Arby’s® Expands with Development Agreements for 47 New Locations in the U.S. and Canada

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Arby’s Restaurant Group, Inc., a subsidiary of Wendy’s/Arby’s Group, Inc. (NYSE: WEN), announced today that it has signed agreements in the first half of 2009 with 11 new and seven existing franchisees for the development of 47 new Arby’s restaurants in the U.S. and Canada.

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http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/permalink/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20090818006011&newsLang=en

CKE Restaurants, Inc. Reports Period Seven and Second Fiscal Quarter Same-Store Sales and Gives Guidance on Restaurant Operating Costs

“Our management team’s focus on stemming the decline in same-store sales looks to have gained some traction in period seven,” said Andrew F. Puzder, chief executive officer. “During period seven, we continued to see the benefit of our popular Teriyaki Burgers at Carl’s Jr. supported with an ad starring Audrina Patridge from ‘The Hills’ television show. Since we rolled out this product mid-way into period six, the Teriyaki Burgers have been among the best selling premium burgers on our menu. We offer it on all three of our burger platforms starting at approximately $2.89.

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http://finance.yahoo.com/news/CKE-Restaurants-Inc-Reports-bw-4166334525.html?x=0&.v=1

Making Money In China's Economy Hotels

SHANGHAI -- After turning itself into one of the world's largest economy hotel chains in the seven years, Home Inns & Hotels Management of Shanghai is gearing up for a new feat: It wants to become one of the most successful franchisers in this economically booming country, too.

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http://www.forbes.com/2009/08/18/home-inns-shanghai-markets-equities-china.html?partner=yahootix

Alleged Dave & Buster's card data thief faces more charges

WASHINGTON (Aug. 18, 2009) A man arrested last year for allegedly stealing credit and debit card data from the Dave & Buster's chain on Monday was named in a federal indictment accusing him of illegally gathering information tied to more than 130 million cards, including those handled by Heartland Payment Systems, a processor that serves an estimated 60,000 restaurants.
Albert Gonzalez, 28, of Miami, and two unnamed co-conspirators were accused of conspiracy and conspiracy to engage in wire fraud related to what federal officials called the largest alleged credit and debit card data breach ever charged in the United States. The indictments were outlined in a statement from the Department of Justice citing officials from the U.S. attorney general's office and the Secret Service.

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http://www.nrn.com/article.aspx?id=371466

Recession Chills Sunshine State Tourism

Florida's hotels, theme parks and restaurants have suffered as out-of-state travelers vacation closer to home, or spend less time and money on trips to the Sunshine State. With tourism generating as much as 15% of total state tax revenue, and responsible for as many as one million jobs, many see the tepid summer season as evidence that good times are still a long way off.

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http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125029395091933479.html?mod=dist_smartbrief

Steak n Shake to buy Western Sizzlin

The Steak n Shake Co.’s announcement this morning that it plans to purchase Western Sizzlin Corp. for about $23 million puts the Indianapolis restaurant company back in the steakhouse business for the first time since exiting it nearly a decade ago.In 2000, the company — then known as Consolidated Products Inc. — sold off its 11 Colorado Steakhouses in order to focus on its core Steak n Shake business.

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http://www.ibj.com/html/detail_page.asp?content=43869AmpersandRedirected=true

O’Hare hotel developer files Chap. 11

(Crain’s) — The developer of the new InterContinental Chicago O’Hare in Rosemont has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

The 556-room hotel, which opened last September, has struggled amid the sharp downturn in travel brought on by the recession. Reasons for the bankruptcy weren’t disclosed in the petitions, which were filed Monday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Chicago by six development entities led by Oak Brook-based Harp Group Inc.

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http://www.chicagorealestatedaily.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=35163

US Construction Update - Q2 - 2009

For the first time, Lodging Econometrics (LE) has compiled and announced its forecast for New Hotel Openings for 2011. New hotel openings are projected at 759 hotels/74,493 rooms. LE has also adjusted its forecasts for 2009 and 2010. The 2009 forecast has been reduced to 1,425 new hotels/156,653 rooms, down by 5,036 rooms, a decrease of 3%. The 2010 forecast has been adjusted to 1,073 projects/
124,439 rooms, down 21,277 rooms or 15%.

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http://www.hotelnewsresource.com/pdf8/LE081709US.pdf

Hotel Owners walk away from mortgages

Morgans Hotel: A Zombie Company Bleeding Cash and Defaulting on Loans

Morgan Hotel Group (MHGC) “owns” several heavily mortgaged hotels, operates a few more, and is involved in several others as joint ventures. These properties are generally high end independent hotels, which is the single worst performing segment of the very weak lodging industry. In the most recent quarter, MHGC’s Revenue per Available Room plummeted 39.5%, by contrast for the overall hotel industry this metric was around -20%. MHGC’s hotels are suffering from severe double whammy: less overall travel and substitution from high-end to mid-priced and business class hotels

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http://seekingalpha.com/article/156544-morgans-hotel-a-zombie-company-bleeding-cash-and-defaulting-on-loans?source=yahoo