Blog

Innisfree Hotels Donates 6,300 Room Nights to Healthcare Workers and Medical Professionals Impacted...

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Newly Renovated Beachside Hotel & Suites Brings a Fun and Fresh Vibe to Cocoa Beach COCOA BE...

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COVID-19: Innisfree Hotels’ Commitment to Safety

A message from Ted Ent, President and CEO, Innisfree Hotels Dear guests, We are closely mon...

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Innisfree Hotels Appoints New Leadership in Development

GULF BREEZE, Fla., Feb. 26 –Innisfree Hotels, a hotel management, development and marketing compa...

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Innisfree Hotels Breaks Ground on Dual-Branded Marriott Hotel in Amelia Island

GULF BREEZE, FLA. - December 3, 2019 - Innisfree Hotels has broken ground on its latest development ...

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Embassy Suites by Hilton Marks Grand Opening in Sarasota

SARASOTA, FLA. - December 12, 2018 - Soaring 19 stories high, the Embassy Suites by Hilton Sarasota ...

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Jason Nicholson Honored at Visit Pensacola Luncheon

On October 24th, 2018, Jason Nicholson, our Vice President of Operations, was honored as a speaker a...

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Anthony Eman: New GM At Holiday Inn Resort Fort Walton Beach

We are excited to announce that Anthony Eman, assistant manager at the Holiday Inn Resort in Fort Wa...

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Terry Branch and Jeremy Skinner: Innisfree’s Newest Directors of Operations

It is with great pleasure and excitement that we are able to announce that Jeremy Skinner and Terry ...

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Innisfree Hotels Marks Major Milestone On Fourth Panama City Beach Property

Gulf Breeze, FL — On September 19, 2018, Innisfree Hotels celebrated the “topping out” of the ...

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The Tides Hotel Is On The Rise For Its Award-Winning Design

Selected as the recipient of this year’s 2018 Best Western Premier Champion Design Award, The Best...

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Experience the New Holiday Inn Express Orange Beach

Newly renovated beachfront hotel ready to delight guests ORANGE BEACH, ALA. — The Holiday Inn E...

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Everything a Savvy Hotel GM Should Know About Website Maintenance

Savvy hotel GMs manage a lot of stuff — vast influxes of vacationing families, cleaning rooms, and...

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Innisfree Hotels Clear for Landing on The Space Coast

Gulf Breeze, Fl — Innisfree Hotels, hotel management, development, and marketing company, has made...

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Everything You Need To Know About How To Promote A Restaurant Event

Bee Loud specializes in hotel marketing and restaurant marketing and we love selling out a great eve...

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Hotel Marketer’s Sweet Funnel Cake

Yep, we are talking about cake. All the green paper ‘cake’ you, a smart hotel General Manager, w...

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Why Hotel GMs Should Love (And Pay For) Content Marketing!

As a hotel General Manager, you’re the most practical, result-driven human being on the planet. Yo...

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Bikini Beach Resort Celebrates Full Renovation

Bikini Beach Resort Renovation The Bikini Beach Resort in Panama City Beach, Fla. has undergone a...

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Get Paid to Volunteer

Our Hive is a busy place to do good in the world and connect with each other. If you’ve never join...

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Innisfree Hotels Celebrates TRYP by Wyndham Opening in Fort Lauderdale

TRYP by Wyndham In June 2018, the TRYP by Wyndham - an urban lifestyle brand - will open in Fort La...

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Best Western Premier Tides Hotel Orange Beach Recognized as a Champion Green Award Winner

The Best Western Premier Tides Hotel Orange Beach received the Champion Green Award at Best Western...

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Trip Advisor: What Hotel Marketers Need to Know

TripAdvisor State of the Union 2019 TripAdvisor launched in 2000 and has since grown to become the ...

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Innisfree Hotels Announces More Support for Dixon School of the Arts

On Monday, May 21, the honor roll scholars at Dixon School of the Arts enjoyed a pool party at the H...

