Tuesday, September 8, 2009

ips for Cheaper Hotel Stays from Budget Travel Magazine


Here are some tips and tricks for saving money at hotels that travel magazine recently published in a little flier they sent out. I thought most of the tips were really great, and I know that I’ve made good use of some of them already.

1. AAA Discount

Yes, always ask for one – but better yet, if you walk into a hotel without a reservation, or if you call one up, don’t tell them that you have AAA until AFTER they quote you a price. Sometimes, hotels try to be sneaky and quote you a AAA price when it’s actually the regular price.

2. Check out Convention and Visitor’s Bureaus

Make good use of city’s Convention and Visitor’s Bureaus! For example, orlando'office has what’s called a “Black Book” which has cut-rate offers phone in by local hotels which are desperate to book their hotel for the night.This will save you a lot of money – money you can then spend on places like Disney World!


3. Are phone calls really free?

Always ask if phone calls and breakfasts are included for *free*. Never assume it is. Mid-range hotels usually include stuff like that for free, but more expensive hotels will often charge you for it.

4. Web-only rate for the win!

Always, always check the hotel’s “web-only” rate. It’s usually cheaper than what you’ll get by simply calling the property directly. I also find that, nowadays, most hotel’s online website are very competitive, if not cheaper than, the sites like Hotels.com because those site tend to charge fees.

Happy hotel hunting!

E-Mails out of the Hotel Booking System

To send any kind of e-mail to your customers you won't have to leave the Hote reservation Software.

Send confirmation mails or cancellations or even birthday wishes to your customers.
The e-mail section of the software let's you also send normal e-mails, just like you are used to.

click on the image to see the original size

E-mail client of the software The Navigation Bar at the top of the e-mail page contains the E-MAIL SETTINGS where you can enter your personal account information. E.g. your mail provider. The MASS MAIL button will bring you to the NEWSLETTER TEMPLATES section of the software.
Hotel Reservation Software - Product Catalogue To write an e-mail to anyone else than the customers in your database, just fill in the information as you are used to. You can add up to three attachemets per e-mail.
Add Products to invoices with ease in HotRez To enter or past your e-mail text click on the "Mail Message bar. If you want to send the same mail to multiple receipents you might want to use the MASS MAIL function of the software where you can select html templates to make your e-mails look more stylish.

Sustainable Hotel Siting, Design and Construction


A rapidly growing travel industry, riding on the back of ever cheaper flights and increased spending power is producing a dilemma for hotel businesses - how to build more properties without causing damage to the environment? The publication of the world's first guiding principles for building tourist developments in a sustainable manner, co-sponsored by IBLF, will help to address this challenge.

Against a backdrop of predictions that the tourism industry will double in size over the next 15 years, Conservation International and the IBLF have published Sustainable Hotel Siting, Design and Construction - which will dramatically help hotel companies to build more sustainable and more environmentally friendly tourist developments.

Nine of the world's largest hotel companies - including Marriott, Hilton and Starwood - actively supported the development of the book and are now determining how best to implement the principles outlined in the publication.

'Sustainable tourism is about preserving popular destinations, the environment and its resources,' said Ed Fuller, president and managing director, International Lodging for Marriott International and chair of the International Tourism Partnership, the tourism programme of IBLF. 'We have got to get it right for this generation and beyond.'

There is an overwhelming case for hotels to be designed according to sustainable principles. As well as the need to preserve the environment and avoid wastage of resources, businesses are increasingly realising that a more sustainable approach means a longer-term business proposition.

Sustainable Hotel Siting, Design and Construction will be used at all levels of hotel development, from inception through to commissioning. It will be of use to local government planning authorities, investors, hotel companies, architects and construction companies to ensure that in the future, hotels can be built that fit in with the local environments and communities.

Sustainable development is a concept that for many is easily understood but difficult to put in practice. This publication will help the hotel industry do just that.

Environmental Management for Hotels


Environmental Management for Hotels, the industry-acclaimed guide to quality environmental management and sustainable operations, is now available in its third edition.

This manual provides hotels and other related businesses with the knowledge and means to develop practical solutions to 'green' their operations. The manual focuses on key areas such as energy management, water conservation, waste management, purchasing and supply chains, food safety and environmental health, as well as case studies to guide companies as they implement these practices. This is an invaluable working tool with its wealth of reference material designed to promote successful resource management.

This latest edition includes 350 pages of fully revised and updated technical advice, handy charts, tables and supporting materials and a wealth of further sources of information. Case studies showcasing best practice in the management of each issue have been grouped at the end of the publication for easy reference. The new format also makes the manual more user-friendly with dividers that clearly separate the sections for quick reference and a ring-binder design that is eco-friendly and allows you to add your own material overtime.

