Tag: Interviews
View All TagsSuper Bowl Hotels / Super Bowl XLVI Hotels / Courtyard by Marriott Hotels / Hotel News / Interviews / → All Tags
What's Happening in the Courtyard By Marriott Zone During Super Bowl Weekend
The Courtyard Greatness on the Road Zone at the NFL Experience in Indianapolis yesterday.
We've already told you how Courtyard by Marriott, an official sponsor of the NFL, was turning into a superfan for the Super Bowl XLVI this year but now that the Big Game weekend has officially kicked off we thought we'd check in with Janis Milham, Vice President and Global Brand Manager for Courtyard and get some on-the-scene reports from her.
"It is BUZZING," she said yesterday of the vibe in downtown Indianapolis. "There are people all over the place and it is just the first day. I can only imagine what it would be like on Saturday and Sunday."
Milham was sitting in the sports bar of the JW Marriott but she was about to head over to the NFL Experience at the Indianapolis Convention Center where NFL fans can gawk at the Vince Lombardi Trophy, step into a replica NFL locker room, see how far they can throw a spiral downfield and more. It's also where people can peep at the new Courtyard By Marriott lobbies at the Courtyard Greatness on the Road Zone.
Interviews / Hyatt Hotels / New Orleans Hotels / Hotel Minibars / → All Tags
Hyatt Regency NOLA's GM Does Not Want to Gouge You With His Minibars
We already took you on a tourof the guest rooms at the back-in-business Hyatt Regency New Orleans--and told you all the gourmet tailgating goodness that can be found at the hotel's bars and restaurants.
As for the reason your minibar is empty, we decided to let the Hyatt Regency NOLA's GM explain. We caught up with Michael Smith at the hotel's 24-hour market Lagniappe Exchange, which factors heavily in his plans not to rip off his guests at the minibar.
Design Thursdays / Interviews / Hyatt House / Michael Suomi / Stonehill and Taylor / Hotel News / Hotel Design / → All Tags
Hyatt House is Outfitting Their Chairs With Power Outlets (And Other Awesome Design Details)
Welcome to our newest new feature, Design Thursdays! Thursdays are now our day to focus on hotel design through photo tours, video walkthroughs and interviews with hotel designers. Got a cool hotel design story we should know about? Let us know!
Just a few weeks ago, Hyatt Hotels surprised us with the announcement of their new brand, Hyatt House, which they hope will reinvigorate their extended stay offerings.
Right now, all of Hyatt's Summerfield Suites and Hotel Sierra hotels are turning into Hyatt Houses with the service upgrade and remodels to continue throughout next year. The redesign aims to create public spaces and guestrooms that will be more home-like but at the same time, more social. (Don't worry, there's still free WiFi on offer.)
Judging by the renderings we saw after the announcement, we're sure that Hyatt House will thrill road warriors and extended-stay trippers, particularly with the revamped lobby henceforth known as the Great Lounge, but there's only so much we can learn from computerized graphics.
That's why we were happy to get the chance to speak with Michael Suomi, a principal at Stonehill & Taylor the firm that created the new Hyatt House concept and design. Two of the design firm's past clients are among our favorite hotels in New York--The Ace and The Crosby Street Hotel--which intrigued us even more. Big box brands borrowing from boutique hotels is nothing new these days but to do it for an extended stay brand? We could hardly contain our excitement.
So without further adieu, let's delve into the design details with Michael Suomi. And we never thought we'd say this, but the brand's new proprietary chair is totally worth this read.
Interviews / Curtis Stone / Celebrity Chefs / Hotel Chefs / Indigo Hotels / Manhattan Hotels / Hotel Food / → All Tags
We Ate Risotto And Talked Hotels With Curtis Stone
Stone enjoying some Risotto Milanese, catered by Cafe B inside the Hotel Indigo Chelsea
In another life, we might have rolled our eyes at the thought of interviewing some pretty boy celebrity chef who makes a living cooking (and eating) gourmet food on national TV. But in the case of Curtis Stone, who showed up at the Hotel Indigo Chelsea on Friday to promote a local food campaign ("Locals Know Best"), we sat up to listen.
During our chat, the well-traveled chef name-drops a few of his fave NYC spots, professes his love for English Afternoon Tea, and explains why The Standard requires a certain "mood."
How did this partnership with Indigo come about?
