Inntelligence

Event Intelligence for the Hospitality Industry

Aloft Building it’s 1st Southwest Ohio Hotel

Tom DemeropolisSenior Staff ReporterCincinnati Business Courier

An Aloft hotel is coming to West Chester Township.  aloft-phoenix-airport

An affiliate of Witness Hospitality LLC purchased the former El Coyote restaurant at 9183 Centre Point Drive for $1.2 million. Columbus-based Witness Hospitality plans to build Southwest Ohio’s first Aloft hotel on the 2-acre site.

Paige Francis, vice president of Global Brand Management for Aloft Hotels, said the 116-room hotel is scheduled to be complete in July 2019.

Officials with Witness did not respond to calls for comment.

Francis said Aloft selected West Chester because it is centrally located between Cincinnati and Dayton and near Cincinnati’s growing startup community.

“Cincinnati is a fast-growing Midwest metropolis and saw many startup companies move into the area in 2016, which bolstered travel and occupancy,” Francis said.

Aloft was one of Starwood’s hotel brands. Marriott International completed its acquisition of Starwood in September. The Aloft brand is a modern hotel with loft-like rooms that are heavy on technology and a vibrant, social atmosphere. The brand is focused on millennial travelers.

Its w xyz bar is a place for guests to meet over music and signature cocktails. These bars offer free access to local emerging artists as well as some of the hottest bands with “Live at Aloft Hotels” programming.

The West Chester hotel will have SPG Keyless, a keyless entry system that allows guests to use their smartphone or Apple watch as a room key. The Aloft in West Chester also will have a fitness center, a one-stop grab-and-go food and beverage area, and live local music.

Currently there are two Aloft hotels in Ohio, one in downtown Cleveland and one in Beachwood, east of Cleveland. Aloft hotels are scheduled to open next year in North Olmsted, west of Cleveland, and Westerville, outside of Columbus.

The Greater Cincinnati region’s first Aloft hotel will be located in Newport as part of the $80 million Aqua on the Levee project. The Aloft Newport on the Levee is scheduled to open Jan. 12. It will have 144 rooms with a 24/7 gym and an indoor pool.

Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza Hotel among finalists for elite national award

Historic inn played host to Churchilhilton-cinci2l, Elvis, JFK

 By Brent Coleman | WCPO contributor

CINCINNATI — More prestige could shower the Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza Hotel Nov. 3 when the Historic Hotels of America Awards of Excellence are announced in Honolulu.

But the 1931 French art deco masterpiece will have to beat out some heavy hitters in the over-400-rooms category: The Palace (1875) and Fairmount (1907) in San Francisco, The Drake (1920) in Chicago, Hotel Monteleone (1886) in New Orleans and Moana Surfrider (1901) in Honolulu.

“Just to be in that company of bigger-name recognition hotels in larger markets with more celebrity clients … to be nominated is an award in itself,” said Bob Louis, director of sales and marketing at the Netherland Plaza.

Since the awards are all about history, we asked Louis for some, found more on the HHA website and put together nine fun facts from the past that range from what kind of hamburger a hungry Elvis Presley ordered to visits from famous political people such as President Kennedy and Winston Churchill.

1. Presley stayed in the hotel often when he came to Cincinnati to perform. You can buy a $40 color photograph online that shows The King walking down a hallway at the Netherland Plaza. During one stay, according to the hotel’s “Walking Tour and Pocket History” pamphlet, he ordered a hamburger cooked well-done and loved it so so much he went to the kitchen, found the cook and announced with a broad grin: “I just wanted to thank the person that made the best burger I ever had.” Presley last performed in Cincinnati on June 25, 1977, three weeks before his death at age 42.  Read More

Wyndham Hotel Group Adds 200,000 Sq.Ft. of Meeting Space to Its Nearly 8000 Hotel Portfolio in 2016

  • The Summit, A Dolce Hotel, in the U.S.: This new-construction hotel and conference center is located less than 10 miles from downtown Cincinnati, Ohio. Scheduled to open in 2017, the hotel will have an eight-story atrium; a rooftop garden; a health club; a restaurant, bar and lounge; and 22,000 square feet (2,044 square meters) of function space, including 16 individual meeting rooms. Read More

Protesters interrupt NAACP Board Meeting @ Westin Cincinnati

USA TODAY NETWORK  Mark Curnutte, The Cincinnati Enquirer

CINCINNATI — About 140 demonstrators from Tennessee disrupted the national NAACP board meeting Saturday, forcing management at the hotel meeting site to call Cincinnati police.

The demonstrators protested the decision by the civil rights organization to call for a moratorium on charter school expansion and the strengthening of oversight in how charter schools are operated.

Read More

Cincinnati tourism industry to combat skills gap

, btweh@enquirer.com 

Cincinnati’s regional tourism bureau has helped launch a new leadership program to help prepare youth and young adults for careers in the travel and hospitality sector.

The Cincinnati USA Institute for Hospitality Leadership is the brainchild of Cincinnati USA Convention & Visitors Bureau and its industry partners, the groups said Thursday. The creation of the institute was announced at a forum hosted as part of the tourism bureau’s multicultural initiative Vibe Cincinnati.

An Institute for Hospitality Leadership task force will work with businesses to identify talent needs and then work with local colleges to create a curriculum to help fill those jobs. The task force will also help local middle schools and high schools create curricula that could allow students to feed into the college program.  Read More

$22 million hotel opens in Covington

hotelcovington
FOX19 NOW/Robert Guaderrama

COVINGTON, KY (FOX19) –A new $22 million hotel will throw open its doors inside a history-rich building Tuesday.

The 114-room Hotel Covington is a clash of modern and vintage design.  A ribbon cutting ceremony is scheduled for 11 a.m. in front of the hotel, 638 Madison Ave.  Read More