Aspen's historic Hotel Jerome is set for auction

ASPEN, Colorado — An unpaid loan balance of $36.3 million has put the historic Hotel Jerome on the auction block. The 92-bedroom Main Street hotel, built in 1889, is scheduled go to a foreclosure auction sale on Jan. 27, Deputy Treasurer Desiree Wagner said Monday.

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McDonald's Aims To Open 1,100 McCafés Across Europe

McDonald's (MCD) plans to open around 1,100 of McCafés across Europe. The existing cafés are located inside restaurants but with a separate counter. Next year, the company plans to open more, with an eye toward becoming numero uno coffee seller in Europe, BusinessWeek reported, citing Jerome Tafani, chief financial officer of McDonald's Europe.

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Reno casino hits geothermal jackpot underground

RENO, Nev.—A Reno casino has hit the jackpot: An underground geothermal water source just north of one of its new 17-story hotel tower that will generate enough heat and hot water for all 2.1 million square feet of the resort's space.
The Peppermill Resort Spa casino recently gambled on an $8 million project to drill a deep hole on their property in search of the hot water, which hovers around 170 degrees.

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(B.V.I.) Judge says no to golf course

Justice Indra Hariprashad-Charles quashed the Beef Island Planning Approval Letter in High Court on Monday, scoring a win for the Virgin Islands Environmental Council, which has fought to keep Quorum Island developers from building a high-end resort, mega-yacht marina and golf course on the island. In her ruling, Justice Hariprashad-Charles sided with the VIEC, ruling that the government had acted illegally by granting planning permission for development near Hans Creek, a fisheries protected area.

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Wyndham May Acquire Hotel Brands, Competitors’ Operations

Sept. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Wyndham Worldwide Corp., the franchiser of Days Inn hotels and Super 8 motels, plans to buy more brands or acquire the operations of struggling competitors, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Stephen Holmes said.
“There’s quite a bit of distressed real estate,” said Holmes, 52, in a Sept. 28 interview at Wyndham’s Parsippany, New Jersey, headquarters. “It’s an opportunity to add new brands or convert underperforming hotels” to a Wyndham brand.

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Station Casinos opposes creditors’ request to probe 2007 deal

On the eve of a hearing in Reno in its bankruptcy case, a dispute emerged Tuesday on whether creditors can extensively investigate the 2007 deal that took Station Casinos Inc. of Las Vegas private.
The case's Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors said in a court filing that it intends to press its request Wednesday that it be allowed to hire law firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart Oliver & Hedges LLP to fully investigate the deal.

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Falling earnings could force more landlords to close pubs

"Moody's is concerned over the medium-term cash-flow generation ability of the two biggest pubcos, Enterprise Inns and Punch Taverns, relative to their outstanding debt levels in light of the challenging trading environment," the agency said. The companies' credit positions are also likely to worsen because it will be difficult to pay back debt at the same pace that earnings are falling, Moody's said.

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Capital Bars work on rescue plan

The O'Dwyer brothers, the directors behind Capital Bars, one of the capital’s biggest hotel/pub operators, are seeking to place four of their venues in temporary examinership in order to keep them afloat, namely the companies behind Café en Seine, Zanzibar, Howl at the Moon and The George.

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Sonesta Beach Hotel Sold, To Be Razed

MIAMI-Consultatio S.A., an Argentine development group, has acquired Key Biscayne’s Sonesta Beach Hotel property for $78 million, a deep discount from its 2005 value of $120 million. Consultatio and affiliate Key Biscayne Consultatio plan to demolish the 40-year-old hotel and build a 165-unit ultra-luxury condominium when the high-end housing market rebounds.

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Darden Restaurants Reports 16% Increase in First Quarter Diluted Net Earnings Per Share

ORLANDO, Fla., Sept 29, 2009 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX News Network/ -- Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE: DRI) today reported sales and diluted net earnings per share for the fiscal first quarter ended August 30, 2009. In the first quarter, diluted net earnings per share from continuing operations increased 16% to 67 cents, versus 58 cents in the prior year.
First quarter sales from continuing operations were $1.73 billion, compared to $1.77 billion in the prior year, a 2.3% decrease. Blended same-restaurant sales for Olive Garden, Red Lobster and LongHorn Steakhouse were down 5.3% this quarter, which compares to an estimated decline of 7.8% for the Knapp-Track(TM) benchmark of U.S. same-restaurant sales, excluding Darden.

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LA harbor plan would mix leisure with industry

LOS ANGELES (AP) - The hulking container ships that ply the Port of Los Angeles already provide Southern California with a major source of revenue. Soon they could also provide the scenery for what port officials hope will be the region's newest tourist destination.

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Home Inns to open 200 new hotels in 2010

Home Inns & Hotels Management Inc, one of the largest budget hotel brands in China, plans to open 200 hotels next year, mainly in second-tier Chinese cities, said Home Inns' CEO David Sun at the Shanghai International Franchise Exhibition, sources reported.
Home Inn aims to own a total of 1,000 hotels in three years as China's budget hotel market still has great potential for development, according to Sun.
The Chinese hotelier predicted earlier its operating revenue for the third quarter of this year would reach between RMB 685 million and RMB 705 million. The operating revenue for the whole year is estimated to grow by 33% to 35% from that of 2008.
Home Inns recorded RMB 100.4 million of net profit for the second quarter of this year. Its total revenues grew 43.3% year on year to RMB 642.1 million during the period.

Poor trading at Globe pubs causes profits to drain away

Globe Pub Company, the cash-strapped tenanted pub group founded by Robert Tchenguiz, has reported a first-quarter loss of more than £200 million after being forced to write down the value of its estate amid continued poor trading.

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Fontainebleau Las Vegas creditors request liquidation

Creditors for the stalled Fontainebleau Las Vegas want to oust developer Jeffrey Soffer from the bankrupt project and have a court sell the unfinished high-rise, and have filed a lawsuit in federal bankruptcy court to do so.
``With completion of the Project by the Debtors not possible, a sale of the Project to a third party and liquidation of the remaining assets is the only viable course,'' the lenders wrote.

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Chinese hotel project in Cuba eyes U.S. market

The Hemingway Hotel may have an American ring to it, but it is the name of a Chinese-Cuban venture scheduled for groundbreaking this year with an apparent eye on the U.S. market, tourism industry sources said.

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1bn euro development for Greece

The first hotels and spas in a 1bn euro (US$1.43bn, £863.74m) resort being built in Messinia, Greece, will open in 2010.
Called Costa Navarino and masterminded by Greek company Temes SA, the development will contain 11 luxury hotels managed by various international brands along 150km of coastline. As well as 3,000 hotel rooms, there will be luxury villas, seven golf courses, six thalassotherapy centres and spas and a marina.

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French consortium acquires Accor properties

Hotel operator Accor has completed the sale of 158 hotels, operating under its budget brand hotelF1, to a consortium of French investors through a property investment trust.
The €272m (£249.4m, US$396.2m) deal will see the group continue to operate the French properties under the hotelF1 brand as part of a 12-year leaseback agreement, which involves 12,300 bedrooms.

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http://www.ihgplc.com/index.asp?PageID=57&newsid=2360&rssfeed=ihgplc

LaSalle Hotel Properties (NYSE: LHO - News) is leading the Hotel REIT sector higher today after its balance sheet earned it a positive mention in Barron's. The newspaper noted that, while the stock has staged a 360% run since March, it may still have room to run. The report also highlighted the company's overweight presence in Washington, D.C., which helped it maintain occupancy during the recession.

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First Holiday Inn Opens in the Dominican Republic

MIAMI (September 24, 2009) - IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) [LON:IHG, NYSE:IHG (ADRs)], the world's largest hotel group by number of rooms, today announced the opening of the new Holiday Inn Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. This is the first Holiday Inn located in Santo Domingo and also the first Holiday Inn in the Caribbean to incorporate the brand's new hallmarks which, is the seal of approval that this hotel exemplifies the standards of the $1 billion Holiday Inn brand relaunch program. The 7-story, 141-room hotel will open under a management agreement with Inexpress Dominicana, S.A., a sister company of Inverplata S.A., which owns the InterContinental V Centenario Santo Domingo, and as the second IHG property in Santo Domingo.