Robert Kennedy, Vice President Technical Services Europe, Hilton International commented: "Hilton issued the first edition to all of its hotels when it was initially published. I used it as a property engineer and found it to be very useful. Since then I have ensured that all of our new acquisitions have been issued a copy. This is one of the most practical and certainly the most thumbed informational publication in any Engineer's office."

Saturday, September 5, 2009

5 Most Profitable Hotel Marketing Tasks to Outsource

5 Most Profitable Hotel Marketing Tasks to Outsource

Some hotel marketing functions are best kept in-house. For others, it’s more profitable to outsource them to an outside partner. Here are ten of the most profitable hotel internet marketing tasks to outsource and why.

1. Web Design

Why: Designing an effective hotel website requires time to create pages that are attractive, informative and visitor friendly. This requires a knowledge of the hotel industry in addition to technical knowledge and an understanding of usability guidelines.

2. Website Maintenance

Why: Building and managing a website are two different tasks. Website design gets a lot of attention, but upkeep is equally important. It’s important to constantly update your sites with the latest information. Unless you have the technical expertise and time to do this in-house, it’s common to outsource this function.

3. Pay-Per-Click Advertising

Why: Sure, anyone can throw together a PPC campaign in a few hours, but it requires a lot of research and testing over the long term to do this well. A good agency will take time to understand your business needs, and build a campaign around them.

4. SEO Optimization

Why: Effective SEO can include website re-design, optimization and a strategic linking strategy – so it can be nice to have someone else manage this whole process for you.

5. Online Reputation Management

Why: Again, this is a task that just takes a lot of time to do thoroughly. Hiring someone to monitor the web and reply as needed can be a worthwhile investment.

BookHotels.com Domain Sells for 50,000 EUR


Sedo cooled down a bit this week after a few weeks of blockbuster sales. But its sales are nothing to sneeze at. The top sale this week was BookHotels.com. The buyer, who paid 50,000 EUR for the domain, is using privacy protection to block whois for now.

Coming in second place at $25,000 is GermProof.com, a domain that should come in handy as cold and flu season rolls in. The domain was bought by Amazon Thunder, which sells Acai berry products. The domain forwards to its AmazonThunder.com web site.

In another interesting sale, Alaska.tel sold for $1,050.

Here’s a look at other notable sales at Sedo this past week:

.COM
discountlaptops.com 2009-08-13 23,760 USD
trekking.com 2009-08-12 19,500 EUR
officelife.com 2009-08-14 15,000 USD
mypizza.com 2009-08-17 15,000 USD
filesearch.com 2009-08-14 10,000 USD
ofb.com 2009-08-12 9,500 USD
geruest.com 2009-08-17 8,950 EUR
caby.com 2009-08-14 7,200 USD
ipooltables.com 2009-08-14 7,000 USD
vcig.com 2009-08-14 6,250 USD
bizcards.com 2009-08-13 6,100 USD
byv.com 2009-08-16 5,700 USD
comprale.com 2009-08-13 5,500 USD
troogle.com 2009-08-17 5,000 USD
mplife.com 2009-08-13 5,000 USD
egiving.com 2009-08-11 5,000 USD
shoesshop.com 2009-08-14 5,000 EUR
windlab.com 2009-08-13 5,000 USD
exch.com 2009-08-17 5,000 GBP

ccTLDs
cam.be 2009-08-12 15,000 USD
trucchi.it 2009-08-11 14,400 EUR Tricks in Italian
wellnesshotels.de 2009-08-13 14,280 EUR
topnews.de 2009-08-14 8,330 EUR
secure.it 2009-08-14 6,000 EUR

Other
tipps.net 2009-08-13 7,140 EUR
insurancequotes.info 2009-08-12 5,600 USD
hypotheken.org 2009-08-17 4,567 EUR Mortgage in German

SALE DOMAIN


sell domains

A domain name is an identification label that defines a realm of administrative autonomy, authority, or control in the Internet, based on the Domain Name System (DNS).

Domain names are used in various networking contexts and application-specific naming and addressing purposes. They are organized in subordinate levels (subdomains) of the DNS root domain, which is nameless. The first-level set of domain names are the top-level domains (TLDs), including the generic top-level domains (gTLDs), such as the prominent domains com, net and org, and the country code top-level domains (ccTLDs). Below these top-level domains in the DNS hierarchy are the second-level and third-level domain names that are typically open for reservation by end-users that wish to connect local area networks to the Internet, run web sites, or create other publicly accessible Internet resources. The registration of these domain names is usually administered by domain name registrars who sell their services to the public.

Individual Internet host computers use domain names as host identifiers, or hostnames. Hostnames are the leaf labels in the domain name system usually without further subordinate domain name space. Hostnames appear as a component in Uniform Resource Locators (URLs) for Internet resources such as web sites (e.g., en.wikipedia.org).

