Hilton CEO Christopher Nassetta sends a message to "team members" about Starwood's new claims. (See below.)
As the hotel industry continues to struggle in a weak market, Starwood Hotels has upped the ante in its fight against rival hotel giant Hilton Worldwide with yesterday's filing of a new, 86-page court filing against Hilton in the U.S. Southern District of New York.
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Friday, January 15, 2010
Luxury Hotels Aim to Turn Downtown L.A. Into Times Square West
Jan. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Luxury hotel owners are betting that downtown Los Angeles -- an area dominated by government buildings, law offices and banks -- will lure convention visitors and tourists from the city’s ritzy enclaves.
Marriott International Inc. will open a Ritz-Carlton, downtown L.A.’s first five-star hotel, and a JW Marriott in the next two months as part of Anschutz Entertainment Group’s 4 million-square-foot L.A. Live entertainment complex. Luxe Worldwide Hotels is spending $10 million to revamp the downtown Holiday Inn into one of its boutique-style hotels.
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Marriott International Inc. will open a Ritz-Carlton, downtown L.A.’s first five-star hotel, and a JW Marriott in the next two months as part of Anschutz Entertainment Group’s 4 million-square-foot L.A. Live entertainment complex. Luxe Worldwide Hotels is spending $10 million to revamp the downtown Holiday Inn into one of its boutique-style hotels.
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STR reports Canada hotel pipeline for December 2009
HENDERSONVILLE, Tennessee—The Canadian hotel development pipeline includes 214 projects comprising 23,384 rooms, according to the December 2009 STR/TWR/Dodge Construction Pipeline Report released this week. This represents a 0.9-percent decrease in the number of rooms in the pipeline compared to November 2009 and a 10.8-percent decrease in the number of rooms in the pipeline compared to December 2008.
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STR reports US hotel pipeline for December 2009
HENDERSONVILLE, Tennessee—The total active U.S. hotel development pipeline includes 3,829 projects comprising 401,090 rooms, according to the December 2009 STR/TWR/Dodge Construction Pipeline Report released this week. This represents a 34.6-percent decrease in the number of rooms in the total active pipeline compared to December 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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Red Lion names interim president, CEO
Red Lion Hotels Corp. on Thursday announced that President and CEO Anupam Narayan has left the company.
The company did not give any details, saying only that his employment ended on Jan. 13.
In the meantime, Jon Eliassen, the lead independent director on the company’s board, has been appointed interim president and CEO
The company did not give any details, saying only that his employment ended on Jan. 13.
In the meantime, Jon Eliassen, the lead independent director on the company’s board, has been appointed interim president and CEO
Starwood files fresh allegations against Hilton
Reuters) - Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc (NYSE:HOT - News) has claimed that at least five members of rival Hilton Hotels executive committee knew of the alleged theft of trade secrets last year, court papers filed on Thursday showed.
Starwood sued Hilton and two of its top executives for corporate espionage last April, accusing the pair of ex-Starwood workers of stealing trade secrets to speed Hilton's entry into the "lifestyle" market.
Hilton said at the time that the lawsuit was without merit.
The amended complaint claims that Hilton's Chief Executive Christopher Nassetta and its head of global development, Steven Goldman, also knew of the theft of Starwood's confidential information.
Starwood has now asked the court to appoint one or more "monitors" to ensure Hilton's compliance with all injunctions and the imposition of a "penalty box" or "time out" period for any further development of Hilton's luxury and lifestyle brands.
Hilton could not be immediately reached for comment outside regular U.S. business hours.
Starwood sued Hilton and two of its top executives for corporate espionage last April, accusing the pair of ex-Starwood workers of stealing trade secrets to speed Hilton's entry into the "lifestyle" market.
Hilton said at the time that the lawsuit was without merit.
The amended complaint claims that Hilton's Chief Executive Christopher Nassetta and its head of global development, Steven Goldman, also knew of the theft of Starwood's confidential information.
Starwood has now asked the court to appoint one or more "monitors" to ensure Hilton's compliance with all injunctions and the imposition of a "penalty box" or "time out" period for any further development of Hilton's luxury and lifestyle brands.
Hilton could not be immediately reached for comment outside regular U.S. business hours.
MGM Said to Forge Ahead With Macau I.P.O.
MGM Mirage, the casino company whose counts Kirk Kerkorian as its largest shareholder, is following in the footsteps of rivals Wynn Resorts and Las Vegas Sands as it pushes ahead with plans to list its Macau operations on the Hong Kong stock exchange, according to press reports.
MGM Grand Macao, the joint venture between MGM Mirage and its Macao partner, Pansy Ho,have begun vetting banks to work on the I.P.O., The South China Morning Post reported.
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MGM Grand Macao, the joint venture between MGM Mirage and its Macao partner, Pansy Ho,have begun vetting banks to work on the I.P.O., The South China Morning Post reported.
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