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Resort Real Estate: Preparing for the Recovery

Demand for lodging accommodations and demand for resort real estate have distinct drivers. It is well documented that there is a strong correlation between lodging demand and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rates. Unlike other types of real estate, hotels by definition offer a transient service, so occupancy levels can almost immediately react to external factors, such as economic conditions. As shown in the chart below1, the long term trend is clear

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Rubio's names new chief operating officer

CARLSBAD, Calif. (AP) -- Rubio's Restaurants Inc., operator of the Rubio's Fresh Mexican Grill chain, said Monday it has promoted Marc Simon to the newly created position of chief operating officer.
Simon has been a senior vice president of operations since he joined the company in November 2007.
Previously he was CEO of America's Incredible Pizza Co. in Tulsa, Okla. He has also worked at McDonald's Corp. and Ernst & Young's consulting group.
Shares of the Carlsbad, Calif.-based company fell 46 cents, or 6.6 percent, to $6.54 on Monday

UK Chain Hotels Market Review - August 2009

Holiday makers boosted occupancy levels for provincial UK chain hotels in August 2009, according to the latest HotStats survey by industry experts TRI Hospitality Consulting. Although occupancy levels were at similar levels to August 2008, provincial hoteliers continued to compete aggressively on price, resulting in an 8.3% year on year drop in achieved average room rate to £64.51. In contrast, the decline in average occupancy levels was only 0.6 percentage points, to 71.8%, representing the smallest margin of decline since the beginning of the year.

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Enterprise targets £200m at pub auctions

The company is trialing the sale of seven freeholds at an Allsops auction on 15 October, hoping to raise £14.7m.
The company is offering private investors a 35-year lease with itself as tenant on the head-lease, subject to a five-yearly rent review and no indexation.
Chief executive Ted Tuppen said rents on offer to investors account for between 80 and 90% of each pub’s total Ebidta. “We’ve taken advice on the rent that’s appropriate,” he told City analysts

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Enterprise Inns profits hit by financial aid for struggling pubs

Enterprise Inns has revealed that continued financial support for struggling pubs is draining its overall profits but the rate of closures is slowing.
In a pre-close trading statement, the pubco said its core estate has demonstrated resilience during tough trading conditions but profitability has been hit by financial support for struggling licensees, business failures and temporary management agreements

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Station Casinos wants ‘breathing room’ from employee wage suit

At the time of the bankruptcy filing, a lawsuit seeking class-action status was pending in Clark County District Court alleging as many as 20,000 current and former workers were shorted on pay because of a "rounding" system Station uses to track hours worked.

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Starbucks VIA Ready Brew Arrives

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Tomorrow, Starbucks Coffee Company (NASDAQ: SBUX - News) launches its breakthrough Starbucks VIA™ Ready Brew at all U.S. locations, expanding upon the company’s coffee expertise and leadership. Starbucks VIA™ is 100 percent natural roasted arabica coffee in an instant form that is rich and full bodied just like a fresh-brewed cup of Starbucks® coffee. Starbucks VIA™ is made with a proprietary, U.S. patent-pending microgrind technology to preserve the coffee’s taste, quality and freshness.

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Pizza Inn, Inc. Reports Results for Fiscal Year 2009

THE COLONY, Texas, Sept. 23, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pizza Inn, Inc. (Nasdaq:PZZI) today reported net income of $1.2 million, or $0.14 per share, for the fiscal year ended June 28, 2009, versus net income of $2.8 million, or $0.29 per share, for the prior fiscal year. The $0.15 difference in earnings per share is driven primarily by two factors. Due to a change in the availability and use of its net loss carryforwards, the Company reported tax expense of $0.5 million in fiscal year 2009 compared to a tax benefit of $0.1 million in fiscal year 2008, representing $0.07 of the earnings per share difference

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JKF Airport hotel to close in December

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which owns the 478-room hotel, is closing it on Dec. 1. The agency will put out a request for proposal to redevelop the property, which was built decades ago and needs a big makeover.
The agency took over the hotel in November 2008. It brought in Highgate Holdings to operate it for one year. The Dallas-based hotel investor and operator, controls some 5,000 hotel rooms in the city, including the Park Central and Doubletree Metropolitan hotels.

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Hyatt Assures New Jobs for Displaced Boston Workers

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--All housekeepers affected by August staff reductions at the three Hyatt hotels in Boston will be offered new full-time positions in the Boston market. The jobs, which will be provided by an affiliate of United Service Companies, will match the employees’ previous Hyatt rate of pay through the end of 2010. The Boston Hyatt hotels will extend healthcare coverage through March 31, 2010 for the employees who choose to accept positions with United Service Companies, after which they will have the option to obtain health care benefits through their new employer.

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Luminar shares plunge on profit warning

Luminar, the UK’s largest nightclub owner, issued a stark profit warning today, after rising job losses among young people put a dampener on party spirits.
The company, which is responsible for the Liquid and Oceana chains, warned that there was a "significant risk" it would not meet full-year profit expectations in February 2010, after half-year sales fell 5.9 per cent in the 26 weeks to August 27 compared with the same period last year.

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Langham Hotels to make debut in the Caribbean

Luxury hotelier Langham Hotels International has signed a deal for a new resort in the Bahamas. Langham Place Resort & Spa, Port St George, Bahamas, is slated to open by 2013.

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Tavern on the Green Employees Plan Rally Against New Labor Plan

The scene has been set for the next phase of the unfolding labor drama surrounding New York City's storied Tavern on the Green. At 2:45 p.m. tomorrow, a group of Tavern employees and their supporters - a crowd that could number in the hundreds - will gather outside the restaurant to protest the revised labor contract proposed by restaurateur Dean Poll, who will take over the Central Park landmark's operating license next year. According to recent coverage in The New York Times, Poll's proposal would nullify most of the provisions of the current contract.

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STR Global posts August 2009 results for Europe

The European hotel industry posted decreases in year-over-year results when reported in U.S. dollars, euros and British pounds for August 2009, according to data compiled by STR Global.

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STR Global posts August 2009 results for Asia/Pacific

In year-over-year measurements, the Asia/Pacific region’s occupancy dropped 3.3 percent to 63.3 percent; ADR declined 24.7 percent to US$117.22; and RevPAR fell 27.1 percent to US$74.18

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STR Global posts Middle East/Africa August 2009 results

The region’s occupancy dropped 18.2 percent to 59.2 percent; ADR decreased 3.7 percent to US$133.31; and RevPAR decreased 21.2 percent to US$78.89

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Le Meridien, Expands Its International Presence with Its First Hotel in Central America

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:HOT) today announced the opening of Le Meridien Panama, the European rooted hotel brand's first property in Central America. Set in the heart of Panama's cosmopolitan capital city, Le Meridien Panama, owned by developers Bern Hotels & Resorts Panama, is a modern, contemporary building located on the edge of the Bay of Panama

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Vail Resorts Reports Fiscal 2009 Results and 2010 Outlook

Fiscal 2009 Highlights
-- Resort Reported EBITDA, which includes the Company's Mountain and
Lodging segments, of $171.1 million in Fiscal 2009 decreased $59.6
million, or 25.8%, from the prior year.
-- Real Estate Reported EBITDA of $44.1 million in Fiscal 2009 decreased
$1.9 million, or 4.0%, from the prior year.
-- Net income of $49.0 million in Fiscal 2009 decreased $54.0 million, or
52.4%, from the prior year.
-- Net Debt leverage ratio of 1.96 times trailing twelve months Total
Reported EBITDA, $69.3 million of cash and cash equivalents on hand as
of July 31, 2009, and no revolver borrowings under the Company's
$400 million senior credit facility.

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Punch Taverns puts 300 pubs up for sale

LONDON, Sep 25 (Reuters) - Britain's biggest pubs group, Punch Taverns on Friday said it had put more than 300 of its worst performing pubs up for sale.
Punch, which set up a turnaround unit for underperforming pubs earlier this year, has appointed property agent Christie to sell the sites.

