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This week in Opportunities:

Cruise Business Sees Robust Passenger Growth
NCL Accepts Delivery of Pride of America
Starwood Gives Birth to a New Hotel Brand
W Hotels Heads for Hollywood and Beyond
Doubletree Adds Nine Hotels to its Roster
A New Entry for the Airline Market!
Opportunities Watch!
Opportunities Networking!
Executive Movers! See who's going where?
Travel Executive Employment Report

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OPPORTUNITIES NEWS & TRENDS!

Cruise Business Sees Robust Passenger Growth

Cruises remain where it's at in terms of growth. Strong consumer demand for seagoing vacations drove robust passenger growth in the first three months of 2005 as the member fleets of the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) carried 2.63 million worldwide guests in the first quarter of 2005, an 8.9 percent increase over the same period in 2004. North American passengers grew by 12.9 percent during the quarter to 2.34 million guests, up from 2.10 million first-quarter guests one year ago. The 2005 first-quarter passenger figures are new statistics released by CLIA, whose 19 member cruise lines represent nearly 98 percent of the cruise capacity marketed in North America. In addition to the growing passenger totals, CLIA cruise lines also posted impressive occupancy figures, with a 104.3 percent occupancy factor in the first quarter of 2005 compared with 103.3 percent for the year prior. "The cruise industry's strong first-quarter 2005 passenger totals provide further evidence of the fertile consumer interest and demand for cruise vacations. The positive results are also testament to the hard work and productivity of CLIA 16,500-plus member travel agencies," said Terry Dale, president and CEO of CLIA.

NCL Accepts Delivery of Pride of America

Here's one cruise company on the expansion path! NCL Corp. took delivery of the Pride of America last week in Bremerhaven, Germany. The ship will arrive in New York as planned on June 15. The 81,000-ton, 2,138-passenger Pride of America -- the largest U.S.-flagged cruise ship ever built -- will fly the Stars and Stripes because it was built on the hull from the ill-fated Project America effort to construct cruise ships in Mississippi. NCL acquired the hull, and pieces of a second, and towed them to Germany for completion. The Pride of America is scheduled to depart on its inaugural Hawaii cruise July 23. The weeklong cruises, which depart on Saturdays to complement Pride of Aloha's Sunday departures, feature a day in Hilo, Hawaii; two days in Kahului, Maui; a day in Kona, Hawaii; and two days in Nawiliwili, Kauai. In related news, NCL announced that the Pride of Hawaii, scheduled for delivery in April 2006, will operate several open-jaw cruises between the Western U.S. (probably San Francisco) and Hawaii before entering regular inter-island Hawaii service that summer.

Starwood Gives Birth to a New Hotel Brand

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. will debut a new hotel brand to provide what it calls style, design and energy at comfortable rates. Currently referred to as "Project XYZ", the brand is being developed by the team that created W Hotels, one of the most successful hotel brand introductions in decades. XYZ will create a new category leveraging its W lineage and delivering a unique lifestyle experience. W's heritage will be evident throughout XYZ's properties, from sight, smell, touch, sound and taste, to the integrity of design and materials, and will redefine the select service category in the same way W Hotels broke through the clutter of conformity in the upscale hotel arena. XYZ will feature urban inspired loft-like guest-rooms, landscaped outdoor space for socializing day and night, and an energetic lounge scene, providing a lifestyle alternative to brands like Courtyard by Marriott and Hilton Garden Inn. The first "XYZ" hotel is scheduled to open in 2007 and more than 500 are projected by 2015. The brand will focus on a lower price point in cities like Raleigh-Durham, Tampa, Minneapolis, Palo Alto and Cambridge, Mass. Already, the Canyon-Johnson Urban Funds, a joint venture between Canyon Capital Realty Advisors and former basketball star Earvin Magic Johnson, have signed an expression of interest to develop XYZ properties in densely populated, ethnically diverse cities like Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago, New York and San Diego.

