Harp Group Puts Two Hotels In Chapter 11

Hotel owner Harp Group Inc. put two of its properties, the InterContinental Chicago O’Hare and the Radisson at Los Angeles International Airport, into Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after failing to renegotiate $278m of debt.

Read more:
http://www.financierworldwide.com/article.php?id=4780

Cheap rents spur retail expansion

Despite the hoard of bankruptcy filings and closures of store locations, more than four dozen national retailers have actually expanded in New York City within the last year.
According to a report issued by the Center for an Urban Future, 53 chains have opened more stores here. Among them are fast food purveyors Dunkin’ Donuts, McDonald’s and Subway, as well as drugstore Walgreens. Even Starbucks, which closed about a dozen New York City locations last summer, expanded its fleet by 13 outposts.

Read more:
http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20090818/FREE/908189985

Analyst: FelCor could forfeit hotels, boost value

FelCor shares gained 16 cents, or 5 percent, to $3.39 in midday trading. Shares have traded between 66 cents and $10.19 in the past 12 months.
R.W. Baird analyst David Loeb wrote in a note to investors that the hotel real estate investment trust could forfeit to lenders its "underwater," or negative-equity mortgages, where the property's value is less than the debt still owed on it. Abandoning the properties to lenders, he said, would boost the value of the remainder of the company. He calculated that its equity value could increase by $2 per share.

Read more:
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Analyst-FelCor-could-forfeit-apf-107231653.html?x=0&.v=1

June a Severe Blow for the French Hotel Industry

Get the full report from Deloitte, France
http://www.hotelnewsresource.com/pdf8/del081809.pdf

STR forecast: Supply growth to stifle RevPAR in 2010

HENDERSONVILLE, Tennessee—RevPAR declines are expected to continue into the convention season according to STR’s revised monthly forecast. The company also revised its forecasts for year-end 2009 and 2010.

STR’s forecast projects 2009 occupancy to be down 8.4 percent to 55.4 percent and ADR to decline 9.7 percent to US$96.43. It projects RevPAR to end 2009 with a 17.1-percent decrease to US$53.41. Supply in 2009 is projected to increase 3.0 percent, while demand is expected to end the year down 5.5 percent.

Read more;
http://www.hotelnewsnow.com/articles.aspx?ArticleId=1716

Prepare for Commercial Real Estate Bust?

Hotel rooms in London to grow by 12% by 2012

London is due to experience a 12% increase in new hotel rooms by 2012, according to new research from Visit London and TRI Hospitality Consulting.

Read more;
http://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2009/08/19/329273/hotel-rooms-in-london-to-grow-by-12-by-2012.html

Wynns sell 2 million shares of stock ahead of divorce

Wynn Resorts Ltd. of Las Vegas today said Chairman and Chief Executive Steve Wynn and his wife Elaine Wynn sold 2 million shares of Wynn Resorts stock Friday in anticipation of the completion of their divorce proceedings.

Read more:
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/aug/18/wynns-sell-2-million-shares-stock-ahead-divorce/#comments

Manhattan Hotels Fill Rooms at Rock-Bottom Rates

In June, the average occupancy rate nationwide was 54.6 percent — by far the worst performance since Smith Travel Research of Hendersonville, Tenn., began keeping track in 1987. Distress is rampant, with increasing numbers of hotel owners surrendering control of their properties to their lenders.
As often happens, however, the Manhattan hotel market is a special case. Hotels in Manhattan also lost business in the financial crisis. But in April, rooms began filling up, sending the occupancy rate back over 80 percent. In July, 83.3 percent of the rooms were filled, a 5.6 percent decline since last year but still the highest occupancy rate in the nation, preliminary Smith Travel data shows.

Read more:
http://travel.nytimes.com/2009/08/19/realestate/commercial/19hotel.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Blumenthal and Ramsay top restaurant guide

Heston Blumenthal's Fat Duck restaurant was rated as a perfect 10 in the new edition of the Good Food Guide 2010, its editor said today.
It beat Gordon Ramsay's eponymously named Chelsea establishment, which was the only place in the country to score nine out of 10.

Read more;
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/news/blumenthal-and-ramsay-top-restaurant-guide-1774168.html

Brinker International Inks Franchise Deal to Expand Into Russia

DALLAS, Aug. 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE: EAT), has entered into a development agreement with developer Trio's Group Ltd. to establish Chili's(R) Grill & Bar in Russia. As part of the deal, 25 restaurants are planned for development in the Russian Federation by June 2017, with the first Chili's opening in November 2010 in Moscow.

Read more;
http://news.prnewswire.com/ViewContent.aspx?ACCT=109&STORY=/www/story/08-18-2009/0005079610&EDATE=

Brazil Fast Food Announces Second Quarter 2009 Results

Second Quarter 2009 Highlights
-System-wide sales reached R$ 150.7 million, up 33.5% from the second quarter of 2008
-Total revenue reached R$42.0 million, up 64.2% from the second quarter of 2008
-Operating income totaled R$1.7 million
-Net income was R$350 thousand, or R$0.04 per basic and diluted share

Read more;
http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/permalink/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20090818006310&newsLang=en