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Investors Pledge Funds to Buy Troubled European Hotels

A group of investors is pooling up to $739.7 million to buy troubled European hotels in the belief that the hospitality market is poised for a rebound. Avingstone Financial has earmarked its intention to buy a series of hotels across European over the next two years.

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Dubai five-star hotel to be sold for homes

The hotel’s owner, Damas, is selling the property for residential use because of the 'challenging economic environment brought on by the global economic recession', the Angsana’s management company said on Wednesday.

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Langham Hotels invests £612m in global expansion

Hotel group Langham is investing £612m into expanding the brand globally with plans to operate 34 hotels across the world.

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InterContinental sees signs of life in business travel

Chief Executive Andrew Cosslett said its London flagship Park Lane InterContinental hotel was full this month while its August performance in China was ahead of last year despite the Olympic Games boost in the Chinese capital in August 2008.

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Starwood Opens 40 Hotels and Signs 25 New Deals in North America

PHOENIX – September 23, 2009 – From the 15th Annual Lodging Conference, Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: HOT) announces it has executed 25 new deals and opened more than 40 hotels in its North America Division in 2009, with an additional 20 anticipated to open by year’s end. These developments are illustrative of Starwood’s overall global growth that includes nearly 60 hotel openings and 50 deal signings over the past ten months.

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Hilton Garden Inn® Set to Open 60 Hotels in 2009

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Officials of Hilton Garden Inn, the global brand of upscale, yet affordable hotels, today announced it remains on pace to reach near-record development numbers in 2009 with 60 new hotels expected to open and 200 hotel projects in the pipeline. This pace is slightly off 2008’s record-breaking openings, but is still one of the brand’s fullest pipelines of hotel projects approved, in design or under construction.

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Starbucks debuts two apps for iPhone

SEATTLE (Sept. 23, 2009) Starbucks Corp. said it is offering two new free iPhone applications that will help customers find stores and manage their loyalty card accounts — as well as pay for their purchases in some test locations.
The new apps are the first to be offered for the iPhone and iPod touch by the 16,729-unit global coffee chain, though there are several unofficial iPhone apps, such as iApp’s Find a Starbucks Coffee, Snow Storm’s Expresso Pro and ourLivez’s Sbux Card, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal

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STR reports US performance for August 2009

In year-over-year measurements, the industry’s occupancy fell 9.9 percent to 60.7 percent, ADR dropped 10.1 percent to US$96.58, and RevPARdecreased 19.0 percent to US$58.65. year-over-year measurements, the industry’s occupancy fell 9.9 percent to 60.7 percent, ADR dropped 10.1 percent to US$96.58, and RevPARdecreased 19.0 percent to US$58.65.

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Luxury Hotels in U.S. Risk Default as $850 Rooms Remain Empty

Loans secured by more than 1,500 hotels with a total outstanding balance of $24.5 billion may be in danger of default, according to Realpoint LLC, a credit rating company that tracks commercial mortgage-backed securities. Some of the biggest loans, put on the company’s watch list because of late payments, decreasing occupancies or cash flow, were made to luxury properties where rooms can cost more than $850 a night.

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How Papa John's got started

Fortune Magazine) -- When I was 12, I started a gutter-painting company at my grandfather's house. He was my mentor, and he expected us to work at an early age. My dad was into politics. He was the youngest city judge in Indiana's history, and he ran for lieutenant governor. So when Dad was on the road, Mom took us over to our grandfather's

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Canadian Hotel Rate Report for September 2009

The rising Canadian dollar, global downturn and U.S. border restrictions, deterred many travelers from visiting popular destinations like Montreal and Vancouver this summer. Even Toronto, a popular international destination, took a hit this summer resulting in a hotel rate drop of 11 percent when compared to last year.

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Hilton loses one of its top three

Hilton Hotels Corporation, the American hotel group facing corporate espionage charges, is understood to have parted company with one of its three top executives after just 18 months in the job.
Steve Goldman, president of global development and real estate and joint number two to chief executive Chris Nassetta, is believed to be on indefinite leave and is not expected to resume his duties.

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Mitchell & Butler warns of gloomy outlook for 2010

Managed pub operator Mitchells & Butlers has unveiled better- than-expected results so far this year but warns of a gloomy outlook for 2010.
The All Bar One and O’Neill’s operator announced like-for-like sales growth of 2.6% over the summer (in the 10 weeks to 19 September 2009), mainly reflecting the 5.8% growth in food sales.

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Hilton Hotels changes name to Hilton Worldwide

As the company settles in to its new digs in Tysons Corner in McLean, Va., after relocating HQ from Beverly Hills, Calif., the company today unveiled its new name: "Hilton Worldwide" instead of just plain old "Hilton Hotels."

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Hyatt Statement Regarding Massachusetts Governor's Proposed Boycott

BOSTON, Sept. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Hyatt Hotels released the following statement in response to the governor's boycott threat: "We are very disappointed by the Governor's decision to threaten a boycott of our hotels since it directly threatens the 600 associates who work in Hyatt properties and who live and work in Massachusetts at a time when businesses and individuals are cutting back on travel during the worst economic period we have seen in decades," said Phil Stamm, General Manager of Hyatt Regency Boston. "We do not understand why the Governor is putting more Massachusetts jobs at risk instead of working with us to find jobs for employees affected by the realities of these unprecedented economic challenges."

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Central Bank (Bahamas): Decline in hotel receipts

The Central Bank is confirming that hotels in The Bahamas sustained whopping blows to their bottom line in the last quarter — following an earlier Guardian report pinning that decline at 21 percent.

"Preliminary indicators of tourism sector revenues suggest that hotel receipts, across all major markets, declined significantly during the review quarter," said the bank's latest quarterly report ending June 2009. "This reflected the combined adverse effects on average earnings of lower occupancy levels, various discounts and other incentive programs."

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Atlantis hit by slower than expected Sept

Officials at Kerzner International's Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island expected things to be slow this fall, but they did not bank on the dramatic downturn in business now being experienced, according to a top executive. "Fall has turned out to be much softer than we expected [although] it's also a fall where we haven't had any major storms as we experienced in 2008 — or at least when we were threatened with some," said George Markantonis, president and managing director of Kerzner International Bahamas, the largest private employer in the country.


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Restaurant chain sued for overdue rent at 2 malls

(Crain’s) — Simon Property Group Inc. is suing a well-known casual restaurant chain to collect more than $143,000 in past-due rent and other fees for locations at two Chicago-area malls.

The Indianapolis-based mall giant alleges in separate lawsuits that Ruby Tuesday Inc. locations at Lincolnwood Town Center and Orland Square Mall have fallen behind on their monthly rent payments, though Simon has not begun eviction proceedings.

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Marriott International to record $760M in charges

BETHESDA, Md. -- Marriott says it will record $760 million in third-quarter impairment charges as it lowers prices and curbs development in its timeshare business to boost cash flow.

Marriott International Inc. plans to reduce residential prices to boost sales and convert certain projects for other uses.

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Tune Hotels CEO Tony Fernandes Says They're Coming To America

Tune Hotels are "very definitely" coming to the United States in the near future (we're talking like two years here). Tune being just "as big a brand as Air Asia," it's also a brand "that could travel anywhere in the world."

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Is Marriott’s Renaissance brand poised to compete with W?

Last week, we hit up Renaissance Hotels’ official brand “re-launch” at the Hotel 57 in Manhattan (which is now a Renaissance property). Across the pond, plenty of folks were partying in Paris at the Renaissance Arc de Triomphe several hours earlier to celebrate the new look of the Marriott-owned chain the same way.


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Savoy’s Luxury Makeover Adds to London Hotels’ Post-Lehman Woes

Sept. 23 (Bloomberg) -- The Savoy, the 121-year-old London hotel that’s hosted Elizabeth Taylor and Claude Monet, may add to strains on the city’s luxury guesthouses when it reopens in April following British hospitality’s most expensive renovation.

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Hilton executive in corporate 'espionage' case exits

Hilton Hotels Corporation, the American hotel behemoth, has replaced Ross Klein as global head of luxury and lifestyle brands after a lawsuit brought by Starwood Hotels, his former employer, accused him of looting confidential information.


