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| Joseph Carino, Jr., president and CEO of CARINO HOTELS |
Travel Agent recently met with representatives of both InnPoints Worldwide and CARINO Hotels and Resorts to discuss the two companies’ recent merger and the impact the newly created company, Centric Hospitality Group, will have on the travel industry.
The merger, which took effect in September, will create a global multi-tiered hotel service and technology company, of which InnPoints Worldwide, a reservation solution and technology provider for independent hotels, and CARINO Hotels and Resorts will be key divisions.
Carino hotels has roughly 1,900 hotels under its umbrella; 60 percent are domestic while 40 percent are located internationally, including Europe and Mexico. Some of its most notable member hotels are the Windsor Court Hotel in New Orleans; Hotel Berlin Berlin in Berlin, Germany; the Amalfi Hotel in Chicago; the Royal Park Hotel in Detroit, Rochester, Michigan; The Stoneleigh Hotel and Spa in Dallas, the Garden Court Hotel in Palo Alto, California; and the Beachwood Hotel in Worcester, Massachusetts.
InnPoints Worldwide is a reservation solution and technology provider for independent, group and chain hotels. From its global headquarters in Albuquerque and offices in Dallas, Chicago, Santa Barbara, Calgary, Sweden, Italy, and Greece, InnPoints Worldwide powers a central reservation system which provides GDS/IDS reservation technology, a web-based property management system and more.
The union forms the basis for the group focus on advanced technology and service targeted at the hoteliers with a wide range of needs.
“The big news that comes from this from CARINO’s stand point is that we can say that we own our technology now,” says Joseph Carino, Jr., president and CEO of CARINO Hotels. “What other hotel company can say that? This is the first time where a GDS and a hotel company have merged. What we have formed is basically one-stop shopping.”
Centric’s team, comprised of industry experts with broad-scoped distribution and sales knowledge, will aim to carry on the tradition of the hands-on approach to client interaction and customer service. Centric’s commitment remains to drive revenue to member hotels using the highly consultative approach, involving analysis of best fit distribution methods, account reviews, competitive analysis, sales and marketing.
Centric will locate the new company's corporate headquarters in Albuquerque, New Mexico with a significant presence in New York City. Regional offices throughout the world will aid member hotels with local and national needs providing a multi-layer infrastructure to provide service to clients in local time zones.
Visit www.centrichospitality.com