Tokyo, Japan (Hospitality Business News) January 24, 2011 – Alchemy Japan’s Japanese Leisure Hotels reported: an EBITDA of ¥564 million, a 10% improvement on the previous year, and a Net income of ¥909 million being a 9% growth on net income for 2009. Sales grew to ¥2.036 billion, a 4.3% increase on 2009. Revenue growth was led by an 18% increase in customer numbers as 2010 average Occupancy Rate (OCR) reached 257%.
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Tuesday, January 25, 2011
TripAdvisors top 10 dirtiest hotels for 2011
NEWTON, Mass. — January 25, 2011 (Hospitality Business News)— TripAdvisor®, the world’s largest travel site*, today announced the top 10 dirtiest hotels in America, according to traveler ratings for cleanliness on TripAdvisor. Now in its sixth year, and true to its promise to share the whole truth about hotels to help travelers plan their trips, TripAdvisor names and shames the nation’s most hair-raising hotels.
This year, the tarnished title of America’s dirtiest hotel goes to Grand Resort Hotel & Convention Center, in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. The southern belle hotel failed to charm TripAdvisor travelers; 87 percent of those who reviewed it recommended against staying there. The unpopular property elicited such hotel review titles as “Worst Hotel Stay of My Life,” “Stay Anywhere Else But Here,” and “Absolutely Horrible!”
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This year, the tarnished title of America’s dirtiest hotel goes to Grand Resort Hotel & Convention Center, in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. The southern belle hotel failed to charm TripAdvisor travelers; 87 percent of those who reviewed it recommended against staying there. The unpopular property elicited such hotel review titles as “Worst Hotel Stay of My Life,” “Stay Anywhere Else But Here,” and “Absolutely Horrible!”
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American socialite sues hotel for loss of diamond ring
SINGAPORE : An American socialite is suing Shangri-La Hotel for the loss of a 6.41-carat diamond ring.
She claims it is worth about S$280,000, about the price of a 3-room HDB flat.
The hotel disputes that, saying it is only worth a quarter of that price.
The owner of the ring, Ms Anne Hendricks Bass from Texas, said she had bought it from JAR's, a famous jeweller.
In her first appearance in the High Court - in a trial that is expected to last till Thursday - Ms Bass claimed that the hotel staff or masseuse had stolen the ring in 2009 when she was a guest there.
Shangri-La, through its lawyer Anparasan Kamachi from KhattarWong, said Ms Bass was making the claim because she was rejected by insurers, but Ms Bass disagreed.
The trial continues on Wednesday. A gemologist for the defence is expected to testify that the ring is worth between S$64,000 and S$77,000.
Ms Bass is one of the richest women in the US with a $260-million divorce settlement from Texas billionaire Sid Bass.
- CNA/al
She claims it is worth about S$280,000, about the price of a 3-room HDB flat.
The hotel disputes that, saying it is only worth a quarter of that price.
The owner of the ring, Ms Anne Hendricks Bass from Texas, said she had bought it from JAR's, a famous jeweller.
In her first appearance in the High Court - in a trial that is expected to last till Thursday - Ms Bass claimed that the hotel staff or masseuse had stolen the ring in 2009 when she was a guest there.
Shangri-La, through its lawyer Anparasan Kamachi from KhattarWong, said Ms Bass was making the claim because she was rejected by insurers, but Ms Bass disagreed.
The trial continues on Wednesday. A gemologist for the defence is expected to testify that the ring is worth between S$64,000 and S$77,000.
Ms Bass is one of the richest women in the US with a $260-million divorce settlement from Texas billionaire Sid Bass.
- CNA/al
A $400,000 hotel room-service tab? How?
Many unanswered questions remain in the case of the two women convicted of embezzling nearly $6 million from Aviva USA.
Some of you, for instance, want to know why Phyllis Stevens received a term of only six years in prison for her crimes against the West Des Moines life insurance-annuities company and why her spouse, Marla Stevens, got only three.
It's a good question, but mine isn't bad, either: How in the world did Marla Stevens rack up $400,000 in hotel room-service charges? Is it even humanly possible?
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Some of you, for instance, want to know why Phyllis Stevens received a term of only six years in prison for her crimes against the West Des Moines life insurance-annuities company and why her spouse, Marla Stevens, got only three.
It's a good question, but mine isn't bad, either: How in the world did Marla Stevens rack up $400,000 in hotel room-service charges? Is it even humanly possible?
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Boom Boom Room cocktail waitresses claim Standard canned them for lacking 'runway model' looks
Two cocktail cuties at The Standard say they got canned for not fitting the mold of "willowy, svelte and statuesque runway models" at the trendy hotel's Boom Boom Room.
Aspiring actresses Faye Rex and Stephanie Jaggers are suing the Meatpacking District hotel, claiming management sees fit to employ only women with runway model looks at its sexy playpen above the High Line.
"There's definitely a type at the Boom Boom Room - and that type is beautiful, tall and skinny," said Richard Roth, a lawyer for the women. "Compare that to the men."
Rex and Jaggers lost their jobs as cocktail waitresses last summer soon after the reopening of the Boom Boom Room, where beauties frolic in a hot tub planted in the middle of the 18th-floor hotspot.
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Aspiring actresses Faye Rex and Stephanie Jaggers are suing the Meatpacking District hotel, claiming management sees fit to employ only women with runway model looks at its sexy playpen above the High Line.
"There's definitely a type at the Boom Boom Room - and that type is beautiful, tall and skinny," said Richard Roth, a lawyer for the women. "Compare that to the men."
Rex and Jaggers lost their jobs as cocktail waitresses last summer soon after the reopening of the Boom Boom Room, where beauties frolic in a hot tub planted in the middle of the 18th-floor hotspot.
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Duncan Bannatyne to campaign against 'cowardly' TripAdvisor
Duncan Bannatyne, the Dragons’ Den panellist, is to spearhead a campaign against the “despicable and cowardly” TripAdvisor website after it refused to remove a review comparing one of his hotels to Fawlty Towers.
The Glaswegian entrepreneur said the internet giant was risking the livelihoods of dozens of hoteliers and restaurateurs thanks to its policy of publishing all reviews it receives.
He said he is considering suing the site over what he claims is a “dishonest” review published about one of his hotels and accused the internet giant of trying to “bully” him into silence using threatening letters
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Man arrested after threat to leap from Reno hotel
RENO, Nev. (AP) - Authorities say a Wisconsin man was arrested after officers persuaded him not to jump from his room in the 9th floor of the Sands Regency Casino Hotel.
Reno police say 48-year-old Randy Russell is wanted on a sexual assault warrant in Wisconsin in had previously been the subject of a search there. KOLO-TV reports that Russell is being held without bail.
Police say Russell was hanging from the window of his room threatening to jump when police arrived at about 9:15 a.m. Monday. It took officers about three hours to talk Russell out of jumping.
Another Helmsley Property Sold Off
The estate of Leona Helmsley has reached a deal to sell the New York Helmsley hotel to Host Hotels & Resorts Inc. for more than $310 million in the latest move the estate is taking to liquidate the real-estate empire Harry Helmsley took decades to build, according to people familiar with the matter.
A spokesman for the estate wasn't immediately available for comment
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