Sources close to the company confirmed today that Mr Klein, who had been placed on paid administrative leave in April after the launch of the legal action, has now left Hilton. He is being replaced by John Vanderslice, former chief executive of Miraval Spa in Tucson, Arizona.

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Mayaguana (The Bahamas) project moving ahead?

The government is making progress in its talks with officials of the I-Group, the developer of a promised billion-dollar project for Mayaguana, Minister of Tourism Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace said yesterday.


Vanderpool-Wallace said government officials will meet with developers in the first week in October as they continue discussions toward a restructured agreement for the development.

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What happened to Raffles n the BVI?

More than two years ago, developers announced plans to turn the Lambert Beach Resort into a $200-$250 million, five-star establishment. Today, ground has yet to be broken on the project, and the resort’s future is murky. But there are at least two possible scenarios.


A pending partnership with developer Mark Vanterpool and the mega-resort conglomerate Raffles could transform the resort into the proposed establishment; or the land could be auctioned off in whole to the highest bidder.

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160,000 applications later, CityCenter makes job offers

CityCenter began making employment offers to hundreds of workers Monday in preparation for the project's opening later this year, bringing hope to those who have been unemployed and new opportunities for others looking to make a change.

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70 Jack in the Box restaurants close, re-open

Longtime Jack in the Box Inc. franchisee Abe Alizadeh suddenly and temporarily closed 70 Jack in the Box restaurants in Northern California, before re-opening Friday, the San Diego-based restaurant franchising company reported in a news release.


The 70 Northern California Jack in the Box locations reopened Friday afternoon after Alizadeh filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for the four corporate entities that operate them, spokesman Scott Rose said.

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Accor announces a major real estate transaction

In line with its ongoing asset-right strategy, Accor today announced a major real estate transaction in the

Budget segment in France, with the sale of 158 hotelF1 properties, representing a total of 12,300 rooms.
Accor pioneered the low-cost hotel concept in France, opening the first Formule 1 hotel in 1984 and introducing particularly innovative construction and management techniques. Formule 1, renamed hotelF1 in 2007, is the entry-level hotel brand of Accor Group in France with an average room rate of around €33.

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T.G.I Fridays outlets close

Jack is back, but T.G.I. Fridays has closed in the Sacramento region, the latest restaurant outlets affected by the financial woes of businessman and developer Abe Alizadeh.


Carlson Restaurants Worldwide Inc. has forced the closure of 10 T.G.I. Fridays in Northern California, Oregon and Washington owned by Alizadeh. The Carrollton, Texas-based company ordered Alizadeh to shut down the restaurants Friday

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Granite City Food & Brewery Ltd. Announces Debt for Equity Transaction

MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Granite City Food & Brewery Ltd. (NASDAQ: GCFB) today announced a transaction that will allow the company to convert approximately $15.0 million of debt owed to DHW Leasing LLC (DHW) into 28 million shares of the company’s common stock at a conversion price of $0.54 per share.

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Housekeeping head charged with second-degree murder in Essex House slaying

A housekeeping manager at the tony Jumeirah Essex House hotel tried to rape a gorgeous investment executive as she slept - then viciously stabbed and strangled her when she fought back, police sources told the Daily News on Sunday

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Top 100 Brands - 2009

Of interest:

McDonalds - 6
Disney - 10
KFC - 61
Pizza Hut - 79
Starbucks - 90
Burger King - 93

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US Trustee Seeks Extended Stay Probe

The U.S. government's bankruptcy monitor is expected to ask a court Tuesday to authorize an investigation into the bankruptcy of hotel operator Extended Stay Inc.
The official, U.S. Trustee Diana Adams, filed a motion in July asking the court to appoint an examiner to investigate pre-bankruptcy deals between the company, its chief executive and senior lenders. Adams said "serious" fraud allegations involving the company's top management prompted the request.
The government is raising questions about a proposed restructuring plan that provides "critical protections and inducements" to Chief Executive David Lichtenstein, whose Lightstone Group bought the 680-hotel chain in 2007 for $8 billion

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Lender takes Fairmont Orchid

A lender quietly acquired The Fairmont Orchid Hawaii in lieu of foreclosure earlier this year, giving the luxury hotel at Mauna Lani Resort on the Big Island its fourth different owner in seven years.
An affiliate of New York-based lender Barclays Capital in June repossessed the 540-room hotel from Westbrook Partners LLC, a Boston-based real estate investment firm that bought the 32-acre oceanfront property for $250 million in 2005, property records show.

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Hundreds attend rally for fired Hyatt housekeepers

Several hundred hotel workers and their supporters turned out yesterday for a raucous rally in front of the Hyatt Regency Boston for the 100 housekeepers who were fired by the hotel chain. Politicians called for businesses to boycott the Hyatt, and workers banged on drums, rattled detergent bottles filled with rocks, and chanted “Hyatt, shame on you’’ as they marched in front of the hotel with picket signs.

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Ireland - 900 jobs under threat after court ruling

ALMOST 900 jobs were under threat in Dublin last night after the High Court appointed a provisional liquidator and interim examiner to a leading hotel and bar group and also appointed an examiner to a laundry company.

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Bob Evans Farms Announces Organizational Changes

Chief Financial Officer, Treasurer and Assistant Secretary Don Radkoski has decided to retire after nearly 30 years with the organization. Radkoski has served as chief financial officer since 1993 and has also held the positions of restaurant accounting supervisor, general accounting supervisor and vice president of finance, among others, since joining Bob Evans in February 1980. Radkoski plans to stay with the Company through the end of the current fiscal year to ensure an orderly transition of responsibilities.

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$65,000 Suite Touts 007 Security

GENEVA (TheStreet) -- Your average world-class hotel suite might be adorned in mother-of-pearl, accented by a grand piano and punctuated with a complete library.
But can it take a bullet for you?

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Penn National in Fontainebleau Vegas talks--source

NEW YORK, Sept 18 (Reuters) - Penn National Gaming Inc ( PENN - news - people ) is one of at least two companies in talks to buy the bankrupt, unfinished Fontainebleau Las Vegas casino and resort, a source familiar with the matter said on Friday. The negotiations, like any bankruptcy sale, are complicated by the large number of constituencies with a stake in the process and by the fact the resort's retail mall component is not part of the bankruptcy filing, said the source, who was not authorized to speak on the record. Penn spokesman Joe Jaffoni said the company does not comment on rumors or speculation.

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Sunstone Hotel turns over 2nd property to lenders

SAN CLEMENTE, Calif. -- Sunstone Hotel Investors Inc. plans to turn over its Marriott Ontario Airport hotel in Southern California to its lenders, the second of its properties to be handed back to the bank after the company decided against making further mortgage payments.

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Sonic expects adjusted 2010 profit to rise

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- Sonic Corp. said Thursday that its fiscal 2010 adjusted profit will climb from the previous year, helped by lower commodity costs and reduced interest expense.
The chain of drive-in restaurants anticipates adjusted earnings will rise 10 percent to 12 percent from 2009.
It hasn't reported its fiscal 2009 results yet, but is expected to do so on Oct. 20.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, whose estimates normally exclude one-time items, expect 2009 earnings of 71 cents a share and 2010 earnings of 80 cents per share.

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Ten New Pullman Hotels Signed in Asia in One Month

Pullman hotels - designed for the modern business and leisure traveler, announced today the addition of 5 more hotels (in addition to the 5 announced in mid August) to its ever growing network in Asia. The 5 hotels are located in the key growth markets of India and China. These hotels take the development commitments for the Pullman brand in Asia to 22 hotels, in addition to the 12 operating Pullman hotels in the region.

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Cornell Research Study Says Look at ADR to Find Competing Hotels

While some hotel managers might simply look out the window to see their competition, new hotel research from Cornell's Center for Hospitality Research finds that the real competition is hotels that are charging similar average rates. The study, "Product Tiers and ADR Clusters: Integrating Two Methods for Determining Hotel Competitive Sets," by Jin-Young Kim and Linda Canina, compared two different ways of identifying a hotel's competitive set.

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STR Global reports Central and South America pipeline for August 2009

LONDON—The Central/South America hotel development pipeline includes 145 projects with 21,750 rooms, according to the August 2009 STR Global Construction Pipeline Report released this week.

