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There are executive search and recruiting firms in almost every industry and hospitality is no exception. Hotels, resorts and casinos often develop long-standing relationships with a hospitality executive search firm to get access to the pool of excellent executive candidates they know these firms can tap into.

In this three-part series I interview the individuals leading social media efforts with these companies to gain insight into how they're taming the social media beast and staying true to brand. Whether you're a B&B, boutique or big box, there are ideas and inspiration to be drawn from all three models. Today we kick things off with Diego Sartori of citizenM.

TripAdvisor, Inc. today announced the results of the annual TripAdvisor Industry Index - one of the world's largest hotel business surveys, incorporating responses from more than 9,000 accommodation owners and managers worldwide, of which 1276 were from the U.S. The Index, TripAdvisor's first of this size and scale, gauges the industry's outlook for the year ahead. Among the survey's key findings: the discovery that 65 percent of U.S. respondents are optimistic about the prospect of an economic recovery in 2012, a full 27 percent higher than the global average of 38 percent.

The Cornell School of Hotel Administration (SHA) has announced that eight-time Emmy Award winner Paula Zahn will serve as master of ceremonies at the fourth annual Cornell Hospitality Icon & Innovator Awards on June 5, 2012 at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. At the gala event, Zahn will help honor the Tisch family as the 2012 recipients of the Cornell Icon of the Industry Award.

According to Smith Travel Research, group demand (measured as a percent of total demand) began to grow year-over-year in March of 2010. Since then, the group occupancy rate has steadily increased, but has yet to reach the pre-recession levels observed in 2007 and 2008. While greater numbers of conventioneers may be seen roaming the lobbies, pre-function space, and banquet halls of U.S. hotels, operators and owners are telling us that negotiations with meeting planners are still contentious and concessions are being made to attract events to their hotels.

Travelodge will get financing from two New York-based hedge funds as the UK budget hotel chain owned by Dubai International Capital restructures debt. Avenue Capital Group and GoldenTree Asset Management have underwritten a medium-term facility of £60m ($95m), James Leviton, a spokesman for Travelodge, said after the Sunday Times reported the company had six weeks to raise the money or it could face bankruptcy.

MICROS Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MCRS), a leading provider of information technology solutions for the hospitality and retail industries, is pleased to announce that the latest TRUMP HOTEL COLLECTION™ property, the Trump International Hotel & Tower® Toronto, which opened on January 31, 2012, has selected the MICROS OPERA Enterprise Solution and the MICROS Restaurant Enterprise Solution (RES) as its primary hospitality technology systems.

Slated to begin construction early in the second quarter of 2012, Hyatt Place Omaha Downtown/Old Market will have 159 rooms in a stand-alone nine-story building located on the northwest corner of Jackson Street and 12th Street in the Old Market district. The hotel, designed by the Chicago office of the DLR Group, will be situated amidst Omaha's arts and entertainment center that features fine dining, shopping, corporate meeting facilities, and upscale nightlife.

Hotel rate parity trends for February to April 2012 of three, four and five star hotels across some of the major cities in Australia & New Zealand. The report shows the percentage of hotels with cheaper rates on their own brand site compared to their rates on other OTAs.

Data trends on cheapest hotel rates as well as median rate for three months of three, four and five star hotels across some of the major cities in Australia & New Zealand. This set covers February to April 2012, taken on the 2nd week of February 2012 (all rates are in US dollars for two adults for a one-night stay).

GRACESOFT, provider of Easy InnKeeping™ reservation and hotel software, announced adaptation of their Smart Device interface, now available to all clients. Many hospitality developments in smart technology have centered around the guest's interaction with the hotel or motel property. GraceSoft as provider of web-based software solutions to hotels, condos, inns and motels; recognizes that many general managers and hotel staff are also smart device users! The mobile interface allows clients to login and manage their Easy InnKeeping™ reservation management software from a variety of mobile devices including: iPad, iPhone, Android and Blackberry. Any client can access their reservation software through a smart device, by launching the application through the mobile link provided.

Offering online bookings to hotels from the budget sector right through to the luxury end of the market, the six new reservation sites now connected to SiteMinder include:* Atrapalo – a leading hotel booking site in Spain and Spanish-speaking countries in South America –www.atrapalo.com* Hotel Shop UK – a British site specialising in discounted bookings for UK and Europeanaccommodation and short stays – www.hotelshopuk.com* Travel Stay – a popular site for affordable accommodation across the UK, especially London, Edinburghand Glasgow – www.travelstay.com* Priceline Hong Kong – a leading online booking site in Asia offering accommodation around the world –www.priceline.com.hk* Inntopia – Reservation software provider powering sites such as Tourism Whistler's www.whistler.com* Worldview – a rapidly growing company specialising on the reservation of hotels and serviced apartmentsin the UK and around the world including the popular booking agents www.citybaseapartments.com,www.central-london-apartments.com and www.londonnights.com

Stockholm, Sweden, February 21, 2012: Your Hotel™ Worldwide, provider of strategic electronic sales, marketing and booking solutions and services, is expanding its brand and portfolio in Germany and Austria with the appointment of Ulf Guldi as Regional Sales Director – Germany.

Hotels are seeing strong growth in group commitments for 2012, according to TravelClick's January 2012 North American Hospitality Review (NAHR). The January NAHR is based on group sales and reservations for hotel stays in 2012. Group committed occupancy on the books for 2012 is up 5.4 percent compared to this time last year. Moreover, group pace, or new group sales booked over the prior 30 days, was up 6.2 percent compared to the same period a year ago.

Budget hotelier Travelodge has secured a 60 million pounds ($94.89 million) line of funding and is trading well, a spokesman for the Dubai International Capital (DIC) DUBAHP.UL owned business said on Sunday. He said the 60 million pounds medium term loan facility, which replaces an existing line, has been underwritten by junior lenders including U.S. firms Golden Tree Asset Management and Avenue Capital.

Hotels are going to extraordinary lengths to cater to a guest's every imaginable need. Think a fragrance or tanning butler, a dog surfing instructor and a sleep concierge. Sound gimmicky? Maybe. But hotels are vying for the attention of ever-picky travelers. Providing an unusual service creates buzz and can build loyalty.

Hyatt Hotels Corporation (NYSE: H) today announced that a Hyatt affiliate signed a management agreement for Park Hyatt Bangkok for Central Embassy, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Central Group of Companies. The iconic hotel will be located in a prime location in the city’s central business district. Slated to open in 2014, Park Hyatt Bangkok will be housed within a new, modern mixed-use building, bringing the legendary Park Hyatt luxury brand to one of Southeast Asia’s leading business and leisure destinations.

Time Hotels, a group of small, independent hotels in France, has increased its productivity from third party resellers through the effective use of RateTiger's channel management tools. During 2010 the hotel chain installed RateTiger's channel manager into 25 Time Hotel properties with a strategy to connect to more online sales channels directly in order to better control of sales, pricing and production.

RCI, the global leader in vacation exchange and part of the Wyndham Worldwide family of brands (NYSE: WYN), today announced five new resort affiliations in Thailand, the Philippines and Malaysia. The signing of these agreements expands RCI's Asian portfolio to more than 160 affiliated properties.

Dubai-based Jebel Ali International Hotels (JAIH) has reportedly acquired a 341-room beach-facing hotel in Dubai Marina’s Jumeirah Beach Residence development for more than US$100 million. The purpose-built property, bought from Abu Dhabi-based Das Holdings, will be owned and operated by JAIH, whose portfolio includes the Jebel Ali Golf Resort and Spa, the Hatta Fort Hotel and the Oasis Beach Tower.