Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. today announces its aggressive expansion in Latin America, with twelve new hotel projects in Mexico, Central America and South America. This growth aligns with Starwood’s strategy to expand its global footprint in international markets and capture business in some of Latin America’s most desirable emerging markets. Starwood is the largest and fastest growing hotel company in its segment in Latin America.  Read more

The pioneering San Francisco-based Kimpton Hotel and Restaurant Group, which worked its way eastward, is looking west again — this time to Hell’s Kitchen.

An originator of the boutique hotel concept, Kimpton manages two hotels in Manhattan: 70 Park Avenue and the Muse, at 130 West 46th Street. Next spring, it will open a new $125 million hotel with 222 guest rooms at 653 11th Avenue, entering an area of the Far West Side of Manhattan that is distant from any existing hotels.

Converting a 1930’s printing plant on the west side of the avenue between 47th Street and 48th Streets and adding three floors, Kimpton will create the Vu, called that because of its 360-degree unobstructed vistas of the Hudson River and New Jersey, facing west, and the Midtown Manhattan skyline, facing east.  Read more

Innkeeper Elaine Crane defends the kindly spirit in a white nightgown that sometimes greets guests of Crane’s historic Painesville establishment.

“She’s friendly,” insisted Crane. Mistress Suzanne is more Casper than poltergeist.

She isn’t mean like the ghosts who terrify lodgers in the thriller “1408,” which checked into theaters Friday. The movie, based on a Stephen King story, is about the haunted hotel room in which jaded horror writer and ghost debunker Mike Enslin spends one horrific night.  Read more

Mobile in-room work pods, personal robotic butlers, voice-activated smart rooms where curtains are opened and lights turned down on command, air-permeable windows where fresh outdoor air is filtered through a smart window, a room that can morph into different configurations and environments at the touch of a button and virtual video conferencing so you can enjoy dinner with family and friends in other locations from the comfort of your hotel room

Welcome to your room at tomorrow’s inn, at least that’s what those involved in the Hotel of Tomorrow (HOT) project, a US-based group of experts envisioning the future of hotels, say.

An industry-spanning initiative put together by Hospitality Design magazine and Gettys, a Chicago-based design firm, HOT participants says that future hotels “will be multifunctional and intelligent, combining imagination with efficiency”, and that future guests will be able to create the type of room they want according to their wants and needs on the day.  Read more

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. plans to eliminate artificial trans fatty acids from foods and beverages at its hotels in the United States, Canada and the Caribbean by the end of 2007, the White Plains-based company announced today. Its 400-plus hotels include the Sheraton, Four Points by Sheraton, Westin, St. Regis, The Luxury Collection, Le Meridien and W brands.  Read more

Travelocity has extended its longstanding distribution agreement with InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), the world’s largest hotel company by number of rooms. As a certified online third party intermediary for IHG’s more than 3,700 hotels worldwide, Travelocity customers will have continued access to InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, Hotel Indigo, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites brands when shopping for the perfect hotel choice. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The agreement also gives customers of Travelocity Business and Travelocity’s IgoUgo division access to such IHG content.

“We’re pleased to strengthen an already strong relationship with IHG,” said Ross Mantione, vice president partner marketing for Travelocity. “With access to more content, the renewal of our strategic agreement will result in more marketing of IHG properties and brands on Travelocity. This will also help us to continue to grow our presence in Europe and Asia-Pacific with our lastminute.com and ZUJI brands, respectively.” Read more

When researching hotels and the hotel industry itself, location is just as important as it is in other types of real estate. Pick up a map of Arizona if you’re looking into resorts in that desert state. A map can be a useful tool in any researching any hotel or resort.

Newcomers to Dallas’ hotel scene are hot, according to Condé Nast Traveler.

The hip and swanky W Dallas Victory and Hotel Palomar were among 138 new hotels around the world named to magazine’s 2007 Hot List for their style, location, service and value.

Located in the Victory development near downtown, Starwood’s W Dallas Victory opened last June, boasting the ultra-hip Ghostbar, Bliss Spa and Craft Restaurant. Read more

Lodgian, Inc. announced the sale of 16 hotels to Atlanta-based Kronos Hotels & Resorts for a price of $64.9 million. The buyer has signed an agreement to purchase one additional hotel later this year.

The company announced its plan to dispose of 20 of the 27 non-core hotels in November 2006 and all of them have been sold. Out of the remaining seven, four are at present under contract and the balance three are being marketed actively.   Read more

Hotel operator Marriott International Inc. said Thursday that it has inked a partnership with boutique-hotel pioneer Ian Schrager to create a new brand of up to 100 “lifestyle” hotels.

The venture will attempt to combine the individualized service of Schrager’s boutique hotels with Marriott’s (MAR) operational and global scale.

Schrager, originally known for running the infamous disco and nightclub Studio 54, has become a hotel mogul, developing trendy lodging destinations in New York, London, Miami and other cities. He’s also been involved in residential and mixed-use developments.

Marriott has a market capitalization of about $17.8 billion and operates such staid brands as Renaissance Hotels, Residence Inn, Courtyard by Marriott and TownePlace Suites. It also operates the high-end Ritz-Carlton hotels.   Read more

They have certainly gone far in distance; we recently encountered the boutique concept in Asia.

While on a consulting project in Thailand we visited several small hotels that, our opinion, combine all the best boutique characteristics.

We were most impressed with the elegant and intimate atmosphere these properties display without any of the trendiness we have seen in some U.S. self-named boutique hotels. We do not intend any criticism of American boutique hotels; we have seen some truly excellent examples. In fact we have recently worked with an architectural firm to design a 73-room property for a client.   Read more