Morgans ousted from N.Y.'s Soho Mondrian
New York's Mondrian SoHo hotel will become the Nomo SoHo after a New York State Supreme Court judge ordered Morgans Hotel Group to relinquish management of the 263-room property. Morgans had sought the enforcement of its management contract and said it would pursue damages for what it alleges was breach of contract. The hotel is a member of Preferred Hotels & Resorts; the name stands for "nostalgic" and "modern."
Virgin and Delta to use same res system
Virgin Atlantic will switch to Delta's AIR4 passenger services system (PSS) next year for reservations, ticketing and departure-control services. Virgin's system will be aligned with Delta's PSS in order to improve the customer experience and enable the partners to share long-term IT investments and direction. The airlines launched a transatlantic joint venture in January 2014.
Gondola to connect Lake Tahoe resorts
A high-speed gondola will connect the Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows ski resorts, linking their combined 6,000 skiable acres and 42 chairlifts. The resorts are now six miles apart by road but a mile-and-a-half as the crow flies. The combined resort would be North America's third-largest ski area.
Montego Bay resorts to become Sunscape
AMResorts' Sunscape brand will enter Jamaica with the conversion of Montego Bay's Sunset Beach Resort and Oasis at Sunset. The resorts will be combined to create the 430-room Sunscape Montego Bay late this year.
McLeod heads list of CLIA Hall honorees
CLIA will induct longtime cruise executive Rod McLeod into the Cruise Industry Hall of Fame this month. McLeod spent 25 years in sales and marketing with Royal Caribbean and two years as president of Norwegian Cruise Line. CLIA will also induct Mark and Mimi Comfort, owners of Cruise Holidays' top store for the past 23 years, and Wayne and Judy Heller, founders of Cruises Only.
Club Med plans agent technology upgrade
Club Med will unveil a new agent booking tool in the next six months. The company is working with HBSi, a hotel booking solution, to connect its reservations system to agent booking tools. It will continue to use Easy Club Med but will improve its functionality.
Loews finalizes buy of San Francisco hotel
Loews Hotels & Resorts completed its acquisition of the 155-room Mandarin Oriental San Francisco, now rebranded as the second hotel in the Loews Regency luxury sub-brand. The Loews Regency San Francisco occupies the top floors of San Francisco's third-tallest office building and has more than 5,000 square feet of meetings space and an 8,000-square-foot spa and gym.
Starwood opens first luxe hotel in Japan
Suiran, a Luxury Collection Hotel, opened in Kyoto as Japan's first hotel under Starwood Hotels & Resorts' Luxury Collection. The 39-room hotel is located in Kyoto's Arashiyama district on a World Heritage site and has two private-treatment rooms with Japanese-style open-air baths.
Friends & Colleagues
Commune Hotels & Resorts, the international lifestyle hotel group comprising the Thompson Hotels, Joie de Vivre and Tommie brands, appointed Todd Wynne-Parry executive vice president of global acquisitions and development. Wynne-Parry has held senior leadership positions at Starwood Hotels, IHG and Marriott, among other hotel firms. Most recently, he was with the Trump Hotel Collection, where he served as senior vice president of global hotel development and acquisitions, initiating the company's expansion to Greater China and the Middle East. • • • Executive Travel has hired Bill La Peer to serve as chief commercial officer of the travel management company. La Peer brings with him more than 25 years in leadership positions in the travel industry. His most recent role was with BCD Travel, where he spent 23 years, the last seven as senior vice president of sales for North America. Executive Travel is an affiliate of BCD, which was No. 5 on Travel Weekly's 2014 Power List. • • • Starwood Hotels & Resorts named Jean-Marc Janod vice president of operations for Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. Janod has been with Starwood for more than 20 years and most recently was the general manager of the Sheraton Mexico City Maria Isabel Hotel. Ricardo Calo has been appointed vice president of operations for South America for Starwood, a new position created to support the region. Calo most recently was Starwood's managing director for Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay.