Global update
On HOTELSMag . cOM
IntervIew : nEw wyndHaM cEO BaLLOTTi ’ S OuTLOOk
Geoff Ballotti took over as Wyndham Hotel Group president and CEO in March after serving as president and CEO of Wyndham Exchange & Rentals since 2008 . He told HOTELS Wyndham Hotel Group plans to look into refreshing its Wingate by Wyndham , Microtel Inn & Suites by Wyndham , Hawthorn Suites by Wyndham and Wyndham Garden Hotels brands and also shared his thoughts on the industry at large .
Geoff Ballotti
“ There are a couple years ahead of us of really strong growth ,” Balotti said . “ The economy and midscale supply that is leaving the system is leaving it for all the right reasons because they are end-of-life hotels . That creates great opportunities for our brands .”
bloG :
HOw a raiLway BrOugHT indian cuLinary infLuEncES TO kEnya
The “ Food Trotter ” blog on HOTELSMag . com , written
by Stéphane Bellon , vice president , corporate F & B , Kempinski Hotels , Geneva , received a lot of attention for a post about Bellon ’ s discovery about what brought such a strong Indian influence into modern Kenyan cuisine — the Uganda Railway , which was completed in 1903 .
“ Around 32,000 workers were brought from British India for the manual labor of the railway construction ,” Bellon wrote . “ Many stayed … Indian cuisine has influenced
Stéphane Bellon
Kenyan food , and several Indian classics have become typical Kenyan dishes . For example , chapati , a flat bread , is very common on Kenya ’ s dinner tables . … Through a simple dish or dinner , you can learn a lot about history .”
Read the full interview : http :// hotelsm . ag / 1lBS1lT
Read the full blog post : http :// hotelsm . ag / 1nn9vXe exclusIve :
OriEnT ExprESS Brand OwnErS pLan nEw 5-STar Brand
SNCF , the French transportation company that owns the Orient Express trademark and recently agreed with Orient-Express Hotels to terminate their longstanding hotel license agreement , is taking steps to license its own 5-star hotel company . Orient-Express Hotels has been recently rebranded Belmond Hotels .
SNCF , Paris , is also planning to unveil a new luxury train concept between Paris and Vienna for 150 passengers . “ We need to reintroduce the idea of journeys that take time , but also customer-service excellence
Read the full interview : http :// hotelsm . ag / 1gRhZ5b like with cruise ships ,” Frank Bernard , stateowned SNCF ’ s director for development and CEO of Orient Express , told HOTELS .
20 HOTELS June 2014 www . hotelsmag . com