Hotels

Geoffrey Zakarian, widely known for starring in Iron Chef America, Chopped and The Kitchen on The Food Network, will helm the newly named Central Hotel’s flagship restaurant.

The hotel, scheduled to open in 2028, aims to meet a longstanding need for lodging near the cancer hospital, which draws patients from all 50 states and more than 130 countries.

The county estimates about $3.2 million will be collected per year from the fee to help finance the project.

County Comptroller Phil Diamond said tourist development tax collections for September were more than $24 million, a 48.6 percent increase over the same period in 2021.

As the Visit Florida tourism marketing agency celebrated record first-quarter tourism numbers while meeting last week in Orlando, staff and board members also expressed concern that increasing cost of hotel rooms is slowly affecting occupancy rates.

The partnership will allow students to train in hotel work at McKibbon properties like Marriott, Hyatt, and Hilton.

Business travel has yet to fully bounce back from the pandemic and Florida’s hotel industry continues to struggle partly because of that. Congressman Charlie Crist is trying to give the industry some relief.

Hotel business travel revenue is not expected to reach pre-pandemic levels until 2024.

A recent report indicates millions of Floridians will travel during Fourth of July weekend. It also shows they will pay more for hotels and gas during their road trips.

A night’s stay at a hotel comes with a certain set of expectations — including a clean room. Hotel guests can expect a new set of standards for some rooms to be held to, and one not quite so visible.

More guests are booking rooms in Hillsborough County hotels following months of low occupancy caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

In the greater Tampa Bay region, the COVID-19 pandemic held back the anticipated hotel boom around the big game.