February 5, 2010 - Gansevoort Fla., LLC, the current manager of the Gansevoort South Hotel in Miami and an affiliate of the Gansevoort Hotel Group, filed suit today against Column Financial, an affiliate of Credit Suisse. The suit is seeking a judicial determination regarding the status of the existing management agreement between the hotel ownership and Gansevoort Fla. The suit alleges that Column's affiliates, as the current owners of the Hotel, do not have the right to terminate the management agreement and dismiss Gansevoort Fla. as manager of the 334-key Gansevoort South resort. The suit further alleges that the current ownership is in breach of the agreement and intends to replace the existing management with a management company with inadequate operating experience for the clientele, style, cachet and vast array of amenities of Gansevoort South, while continuing to operate the Hotel under the prestigious Gansevoort name.
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Saturday, February 6, 2010
Pinnacle Drops Atlantic City Casino Plan, to Sell Seaside Land
Feb. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Pinnacle Entertainment Inc., the owner of seven U.S. casinos, dropped plans to build a casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and is selling the land.
Pinnacle will sell about 19 acres on the seaside boardwalk, after it wrote down the land by $160 million in the fourth quarter, the Las Vegas-based company said today in a statement.
Atlantic City gambling revenue tumbled a record 13 percent last year, the third straight annual decline, after Pennsylvania and Yonkers, New York, allowed slot machines. Pennsylvania is moving to add table games such as poker and blackjack, and other states are considering casinos. Six of the 11 New Jersey casinos are bankrupt or restructuring debt and development has stalled.
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Pinnacle will sell about 19 acres on the seaside boardwalk, after it wrote down the land by $160 million in the fourth quarter, the Las Vegas-based company said today in a statement.
Atlantic City gambling revenue tumbled a record 13 percent last year, the third straight annual decline, after Pennsylvania and Yonkers, New York, allowed slot machines. Pennsylvania is moving to add table games such as poker and blackjack, and other states are considering casinos. Six of the 11 New Jersey casinos are bankrupt or restructuring debt and development has stalled.
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Welcome to Your Condo. Please Don’t Stay
The condo in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., has three bedrooms, three bathrooms and sweeping ocean views. It can be yours for just under $2.6 million.
There’s one catch: If you buy it, you will be able to use it for only 60 days a year and no more than 29 days in a row.
The California Coastal Commission, an agency founded in 1972, wants to ensure public access to the state’s 1,100 miles of shoreline. So when Lowe Enterprises requested permission to build 50 condominiums, which the company calls casitas, in an oceanfront resort called Terranea in this lush section of southwest Los Angeles County, the commission demanded restrictions. The idea was to keep owners from monopolizing access to the ocean.
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There’s one catch: If you buy it, you will be able to use it for only 60 days a year and no more than 29 days in a row.
The California Coastal Commission, an agency founded in 1972, wants to ensure public access to the state’s 1,100 miles of shoreline. So when Lowe Enterprises requested permission to build 50 condominiums, which the company calls casitas, in an oceanfront resort called Terranea in this lush section of southwest Los Angeles County, the commission demanded restrictions. The idea was to keep owners from monopolizing access to the ocean.
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San Diego Fights To Collect Room Tax From Online Sites
SAN DIEGO -- Millions of dollars are at stake for the city of San Diego as they try to collect hotel room tax from online travel Web sites like Expedia and Orbitz.
In a similar case, a judge ruled against the city of Anaheim, which may impact how much San Diego will be able to collect.
The city if facing a $93 million deficit and could use a little cash. The city sued several online travel companies for $25 million in unpaid hotel room tax
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In a similar case, a judge ruled against the city of Anaheim, which may impact how much San Diego will be able to collect.
The city if facing a $93 million deficit and could use a little cash. The city sued several online travel companies for $25 million in unpaid hotel room tax
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Hotels' Distress Lead CMBS Delinquencies To Record Level
NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- Hotels, which for more than a year have been struggling with a drastic drop in bookings, now lead all other classes of commercial real estate in delinquencies, data provider Trepp said Tuesday.
Payments on loans to hotel properties that were 30 days late or more hit a high of 15.32% in January. That matches Fitch Ratings' estimates that nearly 15% of the $51 billion in hotel loans that are securitized into commercial mortgage bonds will turn delinquent over the course of this year.
