Friday, October 9, 2009

Dairy Queen opens 200th location in China, plans 500 more

Dairy Queen has reached a milestone in China, having opened its 200th location in the country. The store is located in Xi’an, the capital city of Shaanxi Province. It is operated by Red Flag Profits, a wholly owned subsidiary of Shanghai Shida Catering Management Co. Ltd.

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Carluccio’s to launch more outlets in UK and Dubai

Carluccio’s, the quoted operator of Italian restaurants with their own in-store delicatessen, is looking for its first sites in Scotland as it seeks to become a nationwide chain

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Fontainebleau Las Vegas developer Jeffrey Soffer removed himself from negotiations

Bankruptcy Judge A. Jay Cristol was skeptical of Soffer's move, saying ``nobody is going to believe he's not running the show.'' Over Fontainebleau objections, Cristol said he would name an outsider to monitor negotiations for the unfinished condo-hotel and casino. The maneuvers come as Fontainebleau lawyers say they're days away from concluding a deal to auction off the project, which would cost an estimated $1.5 billion to finish.

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Starwood Capital Shows Interest In Extended Stay Hotels

Today’s big story (in my mind at least) is a Wall Street Journal article today that brought to light Starwood Capital’s new found interest in the Extended Stay bankruptcy battle. (I’m writing this directly from my blackberry so I can’t get a direct link).
In a nutshell – it states that Starwood Cap is joining a group of investors (mainly those involved with the first mortgage of the deal) in putting down funding to take the deal out of bankruptcy court.

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How to Safeguard Your Security, Privacy in a Hotel

The case of an ESPN reporter who was videotaped through a peephole in her hotel room door shows how easy it is for a hotel guest's security and privacy to be violated. Here are some tips for staying safe in hotels.

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W Hotels cancels contract In Shanghai

Friday, 9th October 2009Source : HVS International

As a result of the economic downturn, W Hotels, part of Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, has cancelled its intention to manage a luxury hotel located in Shanghai International Financial Centre (IFC) in Lujiazui, part of the Pudong financial district. Owned by Sun Hung Kai Properties (SHKP), the proposed hotel in Shanghai IFC is scheduled to open in 2010 while the entire development is expected to be completed by the first half of 2011. According to market sources, SHKP might convert the rooms which were to be managed by W Hotels into serviced apartments units.

Pub Revolution calls for mass 'beercott'


The Pub Revolution cause currently has around 350 members on Facebook and is calling for direct action against pubcos now, rather than waiting for a Government response to the Business and Enterprise Committee or any possible Office of Fair Trading inquiry into the beer tie.
“Nothing’s going to change unless we the leaseholders do something for ourselves,” the campaign leader, known as UK Mass Bercott on the Morning Advertiser forum, said.


Andrew Harper Revamps Harper Collection & Introduces Michelin-Style Ranking System for Hotels

"In the past few years, with the staggering number of new hotels and resorts opening around the world, The Harper Collection was growing steadily and our members began to ask me, 'Which hotels do you really like?'" Mr. Harper said. The Collection is now reorganized into Harper's "Favorite 500" hotels and resorts and a maximum of 500 additional "Recommended" properties. "I needed to be more discriminating for the Collection to be a true representation of the best of the best," he continued. "I also intend to give greater priority to the small, distinctive hideaways that are our specialty."

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Wynn Macau shares jump 13 percent in HK debut

HONG KONG (AP) -- Billionaire Steve Wynn's Macau casino company jumped 13 percent in its trading debut on the Hong Kong stock exchange Friday, reflecting stronger faith in the southern Chinese gambling city's prospects.

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Wyndham Worldwide Completes $350 Million Term Securitizations

PARSIPPANY, N.J. 10-07-2009 —
Wyndham Worldwide Corporation (NYSE:WYN) today announced that it has completed two term securitization transactions involving the issuance of $350 million of investment-grade asset-backed notes:

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