Domain names are also used as simple identification labels to indicate ownership or control of a resource. Such examples are the realm identifiers used in the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), the DomainKeys used to verify DNS domains in e-mail systems, and in many other Uniform Resource Identifiers (URIs).

An important purpose of domain names is to provide easily recognizable and memorizable names to numerically addressed Internet resources. This abstraction allows any resource (e.g., website) to be moved to a different physical location in the address topology of the network, globally or locally in an intranet. Such a move usually requires changing the IP address of a resource and the corresponding translation of this IP address to and from its domain name.

This article primarily discusses the group of domain names that are offered by domain name registrars for registration by the public. The Domain Name System article discusses the technical facilities and infrastructure of the domain name space and the hostname article deals with specific information about the use of domain names as identifiers of network hosts.

CENTRAL PARK SUITES CONDO HOTEL UNITS FOR SALE


Property Id:

713

Date Published:

2008-11-02

Times Viewed:

902

Property Category:

Panama City

Property Type:

House

Property Status:

For Sale

Property Size:

116m2

Property Price:

$240,000 - $240,000

Year Built:

2009

Rooms:

Bedrooms: 2

Bathrooms: 2

Property Description:

This condo hotel, near completion (Mar 2009), and well located for access to Corredur Norte - the Panama Canal, will definitely be a very popular hotel for those doing business with any Canal-related business, with easy access to the expansion site at Miraflores, the new US Embassy, the regional HQ for the U.N.and to downtown Panama City without the hassles of the traffic and congestion. The location also accessible to Tocumen Int'l airport, the National Metropolitan Park, and is adjacent to the upscale shopping center, Camino de Las Cruces. It is an ideal location to meet the increasing demand for hotel space in the City--hotel occupancy has been at 80-90% occupancy in all of Panama's high and mid-range hotels. Demand is ever incresing as such name brands as Proctor & Gamble, Dell, 3M, Caterpillar, and Nabisco all have regional HQ located in Panama. Royal Caribbean will begin in Dec 2008, using Panama as a cruise ship embarkation point.


The hotel will be managed by the Callen Group (www.hidevelopment.com), who currently manage high quality hotel chains such as Hilton and Crowne Plaza world-wide, therefore a completely hassle free investment. The management group will provide owners with audited annual statements.
Room rates are expected to be in the vicinity of $180/night, providing potential rental returns of approximately 20%. Its only true competitor in the area is the Country Inn & Suites in El Dorado.

The rooms are large with large balconies and full kitchenettes, providing business and leisure travelers with the comforts of home with the amenities of a hotel.

Additional Information:

Central Park Inn & Suites will offer 4 star service and amenities - high end bar and lounge, fully equipped business center, concierge service, gym and fitness center, spa, pool, and restaurant. Full shopping and additional restaurants are located adjacent in the Camino Del Cruces shopping center.
There are eight units per floor - 116m2 units to be rented as suites that can be locked off and rented as two separate rooms of 58m2 (624 sq ft) with private balconies and high end furnishings and finishes.
Comparable units (60m2) in Trump Tower = $400,000 and in Nikki Beach = $300,000 and in Megapolis (unit wo kitchenette) is $200,000. In this price of 260,000, it actually is TWO LOCK-OUT SUITES OF 58M2, each with kitchenette.

The rental income is 70% to the owner, and a low admin. fee of 4%. Most comparable programs offer a 60/40 split AFTER the operator deducts the maintence fee and operating cost which transcends into approx. 20% to the owner.

NO PROPERTY TAX FOR 20 YEARS AND RENTAL RETURNS ARE income TAX FREE.




Yes, books will be open.

Each unit (approx 112 sq m) divides into 2 hotel rooms

PROPERTY FOR SALE


3 bedroom house
EUR 200000
House
Buy-Sell

Seychelles


Property is located in the western part of the main is 1000sqm and the living area that is the house is about 130sq The house needs minor renovation,but the place is beautiful with a lot of space to do something dah faces the sea which has a small s road from the main road,and i have private minutes driving to town and 3 minutes drive to the closest ing development in the area are the Emirates Hotel and the Ephilia to the property is expected to be a future development of private villas. My price is open to negotiation considering the minor renovation one has to do. contact for more info and pictures. Many thanks.

SALE PROPERTY


Seychelles -
EUR 195000
Plot of land
Buy-Sell
Seychelles
Land for Sale: 3,715sq.m
PRASLIN, Seychelles.
Features: panoramic seaview, quiet, exclusive location, pure nature on the south coast of the island.Ready to build.

Friday, September 4, 2009

ABC Arabian Suites Dubai



Discover the highest contemporary standards of comfort combined with an array of services, this prestigious hotel offers you warm hospitality and exceptional comfort under one exclusive roof for an unforgettable stay.