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MGM Mirage warns of possible charge to earnings for CityCenter

MGM Mirage today warned it may take a charge against earnings to write down the value of its 50-percent interest in the $8.5 billion CityCenter complex preparing to open in December on the Las Vegas Strip.
At least part of the writedown may be related to the company's need to lower condominium prices at the resort in order to close sales of the condos. There are some 2,400 condominium and condominium-hotel units in multiple towers at the resort.

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STR reports Caribbean and Mexico pipeline for August 2009

The Caribbean/Mexico hotel development pipeline includes 141 hotels comprising 18,535 rooms, according to the August 2009 STR Construction Pipeline Report released this week.

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STR Global reports Europe pipeline for August 2009

The European hotel development pipeline includes 585 hotels comprising 94,259 rooms, according to the August 2009 STR Global Construction Pipeline Report released this week

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STR Global reports Middle East/Africa pipeline for August 2009

The Middle East/Africa hotel development pipeline includes 468 hotels comprising 126,464 rooms, according to the August 2009 STR Global Construction Pipeline Report released last week.

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More Financial Blues for The Fontainebleau

You’ve probably already heard that the still-under-construction Fontainebleau Las Vegas went bankrupt. (Although the Miami Herald reports that the property’s lawyers won an additional three weeks in bankruptcy protection this week, as they try to sell the sucker off.)

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FelCor Commences Tender Offers for Its Senior Secured Floating Rate Notes

IRVING, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--FelCor Lodging Trust Incorporated (NYSE: FCH) and its subsidiary, FelCor Lodging Limited Partnership (“FelCor LP”), today announced that on September, 17, 2009, FelCor LP commenced cash tender offers for all of its $215 million aggregate principal amount of senior secured floating rate notes due 2011 (CUSIP No. 31430Q AY3) and all of its $300 million aggregate principal amount of 8½% senior notes due 2011 (CUSIP No. 31430Q AL1)

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The Marcus Corporation Reports First Quarter Results

First Quarter Fiscal 2010 Highlights
- Total revenues for the first quarter of fiscal 2010 were $110,153,000, compared to revenues of $120,371,000 for the first quarter of fiscal 2009.
- Operating income was $18,975,000 for the first quarter of fiscal 2010, compared to operating income of $23,947,000 for the same period in the prior year.
- Net earnings were $10,218,000 or $0.34 per diluted common share for the first quarter of fiscal 2010, compared to net earnings of $12,433,000 or $0.42 per diluted common share for the first quarter of fiscal 2009.

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Harrah's Buys Planet Hollywood Debt

Harrah's Entertainment Inc. bought $140 million of the debt tied to the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, giving Harrah's a role in the fate of the struggling property.
Harrah's purchase of the debt from Goldman Sachs Mortgage Co., a unit of Goldman Sachs Group Inc., came last week, just a day before the casino defaulted on its $860 million mortgage by failing to make its monthly interest payment, according to people familiar with the matter. The mortgage's servicer, KeyCorp, sent the casino's owners a default notice Thursday, these people say

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Potential buyer in negotiations for stalled Fontainebleau project

At least one unidentified potential buyer is negotiating to take over the bankrupt Fontainebleau hotel-casino development in Las Vegas, Fontainebleau reported Monday.
But significant hurdles remain for the resort to be sold and its construction completed, including difficulties a buyer may have in obtaining financing.

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CKE RESTAURANTS® MAINTAINS PROFITABILITY DESPITE CHALLENGING ENVIRONMENT AND SOFTNESS IN SAME-STORE SALES

CARPINTERIA, Calif. — September 16, 2009 — CKE Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:CKR) announced today second quarter results and the filing of its Report on Form 10-Q with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") for the twelve weeks ended August 10, 2009.

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Luxury Hotel Oversupply in Tokyo May Cut Occupancy

Sept. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Luxury hotel occupancy in Tokyo may decline because of an increase in rooms and a delayed recovery in the world’s second-biggest economy.
“The beginning of next year is going to be very soft,” said Malcolm Thompson, general manager of The Peninsula Hotel Tokyo. “Even though we’re expecting the economy to pick up and the pointers are that things will, as hoteliers we’re still going to be challenged by the amount of supply.”

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Britannia Hospitality buys the Stafford hotel for £77.5m

Britannia Hospitality, owned by Egypt's El Sharkawy family, has bought London's Stafford hotel for a reported £77.5m from pubs and hotel firm Daniel Thwaites.
The purchase of the 105-room Mayfair hotel took place at 1am this morning, and is part of the El Sharkawy family's plans to expand into global capitals.

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Hoteliers suffer as room rates fall to five-year low

The scale of the battle facing UK hotels is laid bare today by data showing that average room rates will fall back to 2005 levels over the next 12 months and the industry will not move into recovery mode until late next year, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers.
The accountancy firm forecasts that the average room rate (ARR) will fall by 8.1 per cent to £77.69 a night in 2009, down from £84.53 last year – the biggest drop since 2002, when rates fell by almost 6 per cent.

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Domino's Pizza(R) Launches New iPhone Optimized Mobile Ordering System

ANN ARBOR, Mich., Sept. 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --Domino's Pizza, the world leader in pizza delivery (NYSE: DPZ - News) today announced the launch of a new version of its mobile ordering Web site. The enhanced version is optimized for the Apple iPhone, Palm Pre and phones that support the Google Android operating system. Customers visiting www.dominos.com from a browser in one of the supported devices will be automatically connected to the new, enhanced site.

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Bankrupt: Tavern on the Green Even Stiffed Balloon Guy

For the vendors they stiffed, industry insiders, members of the Parks Department, and anyone familiar with the multiple lawsuits filed against them, the Tavern on the Green bankruptcy filing last week came as no surprise. But for everyone else, it was a bit of a shock

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Las Vegas hotel suites take luxury to a new level

LAS VEGAS — A 10,000-square-foot suite that includes a basketball halfcourt rents for $25,000 a night at Palms Casino Resort. At MGM Grand's Skylofts, you'll find a bathtub that fizzes with tiny champagne-like massage bubbles, TVs in the mirrors and airport pickup in a $400,000 car.

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SUNSTONE HOTEL INVESTORS PROVIDES BUSINESS UPDATE

Arthur Buser, President and Chief Executive Officer, stated, "We continue to manage our portfolio and balance sheet to best position the Company for future opportunities. Our secured debt management initiatives are beginning to produce positive results, and on the operations front, we are seeing signs of improved group activity. During the past 30 days, our two bellwether group hotels – the Renaissance Washington D.C. and the Renaissance Orlando - booked over 40,000 group rooms combined, which is a marked improvement over recent booking trends."

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City of Dallas Breaks Ground on Omni Dallas Convention Center Hotel

In a ceremony featuring Mayor Tom Leppert, the Dallas City Council and a broad spectrum of civic and community leaders, the City of Dallas broke ground today on the 23-story Omni Dallas Convention Center Hotel, endorsed by voters in May and backed by the sale of nearly $500 million in revenue bonds in August.

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MGM Mirage plans offering of $350M in senior notes

LAS VEGAS (AP) -- Casino operator MGM Mirage said Thursday that it plans a private placement of $350 million in senior unsecured notes due 2018.
MGM, in which billionaire Kirk Kerkorian has a sizable stake, expects to use the offering's net proceeds to lower borrowings under its senior credit agreement and for general corporate purposes.
MGM Mirage has struggled as consumers gamble less during the recession. The Las Vegas-based company reported a $212.6 million second-quarter loss on some large impairment charges and had $12.3 billion in long-term debt as of June 30.

CKE Restaurants®, Inc. Reports Period Eight Same-Store Sales

“The troubled economy and the extremely competitive landscape continued to put pressure on same-store sales during the period. However, the impact moderated a bit in period 8 and showed the smallest decline we have seen in five periods,” said Andrew F. Puzder, Chief Executive Officer. “We are determined to bring both brands back to positive sales territory, but to do so without demeaning our brand image or consumer perceptions with respect to the taste and quality of our products

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Fontainebleau contractors seek lien claims in state court

With the Las Vegas Fontainebleau resort bankruptcy case seemingly stalled, a group of contractors is seeking permission to pursue construction lien claims in state court in Nevada -- outside of the bankruptcy process.
The contractors, in a court filing Friday, said they want to get started protecting their lien claims in state court in part because those claims are under attack by lenders in the bankruptcy court.

