Britannia Hotels buys Heathlands Hotel out of adminstration

Britannia Hotels has bought the Heathlands Hotel in Bournemouth from its joint administrators Andy Beckingham and Matthew Chadwick of BDO Stoy Hayward LLP for an undisclosed amount. The deal was brokered by property agent Christie + Co.The acquisition takes Britannia's hotel portfolio to 34 properties.

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http://www.propertyeu.info/newsletter/default.asp?id=10153

Manchester United team 'was target' for hotel bombings

Indonesian police are investigating the origin of an internet message which claims responsibility for twin hotel bombings in Jakarta nearly two weeks ago, and names the Manchester United football team as the target.

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http://www.independent.ie/world-news/asia-pacific/manchester-united-team-was-target-for-hotel-bombings-1846940.html

Marriott to Expand by Converting Competitors’ Hotels

July 30 (Bloomberg) -- Marriott International Inc., the largest U.S. hotel chain, plans to expand by taking over the operation of hotels from competitors unable to pay or refinance debt, Chief Financial Officer Carl Berquist said.
“There’s a lot of money on the sidelines to step in and take the position as an owner,” Berquist said yesterday in a telephone interview. “We are more than willing to work with those folks and help manage or franchise those opportunities,” he said, adding that Marriott would be prepared to “put in some equity if it makes sense to us.”

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http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601206&sid=asB.tscMVU6s

Arcandor Lenders Say They’ll Probably Sell Thomas Cook Stake

July 30 (Bloomberg) -- Arcandor AG’s main lenders said they’re likely to sell most of the company’s stake in tour operator Thomas Cook Group Plc to investors after the insolvent German retailer defaulted on convertible debt.
“The most likely outcome would involve a market placing, off market sales or some combination of the two,” Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc, Commerzbank AG and BayernLB said in a Regulatory News Service statement. The sale would involve a 43.9 percent stake in Thomas Cook that was granted to the lenders by Arcandor as security for their loans.

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http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601205&sid=aCTyB9LXJkjU

Accor First-half 2009 revenue down 8.1% like-for-like

First-half 2009 revenue performance was shaped by the following factors:
• The expansion strategy, which added 4.3% to growth for the quarter (of which €104 million from the full consolidation of Orbis).
• The strategic refocusing on Hotels and Prepaid Services (with the disposal of the Brazilian foodservices business) and ongoing deployment of the asset-right strategy, which had a 4.5% negative impact on revenue for the period.
• The 1.0% negative currency effect, resulting from the euro’s appreciation against the British pound, the Australian dollar and the Brazilian real. On the upside, the dollar impact was a positive 1.1%. 　
• At constant scope of consolidation and exchange rates, revenue contracted by 8.1%.
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http://www.accor.com/fileadmin/user_upload/Contenus_Accor/Finance/PDF/EN/ACCOR_CP_CA_Q22009_VENG.pdf

Starbucks, McDonald's carve coffee niches

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - When the dust from the great coffee war that wasn't settles, McDonald's and Starbucks will find that each plays on a slightly shifted field, but neither side has captured the spoils -- the other's customers.

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http://www.reuters.com/article/ousiv/idUSTRE56S67V20090729

Travelodge snaps up six London properties for £84m

Budget hotel chain Travelodge is to expand by a further six properties in the capital in a deal worth £84m, which will make it the largest hotel brand in London by 2012.
The six London hotel exchanges will be a mixture of office developments and new-builds across five London boroughs in Drury Lane, Covent Garden; Ealing; Stratford; Harrow Lyon Road; Harrow Sheridan House; and Bromley.

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http://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2009/07/30/328987/travelodge-snaps-up-six-london-properties-for-84m.html

Copacabana hotel sold for £54.5m

The former Le Meridien Copacabana hotel in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, has been sold for around R$170m (£54.5m).
The 38-floor property is one of the most famous landmarks in Rio de Janeiro and is situated in a prime position overlooking the Copacabana and the Atlantic Ocean with direct views of the Sugarloaf mountain and the Christ Redeemer statue on Corcovado.

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http://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2009/07/30/328986/former-le-meridien-copacabana-hotel-sold-for-54.5m.html

Empire Resorts Announces That the Park Avenue Bank of New York Has Issued a 90-Day Standstill Notice to Company's Note Holders

MONTICELLO, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Empire Resorts, Inc. (the "Company") (NASDAQ: NYNY) announced today that The Park Avenue Bank of New York (the “Bank”) has issued a notice of default for failure of the Company to repay $4.4 million in debt obligations to the Bank on their maturity date of July 28, 2009. As a result of the Company's default, the Bank contemporaneously exercised a right under an Intercreditor Agreement which was assigned by the Bank of Scotland to the Bank on July 28, 2009, to issue a Standstill Notice to the Note Holders of the Company's $65 million Senior Notes. Pursuant to the Standstill Notice, Note Holders are prohibited from exercising any rights or remedies in respect of collection on, set off against, marshalling of, or foreclosure on the collateral pledged by the Company to secure its obligations under the Notes for a period of 90 days. The standstill period will expire on October 27, 2009

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http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Empire-Resorts-Announces-That-bw-2067242610.html?x=0&.v=1

