UniFocus, a global pioneer in the hospitality industry for performance, workforce management and feedback solutions, announced a partnership with Waterfront Place Hotel to utilize the firm’s business intelligence tools to find out what the hot buttons are, ensuring their guests and meeting planners always get that undeniable wow-factor. The 205-room Waterfront Place Hotel in Morgantown, West Virginia, with 10,000 square feet of flexible meeting space, is a boutique hotel thoughtfully designed to exceed expectations.

IDeaS Revenue Optimization, the leading provider of revenue management and optimization solutions and services, has launched a webinar aimed at helping hoteliers achieve their revenue potential during the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Marriott Vacation Club International (MVCI), the vacation ownership division of Marriott International, Inc. (NYSE: MAR), proudly celebrates 25 years of preserving one of the oldest family traditions -- the family vacation.

Hampton Hotels (), the international brand of nearly 1,700 mid-priced Hampton Inn® and Hampton Inn & Suites® hotels, today announced that it opened 14 properties during March 2009, aggregating 1,224 new rooms. The new openings include two Hampton Inn hotels and eleven Hampton Inn & Suites properties, as well as one Hampton by Hilton which marks the brand’s first location in England. All openings are franchised, newly constructed hotels.

Easy (Ez) Revenue Management Solutions, a world-wide provider of state-of-the-art Solutions & Services in the area of Hospitality Revenue & Yield Management, is hosting a series of seminars on Pricing and Revenue Management concepts and principles. Continuing from the highly subscribed seminars in the Chinese cities of Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, EasyRMS is taking it’s seminars to down under in Sydney and Melbourne, Australia.

I recently wrote a column that is part of a continuing series. This particular column was titled A “Bakers Dozen” of Strategies for Hotel Controllers and it offered 13 thoughts for the person who is charged with being the financial manager of the hotel.

Doha, Qatar -- Knowcross Solutions announced today that Hyatt Hotels and Resorts first property in Qatar - Grand Hyatt Doha, has installed the leading Guest Service Management System -- TRITON. The latest version of TRITON - 2.5.1, has been empowered with new features and an improved database design.

Spain's tourism sector will face further consolidation as structural problems and sharp falls in numbers of new visitors hit earnings, the co-chairman of the country's third largest hotel group said. "The sun and beach model isn't exhausted, but with low profitability, companies are increasingly less able to act and, in the long term, we will pay," Grupo Barcelo's Simon Pedro Barcelo said in an interview in Expansion on Tuesday.

Travelers from around the world can now come closer together as IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group), [LON: IHG, NYSE:IHG (ADRs)], the world's largest hotel group by number of rooms, launches its new public online community for its more than 42 million Priority Club® Rewards members called Priority Club Connect.

According to a recent Travel Horizons survey, more than one third of travelers (37 percent) said they were interested in taking a trip within the next six months involving adventure travel**. Given the current economic climate, it seems people are looking to get the most bang for their buck and are opting for more experiential travel.

With 2009 in full swing, PhoCusWright takes a fresh look at the technologies and innovations that have the potential to drive change in the travel, tourism and hospitality in its annual publication, PhoCusWright’s 2009 Technology Trend Predictions. Bob Offutt, senior technology analyst and editorial director, Technology Edition, explains, "Innovation is at the very heart of the travel industry—from the beginnings of air travel and global hotel brands to GDS and OTAs. These ten technology trends will reshape the way consumers search shop and buy travel." Carefully selected by PhoCusWright experts from a plethora of global business and technology initiatives, each trend is weighed for its business value and potential to change the face of travel.

Hoteliers might be tempted to cut back on training when times are tough, but as Lee Jamieson explains, the time is ripe to get your workforce in shape. As the Middle East’s hospitality industry evolves, so too does its training needs. In fact, many of the everyday terms used by hoteliers to describe their fast-changing industry are reflected in the work of the training providers: the need for exclusivity and diversification has translated into more bespoke training programmes; the talent war has sparked career management programmes; and concerns surrounding return on investment in the current economic climate has resulted in careful cost analyses of programme delivery.

The Cornell-Nanyang Institute of Hospitality Management (CNI) is offering a USD 500 discount on its Professional Development Program (PDP) courses for the July 2009 intake. Hospitality professionals who wish to take up the discount offer must register and pay in full for their course by the 31st of May. Popular with hospitality executives from across Asia-Pacific and as far as the Middle East and Europe, the PDP courses offer a rich academic immersion experience into subjects of choice, such as Marketing, Financial Management, Food, Beverage, & Restaurant Management, General & Strategic Management, Human-Resource Management, Operations Management, and Property-Asset Management & Real Estate.

SynXis, the Sabre Holdings business that provides complete hotel distribution and Internet marketing services globally, and Condé Nast Johansens, the world's most trusted and comprehensive luxury hotel guides, announced today that SynXis will officially become Condé Nast Johansens' preferred technology partner of choice. SynXis has created a customized version of its Guest Connect booking engine that may be used by hotels recommended by Condé Nast Johansens to increase bookings on their own websites as well as via Condé Nast Johansens' website (http://www.johansens.com/).

Hilton Hotels Corporation (Hilton) in Asia Pacific has today launched a new industry first. Anyone making a bedroom booking before 30th June for any date in 2009 will be eligible to receive a complimentary day meetings package including meeting room facilities, refreshments and lunch.i The offer extends across all Hilton Family hotel brands in Asia Pacific: Hilton, Conrad and Doubletree by Hilton.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: HOT) today proudly announces the debut of the St. Regis hotel brand in Georgia with the opening of The St. Regis Atlanta. Ideally located in the elite Buckhead community, the hotel features 151 luxuriously appointed guest rooms and suites, 51 branded St. Regis Residences, Georgia’s first Remède Spa, a 40,000-square-foot Pool Piazza, more than 16,800 square feet of indoor and outdoor event space, a state-of-the-art fitness center and an impressive selection of world-class cuisine. Owned by SR Hotel Development Company, LLLP and designed by Hirsch Bedner Associates, The St. Regis Atlanta combines modern sophistication with classic Southern style to offer an unparalleled level of luxury and bespoke service at one the best addresses in the world.

The addition of 11 Americas Best Value Inns during the month of March ended a successful first quarter of 2009 for Vantage Hospitality Group. All told, the company with the affordable alternative to franchising brought on 32 new properties across North America.

Guiding disadvantaged women to enter into and develop successful careers in hospitality, the American Hotel & Lodging Association’s Women in Lodging (WIL) Executive Council and non-profit organization Dress for Success will host seven Hospitality Career Days for Dress for Success clients during the next few months. As the first national collaborative initiative of this new partnership, announced in November 2008, Hospitality Career Days will be held at the following dates and locations:

Agilysys, Inc. (Nasdaq: AGYS), a leading provider of information technology and hospitality software solutions, and Compass Group North America, a leading foodservice management company, have announced a partnership to deliver a unique loyalty solution that rewards customers for food and beverage purchases.