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118 UAE hospitality projects cancelled or on hold

The UAE has 118 hospitality projects cancelled or on hold, according to a study conducted by Proleads.
The initial findings of the Cityscape Intelligence Focus On Dubai Report were revealed ahead of next month’s Cityscape Dubai at the Dubai International Exhibition and Convention Centre from October 5-8.

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Kohler sets sights on other end of St Andrews’ 18th

Salvation is close at hand, however. Herb Kohler, an American magnate, who made his fortune in bathroom fittings and owns the luxury Old Course Hotel, which sits at the other end of the famous 18th hole from Hamilton Hall, is understood to be the front-runner to acquire it for an estimated £14 million to £15 million.

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Sheraton Puerto Rico Convention Center Hotel & Casino to Open in November

San Juan's First New Full-Service Hotel and Casino in More than 10 Years is Also the First and Only in the Caribbean Pursuing LEED Certification
Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, Inc (NYSE:HOT) and Interlink Group announced today that the new Sheraton Puerto Rico Convention Center Hotel & Casino will open its doors in November 2009. Located adjacent to the Puerto Rico Convention Center in San Juan's newest vibrant commercial and residential district, the new 503-room property will accommodate both business and leisure travelers, offering exceptional meeting facilities, a full-service casino and resort-like amenities, including a sundeck/pool, spa and retail space. Sheraton Puerto Rico will be the first new full-service hotel and casino built in San Juan in more than 10 years

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Darden Finds Secure Footing

Fitch recently revised its outlook on Darden Restaurants Inc. (DRI) to "Stable" from "Negative". The rating agency believes that the company is well positioned in the casual dining segment, which is still recuperating from the economic turmoil, plagued by rising unemployment and weak consumer spending.

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IHG signs Multi-brand, Multi-location Hotel Deal with Thai Careon Corporation

Singapore, 14 September 2009 - IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) today announced the signing of a deal with leading Thai conglomerate TCC (Thai Chareon Corporation) to convert and rebrand four existing hotels, which adds nearly 1,500 rooms to IHG's Asia Pacific portfolio.

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Disney to expand Fantasyland at Walt Disney World

ANAHEIM, California (Reuters) - Mickey Mouse's house and his Toon Town world will make way next year for a vastly larger Fantasyland, in the biggest-ever expansion of the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World in Florida, Walt Disney Co said on Saturday.
The Fantasyland expansion, whose price tag was not disclosed, will open in two stages in 2012 and 2013 and builds on the popularity of the Disney Princess and Fairies franchises, which have topped $4 billion in global retail sales

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Maui Prince workers get new contract

Union leaders and Benchmark Hospitality International have negotiated a new contract for employees at the Maui Prince hotel and Makena Resort.
Benchmark, based near Houston, will operate the resort, effective Thursday.
No details of the new deal were disclosed.

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OPEN LETTER TO RADISSON® GUESTS

To Radisson® Hotels & Resorts guests:

Radisson values your business and respects the privacy of your information, which is why we wish to inform you that between November 2008 and May 2009, the computer systems of some Radisson® hotels in the U.S. and Canada were accessed without authorization. This unauthorized access was in violation of both civil and criminal laws. Radisson has been coordinating with federal law enforcement to assist in the investigation of this incident. While the number of potentially affected hotels involved in this incident is limited, the data accessed may have included guest information such as the name printed on a guest’s credit card or debit card, a credit or debit card number, and/or a card expiration date.

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SJM Rises to Record on Increased Casino Market Share

Sept. 16 (Bloomberg) -- SJM Holdings Ltd., controlled by billionaire Stanley Ho, rose to a record in Hong Kong today after saying yesterday that its share of the casino market in Macau rose in the first half even as revenue fell.
SJM climbed 8.6 percent to HK$4.57 in Hong Kong, the highest since its trading debut in July 2008. The stock has more than doubled this year, compared with a 49 percent gain in the city’s benchmark Hang Seng Index.

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Hard times for Caribbean exotic resort Nikki Beach Resort & Spa on Turks and Caicos Islands

An island resort that catered to the likes of Denzel Washington and Derek Jeter with personal butlers and a pillow menu has gone belly up.
Leeward Resort Ltd. - the owner of Nikki Beach Resort & Spa on Turks and Caicos Islands - has been placed into receivership, General Manager Jonathan Steers said.
Guests paid up to $3,000 a night to stay at the Caribbean resort that offered Bvlgari bath products and an infinity pool with beds resembling those of 19th century opium dens.

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Chicago Hotel workers hit picket lines

For six months, Victor Chan says, he has worked alone as a bellhop at Sheraton Hotel and Towers after four others on the second shift lost their jobs."I'm doing the work of five," said Chan, 49. Chan joined about 50 other hotel service workers who picketed Friday morning outside the Affinia Chicago hotel, 166 E. Superior St. Another picket line formed Friday evening outside The Drake, 140 E. Walton Pl.

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SEC goes after SoBe condo-hotel developer

A Chicago developer who said he was converting several projects, including the Tides hotel in South Beach, into condo-hotels is the target of a Securities and Exchange Commission complaint.
Robert D. Falor, president and CEO of the Falor Cos., is alleged to have fraudulently offered and sold about $9 million of securities to about 55 investors in the form of membership interests in various limited liability companies that he controlled and operated, according to an SEC news release.

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Spanish hotel chains to merge

Spanish business hotel chain NH Hoteles is to take over the management of fellow Spanish chain Hesperia's 51 properties.
NH, the third biggest business hotel chain in Europe, operates 349 hotels with 52,676 rooms in 22 countries. It has a further 54 hotels with 8,000 rooms currently under construction.

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Expedia Says Hotel Prices to Decline Through 2010 Sept. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Expedia Inc., the biggest Internet travel agency, said an “overhang” of hote

Sept. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Expedia Inc., the biggest Internet travel agency, said an “overhang” of hotel rooms being built will depress prices through 2010 following the biggest first-half drop in room rates since in at least five years.
New York overtook Las Vegas as the U.S. city with the fastest growth in hotel room capacity, Expedia’s Hotels.com said in a report. Thirty-eight hotels will open in the city this year, increasing the number of rooms by almost 8,000. First-half occupancy rates fell 5 percent.

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Senior Hospitality Executive Joins Wyndham Development Team

PARSIPPANY, N.J. 09-14-2009 —
Wyndham Hotel Group, the world’s largest hotel company with more than 7,000 hotels and 11 brands, has appointed Matthew Sparks as senior vice president of development for the Wyndham Hotels and Resorts® brand.

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Papa John's Lays off 35

Papa John’s International Inc. (NasdaqGS: PZZA - News) recently announced job cuts at its headquarters in Louisville. The company pared off 35 of its 600 employees, exposing its vulnerability to the crumbling economy

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Abu Dhabi – Between the Hammer and the Anvil

Abu Dhabi is being forged into a global destination for business, culture and leisure. Current global economic conditions seem to be striking just when the iron is hot.As the world’s sixth-largest exporter of oil, Abu Dhabi benefited from skyrocketing energy prices in 2008. Hotel rates skyrocketed too, making Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE, the city with the priciest hotels in the world.

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CEO Pay - The Hot Potato

Jeffery H Boyd President & Chief Executive Officer of priceline has been names the hotel industry’s top-performing chief executive officer of 2008 in its 16th Annual CEO Survey

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STR Global Releases Performance Results for Spain

With visitor numbers expected to drop 10 percent in 2009, the Spanish hotel market is suffering greater year-on-year declines in performance than some of its European neighbors. Visitors from major source markets such as Germany, the U.K. and France are in decline, with U.K. travelers further deterred by the 20-percent weakening of the sterling against the euro during the past 12 months and the increased competition from Turkey and Egypt.