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Digital Advertising Costs for Hotels: Thoughts from Our Chief Marketing Officer

Innisfree Hotels Digital Advertising Costs Innisfree houses a robust internal marketing agency ca...

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Innisfree Hotels Unveils Surf & Sand Hotel on Pensacola Beach

Surf & Sand Hotel Pensacola Beach Innisfree Hotels has done it again. In May 2018, the hotel ...

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HGI Fort Walton Beach Recognized For Hiring Veterans

General manager Jeremy Skinner and his team at Hilton Garden Inn Fort Walton Beach have been reward...

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Julian MacQueen Announces Transition To Legacy Company, Appoints Ted Ent as Innisfree CEO

Ted Ent CEO Announcement Hotels must be built upon strong foundations, and so must the companies ...

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Food & Beverage Update: Ben Thorpe

The 'Best Backyard on Pensacola Beach' is under new leadership. Ben Thorpe, the Director of Food ...

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Chef John Stovall Takes Over at McCamly Plaza

At the beginning of April 2018, McCamly Plaza Hotel welcomed its new executive chef, John Stovall. C...

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Chef Rafael Vallejo III Moves to Fort Walton Beach Properties

Chef Rafael Vallejo III, formerly the executive chef at McCamly Plaza Hotel, has taken the reins as ...

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New Director of Sales at Hilton Pensacola Beach: David Cowles

As Tom Rasinen prepares to step down from his post as director of sales, David Cowles is primed and ...

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Tom Rasinen Retiring as Director of Sales

Born in the suburbs of Detroit, Michigan, one might wonder how Tom Rasinen ended up working in hotel...

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Innisfree Has a New Director of Human Resources

We would like to officially welcome Francesca Lupo, Innisfree Hotels’ newest Director of Human Res...

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Rising Star: Alyssa Townsend

Alyssa Townsend, the Director of Social Media at Bee Loud, has been selected as one of the Inweekly ...

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Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association Selects Olivia Hoblit

We are thrilled to announce that Olivia Hoblit, the General Manager at Seaside Amelia Inn, has bee...

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Lusharon Wiley, Innisfree’s New Director of Culture

We would like to formally introduce Dr. Lusharon Wiley, our newest Director of Culture here at Innis...

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Innisfree Hotels Climbs the Hotel Business Rankings

Hotel Business, the number one hotel industry source for information according to Harvey Research, r...

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Merry Christmas, Dixon Scholars!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas. On Friday, December 15, 2017, Innisfree Hotels hosted ...

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Innisfree Promotion Announcement 2017

It’s been part of the Innisfree culture to promote from within, so it’s our honor and privilege ...

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2018 Hospitality Industry Trends

The Brands, They Keep A-Comin’ Today’s travelers face a bewildering choice of hotel brands. B...

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Digital Marketing Musings for 2018

Here are some (okay, a lot) of things Bee Loud (Innisfree’s in-house marketing agency) will be thi...

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Opening Night for Luna Fine Art Gallery

On November 3, 2017, Innisfree Hotels celebrated a private reception for Luna Fine Art Gallery at th...

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Chef Dan Dunn Wins Chef of the Year!

Innisfree Hotels and Hilton Pensacola Beach’s very own Celebrity Chef Dan Dunn has been awarded as...

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Cool Stuff Happening in Our Hive

As we begin a new year in Innisfree's From the Ground Up Garden (this is the new year in the garde...

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Innisfree Recipes: Beef Brisket by Chef Rafael Vallejo III

Chef Rafael III, Executive Chef at McCamly Plaza, has brought his love and passion for food from his...

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VP of Hotel Operations Jason Nicholson Appointed to Chairman of Visit Pensacola Board of Directors

“Grit is inherently unique to every single person, which is why I find myself drawn to it like the...

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2nd Annual Dixon Dub

The Second Annual Dixon Dub Lip Sync Battle at the Hilton on Friday evening, September 29th was a ni...

