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Dear Luxe Member:
Good News! All predictions indicate a
record year for hospitality in 2006! Over $5 billion will be invested in the
lodging industry this year, in the U.S. alone, according to
PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PWC). New emerging markets are under watchful
eyes in Asia and Eastern Europe. Overall, there is a sense of growth and
renewal. And, the experts predict this will continue for at least the
next six or seven years.
Of course, spending is also predicted to
rise, according to PWC, with hotel amenity improvements, increased
in-room technology, facility renovations, and improved food and beverage.
So, while it’s a seller’s market, it becomes increasing
important to stay “current” or preferably a few steps ahead
of “current”.
Our team recognizes that competition is
a great motivator. We want to show that Luxe members are ahead of the
curve in innovations, décor, technology and service, offering visitors a
truly memorable experience. We’ll take your message to the global
marketplace, so be sure to let us know when you have news, when you have
changed your look or added new technology. These are all the selling
points that help us put the spotlight on your hotel during the numerous
sales missions and trade shows in which we participate throughout the
year.
As we set off to make the 2006 journey
positive, successful, and innovative, our primary goal is to ensure that
the Luxe message is one that draws global attention. We want to show off
our outstanding family of hotels and, once again, encourage you to join
us on sales missions and industry shows. The 2006 schedule can be found
at our new members-only website, the Passport to Luxe, at passport.luxehotels.net.
In the meantime, please let me know if
you have any comments or require assistance in anyway.
Best wishes,
Efrem Harkham
President & CEO
Luxe Worldwide Hotels
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ˇ LUXE OPENS NEW EUROPEAN
CALL CENTER
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 Luxe Worldwide
Hotels announced this month that it has partnered with SolRes to provide
international call center services. The call center, located in Spain,
will provide the support to customers and travel agents booking Luxe
member hotels in a wide variety of languages for countries including
Spain, France, Germany, Portugal, Italy, Singapore and Hong Kong. There
will be a media drive with this information released in the coming days
that will draw attention to Luxe members located throughout the world.
This service is sure to increase bookings and place Luxe in front of
travel professionals in an increasingly wide geographic reach.
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ˇ CONSORTIA REPORT
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2005 welcomed impressive growth in the consortia arena for
LUXE Worldwide Hotels. Consortia bookings increased a remarkable 77% over
2004 with a total of 4,387 reservations for 2005. Resulting room nights
and revenues increased 67% and 63% respectively with 8,777 room nights
producing $1,425,264. We are also pleased to announce a 21% increase in
member consortia participation in 2005. 2006 participation increased an
additional 20%, and LUXE anticipates another successful consortia season!
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ˇ PASSPORT TO LUXE - A
VALUABLE MEMBER RESOURCE
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Remember to check the Passport to Luxe (passport.luxehotels.net/) for updates to a variety of Luxe
resources, all geared to assist you in your sales, marketing and
e-business programs. Please take a moment at least monthly to refresh
your information and let us know if you have any questions!
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ˇ 2005 WAS A VERY GOOD YEAR!
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The reports are out and it appears 2005 was a record setting
year for Luxe, and for many of its members as well. Luxe now boasts over
200 hotels in 30 countries, with a total of 20,000 rooms. 52 new hotels
in 21 countries were added to the portfolio in 2005, bringing to Luxe an
additional 5,214 rooms.
Total revenue was up 66.27%, with an average Room Night
increase of 66.76%.
Some individual properties show revenue increases as high as
200%+, and Luxe Worldwide Hotel Members showed a 29% average Room Night
Increase in 2005 over 2006!
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ˇ GETTING TO KNOW US
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Each issue of this publication will feature another Luxe
Team member. You will get to know them, hear about their outstanding
expertise, find out what services they each provide for Luxe and how they
can be of assistance to you.
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ˇ ANNA GARGIONI, DIRECTOR,
MARKETING DEPARTMENT
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 Anna began her
career at Luxe in 1996 as Marketing Coordinator for the Luxe Hotel Sunset
Boulevard. She coordinated the transition of the hotel from a brand
representation to an independent property, which created a unique set of
skills that help member hotels as they transition to Luxe. Anna also
coordinated marketing for the Luxe Hotel Rodeo. In a few short years,
Anna’s rise from Marketing Coordinator to Senior Marketing Manager
for both hotels and then on to Director of Marketing for Luxe Worldwide
Hotels when LWH was formed, is testimony to her wide range of skills and
her dedication to the Luxe brand.