W Hotels Heads for Hollywood and Beyond

Here's another Starwood brand that keep adding rooms! W Hotels Worldwide is living up to its reputation as one of the fastest growing luxury hotel brands in the world. W last week unveiled plans for a new W Hotel & Residences in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles. Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, Inc., W's parent company, entered into an agreement with HEI Hospitality, a hotel investment and operating company, and Gatehouse Capital, a Dallas-based real estate investment firm, who will jointly develop the property, which will be operated by Starwood. Located at one of the world's most famous intersections at Hollywood and Vine, the W Hollywood Hotel & Residences will be a neighbor to world-famous Kodak theatre, home to the Oscars. The hotel will feature approximately 300 rooms and 150 W Residences. The W Hollywood, scheduled to open in 2008, will be the second W property in Los Angeles, the first being the W Los Angeles-Westwood. W Hotels currently has 20 properties in cities around the world. Recent openings include W's first property in Asia, W Seoul-Walkerhill, which opened in August of 2004 and its first property in Canada, W Montreal, in October of 2004. Residence properties, offering the W lifestyle at home, have been announced for Dallas, Fort Lauderdale, Scottsdale and Hoboken. In addition, there are more than a dozen W Hotels in the development pipeline in city and resort destinations.

Doubletree Adds Nine Hotels to its Roster

Here's a domestic chain on a growth spurt. Doubletree Hotels announced that between January and June of this year it has added nine new hotels to its growing roster. This rapid growth pattern puts Doubletree on a solid development pace that could potentially add nearly 20 hotels to the brand's current collection of 160 full-service properties during 2005. With approximately 25 additional Doubletree deals in various stages of planning and/or development, Doubletree is well on its way to accomplishing its goal to increase its current hotel portfolio to 200 full-service hotels throughout North America and Latin America by 2008. All of the properties that have joined the Doubletree collection during 2005 are conversions from other brands or independently run properties. Additional cities currently slated for Doubletree openings during the second half of 2005 include Memphis; Washington D.C.; Pittsburgh; Chicago; Key Largo, Fla. and Anaheim, Calif.

A New Entry for the Airline Market!

Eos, the first premium airline serving transatlantic business travelers, announced plans to launch round-trip service from New York to London in Q3 of this year. Eos, named for the "Greek goddess of the dawn," has secured $185 million in financing and has assembled a proven management team to lead the company. The company is proceeding with the necessary regulatory filings with the Federal Aviation Administration and U.S. Department of Transportation. Eos brings an innovative and specialized approach to transatlantic service, transforming the flight environment from a multi-class airplane with more than 200 seats into a premium, tailored space that provides superior customer attention for 48 business travelers. The airline has taken possession of its first three 757 aircraft, which are being outfitted and customized. Eos' single, premium class service will give the customer 21 square feet of personal space. David Spurlock, a former senior executive of British Airways, is the founder and CEO of Eos. To date, Eos has raised $85 million in equity and approximately $100 million in lease financing. In addition to Spurlock, senior management includes Bonnie Reitz, president, a former senior vice president of marketing, sales and distribution for Continental Airlines; Gil Morgan, executive vice president of operations, a former president and COO of World Airways and an executive at Delta Air Lines and AirTran Airways; Eilif Serck-Hanssen, chief financial officer, a former senior vice president-finance and treasurer for US Airways and a former Northwest Airlines executive; Joan Schuckenbrock, senior vice president, a former vice president of human resources at AirTran, and director, human resources at the University of Connecticut Foundation, Inc.; and Richard Metzner, senior vice president, marketing, a former vice president of marketing for Continental Airlines, with previous experience at American Airlines and Western Airlines.

OPPORTUNITIES WATCH!

Almond Resorts Buys Two Caribbean Hotels

It's exclusively new hotels and growing brand in this week's Opportunities Watch. First up, Almond Resorts, an all-inclusive chain of Barbados, has doubled its resort holdings in the Caribbean with the acquisition of two new resort hotels -- Almond Morgan Bay Beach Resort on St. Lucia and Almond Casuarina Beach Resort on Barbados. These acquisitions follow an extremely successful year for Almond Resorts, with the completion of a $15 million refurbishment program and a further $15 million investment in an expansion that is currently underway at Almond Beach Village, one of the resort group's existing hotels. The acquisition brings the number of resorts in the group's portfolio up to four, with a total number of 1271 rooms available to vacationers by 2006.