I'm a huge advocate of local food, local produce, local chefs, local restaurants, so we decided to do a "Locals Know Best" campaign, which is just an extension of sourcing local ingredients. But it's also trying to bring in a bunch of local knowledge to each of the [Indigo] properties. I think the most important thing when you travel is to get a local flavor when you're there. Otherwise, there's no point in traveling, for both business and pleasure.
Interviews / Brooklyn Hotels / Hotel Hype / Hotel Music / Bijal Panwala / → All Tags
DJ Bijal On His New Hotel: 'It's Been Like A Daydream...'
If you check the Twitter page of Brooklyn's yet-to-be-finished Hotel BPM, it is not immediately clear what the status of the project is. Originally slated to launch in July, the website now commands us to wait until the fall. But what is it exactly we're waiting for?
Sure, we know the hotel is under the direction of Bijal Panwala, aka DJ Bijal. And we know its PR rep, Carolyn Izzo-Feldman, heralded the hotel as "the newest place to see and be seen in New York City." Gee, how descriptive. But what else can we expect from the property?
Last month, we spoke to Mr. Panwala (below) about his background, his vision, and the reality of building a 75-room boutique hotel. We found it strange that such a large-scale, experimental, Brooklyn-based hotel project would continue to remain such a mystery. But, as it turns out, the DJ man himself is still trying to wrap his head around it all.
"I often ask myself, 'is this really happening?'" muses Mr. Panwala, who graduated from Long Island University in 2005 with a degree in business management. "I'll be sitting in a meeting with the lighting design team, explaining where I want the lights to go, what color I want...it's been like a daydream. As I see the entire body of the building come together, it's slowly starting to sink in."
Interviews / Le Meridien Hotels / Carlos Becil / Hotel Art / Hotel Scents / Hotel News / → All Tags
What is Le Meridien's 'Creative Class' and Do You Belong?
The other week we got hotel key card collectors in a tizzy over the UNLOCK Art key cards from Le Meridien Hotels which not only open the hotel rooms to guests but also gives them complimentary access to art museums and cultural centers near by.
This is just one of the ways that Le Meridien has been reaching out to what they call the "Creative Class." But what exactly is the Creative Class and who would feel most at home at a Le Meridien hotel? We put forth these questions and more to Carlos Becil, vice president of North American brand management for Le Meridien. Check out what he has to say about Le Meridien's artist roots, the signature LM01 scent and the brand's plans for "creative hubs" in the lobbies in our Q&A below.
Miami Hotel Mambo / Interviews / Keith Menin / Menin Hotels / Hot Hotelier News / → All Tags
Hotelier Keith Menin Wishes He Could Invite Frank Sinatra Over for a Drink
We've already told you about the grand 'rebirth' plans underway for Miami Beach's Shelborne Hotel (topless sundeck anyone?), but what's the concept behind all the work?
To dish on all things Shelborne, we turned to someone who's been around the hotel since he was a kid--Keith Menin, whose Menin Hotels company owns the Shelborne. At 15, he was a bell hop there, working for his uncle, owner Russel Galbut.
Menin's bio, it should also be noted, mentions that he was named the Best Dressed Hotelier by The Miami Herald.
Here's what he had to say about style in the hospitality sense.
Hotel Openings / Mondrian Hotels / Interviews / Soho Hotels / Manhattan Hotels / Hotel News / Hotel Booking Tips / → All Tags
What's The Best Room to Book at the Mondrian Soho?
Like we get with so many new hotels, we're extremely antsy about the new Mondrian Soho Hotel. We know we can sleep there as soon as February 22nd (for just $229 a night) and we know that the hotel's restaurant, Imperial No. 9 from chef Sam Talbott will open on March 1. But we wanted to know more.
So we chatted up the hotel's general manager, Gary Thomas, and asked him point-blank, "What are the best rooms to book?"
His answer? Rooms 2004 or 2003 which are deluxe queen corner rooms facing uptown. There's floor-to-ceiling windows on both sides of the room and Thomas said the views are simply "phenomenal."
He also told us that the showers will have a big cut-out window and then joked, "you can't be modest showering here." But he assured us that no one can see into the shower simply because there are no other buildings nearby that are taller than the 26-story Mondrian. And it's technically not a peekaboo bathroom because it's properly separated from the rest of the guestroom.
The risk of flying Peeping Toms aside, we found these rooms going for $309 on opening night using the introductory rate code, SPINTR.