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STR reports US pipeline for August 2009

HENDERSONVILLE, Tennessee—The total active U.S. hotel development pipeline includes 4,384 projects with 475,521 rooms, according to the August 2009 STR/TWR/Dodge Construction Pipeline Report released this week. This represents a 2.5-percent decrease in the number of rooms in the total active pipeline compared to July 2009 and a 27.9-percent decrease compared to August 2008. The total active pipeline data includes projects in the In Construction, Final Planning and Planning stages, but does not include projects in the Pre-Planning stage.

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Leading Hotel Brands in a Lagging Economy

For the first half of 2009, the question of how well a hotel brand performed was really a question of which did the least poorly. Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Marriott, Wyndham Worldwide, Choice Hotels International, and InterContinental Hotels Group, the major companies that report occupancy, average rate, and RevPAR statistics on a quarterly basis, all noted significant declines.1 Of 42 individual brands surveyed, all reported year-to-date occupancy and RevPAR losses compared to the same period in 2008. Only seven reported average rate growth. Nevertheless, a slower rate of decline counts for something in the context of the recession. In this article, we'll examine the brands most successful at preventing major losses in occupancy, average rate, and RevPAR.

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The Hotel Price Index - Jan-Jun 2009

The hotels.com® Hotel Price Index (HPI) is a regular survey of hotel prices in major city destinations across the world. The HPI is based on bookings made on hotels.com.
• The HPI tracks the real prices paid per room by hotels.com customers around the world using a weighted average based on the number of rooms sold in each of the markets that hotels.com operates in.
• Approximately 78,000 properties in more than 13,000 locations make up the sample set of hotels from which prices are taken.
• The prices shown are those actually paid by customers (rather than advertised rates), in the first six months of 2009 and therefore give an accurate reflection of hotel prices for the period.
The international scale of hotels.com (in terms of both customers and destinations) makes the Hotel Price Index one of the most comprehensive benchmarks available, as it incorporates both chain and independent hotels, as well as specialty lodging options such as vacation rentals and bed and breakfast properties.
In the U.S. approximately 70 percent of hotel rooms booked are in chain properties. The reverse is true of Europe, where approximately 25 percent of hotel rooms are part of a chain, the remainder being independent. In addition to the standard survey, the HPI includes occasional features on new or unusual booking and pricing trends.

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Cracker Barrel Reports 9% Increase in Fourth Quarter EPS

LEBANON, Tenn., Sep 15, 2009 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. (Nasdaq: CBRL):
- Fourth-quarter diluted EPS from continuing operations of $0.99, an increase of 8.8% compared with the prior-year quarter
- Revenue for the fourth quarter declined 1.0% to $595.6 million compared with the prior-year quarter
- Operating income margin in the fourth quarter was 7.0% of total revenue compared with 6.9% in the prior-year quarter
- Net cash flow from operating activities increased $39.7 million to $164.2 million in fiscal 2009
- Closed sale/leaseback transactions and paid down $133.0 million of long-term debt in the fourth quarter

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Vail Resorts Names Paul G. Toner Senior Vice President & Chief Operating Officer of RockResorts and Vail Resorts Hospitality

Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE:MTN) announced that Paul G. Toner has been promoted to Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of RockResorts and Vail Resorts Hospitality.
Toner will oversee and direct the Company's lodging and hospitality division which currently encompasses approximately 3,800 owned and managed hotel and condominium rooms, including the RockResorts collection of casually elegant resort hotels and spas, six independently flagged and Company-owned hotels, Grand Teton Lodge Company in Grand Teton National Park, Colorado Mountain Express transportation company and six Company-owned resort golf courses. Toner's new position is effective immediately and he will report directly to Vail Resorts Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Rob Katz in the Company's corporate headquarters in Broomfield, Colo.

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Tour operators seeing signs of recovery

Tour operators spent the first half of the year desperately waiting for the phones to ring. And then, in a possible early indicator of recovery, the late-booking calls started coming in.
"Mid-June, we saw the last-minute booking pattern come virtually out of nowhere," said Paul Wiseman, president of Trafalgar Tours. "Things started to accelerate for late-summer travel for Europe as well as domestic for the U.S.

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Permira checks out of Travelodge with £1bn sale

Permira, the private equity group, is putting the budget hotel group Travelodge up for sale with a price tag of around £1bn as it looks for a timely exit from its three-year investment.
Last week Permira held a beauty parade of potential advisers to arrange a sale or flotation of the business. A sale is thought to be the most likely scenario, easily the "cleanest exit" for a private-equity business, and also because the budget hotel chain is expected to attract a lot of bid interest. A float, which carries more risk, is seen as the least likely option. A management buyout is seen as a possibility.

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Baha Mar Resorts to build multi-billion US dollar resort in Bahamas

The resort is expected to be the Caribbean’s largest single-phase destination resort and will feature hotels from St Regis, W, Westin and Sheraton.

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Senate passes Travel Promotion Act

The Senate on Wednesday passed the Travel Promotion Act in a 79-19 vote. The measure is designed to promote the U.S. as a travel destination to people in other countries and communicate information about U.S. security and entry procedures.

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Wyndham Drake Hotel to close in October

(Crain’s) — The Wyndham Drake Hotel is scheduled to close next month after an opportunistic investor gained control of the 160-room property, which has lost its luster in recent years but was once one of the suburbs' best-known hotels.

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Jamaican Resort Sues Marriott's Ritz Unit

Ritz-Carlton Hotels, a unit of Marriott International of Bethesda, was sued by the owner of a luxury resort in Montego Bay, Jamaica, that claims the company mismanaged the property and should pay $145 million in damages.

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Court orders banks to freeze Hilton accounts

The Hilton Pittsburgh is facing more financial woes after attorneys for a union health and welfare fund garnished the bank accounts of the hotel's owner and its top officer in an effort to collect a $1 million debt.

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Financial controller of The Stafford hotel jailed for stealing £350,000

The financial controller of The Stafford hotel in Mayfair has been jailed for two years after stealing more than £350,000 from his employer as his gambling debts spiralled out of control.

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Wynn Resorts to raise up to $1 bln in HK IPO on Oct 9

HONG KONG, Sept 11 (Reuters) - Las Vegas casino operator Wynn Resorts (WYNN.O) plans to raise up to $1 billion by listing its Macau assets on the Hong Kong stock exchange, two sources with direct knowledge of the deal said on Friday

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The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels, Limited Assumes Full Ownership of The Peninsula Chicago

Following the completion of the agreement in Chicago, HSH Chicago, Inc. now assumes full ownership control of The Peninsula Chicago. HSH has opted to pay for the US$11.7 million purchase price in full with surplus cash.

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Detroit MGM taken off market

Detroit --The city's largest casino is no longer being shopped to buyers.
MGM Grand Detroit's chief executive told The Detroit News that while a number of interested buyers had been "kicking the tires" at the casino earlier this year, activity from interested parties has waned.
"While every casino in America is for sale for the right price, we haven't had any buyers actively courting us for a while," Lorenzo Creighton, chief executive of the MGM Grand Detroit, said Wednesday

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PwC expects higher hotel cccupancy, on discounts

Hotel occupancy will likely gain strength in late 2009 and 2010, but profit will remain elusive as hotels continue to use heavily discounted rates to draw in more travelers, according to a revised U.S. lodging forecast from PricewaterhouseCoopers.

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Landry's Restaurant CEO Tries Again to Take Company Private

The chairman and CEO of Landry's Restaurants (LNY) is making another attempt at taking the company private. Honestly, I say let him take the shares off your hands. If he liked the stock in the mid-teens last summer I'm sure he still likes it at ten

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N.Y. hotelier prepares to sell Raleigh (South Beach)

Andre Balazs expects to sell his Raleigh Hotel soon, parting with one of the most high-profile boutique properties in South Beach.
The New York hotelier behind The Standard hotel chain said he has a buyer for the 104-room Raleigh and that both sides are all but agreed to a price. He expects the deal to become official within four weeks.

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Travern on the Green Goes Bust!

Now that the city has picked a different operator to run Tavern on the Green once the lease runs out this December, current operator Jennifer Oz LeRoy has decided to file for bankruptcy. She sites the city's decision and the bad economy, but let's not forget all those vendor lawsuits and that $2.2 million discrimination settlement. The filing listed over 20 creditors, including the New York Hotel Trades Council ($1,778,764), the New York Tent Company ($104,156), and American Express ($79,096).

