An island resort that catered to the likes of Denzel Washington and Derek Jeter with personal butlers and a pillow menu has gone belly up.
Leeward Resort Ltd. - the owner of Nikki Beach Resort & Spa on Turks and Caicos Islands - has been placed into receivership, General Manager Jonathan Steers said.
Guests paid up to $3,000 a night to stay at the Caribbean resort that offered Bvlgari bath products and an infinity pool with beds resembling those of 19th century opium dens.
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Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Chicago Hotel workers hit picket lines
For six months, Victor Chan says, he has worked alone as a bellhop at Sheraton Hotel and Towers after four others on the second shift lost their jobs."I'm doing the work of five," said Chan, 49. Chan joined about 50 other hotel service workers who picketed Friday morning outside the Affinia Chicago hotel, 166 E. Superior St. Another picket line formed Friday evening outside The Drake, 140 E. Walton Pl.
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SEC goes after SoBe condo-hotel developer
A Chicago developer who said he was converting several projects, including the Tides hotel in South Beach, into condo-hotels is the target of a Securities and Exchange Commission complaint.
Robert D. Falor, president and CEO of the Falor Cos., is alleged to have fraudulently offered and sold about $9 million of securities to about 55 investors in the form of membership interests in various limited liability companies that he controlled and operated, according to an SEC news release.
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Robert D. Falor, president and CEO of the Falor Cos., is alleged to have fraudulently offered and sold about $9 million of securities to about 55 investors in the form of membership interests in various limited liability companies that he controlled and operated, according to an SEC news release.
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Spanish hotel chains to merge
Spanish business hotel chain NH Hoteles is to take over the management of fellow Spanish chain Hesperia's 51 properties.
NH, the third biggest business hotel chain in Europe, operates 349 hotels with 52,676 rooms in 22 countries. It has a further 54 hotels with 8,000 rooms currently under construction.
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NH, the third biggest business hotel chain in Europe, operates 349 hotels with 52,676 rooms in 22 countries. It has a further 54 hotels with 8,000 rooms currently under construction.
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Expedia Says Hotel Prices to Decline Through 2010 Sept. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Expedia Inc., the biggest Internet travel agency, said an “overhang” of hote
Sept. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Expedia Inc., the biggest Internet travel agency, said an “overhang” of hotel rooms being built will depress prices through 2010 following the biggest first-half drop in room rates since in at least five years.
New York overtook Las Vegas as the U.S. city with the fastest growth in hotel room capacity, Expedia’s Hotels.com said in a report. Thirty-eight hotels will open in the city this year, increasing the number of rooms by almost 8,000. First-half occupancy rates fell 5 percent.
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New York overtook Las Vegas as the U.S. city with the fastest growth in hotel room capacity, Expedia’s Hotels.com said in a report. Thirty-eight hotels will open in the city this year, increasing the number of rooms by almost 8,000. First-half occupancy rates fell 5 percent.
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Senior Hospitality Executive Joins Wyndham Development Team
PARSIPPANY, N.J. 09-14-2009 —
Wyndham Hotel Group, the world’s largest hotel company with more than 7,000 hotels and 11 brands, has appointed Matthew Sparks as senior vice president of development for the Wyndham Hotels and Resorts® brand.
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Wyndham Hotel Group, the world’s largest hotel company with more than 7,000 hotels and 11 brands, has appointed Matthew Sparks as senior vice president of development for the Wyndham Hotels and Resorts® brand.
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Papa John's Lays off 35
Papa John’s International Inc. (NasdaqGS: PZZA - News) recently announced job cuts at its headquarters in Louisville. The company pared off 35 of its 600 employees, exposing its vulnerability to the crumbling economy
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Abu Dhabi – Between the Hammer and the Anvil
Abu Dhabi is being forged into a global destination for business, culture and leisure. Current global economic conditions seem to be striking just when the iron is hot.As the world’s sixth-largest exporter of oil, Abu Dhabi benefited from skyrocketing energy prices in 2008. Hotel rates skyrocketed too, making Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE, the city with the priciest hotels in the world.
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CEO Pay - The Hot Potato
Jeffery H Boyd President & Chief Executive Officer of priceline has been names the hotel industry’s top-performing chief executive officer of 2008 in its 16th Annual CEO Survey
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STR Global Releases Performance Results for Spain
With visitor numbers expected to drop 10 percent in 2009, the Spanish hotel market is suffering greater year-on-year declines in performance than some of its European neighbors. Visitors from major source markets such as Germany, the U.K. and France are in decline, with U.K. travelers further deterred by the 20-percent weakening of the sterling against the euro during the past 12 months and the increased competition from Turkey and Egypt.
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STR reports US pipeline for August 2009
HENDERSONVILLE, Tennessee—The total active U.S. hotel development pipeline includes 4,384 projects with 475,521 rooms, according to the August 2009 STR/TWR/Dodge Construction Pipeline Report released this week. This represents a 2.5-percent decrease in the number of rooms in the total active pipeline compared to July 2009 and a 27.9-percent decrease compared to August 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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Leading Hotel Brands in a Lagging Economy
For the first half of 2009, the question of how well a hotel brand performed was really a question of which did the least poorly. Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Marriott, Wyndham Worldwide, Choice Hotels International, and InterContinental Hotels Group, the major companies that report occupancy, average rate, and RevPAR statistics on a quarterly basis, all noted significant declines.1 Of 42 individual brands surveyed, all reported year-to-date occupancy and RevPAR losses compared to the same period in 2008. Only seven reported average rate growth. Nevertheless, a slower rate of decline counts for something in the context of the recession. In this article, we'll examine the brands most successful at preventing major losses in occupancy, average rate, and RevPAR.