Super Bowl XLV Hotels / Super Bowl Hotels / Omni Hotels / Dallas Hotels / Interviews / Hotel News / → All Tags
What Goes On Inside The Team Hotels During Super Bowl?
Who's gonna be spending a week at the Omni Hotel in Dallas?
Right now, as you read this, representatives from the four teams in contention for the Super Bowl--the Pittsburgh Steelers, New York Jets, Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers--are on the ground in Dallas and guess what they are doing? Scoping out hotel rooms.
Of course, they don't have to book a hotel room like the rest of us do since the host hotels for Super Bowl XLV were decided upon a long time ago. But the reps are sizing up the hotels and making sure they are up to snuff for when their team (hopefully) arrives on January 31st.
And the Omni Forth Worth Hotel and the Omni Mandalay at Las Colinas are ready to handle whatever requests they have.
The Omni Forth Worth will be hosting the AFC Champion team (players, coaches, and their friends and families) along with some NFL sponsors in its 600+ rooms. The Omni Mandalay will be hosting the NFC Champion team in their 421 rooms.
Curious about what goes on at a Super Bowl host hotel, we chatted with Dan Piotrowski, general manager at the Omni Fort Worth Hotel and Patty Cipoletti, director of sales and marketing for the Omni Mandalay to learn more about the hotel ops before the Big Game.
Hotel Jobs / Hotel Technology / Geek Hotels / Interviews / Peninsula Hotels / Hotel Amenities / → All Tags
More Cool Hotel Jobs: The Peninsula’s Version of Q
All this week, HotelChatter contributor Eric Rosen will be telling us about more of the coolest hotel jobs out there. He reached out across the globe to talk to the dynamic folks who do everything from wrangling elephants (and guests!) to designing the latest high-tech gadgetry for your next guest room. So check back every day to see who he’s talking to next.
You know what gadget geeks and techno freaks we are, so it should come as no surprise that our favorite part of every James Bond film is the famous spy’s visit to MI6’s technology lab for the latest spyware update from the perpetually exasperated Q. Now imagine how excited (we’re talking shrieks here) we were to find out about Peninsula Hotels’ very own technology laboratory…and the man who runs it.
Interviews / Paul McGowan / Hotel Amenities / Study Hotels / College Hotels / New Haven Hotels / → All Tags
Could We Be Doing More Studying in the Future?
The Study at Yale is settling in for the 2010-2011 academic year in New Haven, Conn., but could the 124-room Ivy League hotel be gearing up for new locations as well? That's what it sounded like when we chatted with Paul McGowan, the Study at Yale's creator and owner.
The Study at Yale has already impressed us with their spacious rooms, complete with reading chairs and ottomans as well as with their seersucker bathrobes, gingersnap cookies at the front desk and reading glasses on loan. But there are even more little touches at the hotel that we learned about from McGowan.
For instance, during reunion weekends, the hotel's bellstaff will wear hats commemorating the years of the graduating classes being honored that year. The bellstaff also gets in on the college gear year-round by wearing jeans and rugby shirts.
Yet an amenity that definitely scores top marks is the hotel's Daily Events Bulletin Board which is updated every day with the events happening in, on and around campus from athletic games, to talks and seminars and art and music exhibits.
Interviews / Choice Hotels / Steve Joyce / Reality TV Hotels / → All Tags
Choice Hotels' 'Undercover Boss' Talks About Changing Bed Covers and More
If you hotel geeks have never watched CBS's Undercover Boss before then you best get yourself to CBS.com and try to watch a snippet of last night's season premiere episode featuring the CEO of Choice Hotels, Steve Joyce.
Joyce went undercover for a week as "Jack Parker" a prospective employee at several different Choice Brands from Econolodge to Comfort Suites to Choice's newest brand, Cambria Suites. Joyce/Parker tried his hand at several different jobs from maintenance man to housekeeper, sales guy and front desk agent. Aside from trying out for a variety of jobs at Choice, and learning what they entail, Joyce actually stayed at different Choice Hotels, checking out things from a guest perspective.
The episode was filled with mishaps from broken door locks to broken elevators to coffee that needed to be purchased at the front desk before being consumed in the room. Oh and Joyce also cleaned a toiletry tray with a dirty toilet rag. (Don't worry, they removed the tray.) While their jobs are grueling, the employees that Joyce encountered in the episode also have their own hardships outside of work, like the front desk agent who was kicked out by her family when she was pregnant at 16.
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