Starwood Signs an Agreement to Sell the W San Francisco for $90 Million

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: HOT) announced today that the Company has signed an agreement to sell the W San Francisco for $90 million to Keck Seng Investments (Hong Kong) Limited, a hotel investment and property development company listed on the Hong Kong stock market. The sales price is immediately accretive to earnings and represents a multiple of over 14X anticipated 2009 EBITDA. The buyer is well-known to Starwood and currently owns three other Starwood hotels. Additionally, Starwood has retained a long-term management agreement to continue operating the hotel as a W. The W brand continues to grow globally, and is poised to more than double its footprint from 25 hotels today to 60 hotels by 2011. The sale, which is subject to customary closing conditions, is expected to close on July 30, 2009.

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http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/permalink/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20090707006012&newsLang=en

Start Planning your trip to the UK - British Sausage Week 2009 dates announced

The dates have been announced! November 2-8 is officially "Sausage Week" in the UK.

Last year hotels filled up quickly so plan ahead and book early. Some hotels extend an additional discount if you show up, at check-in, wearing a Sausage Costume.

BPEX foodservice trade manager, Tony Goodger, said: "British Sausage Week goes from strength to strength each and every year, which is no surprise given the popularity of this classic menu item. The sheer range of quality sausages now available demonstrates just how much the British love their bangers, making it an opportunity not to be missed. Eye catching point of sale material and new sausage-based recipe ideas will be made available for foodservice establishments, completely free of charge."

Recession Still Devouring Restaurant Margins

recent survey by The National Restaurant Association revealed that the restaurant industry is still facing its toughest times and suggested that the grim outlook would continue unless the economy shows signs of rebound. Consumers are spending less and are dining out seldom.
Rising food and labor costs are eating away a major portion of the restaurant margins. Most companies have either scaled back plans for new units or postponed further unit development. Restaurants that operate in the casual dining segment, like Famous Dave’s of America , Cosi Inc. , BJ’s Restaurants (NasdaqGS: BJRI - News), California Pizza Kitchen (NasdaqGS: CPKI - News) and Red Robin Gourmet Burgers (NasdaqGS: RRGB - News), are experiencing declining same-store sales and traffic counts.

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http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Recession-Still-Devouring-zacks-4187351263.html?x=0&.v=1

Starwood Capital to buy most of Golden Tulip hotels

PARIS, July 7 (Reuters) - U.S. investment company Starwood Capital Group Global LP said it was buying around 240 of the 260 hotels run by loss-making hotel operator Golden Tulip for an undisclosed amount.
Golden Tulip Hospitality Group, which went into voluntary receivership earlier this year, had at one time been discussing a possible merger with Apollo Hotels & Resorts.

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http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idINL713921020090707?rpc=44

Study shows Myrtle Beach hotel prices better high

In a down economy, many hotels in Myrtle Beach and beyond have been slashing rates to lure customers. But a study released last week says price-cutting doesn't pay.
Although hotels that dropped prices saw an increase in occupancy, that increase was not enough to offset revenue losses caused by the lower rates, according to a study released by The Center for Hospitality Research at Cornell University. In general, the study said keeping prices above the competition is best for the bottom line

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http://www.thesunnews.com/business/story/967176.html

Lodgian Provides Update on Maturing Mortgage Debt

ATLANTA, July 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Lodgian, Inc. (NYSE Alternext US: LGN), one of the nation's largest independent hotel owners and operators, today announced that the company has obtained extensions on $71.6 million of its mortgage indebtedness previously scheduled to mature on July 1, 2009, and remains in negotiations on extension of $45.7 million of mortgage debt which matured on July 1, 2009. The mortgage indebtedness, which was originated in June 2004 by Merrill Lynch and securitized in the collateralized mortgage-backed securities market, has been divided into three pools of indebtedness referred to by the company as the Merrill Lynch Fixed Rate Pools #1, #3 and #4. (The company repaid the Merrill Lynch Fixed Rate Pool #2 in 2007.) In summary, the company has reached agreements with the special servicers of this mortgage indebtedness to provide the following:

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http://ir.lodgian.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=112638&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1304225&highlight=

Guinness Peat objects to Thwaites’ board over plan to sell Stafford Hotel for £75m

Daniel Thwaites, the 200-year-old Lancashire brewer, faces a revolt from its biggest institutional shareholders over its plans to sell the Stafford Hotel in St James’s, Central London, for about £75 million.
Guinness Peat Group (GPG), which holds a more than 6 per cent stake in Thwaites, has written to the brewer’s board arguing that the mooted sale price for the historic hotel is tantamount to a “fire sale” and would cause “an immediate and material diminution in shareholder value”.

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http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/leisure/article6652700.ece

Commission coming to regulate casinos in Jamaica

KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) -- A Casino Gaming Commission is to be established under the Casino Gaming Bill, which has been tabled in Jamaica's House of Representatives by Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Audley Shaw.

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http://www.caribbeannetnews.com/jamaica/jamaica.php?news_id=17521&start=0&category_id=9

Oceanaire files for Ch. 11, closes 4 units

MINNEAPOLIS (July 6, 2009) The Oceanaire Seafood Room's parent company has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and shuttered four of its 16 locations, the company said Monday.
Restaurants in Philadelphia; Charlotte, N.C.; Cincinnati; and Seattle were closed as part of a pre-arranged bankruptcy filing, which the Minneapolis-based company said it expects to exit by the end of October. The twelve remaining Oceanaire Seafood Rooms remain open and are operating without disruption.

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http://www.nrn.com/article.aspx?id=369376