Resorts
Holidays Are Happening
Santa Claus – not to mention Mrs. Claus and their elf, Kandy Kane – will be escaping to Florida in December to join guests for Holiday Happenings at the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Hotel. During this month-long celebration, children – as well as kids at heart – can enjoy a magical holiday vacation experience at the Epcot Resort Area hotel with special holiday season room rates starting at $159 per night. Activities during the holiday season, include greetings from Santa and Mrs. Klaus in their special Tiki Hut; a chance to check out the life-size chocolate holiday...
Marriott International, Starwood Hotels to Merge
Marriott International and Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide have reported a blockbuster merger that will see Marriott acquire Starwood -- creating the world's largest hotel company with a combined 1.1 million rooms in more than 5,500 hotels. It's reported that the board of directors of both companies unanimously approved the deal, with the merged company offering a "broader choice for guests [and] greater opportunities for associates..." According to officials, the transaction combines Starwood's leading lifestyle brands and international footprint with Marriott's strong...
HoJo Turning Things Orange
Howard Johnson is launching a one-day, post US Thanksgiving sale at 20 of its properties across the US and Canada, offering 60% off rates. Calling it Orange Wednesday, the sale takes place on the first Wednesday after Thanksgiving – which is Dec. 2, 2015 – and allows travellers to book stays for 60% off at approximately 20 of Howard Johnson's best hotels across the U.S. and Canada, including the Howard Johnson Anaheim Hotel and Water Playground in Anaheim, Calif. and the Howard Johnson Manhattan SOHO in New York City. Meghan Swatt, director of brand marketing for Howard Johnson,...
Good Work Sheraton
The Sheraton Centre Toronto is offering a special rate to its guests that gives back to the Daily Bread Food Bank this December. The "Spirit of the Season" rate is offered from Dec. 10-30 with $20 from each room night booked on this special rate being donated to the Daily Bread Food Bank. Visitors and local area residents are invited to spend a night or more to enjoy pre-holiday shopping or get-togethers, Christmas Day festivities or Boxing Day bargain hunting, with rates starting from $139 per...
Nighttime the Right Time at Hard Rock
Ash Tembe says those staying at a Hard Rock Hotel All Inclusive Collection resort will quickly learn that nighttime is the right time. Tembe, vice-president of global field sales for the brand – which has properties in Punta Cana, Cancun, the Riviera Maya and Puerto Vallarta – says night owls will be in their element in any of those resorts. “What we do better than anyone else is we come alive at night,” he told a lively gathering of travel agents in Toronto Thursday, adding many other all-inclusive brands are quiet after sunset. “Staying up all night at a Hard Rock is...
Group Germain Keeps Getting Better
Christiane Germain, co-founder of Group Germain Hotels, was in Toronto this week, leading a group of the company's top executives, in spreading the word about all the things going on at the hotel group these days. Topping the list was the fact that Le Germain Hotel Toronto is in the process of re-doing all of its rooms. About a third of them have already been completed, with the remainder to be finished by April of 2016. The group has two brands, Le Germain Hotels and ALT Hotels by Le Germain, spread across Canada in key markets that include Quebec City, Montreal, Toronto, Charlevoix,...
Starwood Going Big In Vegas
What happens in Vegas doesn't necessarily always stay in Vegas. In fact, the people at Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide want to make sure that travel agents know exactly what's happening in Las Vegas these. That's because Starwood has unveiled the details of its single largest addition of hotel rooms in North America since pre-recession with the signing of SLS Las Vegas on the Las Vegas Strip and Sahara Boulevard. Owned by Las Vegas Resort Holdings, LLC, the three distinct hotel towers, encompassing more than 1,600 guestrooms and suites, will be branded by the end of this...
Sandals: Always Changing The Game
It was all things Sandals (and Beaches) in Toronto last night as the "luxury-included" chain rolled into the city for its annual travel agent extravaganza, this year under the theme "Changing the Game," reports Press Today's Michael Baginski. Preceded by a 200-guest party in Montreal two nights earlier, close to 500 agents and trade partners crammed the Sheraton Airport Hotel for dinner, trade show, a bit of stand-up comedy, and all-around Sandals revival that emphasized what the company has been and is doing to change the very nature of the all-inclusive experience throughout the...