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International group now over Army lodging
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One of the world’s largest hotel companies now is managing 76 Army lodging hotels on 39 installations, including Fort Stewart and Hunter Army Airfield, according to Arthur Holst, vice president of operations for Intercontinental Hotels Group.
Holst said IHG is the exclusive operator of on-post lodging under the Department of the Army’s Privatization of Army Lodging program. IHG has more than 4,600 hotels under nine hotel brands, he said. It recently added 18 installations to its hotels, including Stewart and Hunter. These Army lodges will be managed under its Holiday Inn Express brand, he said. IHG employs about 1,800 people in hospitality management and staff positions at its on-post lodgings.
“We are focused on delivering improved guest service and advancing the quality of on-post lodging for service members, their families and government travelers,” Holst said. “The hotels will also be going through renovations and upgrades to bring them up to the same quality standards IHG requires for off-post hotels that carry one of IHG’s seven hotel brands.”
According to Fort Stewart’s website, Army lodging hotels are provided especially for service members and their families when they arrive at or prepare to depart an installation as part of their official permanent-duty or temporary-duty assignment. Military and government leisure travelers also may use Army lodging, which includes double and single rooms and distinguished visitors’ quarters. Rooms contain kitchenettes, microwaves, and cooking and dining ware.
Stewart Army lodging is located within walking distance to Club Stewart, the commissary, Post Exchange and Woodruff movie theater.
“Services and amenities immediately available to all guests at IHG Army hotel locations include complimentary breakfast, weekly social activities and courtesy shuttles providing on-post transportation,” Holst said, explaining that the Privatization of Army Lodging program is operated as a partnership with the Army and Lend Lease, an international property and infrastructure group, as well as the installation-asset manager, developer and design builder for the properties.
Holst said IHG also plans to roll out its extended-stay hotel brands as part of the program, including Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites. This expansion is one of several programs supported by IHG that assists the country’s military and their families, he said.
Guests staying at IHG-managed Army hotels are eligible to earn points for their hotel stay in IHG’s loyalty program, Priority Club Rewards, which will be renamed IHG(R) Rewards Club in July. To date, Holst said on-post guests already have been awarded 450 million Priority Club Rewards points that are redeemable for future stays with IHG Army hotels or any IHG-branded hotel worldwide.
Holst said IHG operates in nearly 100 countries and territories, including 24 U.S. states and territories. He said IHG also is exploring ways to raise awareness of hospitality careers among veterans and enhance their employment prospects through skills training.

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Record April boosts Savannah's container trade at port
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The Port of Savannah moved 356,700 20-foot equivalent container units in April, an increase of 7.1 percent. - photo by Provided

The Georgia Ports Authority's busiest April ever pushed its fiscal year-to-date totals to more than 3.4 million 20-foot equivalent container units (TEUs), an increase of 8.8 percent, or 280,000 TEUs, compared to the first 10 months of fiscal 2017.

"We're on track to move more than 300,000 TEUs in every month of the fiscal year, which will be a first for the authority," said GPA Executive Director Griff Lynch. "We're also anticipating this to be the first fiscal year for the Port of Savannah to handle more than 4 million TEUs."

April volumes reached 356,700 20-foot equivalent container units, up 7.1 percent or 23,700 units. As the fastest growing containerport in the nation, the Port of Savannah has achieved a compound annual growth rate of more than 5 percent a year over the past decade.

"As reported in the recent economic impact study by UGA's Terry College of Business, trade through Georgia's deepwater ports translates into jobs, higher incomes and greater productivity," said GPA Board Chairman Jimmy Allgood. "In every region of Georgia, employers rely on the ports of Savannah and Brunswick to help them become more competitive on the global stage."

To strengthen the Port of Savannah's ability to support the state's future economic growth, the GPA Board approved $66 million in terminal upgrades, including $24 million for the purchase of 10 additional rubber-tired gantry cranes.  

"The authority is committed to building additional capacity ahead of demand to ensure the Port of Savannah remains a trusted link in the supply chain serving Georgia and the Southeast," Lynch said.

The crane purchase will bring the fleet at Garden City Terminal to 156 RTGs. The new cranes will support three new container rows, which the board approved in March. The additional container rows will increase annual capacity at the Port of Savannah by 150,000 TEUs.

The RTGs will work over stacks that are five containers high and six deep, with a truck lane running alongside the stacks. Capable of running on electricity, the cranes will have a lift capacity of 50 metric tons.

The cranes will arrive in two batches of five in the first and second quarters of calendar year 2019.

 Also at Monday's meeting, the GPA Board elected its officers, with Jimmy Allgood as chairman, Will McKnight taking the position of vice chairman and Joel Wooten elected as the next secretary/treasurer.

For more information, visit gaports.com, or contact GPA Senior Director of Corporate Communications Robert Morris at (912) 964-3855 or rmorris@gaports.com.

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