Hotels News Seek

Hotels Seek.com offers coverage of the global hotel industry with a specific focus on hotel deals and specials, as well as hotels’ attempts to survive the current recession, which has hammered the global travel industry but led to great bargains for those who still want to see the world.

Hotels in Ireland want reduced rates and taxes as downturn hits home

The Irish Hotels Federation (IHF), which represents around 1000 hotels and guest houses around the country and lobbies on the behalf of over 57,000 employees in the sector, has asked the Irish government for a reduction in local authority rates in a bid to save money and further reduce prices.

The hotel industry in Ireland is currently in a state of near-crisis with occupancy and profits having plummeted 15 and 25% respectively since the boom days of 2007. For this reason, Ireland hotels seek to reduce their rates wherever possible.

The hotel industry in Ireland currently pays around EU90 million in rates to local authorities, which is an average of EU1,500 per guest room per year, considering that there are around 60,000 hotel rooms in Ireland.

Starwood’s Hawaii competition brings Aloha to the mainland

Starwood Hotels and Resorts is running a competition whereby the American public are asked to share their pictures that capture what they call “the Aloha spirit”, which means anything that best illustrates Aloha in your mind, from tanning on the beach to walking the dog, it doesn’t matter what the theme is as the ultimate vote will be that of the public themselves.

Of all the pictures sent in, 25 will be selected by judges to go on Starwood’s Hawaii Facebook page (www.facebook.com/StarwoodHawaii) and the public will choose the winners.

The competition is sponsored in part by Sony, so the grand prize is called the Sony Open in Hawaii Dream Vacation, which includes three nights at the Sheraton Waikiki, The Royal Hawaiian, the Sheraton Maui Resort and Spa and the Sheraton Keauhou Bay Resort and Spa as well as weekly passes to the Sony Open in Hawaii and a round of golf with a PGA pro, as well as a Cyber-shot TX5 camera.

Dubai hotels offering vastly reduced rates to shore up occupancy

When the global downturn hit, Dubai was in the final stages of a construction boom that had seen the city’s hotel supply grow enormously in a short space of time. With major travel markets such as Europe and North America, two of them main sources of tourists for Dubai, effected, the demand for hotel rooms has dropped.

Because of this, Dubai is now offering hotel rooms at prices much lower than pre-recession levels. In 2007, some hotels were charging as much as US$1,500 per night, which marked a staggering increase compared to several years earlier, while the hotel sector’s supply of hotels between 2007 and 2008 grew from 317 to 340.

Now, as hotels seek to lure in more tourists and make the city an attractive travel prospect once more, they’re reducing their prices markedly, along with many other operatives in the travel sector, such as airlines.

On popular hotel reservation websites such as Last Minute.com, five star hotels such as the Amwaj Rotana and Kempinski Mall of the Emirates in Dubai are offering rates as low as US$70 and US$150 per night respectively.

Recession making hotels greener

Hotels seek to lure in environmentally conscious travellers with their LEED certifications and ‘green initiatives’ such as organic vegetable gardens and energy-saving light bulbs, but the desire to be LEED certified is becoming a major competitive advantage in some cities as being green becomes more mainstream.

In the US$11 billion hotel market of metro Atlanta, for example, being LEED compliant is more than just a nod to the hippie crowd, it’s a major investment in the long-term position of hotels in the market.

“A lot of organizations won't do business with you if they don’t think you are an environmentally friendly hotel,” said Robert Woolridge, general manager of the Gateway Marriott, which opened in 2010 along with SpringHill Suites Gateway, also LEED certified.

Both properties are part of the Georgia International Convention Center in College Park and being ‘green’ was part of the agreement as major businesses booking meeting and exhibition space will also benefit from the being perceived as environmentally friendly.

In the Atlanta hotel sector, which has seen occupancy plummet to just 57% in the first half of 2010, the certification gives properties like Marriot and SpringHill Suites an important competitive edged, in addition, it reduces the operational costs of the hotel.

For example, even when appliances are switched off, they use a certain amount of electricity if they are still plugged in to a socket, but rooms at SpringHill Suites do not receive power until the room key is inserted in the slot, thereby reducing that wastage when the rooms are not in use.

Finding great hotel deals for tourist spots around the world

There are a myriad of hotel booking sites, hotel review sites, hotel deal specialists etc on the internet. Hotels Seek has compiled a list of some of the best hotel finding websites for prospective travellers.

Last Minute.com – currently running a hotel deal with 40% off reservations in select hotels around the world.

Hotel Finder.com – comprehensive coverage of North America, Europe and the Caribbean.

Hotels.com – features a detailed search engine with destination, dates, number of people that matches search criteria to the most appropriate hotels.

Hotels-Seek.net – covers the United States with a database of every hotel in every city and town in the country.