Location
Nestled in the heart of Bur Dubai, this luxurious property is surrounded by various landmarks such as Burjuman, New Gold Souk, Khaleej Centre and the infamous Bank Street thus making it the ideal destination for you and your family.

Rooms
This exotic property offers a range of 65 contemporary suites that are lavishly designed with modern creature comforts, including LCD TV, to ensure your stay as pleasurable as possible.


Restaurant
There is no restaurant available on-site. For various other dining options you can visit nearby restaurants.

General
Keep your fitness regime active throughout the stay by working out in the on-site fitness center. At leisure, renew your total health and wellness by availing the facilities of steam and sauna or take a bracing dip in the pool.

Mukammal Hotel


The Mukammal hotel gives its guests the possibility to feel all facets of comfort. For this purpose the excellent conditions for work and leisure were created here. The guests visiting Astana on the business matters can always use the services of a conference room and business center, where they can find full office equipment and communication facilities. Guests are always welcome in the restaurant, where skilled chefs will please them with the masterpieces of Kazakh cuisine. No less a pleasure is to spend time in clean and comfortable rooms. A full mini-bar, multi-channels TV, upholstered furniture and the air-conditioning system will make the stay in the capital of Kyrgyzstan even more comfortable and memorable. Enjoy your holiday!

Type of rooms Price Book
Single economy 3160 RUB
Single room - single 4400 RUB
Single room - double 5770 RUB
Double room - single 5030 RUB
Double room - double 5770 RUB
Suite - single 5530 RUB
Suite - double 6300 RUB
Suite - triple 6550 RUB
Business suite - single 6790 RUB
Business suite - double 7530 RUB
Business suite - triple 8310 RUB

L'hotel Nina et Convention Centre Hong Kong in HongKong


Star:5 star
Address: S8 Yeung Uk Road, Tsuen Wan, Hong Kong,China
Surrounding:Tsuen Wan Park, Town Hall, Disneyland
Direction: L'hotel Nina et Convention Centre is located in Tsuen Wan, one of the most sophisticated districts of Hong Kong, offering a perfect mixture of the hustle and bustle of city, and the tranquility and cultural richness of a developed district. Facing the serene waterfront of Tsuen Wan, it commands 360°fabulous panoramic views capturing the renowned Victoria Harbour, and as far as Lantau Island.It is not only surrounded by amenities of Tsuen Wan Park and Town Hall, but also a comprehensive transport network: 20-25 minutes from the Hong Kong International Airport and Disneyland, as well as 25 minutes from Mongkok and Tsimshatsui, the shopping and entertainment centers of Hong Kong

Room Features

    L’hotel Nina et Convention Centre, with its twin towers, provides more than 1589 contemporary hotel rooms of different type to suite for all travelers. The all-inclusive choices range from rooms to suites of 28-47 m2, standard to executive, and sea view to mountain and city view according to their own preference. Rooms specially designed for the disabled and rooms with balcony are also up to your choice. Over half of the rooms amaze you with marvelous sea view over Rambler Channel, some even reaching further to the famous Ting Kau Bridge and Tsing Yi Island. Other rooms feature bustling city view combined with rolling hills which would feed up the appetite of travelers. We assure travelers a cozy and comfortable environment by combining modern facilities like 32” LCD panel screen TV with well-designed furniture and office desk. The bathtub is separated with a glass screen to please you with the breathtaking view while you are enjoying yourself in the pool of water. King and queen-queen beds are provided to suit your need. Every single element in our rooms blend perfectly together to deliver the best superb experience ever to each traveler.

Hotel Booking

Dates of occupancy Rack RatesDiscounted PriceBreakfast
Jul/01/2009-Aug/31/2009
$373
$232
NO
Sept/01/2009-Oct/31/2009
$373
$258
NO
Nov/01/2009-Dec/20/2009
$373
$126
NO




Peninsula hotel in HongKong


Star:5 star
Address: Salisbury Road, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China.
Surrounding:Hong Kong Museum of Art
Direction: The hotel is also located across the road from the Hong Kong Cultural Centre and Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong International Airport is 45 minutes away by car and 23 minutes by rail from the hotel.


Room Features

    The winning combination of classic comfort and pioneering room technology keeps our loyal Peninsula HongKong customers returning time after time.Choose between the classic comfort of the original building, or the even more spectacular Victoria harbour vistas from rooms in the modern Tower.Guests are equally divided on preference, but everyone can ecpect the same fingertip environment controls, plasma screen televisions, cool white marble bathrooms and simply the best range of cityscape views any hotel can offer.

Hotel Booking

Dates of occupancy Rack RatesDiscounted PriceBreakfast
Aug/01/2009-Aug/31/2009
$728
$559
NO
Sept/01/2009-Oct/31/2009
$728
$620
NO
Nov/01/2009-Dec/20/2009
$728
$525
NO