Mandarin Oriental Set to Manage Chicago Hotel

Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group said it will manage a new 250-room luxury hotel and 50 branded residences which are planned to open in Chicago in early 2008. Mandarin Oriental, Chicago will occupy 15 floors of a new 90-story tower which will be an exclusive mixed-use development in Chicago's growing Millennium Park neighborhood. Mandarin currently operating 21 luxury hotels with a further six under development in Hong Kong and Tokyo (opening 2005), Prague and Riviera Maya, Mexico (2006), Boston (2007) and Chicago (2008). In total, Mandarin Oriental now operates, or has under development, approximately 8,000 rooms in 14 countries with 12 hotels in Asia, 10 in the Americas and five in Europe.

Hilton International Grows in China

The China hotel boom continues! Hilton International has signed two new management contracts for Beijing, including the first Conrad hotel in China and the first Scandic by Hilton outside Europe. Together with the existing Hilton Beijing, the three hotels will make Hilton history by offering for the first time, a complete lineup of HI brands in a single city. The Conrad Beijing will comprise 200 hotel guest rooms and 100 serviced apartments. Scandic by Hilton Beijing will feature 400-guest rooms and 100-serviced apartments. In other expansion news in China, Hilton International will open its first Hilton Worldwide Resort in the People's Republic on Hainan Island this December. The 500-room Hilton Sanya Resort & Spa is located on prime beachfront land in Yalong Bay and is home to a full spa facility. Meanwhile, the 30-storey, 410-room Hilton Xiamen is scheduled to open early 2007. Hilton International operates 403 hotels, with 261 branded Hilton and 135 under the mid-market Scandic brand. Under a joint venture agreement, Hilton International and the North American based Hilton Hotels Corporation (HHC) share responsibility for the Conrad brand, which includes 18 hotels in 12 countries.

Radisson SAS Expands in the Middle East

Radisson SAS Hotels & Resorts, the first-class, full- service international brand of Rezidor SAS Hospitality, is joining the rush to develop hotels in Dubai. The company announced the new Radisson SAS Hotel Dubai Media City, slated to open in December 2005 in the heart of the rapidly expanding destination. The new 251-room property is comprised of two buildings connected by a bridge link. Rezidor SAS, for whom the Middle East is a major growth area, plans to introduce four more properties in Saudi Arabia, including the first two Park Inn hotels to be introduced in the region. The other two properties are the Radisson SAS Al Madinah Paradise Resort, which will feature 212 rooms in one of the Kingdom's holiest cities, and the Radisson SAS Royal Suite Hotel, Jeddah, which opens its doors later this year. Other upcoming Middle East properties include the Radisson SAS Resort, Al Quseir, Radisson's third resort in Egypt, and two hotels on The Palm, Jumeirah. Rezidor SAS Hospitality, one of the fastest growing hospitality companies in the world. It currently operates 248 hotels in 47 countries with nearly 50,000 rooms either in operation or under development. It aims to have 700 hotels across its different brands by 2012. Rezidor SAS manages selected brands from Carlson Hotels Worldwide in Europe, the Middle East and Africa: Radisson, Park Inn, Regent and Country Inn.

Outrigger Adds New Resort in Australia

Outrigger Hotels & Resorts has announced its first resort in Australia's Northern Territory. Located in Darwin, the capital city of the Northern Territory, the new hotel will be branded as the Outrigger Pandanas Darwin when it opens in late 2006. The 26 level Outrigger Pandanas Darwin will become the second tallest building in Australia's youngest and fastest growing city. Outrigger Hotels & Resorts and Ohana Hotels & Resorts are divisions of Outrigger Enterprises, Inc., Hawaii's largest locally owned hospitality-company and one of the fastest-growing hotel companies in the Pacific managing over 50 properties with more than 12,000 rooms in Hawaii, Australia, Micronesia, Fiji, Tahiti and New Zealand.