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The Hotel Price Index - Jan-Jun 2009
The hotels.com® Hotel Price Index (HPI) is a regular survey of hotel prices in major city destinations across the world. The HPI is based on bookings made on hotels.com.
• The HPI tracks the real prices paid per room by hotels.com customers around the world using a weighted average based on the number of rooms sold in each of the markets that hotels.com operates in.
• Approximately 78,000 properties in more than 13,000 locations make up the sample set of hotels from which prices are taken.
• The prices shown are those actually paid by customers (rather than advertised rates), in the first six months of 2009 and therefore give an accurate reflection of hotel prices for the period.
The international scale of hotels.com (in terms of both customers and destinations) makes the Hotel Price Index one of the most comprehensive benchmarks available, as it incorporates both chain and independent hotels, as well as specialty lodging options such as vacation rentals and bed and breakfast properties.
In the U.S. approximately 70 percent of hotel rooms booked are in chain properties. The reverse is true of Europe, where approximately 25 percent of hotel rooms are part of a chain, the remainder being independent. In addition to the standard survey, the HPI includes occasional features on new or unusual booking and pricing trends.
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• The HPI tracks the real prices paid per room by hotels.com customers around the world using a weighted average based on the number of rooms sold in each of the markets that hotels.com operates in.
• Approximately 78,000 properties in more than 13,000 locations make up the sample set of hotels from which prices are taken.
• The prices shown are those actually paid by customers (rather than advertised rates), in the first six months of 2009 and therefore give an accurate reflection of hotel prices for the period.
The international scale of hotels.com (in terms of both customers and destinations) makes the Hotel Price Index one of the most comprehensive benchmarks available, as it incorporates both chain and independent hotels, as well as specialty lodging options such as vacation rentals and bed and breakfast properties.
In the U.S. approximately 70 percent of hotel rooms booked are in chain properties. The reverse is true of Europe, where approximately 25 percent of hotel rooms are part of a chain, the remainder being independent. In addition to the standard survey, the HPI includes occasional features on new or unusual booking and pricing trends.
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Cracker Barrel Reports 9% Increase in Fourth Quarter EPS
LEBANON, Tenn., Sep 15, 2009 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. (Nasdaq: CBRL):
- Fourth-quarter diluted EPS from continuing operations of $0.99, an increase of 8.8% compared with the prior-year quarter
- Revenue for the fourth quarter declined 1.0% to $595.6 million compared with the prior-year quarter
- Operating income margin in the fourth quarter was 7.0% of total revenue compared with 6.9% in the prior-year quarter
- Net cash flow from operating activities increased $39.7 million to $164.2 million in fiscal 2009
- Closed sale/leaseback transactions and paid down $133.0 million of long-term debt in the fourth quarter
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- Fourth-quarter diluted EPS from continuing operations of $0.99, an increase of 8.8% compared with the prior-year quarter
- Revenue for the fourth quarter declined 1.0% to $595.6 million compared with the prior-year quarter
- Operating income margin in the fourth quarter was 7.0% of total revenue compared with 6.9% in the prior-year quarter
- Net cash flow from operating activities increased $39.7 million to $164.2 million in fiscal 2009
- Closed sale/leaseback transactions and paid down $133.0 million of long-term debt in the fourth quarter
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Vail Resorts Names Paul G. Toner Senior Vice President & Chief Operating Officer of RockResorts and Vail Resorts Hospitality
Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE:MTN) announced that Paul G. Toner has been promoted to Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of RockResorts and Vail Resorts Hospitality.
Toner will oversee and direct the Company's lodging and hospitality division which currently encompasses approximately 3,800 owned and managed hotel and condominium rooms, including the RockResorts collection of casually elegant resort hotels and spas, six independently flagged and Company-owned hotels, Grand Teton Lodge Company in Grand Teton National Park, Colorado Mountain Express transportation company and six Company-owned resort golf courses. Toner's new position is effective immediately and he will report directly to Vail Resorts Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Rob Katz in the Company's corporate headquarters in Broomfield, Colo.
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Toner will oversee and direct the Company's lodging and hospitality division which currently encompasses approximately 3,800 owned and managed hotel and condominium rooms, including the RockResorts collection of casually elegant resort hotels and spas, six independently flagged and Company-owned hotels, Grand Teton Lodge Company in Grand Teton National Park, Colorado Mountain Express transportation company and six Company-owned resort golf courses. Toner's new position is effective immediately and he will report directly to Vail Resorts Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Rob Katz in the Company's corporate headquarters in Broomfield, Colo.
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Tour operators seeing signs of recovery
Tour operators spent the first half of the year desperately waiting for the phones to ring. And then, in a possible early indicator of recovery, the late-booking calls started coming in.
"Mid-June, we saw the last-minute booking pattern come virtually out of nowhere," said Paul Wiseman, president of Trafalgar Tours. "Things started to accelerate for late-summer travel for Europe as well as domestic for the U.S.
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"Mid-June, we saw the last-minute booking pattern come virtually out of nowhere," said Paul Wiseman, president of Trafalgar Tours. "Things started to accelerate for late-summer travel for Europe as well as domestic for the U.S.
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