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Innisfree Hotels Enters Major Market with New Orleans Acquisition

NEW ORLEANS, LA. – On September 20, 2017, Innisfree Hotels, a hotel company based in Gulf Breeze, ...

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Back in Topeka: To The Moon!

By Harlan Butler, Former Innisfree President Back in Topeka, we had a General Manager at one of o...

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Becoming an Entrepreneur

With Julian MacQueen, Founder and CEO, Innisfree Hotels There’s an idea that has always resonat...

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Everything You Put Online Lives in Perpetuity

By Alyssa Townsend, Director of Social Media “A former colleague of mine posted about how he was ...

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What Does It Mean to Be On Stage?

With Jason Nicholson, Vice President of Hotel Operations What does it mean to be ‘on stage’ w...

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Back in Topeka: Find a Way to Say ‘Yes’

A Story by Mike Nixon, President (About Harlan Butler, Former President) An alternate title to th...

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Celebrating Gwen Vickers for 28 Years of Service

Gwen Vickers was one of Innisfree Hotels’ first employees. In 2017, we celebrated her retirement a...

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Behind the Scenes with Account Manager Rose Lockhart

Behind the Scenes, Account Manager In this new blog series, get to know Innisfree team members wh...

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Holiday Inn Resort Wins Five Quality Excellence Awards from IHG

5 IHG Awards for Holiday Inn Resort The Holiday Inn Resort Pensacola Beach has won its fifth cons...

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Back in Topeka: “My Favorite Shirt”

With Harlan Butler, Former Innisfree President I used to travel all the time ... going from hotel t...

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Innisfree Honored for Service to Blind Community

In May 2017, Julian MacQueen received a ‘Successful 75’ award from the Division of Blind Service...

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The “Why” Behind FYI

FYI at Innisfree Hotels By Mike Nixon, President When FYI started, it was 100 percent Julian...

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Hampton Inn & Suites Opens in Panama City Beach

Hampton Inn Panama City Beach On Thursday, June 29, 2017, Innisfree Hotels welcomed its first gue...

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Restaurant Recipes: Smoked Mullet Dip from #RFBF

Red Fish Blue Fish Smoked Mullet Dip In this new series, we'll bring you the best recipes from ou...

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It Was A Rocky Road, But Worth The Trip

Building Internal Communications In 2010, I was tasked by Julian MacQueen, CEO & Founder of Inn...

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Innisfree Hotels Brings First Beachfront Marriott to Panama City Beach

Innisfree Hotels First Marriott Innisfree Hotels has begun construction on a Springhill S...

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Family Loyalty is Strong at Award-Winning Holiday Inn Resort Pensacola Beach

Family Loyalty to Innisfree Hotels Hailing from Philadelphia, Mississippi, Richard and Candee Beckh...

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Local Scout Selects ‘From the Ground Up’ Garden for Eagle Scout Project

Eagle Scout gives back at community garden Evan Smith is a 13-year-old rising freshman who, in 20...

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A Q&A with Julian MacQueen for UWF’s Department of Global Hospitality and Tourism Management

GHTM Interviews Julian MacQueen - Originally published for Newsletter #3 of UWF's Department of Glo...

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Why We Are Concentrated on the Gulf Coast and in Resort Markets

By Mike Nixon, President Once upon a time, when Julian MacQueen founded Innisfree Hotels, he look...

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Innisfree Hotels Expands to New Market with Fernandina Beach Acquisition

In May 2017, Innisfree Hotels took ownership of the Seaside Amelia Inn – a boutique hotel on Ferna...

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Innisfree Hotels to Renovate and Rebrand Days Inn Pensacola Beach

Joint venture will bring renovation and rebranding to iconic beachfront hotel On June 2, 2017, In...

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My ‘BIG’ Story: How Innisfree Inspired Me to Give Back

By John Tanner, Big Brother and General Manager When I was asked if I wanted to share my story abo...

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UWF Students Dedicate Time and Talents to ‘From the Ground Up’ Garden

UWF in the Garden In the Spring of 2017, From the Ground Up community garden's Lead Gardener Eliz...