Hilton Resort Opens in Barbados

There's more resort expansion in the Caribbean. Hilton Barbados, the newest resort in Hilton International's Caribbean portfolio, officially opened its doors. This five-star resort sits on the site of the old Barbados Hilton, just five minutes from Bridgetown, and 20 minutes from Grantley Adams International Airport. The hotel features 350 ocean-view guestrooms, including 77 Executive Floor rooms and 33 suites. Hilton Caribbean currently has 13 hotels and resorts throughout the Caribbean, including four Coral by Hilton all-inclusive resorts in the Dominican Republic. The collection includes properties in Barbados; CuraÁao; Jamaica; Margarita Island; Nassau, The Bahamas; San Juan and Ponce, Puerto Rico; Trinidad and Tobago. A new property is under development in Santo Domingo.

Kempinski Debuts Third Bulgarian Hotel

Want to work for a foreign luxury hotel chain that is adding hotels around the globe? Kempinski Hotels just signed an agreement to manage the first five star luxury hotel at the Golden Sands Resort, Varna in Bulgaria. Kempinski Hotel Grand Hermitage will be the largest hotel in Kempinski's portfolio, with 730 rooms and suites. The hotel is due to soft-open during summer 2005. In Bulgaria, the company already has the Kempinski Hotel Zografski and will shortly open the Kempinski Hotel Grand Arena in the alpine resort of Bansko. Kempinski's portfolio comprises luxury properties in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, South America and Asia.

Intercontinental Grows Crowne Plaza Brand

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) continues to grow distribution in the Americas, with a heavy emphasis on franchising the Crowne Plaza brand. Twenty-two Crowne Plaza hotels are currently in the brand development pipeline and scheduled to open by the end of 2006. Six properties have already opened since January 2005, with another eight scheduled to open before the end of the year. Hotels that have joined the brand since January are located in Concord, Calif., Cleveland, Ohio, Williamsburg, Va., Englewood, N.J., as well as Acapulco and Pachuca, Mexico.

OPPORTUNITIES NETWORKING!

Meet the People Who Plan Meetings!

Want to network with top meeting and event planners? An impressive line-up of speakers from various aspects of the international meeting and event planning industry will headline the Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International's second annual World Quest conference, a three-city tour taking place July 22-29 in Washington, D.C., New York and Chicago. The confirmed line-up of speakers for the World Quest conference is as follows: Dr. John Min, director of U.S. sales operations, Ruesch International; Cynthia Lett, director & CEO, CPP, CTT; Paul Griggs, director of sales and marketing, Events on the Move Customs and Freight; Craig Fitzpatrick, relationship manager, Ruesch International; Betsy Bair, editorial director, The Meetings Group Magazines and Beyond Borders; Angie Kappel, sales executive, Ruesch International; and Gloria Petersen, CPP, president, Global Protocol. The World Quest events will be held July 22, 2005 in Washington at the JW Marriott Pennsylvania Avenue; July 25 in New York at the Millennium Broadway Hotel; and July 29 in Chicago at the Millennium Knickerbocker Hotel. For more information on HSMAI, call 703-610-9024 or visit www.hsmai.org. For more information on HSMAI World Quest, contact Derek Jenks at 703-610-0223 or visit www.hsmaiworldquest.com.

OPPORTUNITIES EXECUTIVE MOVERS!

AIRLINES: Brierley & Partners said Martin White has rejoined the company as president. In this role, he will direct the day-to-day global activities of the direct marketing agency, with offices in Dallas, Los Angeles, London and Frankfurt. White, 41, will be based at the company's headquarters in Dallas and he will report to Hal Brierley, chairmanÖAloha Airlines named Jeffrey Kessler as interim senior vice president finance, chief financial officer and treasurer. Kessler is a partner with Tatum CFO Partners, LLP, in its Atlanta restructuring practice. He has more than 21 years of financial operations experience focused primarily on helping companies in bankruptcy situationsÖAlaska Airlines has named Shannon Alberts as managing director of investor relations. In this position, Alberts will oversee analyst and shareholder communications for Alaska Air Group, the parent company of both Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air. In July, Alberts will celebrate her 20-year anniversary with the airline.

CRUISES: Discovery World Cruises, which since 2003 has been marketed only seasonally to North Americans, named cruise veteran Mark Flager to spearhead the line's expansion to year-round service. Flager is responsible for the day-to-day operation of the Fort Lauderdale office as vice president, sales, marketing and passenger services, reporting to Managing Director David Yellow, based in London. Discovery's founder, travel entrepreneur Gerry Herrod, and Tim Davey, whom Flager succeeds, will continue to provide strategic counsel on itinerary planning and program development.

