Marriott International plans to open the 1st Courtyard by Marriott brand hotel in Bogota, Colombia. Opening in April 2014, the 146-room Courtyard hotel on Avenida El Dorado could be section of a mixed-use complex in an effort to include prime office and retail space.
Accor’s Board of Directors met today on the request of its Chairman, Denis Hennequin, with all Directors in attendance.
During this meeting, the entire Directors came to the joint conclusion concerning the Group’s situation: that the tactic adopted is the appropriate one and that it’ll remain unchanged. However, given current economic conditions and the rapid transformation of its competitive environment, Accor must accelerate the implementation of this strategy on the way to reinforce its positions. The Board therefore requested that the head priority take delivery of to focusing energy and resources on transforming Accor’s business model. The Board took note of Denis Hennequin’s reservations and unanimously voted to terminate his mandate with immediate effect from April 23, 2013.
The Board paid tribute to the measures initiated by Denis Hennequin over greater than two years to refocus Accor’s business, expand the gang internationally and reinforce its brands. These results will allow the crowd to commence a brand new stage of its development with confidence.
The Board decided to put in a transition executive team: Philippe Citerne, previously ViceChairman of Accor’s Board, is appointed Non-Executive Chairman of Accor, and Sébastien Bazin becomes Vice-Chairman of the Board. Yann Caillère, previously President and Chief Operating Off icer is appointed as Chief Executive Officer.
Lastly, the AGM held this Thursday April 25, was chaired by Philippe Citerne.
Philippe Citerne, Non-Executive Chairman of Accor’s Board of Directors declared: “On behalf of the Board, i need to pay tribute to Denis Hennequin’s new and artistic perspective at the hospitality business and for the standard of our exchanges during his mandate as Chairman and CEO, and likewise on the time of his departure. i’m confident sooner or later development of the gang.”
Denis Hennequin declared: “I am particularly happy with the work achieved by our team s, franchisees and partners under my guidance. Together, we’ve successfully expanded Accor enabling record growth during the last two years and making a new, dynamic brand-based approach. i’m confident that everybody will continue to uphold the values that drive the group’s success: a spirit of con quest, imagination, performance, trust and respect.”
Accor, the world’s leading hotel operator and market leader in Europe, is found in 92 countries with greater than 3,500 hotels and 450,000 rooms. Accor’s broad portfolio of hotel brands – Sofitel, Pullman, MGallery, Grand Mercure, Novotel, Suite Novotel, Mercure, Adagio, ibis, ibis Styles, ibis budget and hotelF1 – provide an in depth offer from luxury to budget. With greater than 160,000 employees in Accor brand hotels worldwide, the crowd offers its clients and partners 45 years of know-how and expertise.
New Zealand’s cycle-friendly landscapes have attracted a robust international contingent of cyclists for an ambitious eight-day cycling adventure that sets off on 20 April.
Tour of latest Zealand, which travels the length of latest Zealand, is designed to attract cyclists of all abilities – from serious competitors in for the race to social cyclists on a leisurely tour. Participants ride as individuals or in teams.
Director Peter Yarrell says that entries for the 2013 edition include greater than 30 overseas competitors from Australia, Hong Kong, Texas, the united kingdom, Russia and Japan. About 220 cyclists could be at the place to begin for Stage One.
Unique cycling event
Inaugurated in 2012, Tour of recent Zealand offers a brand new tackle cycling events because it is more in regards to the journey than the race. It passes through a few of New Zealand’s outstanding landscapes and provides contestants the chance to ride at their very own level.
Teams or individuals can opt to ride through either the North or South Island and, at the final day, all of the competitors arrive on the mid-point in Wellington to race during the grounds of recent Zealand’s Parliament Buildings.
The race starts simultaneously at both ends of recent Zealand. North Island cyclists begin at Cape Reinga on the tip of the North Island while South Island cyclists spark off from Bluff following a 700km path to Wellington.
Route highlights
The tour is promoted as “the most visually dramatic, accessible multi-day cycling stage race ever held in New Zealand” and every itinerary offers different highlights and sundry experiences, Yarrell says.
Travelling a number of New Zealand’s best country roads, the tour will go through the South Island’s alpine resorts of Queenstown, Wanaka and Lake Tekapo, and the central North Island’s distinctive Waitomo limestone country, active volcanic and world heritage conservation areas.
Cyclists at the North Island itinerary would begin their journey with a standard Maori farewell on the famed lighthouse at Cape Reinga – a sacred spot in Maori tradition – while the South Island contingent would receive a send-off from “Invercargill’s inimitable Mayor Tim Shadbolt”.
On Anzac Day (25 April) riders can have the chance to enroll in dawn services commemorating past sacrifices of the NZ Military – at National Park (North Island) and Hanmer Springs (South Island) – before setting off at the day’s ride.
Riders completing all seven stages will each carry a pebble taken from the southernmost point of recent Zealand to the finish in Wellington, where the pebbles might be combined with sand from the north as a symbolic presentation.
Celebration of recent Zealand
Yarrell sees the tour as “a celebration – not just of cycling, but of all New Zealand has to present.
The routes take riders through a number New Zealand scenery, stopping at iconic spots and country towns for off-road diversions.