Anna brings the specialized marketing knowledge that comes
from providing services directly to independent hotels in addition to the
corporate LWH brand. Luxe members turn to her for input on their own
marketing efforts and for her expert development of key e-marketing
solutions.
Anna’s responsibilities include development and design
of all collateral, promotion and sales materials, production and
distribution of the Luxe membership directories, coordination of all
trade show and promotional materials, media relations, implementation of
corporate marketing strategies, coordination of special promotional
events, and complete coordination of all Luxe marketing projects.
In addition to the valuable marketing skills Anna brings to
Luxe, she is fluent in French and Italian (her native country). Anna
received a Bachelors Degree in Business Administration with a GPA4.0 and
was Valedictorian of her class. She loves tennis, hiking and biking and
knows plenty about Italian food and wine!
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ˇ MEETINGS INDUSTRY ON THE
RISE
by John Gomes, CMP
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All reports indicate that the Hotel Industry is back with a
vengeance, especially the Meetings Industry. This is the news that
we’ve all been waiting to hear for many years now, and it looks
like the cycle is on the upswing for hotels.
Having just returned from the MPI – PEC North America
conference and tradeshow, the word was spread high and low that the hotel
industry is doing very well, and things look very bright into the future.
Specifically, companies are holding more and more offsite events. With
the economy on the rise, and company profits increasing, companies are
more willing these days to hold meetings and functions at hotels.
This is great news for all of us, and it is the perfect time
for all member hotels to evaluate their meeting and conference programs
and offer promotions. The time is now to remind your “feeder
market” that your hotel is the perfect place for their next Board
of Director’s Meeting or Sales Retreat. Get your name in front of
your previous clients and let them know that you are there to welcome
them back! Remember, there may be a new person at the helm of many
planning or meeting departments, and this is the perfect time to
introduce yourself to that person or team. Give them a call and invite
them to your hotel for a look (and maybe lunch or dinner).
Luxe Worldwide Hotels is getting more involved in MPI in
order to promote more group business for all of our member hotels. The
recent tradeshow at the PEC North America conference in Charlotte, North
Carolina served as a perfect opportunity to promote the Luxe collection
of hotels to the many of the top corporate planners in the industry.
Planners are always looking for something new and unique to present to
their clients, and our incredible collection of boutique hotels created
quite a bit of new interest. Planners told me over and over how their
clients are tired of the same old “chain hotel” and how
thrilled they were with the diverse opportunities available in the Luxe
Worldwide Hotels collection.
Please remember to visit the Passport to Luxe at passport.luxehotels.net
and click on “Sales” for some great tips to attract the
meeting and conference markets.
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ˇ TRADE SHOW AND SALES
MISSIONS IN REVIEW
by Roselyn Cosentino, VP Sales
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 New York Sales
Mission, October
The last few months of 2005 were filled with trade shows, and sales
missions all over the world. Roselyn
Cosentino, Vice President of Sales and Marketing led the
October Sales Mission to New York City accompanied by our Noam Gafni, Director of Business Development and
Sales based in NYC. Member hotels that joined Roselyn and Noam
were Hotel Griffon, San Francisco;
Morongo Casino Resort and Spa, Cabazon; Hotel Monticello, Washington, DC;
Hotel Santa Fe; Hotel Baronette, Detroit; Sedona Rouge, Sedona; Canyon
Ranch, Lenox and Tucson; and from our New York collection: Dylan Hotel
and Buckingham Hotel.
During the sales mission, our members were introduced to
high profile executives within the travel and corporate arenas of New
York giving them the ability to present their hotels one-on-one. They
visited corporate accounts such as IPG
- Interpublic, Disney ESPN, Time Inc, CBS and SONY, and mega
travel agencies such as Valerie Wilson
Travel, Upward Travel, Fischer Travel, Tzell Travel, Linden Travel,
Ovation Group and Journey Corp.
This sales mission was very intensive and very successful
leaving each hotel with new business. Four busy days of on-going meetings
day and night had everyone going home exhausted, but happy!
World Travel Market, London, November
Efrem Harkham and Roselyn
traveled to London to participate in World Travel Market, the
international travel industry’s premier business-to- business
forum. Travel industry professionals from over 190 countries participate
to negotiate and exchange contracts, source new products and services and
learn about the latest worldwide industry developments.
International Tourist Fair – FIT, Buenos Aires,
November
Ricardo Lambertini, Vice President of
Latin America participated in the annual FIT America Latina
exposition held in Buenos Aires in November, targeting South American
travel professionals as well as consumers. The event was organized by the
Argentine Association of Travel and Tourism Agencies (AAAVYT) and the
Association of Travel Agencies of Buenos Aires (AVIABUE) and counted with
the sponsorship of the National Secretary of Tourism, the Buenos Aires City
Tourism Sub-secretary and the Argentine Chamber of Tourism. The total
number of visitors to this exposition was more than 67,000 from 38
countries.