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Innisfree Hotels Makes Gift to Achieve Escambia to Promote Educational Opportunity in Northwest Florida

Innisfree Hotels, Achieve Escambia In 2017, Innisfree Hotels made a gift of $10,000 to Achieve Es...

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Innisfree Hotels Opens Hilton Garden Inn in Fort Walton Beach

Hilton Garden Inn, Fort Walton Beach Now Open FORT WALTON BEACH, FLA. – May 12, 2017 – On Fr...

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Work is Worship

By Julian MacQueen, Founder and CEO, Innisfree Hotels I believe work done in service to mankind i...

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Housekeeping + The Guest Experience

By Mike Nixon, President, Innisfree Hotels I don’t know that you can teach this, but there are...

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Corporate Social Responsibility: What Is It and How To Do it Well

This is a transcript from a panel discussion at the Pensacola Socialdesk. Innisfree Chief Marketing...

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Innisfree Hotels Celebrates ‘Final Countdown’ at Hilton Garden Inn Fort Walton Beach

On Friday, March 3, 2017, Innisfree Hotels, the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, and Robins & Mort...

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When Opportunity Knocks: Innisfree in a New Year

Innisfree Poised for Growth in 2017 As we enter a brand new year, Innisfree is growing - and so...

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Innisfree Hotels Celebrates Topping Out of Hampton Inn & Suites Panama City Beach

New hotel will transform hotel offerings in popular tourist destination On Friday, Jan. 13, 2017,...

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Innisfree Sponsors Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northwest Florida

Innisfree Hotels strives to make a BIG impact in the communities where we do business. So when board...

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Innisfree Hotels Spreads Holiday Cheer to Local Scholars

Dixon Holiday Luncheon On Thursday, Dec. 15, 2016, Innisfree Hotels treated scholars and staff of...

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Life is Sweet in Our Hive

Honey in the Garden, Innisfree Hotels There is now a real hive in The Hive of Innisfree Hotels. ...

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Earning Trust: A History of Innisfree + Native American Peoples

Innisfree and Native American Tribes In 1991, Founder and CEO of Innisfree Hotels Julian MacQueen...

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The Management Training Program at Innisfree Hotels

Management Training Program, Innisfree Hotels The training platform at Innisfree Hotels has been ...

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The Aloha Program of Innisfree Hotels

By Jason Nicholson, Vice-President of Hotel Operations At Innisfree Hotels, our job is to create ...

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Profit Sharing at Innisfree Hotels

By Mike Nixon, President In its current form, profit sharing at Innisfree Hotels is our founder a...

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Innisfree Hotels to Manage Michigan’s McCamly Plaza Hotel

Hotel Company Plans to Renovate and Reinvigorate Popular Battle Creek Business Hotel Innisfree Ho...

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Julian MacQueen Receives Hotelier Hall of Fame Award

Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association Recognizes Innisfree Hotels Founder and CEO On Wedne...

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Back in Topeka: Selling Tomatoes

By Harlan Butler, Innisfree Hotels Past President Back in Topeka, in the late 1980s, the only pla...

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Innisfree Hotels Wins Tourism Award from VISIT FLORIDA

Flagler Awards 2016 Bee Loud, the in-house digital marketing agency of Innisfree Hotels, was hono...

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The Spirit of Hospitality at Innisfree Hotels

By Mike Nixon, President  As president of a successful and growing hotel company, my deep though...

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Establishing the MacQueen Alumni Center at USA

MacQueen Alumni Center, University of South Alabama After accepting a $2 million gift from distin...

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Dixon Dub Lip Sync Battle Raises $60,000 for School of the Arts

On Friday, September 9, 2016, Innisfree Hotels' Corporate Social Responsibility program, The Hive, t...

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Innisfree Hotels Continues Sarasota Investment with Hotel Indigo Acquisition

New Hotels Under Development and Construction Will Lead to $100 Million Investment in Coastal Commun...