In the South Island, cyclists will pedal past mountains and farmland, conquer high country passes, glimpsing the iridescent blues of the Southern Lakes within the daytime and the dark skies above at night. The North Island route swoops through ancient kauri forests, beside northern beaches, around the volcanic heartland, and the Whanganui River via kilometres of remote native bush.
The race timetable allows three to 6 hours cycling each morning with free time inside the afternoons and evenings for exploring the destinations, meeting the locals and enjoying the Kiwi hospitality experience.
On the eighth day, the riders will meet for a head-to-head criterium inside the grounds of Wellington’s iconic Beehive to come to a decision the winners in each category. This final blast across the 1.5km criterium course will start and finish at the steps of Parliament.
Cyclists
The entrants represent a large choice of cyclists, and Yarrell says that the development is not just about speed and competition.
Individual participants are just required to do one stage to join the development. They are able to also choose whether to hurry with the intense racers or dawdle their way trying out “the amazing backdrops.”
Teams must field as much as five cyclists on each stage but substitute riders are permitted at any stage because the goal is to get the team colours to Wellington.
Each day there’ll be $1000-worth of spot prizes distributed.
Participants may have the chance to elevate funds through sponsorship for his or her chosen charities while school teams will raise money for his or her school sports programmes. Charities supported by Tour riders include the guts Foundation, St Johns Ambulance Services, Halberg Disability Trust and the Hikurangi Foundation for the ‘Bikes in School’ programme.
The 2012 tour riders raised NZ$75,000 for charity.
Tour of latest Zealand is now a biennial event. New routes can be introduced for the 2015 edition.
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The GTMC, the UK’s leading professional industry body representing travel management companies, has welcomed global hotel representation company HotelREZ as a partner. The corporate provides hotel GDS distribution and internet distribution, revenue, sales and marketing support to over 1,000 independent hotels and small groups of hotels.
GTMC chief executive Paul Wait said: “The GTMC is growing in strength both with an expanding membership and with its partnerships with key, quality industry suppliers. HotelREZ has the advantage of being our only hotel representation partner, giving the corporate unique access to a convincing group of travel management companies with formidable buying power.”
HotelREZ executive director Daniel Simmons said: “HotelREZ, as an expanding hotel representation company, is delighted to be an official partner of the UK’s leading professional body for travel management companies, The Guild of Travel Management Companies. This relationship outlines our commitment to the company travel industry and our goal is to constantly improve the experience and repair offered to the agents and travelers.”
The GTMC now has thirty partners drawn from a various range of suppliers including airlines, hotel companies, rail and car rental companies, technology companies and some of ancillary service providers.
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As a part of its longstanding commitment to sustainability and its communities, MGM Resorts International has launched a brand new corporate social responsibility (CSR) website today – Earth Day. Branded to coalesce with MGM’s powerful CSR initiative, “Inspiring Our World”, the web site details the Company’s advancements in diversity, community engagement and environmental responsibility.
“Our new CSR website serves as an outstanding forum to have interaction guests, customers and partners in our efforts to ‘Inspire our World,’” said Jim Murren , Chairman and CEO of MGM Resorts International. “Customers, today, have an interest not just within the exceptional service a business provides, but additionally whether it serves the community and planet with the identical enthusiasm. We would like them to grasp that we’re obsessed with both.”
Since the Company’s founding, MGM Resorts has shown a robust commitment to the elemental principles of social responsibility.
Serving as a web portal for normal MGM updates, the recent website will chronicle the newest in Company CSR news, published reports and achievements. Highlights featured include:
Diversity & Inclusion – MGM Resorts has increased and maintained the entire representation of girls (greater than 40 percent) and minorities (greater than 30 percent) inside the diversity profile of its management team for greater than 1/2 the past decade. Additionally, in the course of the decade following the creation of its Supplier and Construction Diversity programs in 2001, the corporate spent a cumulative total of nearly $3 billion with minority-owned, women-owned and disadvantaged business enterprises. MGM Resorts have been recognized a number of the Top 50 Companies for Diversity by DiversityInc Magazine; 40 Best Companies for Diversity by Black Enterprise Magazine; Best Companies for Latina Employees by Latina Style Magazine; and the “Best Places to Work for LGBT Equality” by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation.
Philanthropy & Community Engagement – Since 2002, The MGM Resorts Foundation has donated nearly $50 million to nonprofit organizations. Additionally, Company employees logged greater than 113,000 volunteer hours last year to assist greater than 850 nonprofit agencies meet community needs. In light of its volunteer efforts, MGM Resorts earned the Nevada Governor’s Points of sunshine Award earlier this year.
Environmental Sustainability – During the last five years, MGM Resorts has achieved a complete savings of greater than 300 million kilowatt hours of electricity, 500,000 MMBtu of natural gas and 1.9 billion gallons of water; and increased its recycling rate by greater than 420 percent. Additionally, MGM Resorts’ properties have achieved six LEED® Gold certifications and 15 Green Key Global Eco-Ratings; at greater than 18 million square feet, CityCenter is the most important LEED® Gold certified new development on the planet. MGM Resorts is recognized because the highest ranking company within the casino resort industry among Newsweek Magazine’s most environmentally responsible companies.
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