HOTELS & RESORTS: Noble Investment Group, a leading owner/operator of upscale and premium branded hotels, said Benjamin Brunt has joined the company as vice president, strategic investments. The company also announced that it has promoted Aditya (Addi) Bhoopathy to director, strategic investments. Both will report to Rodney Williams, Noble's chief investment officerÖSymon Bridle has been appointed chief operating officer of Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts, one of Asia Pacific's leading luxury hotel groups. In this new position, created in response to the company's rapid growth, Bridle will supervise the company's vice presidents to ensure optimal operational and financial performance among existing and opening hotels, as well as represent the management company to owners and shareholders. He will report directly to Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Giovanni AngeliniÖ PricewaterhouseCoopers announced that Ross Woods, a veteran hospitality consultant, has joined the firm's New York Hospitality & Leisure Practice as director. In his new position he will lead selected engagements in New York as well as national client projects in his specialtiesÖCheryl Phelps, a 31-year hospitality industry veteran, has been named general manager of the 517-room Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort & Spa. She replaces the property's opening general manager, Cormac O'Modhrain, who is joining the resort's ownership group, The Robert Mayer Corporation, as president of its new Hospitality Management Company. Phelps, who will assume her new post in May, is currently a vice president and managing director for Hyatt and she also serves as general manager of the 522-room Hyatt Regency Long BeachÖUltimate Resort appointed Dana Percival as senior vice president and chief operating officer. Ultimate Resort is designed to provide individuals, families and corporate members with access to 100 luxury residence club properties planned over the next few years, each averaging $1.5 million in valueÖGiuseppe Di Palma has been appointed director of East Coast sales for the leisure market for Concorde Hotels, a group of 80 luxury properties around the world. A 15-year veteran of the travel industry, Di Palma has experience at hotels in both Europe and the U.S. Most recently he was associate director of sales at New York's Carlyle Hotel (Rosewood Hotels and Resorts)Ö

Topnotch Resort and Spa, a premier New England destination resort and spa in Stowe, Vt., named Shelia Cleary as director of marketing and salesÖPacifica Hotel Company, which owns and manages more than 20 hotels from San Diego to San Francisco, announced that Rony Husein has joined as senior director of acquisitions and development. Husein has more than 10 years' experience in the hotel industry, most recently at Choice Hotels International, Inc. in Silver Spring, Md., where he was director of the chain's extended stay brand strategyÖSpirit Ridge Vineyard Resort & Spa, located in Osoyoos, British Columbia, named Jackie Frederick as general manager. The resort is scheduled to open in Osoyoos this July. Frederick's extensive experience in hospitality includes working with a major chain hotel in nearby Penticton, fulfilling key roles such as general manager and regional director of sales. Spirit Ridge Vineyard Resort & Spa is developed and managed by Bellstar Hotels & Resorts of Calgary, AlbertaÖThe Generation Companies, LLC said William (Bill) Smith has joined as managing director of acquisitions and development. Smith has 33 years of experience in the hospitality and real estate industries, having worked in the areas of hotel brokerage, asset management, hotel acquisitions and divestiture, hotel development and renovation, operational supervision and franchising of both hotels and restaurants.

TOUR OPERATORS: OneTravel Holdings, Inc., a diversified travel and leisure company that will trade under the new symbol "OTV", has named Edward Wegel as chief executive officer of FS SunTours, Inc., the company's wholly owned subsidiary, which is a charter operator selling leisure and vacation travel packages under the SunTrips brand.

TRAVEL TECHNOLOGY: Cheapflights.com, a leader and most complete aggregator of cheap airline tickets and flight deals, appointed Andrew Canellos as director of marketing, U.S. Canellos will be responsible for developing Cheapflights.com's marketing strategy and is joined by four other key new industry experts in the U.S. Boston headquarters: Howard Mulcahy, data acquisition manager; Nat Cramer, online marketing manager; Mona Strick, business development; and Neil Yetts, newsletter production. Cheapflights.com is recruiting for further team members as part of its expansion.

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