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Payments on loans to hotel properties that were 30 days late or more hit a high of 15.32% in January. That matches Fitch Ratings' estimates that nearly 15% of the $51 billion in hotel loans that are securitized into commercial mortgage bonds will turn delinquent over the course of this year.
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Pittsburgh Hilton restructuring
There will be no sale of the financially struggling Hilton Pittsburgh, Downtown, but there will be a restructuring.
"The Hilton will not be sold. The company will be restructured," said Jonathan Kamin, an attorney representing current owner Shubh Hotels Pittsburgh LLC and the restructured company.
Mr. Kamin said Tuesday that Florida-based Shubh, which bought the Hilton for $28 million in 2006, will be "maintaining some control" over the hotel, whose unfinished addition has become an eyesore at the entrance to Downtown.
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"The Hilton will not be sold. The company will be restructured," said Jonathan Kamin, an attorney representing current owner Shubh Hotels Pittsburgh LLC and the restructured company.
Mr. Kamin said Tuesday that Florida-based Shubh, which bought the Hilton for $28 million in 2006, will be "maintaining some control" over the hotel, whose unfinished addition has become an eyesore at the entrance to Downtown.
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Hotel Foreclosure Watch: iStar Reclaims its Peach
IStar Financial Inc. is gambling there’s more peach than pit at Atlanta’s posh, Robert A.M. Stern-designed Mansion on Peachtree hotel, which the lender seized at foreclosure auction this week.
The New York commercial-mortgage real-estate investment trust had provided a $147.5 million mortgage on the 127-room hotel with 45 condominiums, ended up making the only bid at the auction. That bid was for a relatively scant $66.1 million – about 45% of the mortgage’s face amount.
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The New York commercial-mortgage real-estate investment trust had provided a $147.5 million mortgage on the 127-room hotel with 45 condominiums, ended up making the only bid at the auction. That bid was for a relatively scant $66.1 million – about 45% of the mortgage’s face amount.
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Starwood to pull branding from Sheraton Manhattan
Starwood Hotels will announce this morning that it will remove the Sheraton flag from the Sheraton Manhattan in New York City this spring and temporarily operate it as an independent hotel.
Ultimately, Starwood wants to redevelop the hotel - on a prime city block - into an upscale hotel project.
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Ultimately, Starwood wants to redevelop the hotel - on a prime city block - into an upscale hotel project.
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Less Housekeeping, More Perks
First, hotels asked guests to opt out of daily towel replacement for environmental reasons. Then it was bed linens. Now it's the entire room.
Hotels are offering room discounts or other rewards to guests who agree to make do with less housekeeping. As part of their "Make A Green Choice" program, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. offers hotel credit or points in its reward program. At the majority of their Westin and Sheraton brand hotels, guests can earn a $5 credit at any of the hotel's restaurants, or 500 Starpoints, for every night they opt out of housekeeping—for up to three consecutive nights.
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Hotels are offering room discounts or other rewards to guests who agree to make do with less housekeeping. As part of their "Make A Green Choice" program, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. offers hotel credit or points in its reward program. At the majority of their Westin and Sheraton brand hotels, guests can earn a $5 credit at any of the hotel's restaurants, or 500 Starpoints, for every night they opt out of housekeeping—for up to three consecutive nights.
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Lenders Seize Sillerman Resort
Lenders holding the $180 million mortgage on U.S. entertainment mogul Robert Sillerman's luxury resort on the Caribbean island of Anguilla have taken over the half-built project and appointed a receiver to manage it.
Construction of Mr. Sillerman's Temenos resort, which was to include a 32-room hotel and 78 for-sale villas, was suspended in 2008 when the project ran out of financing amid cost overruns. The project's developer, Flag Luxury Properties LLC, has since searched unsuccessfully for lenders or buyers willing to contribute an additional $125 million to complete the resort.
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Construction of Mr. Sillerman's Temenos resort, which was to include a 32-room hotel and 78 for-sale villas, was suspended in 2008 when the project ran out of financing amid cost overruns. The project's developer, Flag Luxury Properties LLC, has since searched unsuccessfully for lenders or buyers willing to contribute an additional $125 million to complete the resort.
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