Upscale brands, Choice Hotels, Savannah city officials, and Lois Model, Executive Director at Savannah Center for Blind and Low Vision, who each expressed their enthusiasm about the brand's debut in Georgia.
"Known for its hospitality, innovative history, and vibrant culture, Savannah is a corporate, entertainment and industrial hub," said Janis Cannon. "At Cambria Hotels, our expansion stays focused on growth in markets with strong business and leisure demand. This makes Savannah the ideal spot to debut the Peach State's first Cambria. We're proud to welcome guests to yet another brand-defining property in our growing lineup of Cambria hotels nationwide."
The new six story, 101-room Cambria hotel positions guests in the heart of the city's National Historic Landmark District, providing modern travelers with easy access to top Savannah landmarks, renowned architecture and more than 100 restaurants situated along the neighborhood's cobblestone streets. The Cambria Hotel Savannah Downtown Historic District is within walking distance to the Savannah Civic Center, the SCAD Museum and Forsyth Park, and is a short drive to several top area employers, including Georgia Ports Authority – one of the busiest container gateways in the nation – Gulfstream, Hunter Army Airfield, St. Joseph's Hospital, and Mitsubishi Hitachi Power System's North American headquarters. The hotel's charming design is reflective of the surrounding Savannah community, known for its stunning buildings, iconic city squares and parks, and coastal landscapes.
The Cambria Hotel Savannah Downtown Historic District, which participates in Choice Privileges, the award-winning loyalty program from Choice Hotels, features upscale amenities and approachable indulgences that appeal to today's travelers, including:
Multi-purpose indoor and outdoor spaces, including a lobby bar, for productive work or relaxation.
Locally inspired design décor, reflecting the unique personality of the surrounding National Historic Landmark District community.
Contemporary and sophisticated guest rooms, complete with design forward fixtures, abundant lighting and plush bedding.
Immersive, spa-style bathrooms with Bluetooth mirrors.
Onsite dining with freshly made food, local craft beer, wine and specialty cocktails, as well as to-go options.
Multi-function meeting and event spaces.
State-of-the-art fitness center.
The Cambria Hotel Savannah Downtown Historic District showcases how Choice Hotels has become the go-to challenger brand for developers looking to move to upscale with the flexibility to build at a reduced cost while retaining a design-forward experience. This property was developed by HOS Management Group, a second-generation hospitality and development group with over 30 years of industry experience managing a diverse collection of iconic hotel brands, and is managed by Peachtree Hotel Group, a private equity management firm focusing on opportunistically deploying capital across its distinct operating and real estate divisions.
There are currently over 65 Cambria hotels open across the U.S. in popular cities such as Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, New Orleans, and Phoenix, with over 70 hotels in the pipeline. Cambria guests visiting any of these locations and more are able to gain enhanced rewards and benefits through the Choice co-branded, no fee credit card program.
About Cambria Hotels
The Cambria Hotels brand is designed for the modern traveler, offering guests a distinct experience with simple, guilt-free indulgences allowing them to treat themselves while on the road. Properties feature compelling design inspired by the location, spacious and comfortable rooms, flexible meeting space, and local, freshly prepared food and craft beer. Cambria Hotels is rapidly expanding in major U.S. cities, with hotels open in Chicago, Los Angeles, Washington DC, Nashville, and Phoenix. There are currently more than 65 Cambria hotels open and nearly 70 hotels in the pipeline. To learn more, visit www.choicehotels.com/cambria.
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