hospitalitystyle.com

(April 2009) posted on Mon Apr 27, 2009 EDT

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HIRINGS AND PROMOTIONS:

Susan Mitchell-Ketzes, chief talent officer at HOK (St. Louis) has been elected to the firm's global executive committee by the architectural firm's employee shareholders

DEVELOPMENT NEWS:

Foster + Partners (London) announced that its design for a new five-star hotel adjacent to Heathrow Airport has been approved by the Mayor of London. The 13-story hotel, developed by Riva Properties, will feature a layered glass shell that will flood its public spaces with natural light. Work on the project is slated to start in January 2010 and be completed in March 2012.

Gatehouse Capital Corp. (Dallas) announced it has reached an agreement with a new equity partner, Paige Sports Entertainment (St. Louis), to construct a 136-room Aloft hotel in Jacksonville, Fla. The 136-room Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide property is slated to open in summer 2010 in Tapestry Park, a mixed-use development encompassing retail, office space, town homes and apartments.

Carlson Hotels Worldwide (Minneapolis) announced it has signed franchise or management agreements for 23 new properties in the first quarter of 2009. The new hotels and resorts span 14 countries, including 10 Radisson and Radisson Blu properties; six Country Inns & Suites By Carlson properties; and seven Park Inn locations.

OPENINGS AND RENOVATIONS:

W Hotels Worldwide, (New York) has opened the W Hoboken hotel and The Residences at W Hoboken in Hobeken, N.J. The complex includes 225 guest rooms; 40 branded residences; a Bliss Spa; The Chandelier Room lounge bar; Zylo, a Tuscan steakhouse; and a W Hotels The Store. The property was designed by Gwathmey Siegel & Associates (New York) and is owned by Hoboken Hotel LLC, an affiliate of Ironstate Holdings LLC (Hoboken, N.J.).

Hotel Indigo has opened its first property in Central America, in San Jose, Costa Rica. The 100-room hotel is owned by Prime Holding (London), under a license agreement with InterContinental Hotels Group.

Choice Hotels International (Silver Spring, Md.) has opened a 125-unit Cambria Suites hotel in Columbus-Polaris, near Columbus, Ohio.

Kaskaid Hospitality (Eden Prarie, Minn.) has opened a second Crave restaurant in the Minneapolis area, at the Mall of America. The 9,400-square-foot restaurant was designed by Shea Inc. (Minneapolis) and built out in the former site of the California Café by Diversified Construction Co. (St. Louis Park, Minn.).

Thayer Lodging Group (Annapolis, Md.) has opened a $10 million executive meeting center in its Doubletree Hotel Palm Beach Gardens in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

AWARDS:

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG. Denham, U.K.)  was named "Best International Chain" for the second year in a row at TTG China Travel Awards, presented by TTG Publishing, a leading industry publication in Asia Pacific. The following five IHG hotels also won in their categories: InterContinental Hong Kong, best meeting and conventions hotel in Hong Kong; InterContinental Shenzhen, best luxury hotel in Shenzhen; Crowne Plaza Shenzhen. best business hotel in Shenzhen; Holiday Inn Shifu Guangzhou, best mid-range hotel in Guangzhou; and Holiday Inn Macau , best mid-range hotel in Macau.

Hunter Douglas (Upper Saddle River, N.J.),a manufacturer and marketer of custom window fashions, won 27 of the 41 awards in the 2009 Window Covering Manufacturers Association (WCMA) Product Innovation Awards. The company also swept five out of the competition's 12 categories, including cellular shades, green products, shadings and sheers, specialty applications and Merchandising.