Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Coral Gables may allow Biltmore to shield some financial records

The city has requested certain financial documents from Seaway Hotels to see why the hotel has not paid nearly $2.4 million in rent over the past year.

In 1992, the city -- which owns the historic hotel -- signed a long-term management lease agreement with Seaway Hotels. As part of the lease, the hotel pays the city 3.5 percent of its gross revenue

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Kona Grill, Inc. Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2009 Results

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Feb 10, 2010 (GlobeNewswire via COMTEX) -- Kona Grill, Inc. (Nasdaq:KONA), an American grill and sushi bar, today reported results for its fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2009.

Fourth Quarter 2009 Highlights Include:

-- Opened restaurant in Tampa, FL
-- Restaurant sales increased 7.7% to $20.0 million
-- Same-store sales decreased 8.1%
-- Restaurant operating profit margin of 10.3%
-- Net loss on a GAAP basis of $19.2 million, or $2.10 per share, including asset impairment and special charges totaling $17.6 million
-- Net loss of $1.6 million, or $0.18 per share, excluding these aforementioned asset impairment and special charges

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Golden Tulip Expands In Thailand

BANGKOK, THAILAND - Global hospitality management conglomerate Golden Tulip has continued its strategic expansion into South-east Asia with the recent signing of two hotels in Thailand's popular resort destination of Pattaya.

Golden Tulip already boasts more than 213 hotels in 37 countries with 25,600 rooms and from the beginning of March the Royal Orchid Pattaya will be re-branded as the Golden Tulip Resort Pattaya and positioned as an ideal getaway destination for families and short break guests. The Erawan Hotel Pattaya will re-branded to the Golden Tulip Erawan Hotel showcasing superb facilities for meetings and incentives and leisure travellers.
Both Pattaya properties will undergo extensive renovations to bring them up to Golden Tulip operating standards and will officially re-open in early March. The two hotels were officially signed over to new management on February 3.

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The Standard Hotels Join Design Hotels

Berlin, February 10, 2010 - Design Hotels announces the signing of four of André Balazs' properties: The Standard, Hollywood; The Standard, Downtown LA; The Standard Spa, Miami Beach and The Standard, New York.

Conceived by visionary hotelier André Balazs, The Standard brand, which debuted in 1999 in West Hollywood, California, is anything but "standard." Balazs realized early on that a new generation of young, fashionable and style-conscious consumers was emerging. They were hungry for a new hospitality experience: one that catered to their sophisticated tastes, but at the same time was affordable.

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Ruby's Diner to Debut Drive-In Restaurant Concept

Ruby's Diner, a Southern California institution famous for 1940s-inspired burgers, shakes and classic American food, will soon have a new home in Downtown Anaheim. The newest Ruby's Diner location, The Ruby's Five Points Drive-In, is expected to open at end of March or beginning of April 2010 and is the first to feature an authentic, old-fashioned outdoor carhop with 12 drive-in spaces complete with roller skating servers and rotating reel of 1940s movies. This opening comes after years of renovation to the historic Five Points Building, which is located at the Lincoln Avenue off-ramp of the Interstate 5 Freeway in Anaheim just blocks from Disneyland. The new Ruby's Five Points Drive-In at 1128 West Lincoln Avenue is one of the last historic properties still standing in the newly redeveloped central city of Anaheim. Originally constructed in 1928, the Five Points Building was the westernmost commercial spot in the city, housing numerous shops and offices used by the original Anaheim Colonists.

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Restaurant loses its Michelin star for third time as chef walks out

To lose one Michelin star may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose two looks like carelessness. But one restaurant has just lost a third.

Staff at The Goose in Britwell Salome, Oxfordshire, which had last month won back its one Michelin star status, have walked out in a dispute over the direction of the business, taking the award with them.

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Wyndham Worldwide Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2009 Results

PARSIPPANY, N.J. 02-10-2010 —Wyndham Worldwide Corporation (NYSE:WYN) today announced results for the three months and year ended December 31, 2009. Separately, the Company also announced an increase in its quarterly cash dividend and that it plans to resume its share repurchase program.

FOURTH QUARTER and FULL-YEAR HIGHLIGHTS:
Wyndham Worldwide generated fourth quarter diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.40, compared with Company-issued guidance of $0.35 - $0.38. For the year ended December 31, 2009, the Company generated net cash from operating activities of approximately $690 million, compared with $109 million in 2008.

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Wyndham Worldwide Triples Dividend

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Wyndham Worldwide(WYN Quote), one of the world's largest hospitality companies, has tripled its quarterly dividend, in an evident reflection of the company's confidence in the resilience of its business model.
More on WYN
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Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Incorp HOT DOWNIntercontinental Hotels Group PLC Shs Ameri IHG UPMarriott International Incorporated Shares MAR UPWyndham's board authorized the tripling of the quarterly dividend to 12 cents from 4 cents per share, beginning with the dividend that is expected to be declared in the first quarter of 2010. With this increase the dividend is equivalent to an annual rate of 48 cents a share.

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Enterprise Inns sells seven pubs in latest sale & leaseback deal

Enterprise Inns today sold seven more of its London pubs via a sale and leaseback arrangement, grossing at least £10.15m in the process.

Six of the pubs were sold through auctioneers Allsop, through whom the pubco sold and leased back 14 pubs late last year.

A seventh pub, the Metropolitan in the West London district of Westbourne Grove, was sold prior to the auction taking place, while an eighth, the Northumberland Arms on King’s Cross Road, also in the capital, was withdrawn from the auction before proceedings got underway.

The latest sales takes Enterprise’s gross sale and leaseback proceeds to more than £35m, while the rental bill from the disposals, including today’s activity, now totals more than £2m.

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Brennan's of Houston to reopen

Brennan’s of Houston is reopening on Feb. 16 after being closed for more than a year due to damages from a fire that occurred during Hurricane Ike.

After 17 months of renovation, Brennan’s of Houston will reopen on Fat Tuesday, complete with newly renovated dining spaces.

The 43-year-old restaurant, located at 3300 Smith St., will feature recreated versions of the Wine Room and Ballroom, which will now be called The Garden Room, and restored areas such as the Terms of Endearment Room.

Danny Trace, who was appointed executive chef in 2009, said guests will be able to enjoy their longtime favorites but he hopes they will try some of the new menu items too. He says the new menu items come from his background of creating dishes in New Orleans as well as restaurants in Destin, Fla.

Led by Commander’s Palace Family of Restaurants co-owners Alex Brennan-Martin, his sister, Ti Adelaide Martin and their cousin Lally Brennan, Brennan’s has survived floods, hurricanes and has even taken a direct hit by a tornado.

Ritz-Carlton to close 5-diamond Las Vegas hotel in May

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Co will close its five-diamond property in Las Vegas this May, after the hotel struggled with a slide in demand and revenue.

"It's nothing the hotel did. It's a simple lack of business and a decline in the tourism industry," said Ritz-Carlton spokeswoman Vivian Deuschl.

The owners of the 348-room property, Village Hospitality LLC, an arm of Deutsche Bank, will stop funding the Ritz-Carlton Lake Las Vegas day-to-day operations on May 2.

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