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Back in Topeka: High Stakes Steaks

At Innisfree Hotels, we’ve learned there are sometimes high stakes when eating steaks. The foll...

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How Julian MacQueen Opens a Hotel

A Reflection from Jason Nicholson, Vice President of Innisfree Hotels The Best Western Premier Ti...

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Tides Hotel Offers Boutique Guest Experience

Best Western Premier, Tides Hotel Marks Grand Opening The tide has come in. On July 8, 2016, I...

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Innisfree Hotels Supports Youth Development at YMCA

Innisfree Hotels, YMCA NWFL There's no need to feel down. Pensacola, Florida is getting a new YMC...

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Innisfree Hotels Accepts ‘Employer of the Year’ Award from The Able Trust

Innisfree Hotels, Able Trust Award On Friday, June 17, 2016, Innisfree Hotels accepted the Employ...

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Innisfree Builds Hotels – and Houses

Innisfree Hotels, Habitat for Humanity Innisfree Hotels may best be known for building hotels on ...

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Back in Topeka: The Rent Every Room Story

The Rent Every Room Story, Innisfree Hotels Here at Innisfree Hotels, it's really a big deal to ...

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Innisfree Hotels to Build Hampton Inn & Suites in Panama City Beach

Innisfree Hotels is proud to announce a new beachfront hotel development coming to Panama City Beach...

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Back in Topeka: The Family Inns Story

The Family Inns Story, Innisfree Hotels The entrepreneurial road is always filled with great stor...

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What’s Trending in Design at Innisfree Hotels

Interior Design, Innisfree Hotels Innisfree Hotels is gaining momentum, expanding and growing int...

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Innisfree Hotels to Open New Hotel on U.S. Air Force Land

Hilton Garden Inn is the second property to utilize Enhanced Use Lease. Innisfree Hotels is making ...

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Case Study: Social Media & Guest Engagement

Innisfree' properties benefit from the best hotel social media campaigns in the country. Innisfree o...

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Hilton Worldwide Development Award

The property was chosen from more than 150 hotels worldwide that were opened, approved or under con...

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Back in Topeka: Surf & Sand Cottages

By Mike Nixon (with commentary by Jason Nicholson) In this chapter of Innisfree history, we add p...

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Innisfree Announces $100 Million Investment in Panama City Beach

Innisfree Hotels is proud to announce two new beachfront developments coming to Panama City Beach, F...

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Innisfree Hotels Celebrates First Marriott Franchise

Innisfree Hotels has enjoyed a longstanding relationship with many of the world’s most recognized ...

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Meet Our Rising Star: Jillian Glenn

“There’s a vastness here and I believe that the people who are born here breathe that vastness i...

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‘The Redmont Story’

By Julian MacQueen, Founder and CEO, Innisfree Hotels In 1992, I bought a hotel I knew I shouldn...

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Innisfree Hotels Hits Construction Milestone in Orange Beach

Best Western Premier, Tides Hotel Orange Beach Coming Summer 2016 On Jan. 8, 2016, Innisfree Ho...

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‘From the Ground Up’ Garden Grows Opportunity for Persons with Disabilities

Jeff’s Corner Garden, Pensacola FL When Innisfree Hotels planted the seed for its ‘From the G...

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Transforming a Hotel Lobby into an Art Gallery

Innisfree's Modern Contemporary Children's Art Gallery The stylish, social lobby of the Hilton Pe...

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Innisfree Hotels Breaks Ground on Embassy Suites by Hilton

180 All-Suite Hotel Marks New Flag and Market for Florida-Based Hotel Management Company On Wedne...

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An Inspection Story

By Harlan Butler, Past President, Innisfree Hotels Back in Topeka, before Innisfree was establish...

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The Wedding Cake Story

By Harlan Butler, Past President, Innisfree Hotels Back in Topeka, at the hotel where I was work...

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‘Back in Topeka’, President Mike Nixon

Reflections from Innisfree Hotels' President Mike Nixon It’s universal that young people barely...