Luxury Travel Expo, Las Vegas, December
The annual Luxury Travel Expo show was attended by Roselyn and our member
hotels, where they were able to present Luxe Worldwide Hotels to travel
agents specializing in luxury travel market.
South America Sales Mission, December
Efrem Harkham and Roselyn embarked on an intensive trip to South America
to visit top agencies and accounts in Argentina and Brazil. They were
accompanied by Ricardo Lambertini. They visited and hosted a dinner
including the top agencies such as; Swan
Turismo, Garcia Fernandez Turismo, City Service Travel-BTI, and Biblos
Travel. On their next stop to Sao Paulo they visited all of
the top agencies including Queensberry
Viagens e Turismo and Carlson Wagonlit Travel. They ended
their journey in Rio de Janeiro.
Dallas Sales Mission, January
The Luxe team started 2006 with a host of activities including a Sales
Mission to Dallas. Roselyn was joined by Roxanne Housley of Canyon Ranch, Suzanne Brown of Hotel Santa Fe,
and Russell Lear from the Flemings Mayfair. They visited with
some of the most influential agencies in that city including Rudi Steele Travel, Strong Travel, Carlson
Wagonlit, BTI/World Travel, TQ3Carlson, Campbell Travel, Precision
Travel, Eagle Travel others.
Meeting Professionals International (MPI), January
John Gomes, National Sales
Manager attended the MPI – PEC North America Tradeshow in
Charlotte, North Carolina. John was joined by Karla Lewis, Director of Sales of Sedona Rouge. The MPI
– PEC North America conference and tradeshow had the largest
registration in recent history with just over 2300 attendees. The
tradeshow was busy from the moment the doors opened. Many new connections
were made with some of the top meeting planners in the industry,
including members of the Fortune 500 companies, as well as numerous
independent planners. In addition to making new contacts, the event served
as an excellent opportunity to re-connect with corporate planners from
around the world.
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ˇ TRADE SHOW AND SALES
MISSIONS IN REVIEW - continued
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 Los Angeles
Sales Mission, January
Lucia Sirotich-Lebon, Associate Director of Sales conducted the Los
Angeles Sales Mission accompanied by Christiaan
Aldoy, General Manager of the Dylan Hotel, Peter Hoehn, General Manager
of the Francisco Grande Hotel and Golf Resort, Feli Galo, Director of
Sales of the Hotel Griffon, Dora Guillen, Director of Sales of the Hotel
LaJolla and Daniel Carrillo from the Sedona Rouge Resort and Spa.
The hoteliers visited many of Los Angeles’s top travel agencies
such as Protravel, Third Millenium,
Cassis Travel, Corniche, Altour, New Act Travel, Travel Store, Rich
Worldwide Travel, Warner Bros. and others.
Business Travel Show, January, London
Roselyn ended January at BTS in London – the event for people who
book and buy company travel, business trips and meetings. Roselyn was
accompanied by Brigitte Zublin,
Director of Sales, Murano Urban Resort, Paris. BTS is
well-known as Europe’s premier corporate travel forum. It provides
a unique insight into the trends and issues facing this dynamic industry.
They met key travel buyers and suppliers from across Europe.
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ˇ WELCOME NEW LUXE MEMBER
HOTELS
(January – February 2006)
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ˇ The Grand Baja All
Suite Resort & Spa, Los Cabos, Mexico
ˇ The Listel Hotel,
Vancouver, BC, Canada
ˇ The Puteri Pacific
Johor Bahru, Johor Bahru, Malaysia
ˇ Salt Lake Plaza
Hotel, Salt Lake City, Utah
ˇ The Seneca Hotel
& Suites, Chicago, Illinois
ˇ The
Belden-Stratford, Chicago, Illinois
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ˇ CONGRATULATIONS TO:
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Congratulations and a warm welcome to Dion Chandler, the new General
Manager of the intimate luxury boutique Establishment
Hotel located in the heart of the CBD shopping precinct of
Sydney.
Luxe member Waterford
Castle was once again selected for Conde Nast World’s
Best 700 places to stay (2006 Gold List) in the January 2006 issue.
Sedona Rouge was voted among the 50 Romantic Escapes in the February
issue of Travel & Leisure! A link to the list also appeared on
AOL’s opening page.
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