HotelsMag January-February 2013 | Page 18

GLOBAL UPDATE

THE GOSTELOW REPORT

At the recent annual International Luxury Travel Market in Cannes , France , there was noticeable interest in the Galapagos from travel agents and other buyers . British entrepreneur John Madejski bankrolled a 395-acre eco-resort , The Royal Palm , on Santa Cruz Island , off the Ecuadorian coast . He is now reputed to be trying to sell at least 50 % of the resort , which has 21 bedrooms .
MARY GOSTELOW
York hotel is planned .
Smaller — and perhaps more characterful — hotels seem to be coming to the fore in Europe . The new-look InterContinental in London Westminster could plausibly be called the Blue Boar Pub and Steakhouse and is already phenomenally popular , with 254 bedrooms attached . Angela Brav , IHG ’ s CEO of Europe , is excited , too , about
In the United States , CitizenM makes its debut in June with a hotel at 50th Street and Broadway in New York City , and a second is planned for New York City ’ s Bowery in 2014 . The Netherlands-based company has already shown it can expand overseas , or at least as far as London . One of CitizenM ’ s founders , Wulf van Alkemade — who is also president of Luxury Hotel Cosmetics — is confident CitizenM can “ become American .” Van Alkemade points to the success of London-based Firmdale Hotels , which opened the 86-room Crosby Street Hotel in New York City ’ s SoHo neighborhood in September 2009 . Its reception has been such , says Firmdale co-owner and chief designer Kit Kemp , that now a second New
new-look Indigo hotels , of which London so far has two , at Earl ’ s Court and Paddington .
The Mama Shelter team , based in Paris , can rely on brand Philippe Starck for awareness . Starck ’ s Mama Shelter concept includes dark , compact lobbies and large , canteen-like eating areas . Mama Shelter launched in Paris and now has its second hotel in Marseille , and it wants siblings in Bordeaux and Lyon before extending outside France to Istanbul and Los Angeles . The business side of Mama Shelter is led by philosopher Cyril Aouizerate and Serge Trigano , son of the founder of Club Med . Yes , famous sons , as in the case of Tonino Lamborghini in China , seem to favor hotel ownership .

ON THE WEB

INTERVIEW : HOTELKEEPING AGAINST THE ODDS
Gordon Gorman has been general manager of the 236-room Avari Towers , located in Karachi , Pakistan , since 2007 . Due to the ongoing political turmoil in Pakistan , Gorman spends as much time with his staff discussing bomb blasts and security as he does service and revenue management . Gorman told HOTELS , “ My fellow hoteliers around the world may soon know what a ‘ hard day at the office ’ is like ... perhaps it will make some of my industry colleagues in rather more comfortable surroundings realize that even when they think they are having a bad day , life really ain ’ t so bad after all .”
Read the full interview at HOTELSMag . com : http :// www . hotelsmag . com / Industry / News / Details / 38649
BLOG :
Whether charging for Wi-Fi diminishes a customer ’ s luxury experience remains a topic that divides hotel companies . So when one of HOTELSMag . com ’ s bloggers — Peter Joehnk , principal , JOI-Design , Hamburg , Germany — wrote about his ire at being charged for Wi-Fi in a guestroom at a 5-star New York City hotel despite free Wi-Fi being offered at a local Starbucks , it provoked a flurry of responses from readers .
“ Despite my comfortable stay , my final impression was flawed simply because this luxury hotel found it necessary to charge its guests for the Wi-Fi that Starbucks gives away for free . It makes me wonder — what is the real cost to a hotel ’ s reputation when it charges guests for the use of Wi-Fi ?” Joehnk wrote .
READ THE FULL BLOG POST AT HOTELSMAG . COM : HTTP :// WWW . HOTELSMAG . COM / INDUSTRY / BLOGS / DETAILS / 38426
16 HOTELS January / February 2013 www . hotelsmag . com