Is the Watergate Poised to Sell?

WASHINGTON, DC-For the past several weeks, rumors have been circulating that commercial developer Robert Holland is in talks to buy the Watergate Hotel, along with a Dubai-based hotel owner, Jumeirah Group. The hotel returned to German-bank PB Capital earlier this year after owner Monument Realty defaulted on a $44.3 million loan.

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Dubai, Abu Dhabi Need 150,000 Jobs to Fill Homes, Nomura Says

Oct. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Dubai and Abu Dhabi need to create about 150,000 white-collar jobs to provide enough buyers for the houses and apartments being completed in the next two years, Nomura Holdings Inc. said

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Dubai World Said to Weigh Offering Equity to Reduce Debt Load

Oct. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Dubai World, the emirate-controlled holding company with about $60 billion of debt and other liabilities, may offer equity stakes in units such as developer Nakheel PJSC to creditors or neighboring Abu Dhabi to avert potential defaults, people briefed on the matter said.

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Small Caribbean hotels fare better than rest of industry

For small Caribbean hotels with 75 guestrooms or less, August 2009 year-to-date data revealed revenue-per-available-room declines across the board—at an average drop of 17.1 percent. However, RevPAR for the region’s hotel industry in general was down 22.9 percent, and competitor regions such as Florida and Hawaii were down 18.8 percent and 21.3 percent, respectively. Demand and occupancy changes, while still negative, are faring better than 2008 for this subsection of the region.

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STR reports US pipeline for September 2009

HENDERSONVILLE, Tennessee—The total active U.S. hotel development pipeline includes 4,218 projects with 450,899 rooms, according to the September 2009 STR/TWR/Dodge Construction Pipeline Report released this week. This represents a 31.1-percent decrease in the number of rooms in the total active pipeline compared to September 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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STR reports Canadian pipeline for September 2009

HENDERSONVILLE, Tennessee—At the end of the third quarter of the calendar year, the Canadian hotel development pipeline includes 216 projects comprising 24,462 rooms, according to the September 2009 STR/TWR/Dodge Construction Pipeline Report released this week. This represents a 1.8-percent decrease in the number of rooms in the pipeline compared to August 2009 and a 5.3-percent increase in the number of rooms in the pipeline compared to September 2008.

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Leadbitter to enter budge hotel sector (UK)

UK-based contractor Leadbitter is the latest construction company looking to benefit from the buoyant budget hotel sector.
Bob Rendell, Leadbitter Group's chief executive, said the company is hoping to build on its experience in the student accommodation sector in its attempts to enter the hospitality market.
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Rubio's(R) Restaurants, Inc. Receives An Unsolicited Letter Outlining a Proposal to Acquire All Outstanding Common Stock

CARLSBAD, Calif., Oct. 14, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Rubio's(R) Restaurants, Inc. (Nasdaq:RUBO) today announced that its Board of Directors had received an unsolicited letter, dated October 13, 2009, from a group consisting of Alex Meruelo and his affiliates and Levine Leichtman Capital Partners IV, L.P. outlining a proposal to acquire all of the Company's outstanding common stock for $8.00 per share. The Board intends to consider the letter consistent with its fiduciary duties to act in the best interests of the Company's stockholders.

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Travellers could be sued for hotel rants

TRAVELLERS who post scathing reviews or comments about hotels or restaurants could be exposing themselves to long and costly legal battles.
Media lawyer David Poulton, from MinterEllison Lawyers, said people making defamatory comments on sites such Tripadvisor and Twitter have little protection from the websites concerned.
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Top 100 UK Restaurants for 2009

Heston Blumenthal's Fat Duck restaurant has been voted Restaurant of the Year in the National Restaurant of the Year Awards 2009, beating Hibiscus and The Walnut Tree to the top spot

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Moody’s raises outlook on Wynn Resorts

A second credit rating service has raised its outlook on Wynn Resorts this week as a result of the company’s initial public offering on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
Moody’s Investor Services raised its outlook today on the Las Vegas-based casino operator from negative to stable. The ratings service said the change acknowledges a significant improvement in Wynn Resorts’ leverage after the company raised $1.87 billion in an initial public stock offering of 25 percent of its Macau assets.

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Starwood Opens Its 150th Hotel in Asia Pacific and Signs 23 New Deals in 2009

HONG KONG--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 14, 2009-- Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: HOT) reaches another key milestone with the opening of its 150th hotel in Asia Pacific – the ITC Royal Gardenia, a Luxury Collection Hotel in Bengaluru. The opening of the 292-room hotel in India underscores Starwood’s long-term strategic growth plans in Asia Pacific, where it has executed 23 new deals in 2009. This year, Starwood has also opened seven hotels prior to the opening of ITC Royal Gardenia with another seven slated to open by year end

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Starbucks responds to Carly Simon, Sonic Youth accusations

"Starbucks did more than its fair share to help the album," said Chris Bruzzo, Starbucks' vice president of brand, content and online, of Carly Simon's 2008 album that Starbucks' Hear Music label produced and over which she is suing the coffee company.

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