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Innisfree Hotels Wins IHG Newcomer

PENSACOLA, FLA. – Oct. 5, 2015 – Innisfree Hotels was recognized with a 2015 Newcomer Award from...

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Meet Our Celebrity Chef Dan Dunn

Pensacola Celebrity Chef Dan Dunn is a casual, easy-going guy and a long time, well-loved Pensacola ...

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Giving Guests a Voice in our Operations

Innisfree is a hotel company, but we are in the hospitality business. What’s the difference, you a...

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Time Management Tricks For Busy Bees

Innisfree Hotels is proud to employ an in-house digital marketing agency called Bee Loud, a team of ...

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Beach. Love. Happiness. Guest Engagement Campaign

It was the summer of ’14, and we wanted to get out of our sandbox. So instead of simply selling ou...

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From Mullet Bellies to Multi-Million Dollar Properties

Jason Nicholson’s hospitality career began at the age of 15, when he sat in the heat scrubbing the...

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There’s Something Fishy Going On

Fish Art Fundraiser Supports Innisfree-Sponsored Dixon School of the Arts If you walk into the gi...

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Google Updates = Big Impacts for Hotel Marketing

Google recently implemented algorithm changes that have the potential to profoundly impact digital m...

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Building Community ‘From the Ground Up’

Urban Garden Project Digs Deep into Corporate Social Responsibility Among the first projects of I...

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Pre-Opening Campaign, Holiday Inn Resort, Fort Walton Beach, FL

In May 2014, we had a new beachfront hotel to promote. And we thought, “How do we get people as ex...

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Killington Deal Takes Innisfree Beyond the Beach

Innisfree Hotels Expands into Ski Market with Vermont Acquisition We're excited to announce we are ...

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Content Marketing Strategy

What makes Bee Loud social content some of the best in the country? We’ve got one word for you: s...

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Expanding to New Territory with Acquisition

Holiday Inn Resort in Traverse City, MI Joins the Innisfree Family Innisfree Hotels is well known i...

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Innisfree President Retires

Innisfree Corporate Structure Shifts as Harlan Butler Moves into Board Position In a year of treme...

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Trends in Digital Hospitality

Learning to Fail, Being Agile and Other Fun Ideas These days it’s impossible to think about marke...

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Endowing Education: UWF Hospitality Degree

The program will be renamed The MacQueen Guest Experience Program. Julian and Kim MacQueen, founder...

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Electrifying the Board of Gulf Power

Gulf Power Company is an investor-owned electric utility with all of its common stock owned by Atlan...

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Founder & CEO Honored by Alma Mater

Julian MacQueen Receives Alumni Award from the University of South Alabama On Friday, March 7, 201...

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Business + Digital + Innovation

Should Your Digital Team Lead Business Innovation? There is a buzz cycle happening right now in al...

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The Branding of a Destination Restaurant

Red Fish Blue Fish Opens With Best Sunsets on Beach Innisfree Hotels is excited to announce there ...

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Holiday Inn Resort Comes to FWB

Innisfree's Newest Beachfront Hotel Celebrates Strong Ties to Military Community Located at 1299 Mi...

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Hyatt Place Opens at Pensacola Airport

An exciting “new generation” hotel, offering round-the-clock amenities and modern design. Innis...

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Aries Aids in Freeing Up Debt

Innisfree Hotels' Founder and CEO Julian MacQueen is happy to be part of a growing group of owners a...

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Promoting Community Wellness: LEAP Trail

To date, more than 1,200 people have completed the Leadership Pensacola program. In March 2013, Mi...

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Holiday Inn Resort Wins Three Brand Awards

The award recognizes the hotel for maintaining exceptionally high standards in product quality, hot...

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Students Rewarded With Pool Party

Students from Dixon School of the Arts were rewarded for academic improvement with a pool party spon...

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Innisfree Wins Developer of the Year Award

In 2011, Innisfree Hotels was selected by Intercontinental Hotels Group – owners of 4,400 hotels u...

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