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IHG Merges its Latin American, Caribbean Region Under One Leadership Team

MIAMI - IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) [LON: IHG, NYSE:IHG (ADRs)], the world's largest hotel company by number of rooms, has combined its Latin America and Caribbean regions under the leadership of Alvaro Diago, now Chief Operating Officer (COO), Latin America and Caribbean. Diago was most recently Area President for Latin America.

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Irish Hotel sector negotiates overtime pay cut

The Irish Hotels Federation (IHF) has negotiated a deal with the unions to cut Sunday pay rates for new hotel workers from double time to time and one third as the industry goes through the worst financial crisis in recent history.

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Wyndham Worldwide hires former DineEquity exec as CFO

NEW YORK, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Wyndham Worldwide Corp (WYN.N) on Tuesday announced the appointment of a former DineEquity Inc (DIN.N) executive as its chief financial officer, effective immediately.
Thomas Conforti replaces former CFO Virginia Wilson, who said in June that she would leave the hotel operator in the third quarter to pursue other interests

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Hyatt's IPO: Bad Timing or Family Necessity?

That's the question industry observers are asking as hotel powerhouse Hyatt Hotels prepares to jump into the public markets at a time when the lodging sector has spiraled to lows not seen since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
"Hotels are highly sensitive to economic conditions, labor, cost of living and consumer confidence. So, when times are at the lowest like this, it's probably not the best time to go to the market and expect to get a huge payoff," says Mark Lunt, a principal in Ernst & Young's hospitality advisory practice. "It would appear that this is early in the cycle to have a hotel IPO."

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Genting Singapore plans $1 bln rights issue

SINGAPORE, Sept 9 (Reuters) - Casino operator Genting Singapore said it plans to raise S$1.63 billion ($1.15 billion) in a rights issue to strengthen its finances and raise cash for possible acquisitions.

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Landry's Restaurants Special Committee to Explore Alternative Proposals to Indication of Interest From Tilman J. Fertitta

HOUSTON, Sept. 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Landry's Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE: LNY - News; the "Company") announced today that on August 14, 2009, its Board of Directors appointed a special committee ("Special Committee") comprised solely of independent directors of the Company and authorized the Special Committee to review strategic alternatives for the Company, including a possible sale of the Company. The Special Committee has retained independent legal advisors and engaged Moelis & Company LLC as its financial advisor.

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Marriott signs 21 management contracts in Asia Pac

HONG KONG, Sept 9 (Reuters) - Hotelier Marriott International Inc (MAR.N) said on Wednesday it sees a strong Asia market and had signed 21 hotel and resort management contracts in the Asia Pacific region.
The hotels with a total of about 7,000 rooms are scheduled to open through the end of 2013, expanding Marriott's Asia-Pacific Portfolio to 154 hotels offering 51,500 rooms in 18 countries by the end of 2013, it said in a statement

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Sonic Appoints New President of Sonic Restaurants, Inc.

OKLAHOMA CITY--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sonic Corp. (NASDAQ: SONC), the nation's largest chain of drive-in restaurants, today announced that Omar Janjua has joined the Company as President of its restaurant operating subsidiary, Sonic Restaurants, Inc. ("SRI"). Janjua was previously Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for Steak 'n Shake Company, where he reported to the Chief Executive Officer and was responsible for the operations of 490 system restaurants with annual revenues of approximately $700 million.

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The TOP 100 GLOBAL FRANCHISES

This study ranks the top 100 global franchise companies from the many thousands of franchises around the world. The ranking is based on objective and measurable criteria including system size based on numbers of units, sales revenue for the system, stability and growth of the system, number of years in operation and market expansion. The ranking is also based on the implementation of best practice in the areas of franchisee support and training, environmental policy and social responsibility. Consideration was given as well to the availability of financing to franchisees, and whether it was direct financing, SBA approved or third party financing. The information was gathered from Franchise Disclosure Documents (FDDs), email surveys, telephone interviews and published industry sources.

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The Siegel Group Acquires Distressed St. Tropez Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada

LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Siegel Group Nevada, Inc., a Commercial Real Estate & Business Development Company, today announced that it had completed its acquisition of the St. Tropez, a 150 room all-suite hotel situated on approximately 4.09 acres of land in Las Vegas, Nevada. The purchase price was $10.5 million with financing provided by the seller which just weeks earlier foreclosed on the property.

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Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts COO Katie Taylor discusses the company's strategy

China firm to invest $99m in Baha Mar (Bahamas)

China State Construction Engineering Corporation has committed to investing $99 million in the Baha Mar Resort, The Nassau Guardian has confirmed.
The firm is also finalizing details with Baha Mar officials related to a $1.92 billion construction contract for the planned redevelopment of the Cable Beach strip.
Baha Mar officials, who remain locked in a legal dispute with Harrah's Entertainment, have not yet made any announcement on the specific investment to be made by the Chinese corporation.

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Fraud alleged in Rabuffo development in North Carolina

CASHIERS, N.C. — Banks are foreclosing on lot after lot. A federal magistrate suggests mortgage fraud has been committed. And some of those who bought lots in a controversial western North Carolina subdivision have been accused of fraud.

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Whitbread reins in expenses and cuts costs to ride out storm’s worst

The chief executive of Whitbread, the Premier Inn and Costa coffee shop operator, damped down talk of economic recovery yesterday, insisting he had yet to see any “substantive signs of improvement”.
Alan Parker, who took the helm five years ago, said that it was the “worst recession ever in my experience”, adding: “I’d say we’re bumping along the bottom. There’s good news and bad news but overall we’re not seeing any green shoots. Hopefully we’ll see some improvement in the new year.”

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Starwood looking to sell Societe Du Louvre Hotels piece by piece

The New York Post had a story providing some light into Starwood Capital’s sale of the Crillon hotel in France. Apparently Starwood Capital was in negotiations with JJW Hotels & Resorts – a high end hotel company based in the Middle East to sell the Crillon and nine other hotels from the Societe Du Louvre portfolio. Recently Starwood had instructed their property brokers to look for other sellers as JJW did not pay the entire $214 million deposit. Starwood had doubts that JJW would be able to get the financing to complete the sale of the portfolio as expected.

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Copenhagen: One in three hotels on brink of bankruptcy

Experts predict that hotels, hit hard by the recession, will suffer longer than other industries
A double whammy of recession and excess capacity has up to a third of the city’s hotels in danger of going under in the coming years, reports Berlingske Tidende newspaper.
In addition, half of the 422 hotels reviewed by credit analysis firm Soliditet for the newspaper posted a loss in their last fiscal year.

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Greene King reports strong managed pubs growth

Greene King has reported that its managed division is enjoying like-for-like sales growth of 4.6%, with food like-for-likes up 8.1% in the 17 weeks to 30 August.

Both its managed divisions, Destination and Local Pubs are in healthy growth, with food-led pubs performing best. Like-for-likes in its Belhaven managed division are up by +10.9%.

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McDonald's Loses Legal Battle With Malaysia's McCurry

American fast food giant McDonald's Corp. on Tuesday lost an eight-year battle to prevent a family-run Kuala Lumpur restaurant from calling itself "McCurry" after Malaysia's top court said the Indian-food joint could use the prefix "Mc" in its name.

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Family threatens lawsuit over Papa John's Camaro

A Northeastern Kentucky family is threatening to sue Papa John's over a dispute tied to the company's recent promotion, according to a story on MNSBC.

The promotion, "Papa John's Road Trip," asked people around the country to help locate John Schnatter's 1971 Z-28 Camaro, the car he sold in the 1980s in part to help buy pizza-making equipment. Jeff Robinson of Flatwoods, Ky., the car's most recent owner, claimed the $250,000 prize.

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Last 500 Visitors - Sept 7/09

Dubai hotels 'losing out' to Yas Island attraction

Better pay, attractive staff accommodation and a perceived stronger economy are among the reasons for an increase in Dubai hotel staff accepting jobs in Abu Dhabi, industry officials say.

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