Station Casinos Voluntarily Files Chapter 11 Petitions to Restructure Its Debt

Station Casinos, Inc. (the "Company") announced today that it and certain of its non-casino subsidiaries filed voluntary petitions to reorganize under Chapter II of the United States Bankruptcy Code in Reno, Nevada. Pursuant to an agreement with the Company's senior secured lenders, none of the Company's casino operating subsidiaries or affiliates were included in the Chapter 11filings and the Company will continue normal operations at all of its properties under the direction of its existing management team. In addition to cash generated from its operating subsidiaries and affiliates, the Company has in place an agreement with its senior secured lenders that~ subject to court approval, permits it to borrow, as needed, up to $150 million of cash from one of its non-operating subsidiaries.
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http://www.hotelinteractive.com/article.aspx?articleid=14391

Choice Hotels Reports Second Quarter 2009 Adjusted Diluted EPS of $0.44, Domestic Unit Growth of 4.8%

SILVER SPRING, Md., July 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Choice Hotels International, Inc., (NYSE: CHH) today reported the following highlights for second quarter 2009:

• Adjusted diluted earnings per share ("EPS") for second quarter 2009 were $0.44, compared to $0.49 for the same period of the prior year.
• Diluted EPS were $0.42 for second quarter 2009 compared to $0.43 for second quarter 2008.
• Adjusted diluted EPS for second quarter 2009 and 2008 exclude certain special items, as described below, totaling $0.02 and $0.06, respectively.
• Excluding special items, adjusted earnings before interest, taxes and depreciation ("EBITDA") were $42 million for the three months ended June 30, 2009, compared to $53.1 million for the same period of 2008.
• Operating income for the three months ended June 30, 2009 was $38.1 million compared to $44.6 million for the same period of 2008.
• Adjusted selling, general and administrative ("SG&A") costs for the second quarter of 2009 totaled $25.2 million which represented a 10% decline from the same period of the prior year.
• Adjusted SG&A costs exclude special items totaling $1.9 million and $6.4 million for the three months ended June 30, 2009 and 2008, respectively.
• Domestic unit and room growth increased 4.8 percent and 4.5 percent, respectively, from June 30, 2008.
• Domestic system-wide revenue per available room ("RevPAR") declined 15.7% for the second quarter of 2009 compared to the same period of 2008.
• The effective royalty rate increased 6 basis points to 4.26% for the three months ended June 30, 2009 compared to 4.20% for the same period of the prior year.
• Franchising revenues declined 17% from $80.5 million for the three months ended June 30, 2008 compared to $66.9 million for the same period of 2009.
• Total revenues for the three months ended June 30, 2009 declined 14% compared to the same period of 2008.
• The company executed 118 new domestic hotel franchise contracts for the three months ended June 30, 2009, a decline of 40% compared to the 198 contracts executed in the same period of the prior year.
• The number of domestic hotels under construction, awaiting conversion or approved for development declined 17% from June 30, 2008 to 827 hotels representing 64,384 rooms; the worldwide pipeline declined 15% from June 30, 2008 to 937 hotels representing 73,121 rooms.

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http://investor.choicehotels.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=99348&p=irol-newsArticle&t=Regular&id=1313875&

Wyndham Worldwide Reports Second Quarter 2009 Results

PARSIPPANY, N.J. 07-29-2009 —
Wyndham Worldwide Corporation (NYSE:WYN) today announced results for the three months ended June 30, 2009.

SECOND QUARTER 2009 HIGHLIGHTS:

• The Company generated diluted adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.41, compared with Company–issued guidance of $0.36 – $0.4
• The Company reaffirms full–year 2009 revenue and adjusted EBITDA guidance
• Wyndham Hotel Group's concentration in the economy and mid–scale segments led it to outperform the overall industry average domestic revenue per available room (RevPAR), posting a decline of 13.6% compared with a decline of 19.5%, as reported by Smith Travel Research
• Group RCI adjusted EBITDA, excluding the net effect of foreign currency impacts, increased 30%
• Volume per guest (VPG) at Wyndham Vacation Ownership increased 17%, reflecting strong pricing and higher close rates
• In May 2009, the Company successfully completed $480 million of debt issuances maturing in 2012 and 2014; increasing available capacity on its revolving credit facility to approximately $840 million as of June 30, 2009

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http://www.wyndhamworldwide.com/investors/show_release.cfm?id=557

Famous Dave's Reports Second Quarter Earnings of $0.26 per share

MINNEAPOLIS, Jul 29, 2009 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Famous Dave's of America, Inc. (NASDAQ: DAVE) today announced revenue and net income of $36.3 million and $2.4 million, respectively, or $0.26 per diluted share for its fiscal 2009 second quarter ended June 28, 2009. This compares to revenue and net income of $38.8 million and $2.3 million, respectively, or $0.23 per diluted share for the comparable period of 2008. For the six months ended June 28, 2009, the Company had revenue and net income of $70.1 million and $3.7 million, respectively, or $0.40 per diluted share. For the comparable six months of 2008, the Company had revenue and net income of $72.5 million and $3.1 million, respectively, or $0.32 per diluted share

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http://ir.famousdaves.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=92947&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1313845&highlight=