A French hoteliers' union on Thursday said it was filing a case against the Internet-based travel company Expedia and its websites Tripadvisor and Hotels.com in a Paris court, accusing them of "unfair commercial practices."
Tripadvisor offers commentary on hotels while Expedia and Hotels.com arrange reservations.
Didier Chenet, head of the Synhorcat union, said smaller French hotel owners were "attacking some of their practices," notably regarding alternative booking procedures and advertised offers that do not exist in reality.
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Saturday, April 17, 2010
Massachusetts passes Gambling Bill
Casino and racetrack operators yesterday began to angle for one of the gambling licenses just approved by the Massachusetts House, promising to spend hundreds of millions of dollars building gambling complexes that would provide hundreds of new jobs.
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Lawsuit filed against CityCenter over Vdara condo-hotel units
A California man who put down a deposit to buy a condo-hotel unit at Vdara filed a class-action lawsuit Friday against MGM Mirage's CityCenter, alleging developers unlawfully sold the units as securities without providing investors details on what they were buying.
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Fremont Marriott returns to lender
The Fremont Marriott Hotel has been seized by its lender through a foreclosure, but it remains open with normal operations — and will get a multimillion renovation, the hotel said Thursday.
A unit of American International Group Inc., or AIG, took back the 335-room hotel, whose owners had defaulted in September 2009 on a $38.5 million mortgage. The AIG unit, Western National Life Insurance Co., had provided the financing in 2007.
In an indication of the slump in property values for hotels and other commercial real estate, Western National Life placed a value of $27 million on the hotel when it foreclosed on the mortgage.
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A unit of American International Group Inc., or AIG, took back the 335-room hotel, whose owners had defaulted in September 2009 on a $38.5 million mortgage. The AIG unit, Western National Life Insurance Co., had provided the financing in 2007.
In an indication of the slump in property values for hotels and other commercial real estate, Western National Life placed a value of $27 million on the hotel when it foreclosed on the mortgage.
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South Ocean Development going Forward?
The $867 million South Ocean redevelopment's new managing partner yesterday pledged to "end the impasse in this project" for the benefit of the Bahamian people, after an International Arbitration Tribunal ruling blasted its predecessor for leaving the development in a "shambles", ordering it to repay almost $3 million.
In a hard-hitting ruling, the three-man review panel ordered RHS Ventures and its principal, Roger Stein, to repay more than $2.9 million to the New South Ocean project and its new managing partner, Connecticut-based hedge fund Plainfield Asset Management, and its Seaside Heights investment vehicle.
The Tribunal ordered Mr Stein and RHS Ventures to reimburse the project with some $1.262 million, which had allegedly been used to fund his personal expenses, including "$761,000 for villa and yacht rentals and expenses", and $251,000 for private plane travel".
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In a hard-hitting ruling, the three-man review panel ordered RHS Ventures and its principal, Roger Stein, to repay more than $2.9 million to the New South Ocean project and its new managing partner, Connecticut-based hedge fund Plainfield Asset Management, and its Seaside Heights investment vehicle.
The Tribunal ordered Mr Stein and RHS Ventures to reimburse the project with some $1.262 million, which had allegedly been used to fund his personal expenses, including "$761,000 for villa and yacht rentals and expenses", and $251,000 for private plane travel".
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MGM Mirage Boosts Size of Debt Sale to $1 Billion
April 16 (Bloomberg) -- MGM Mirage, the biggest casino owner on the Las Vegas Strip, increased its convertible debt sale to $1 billion after investors sought more than the planned $750 million.
Initial buyers of the 4.25 percent convertible senior notes due in 2015 have the option to purchase $150 million more to cover overallotments, the Las Vegas-based company said yesterday in a statement. The owner of 10 Strip resorts said it will use the funds to refinance part of its senior credit facility.
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Initial buyers of the 4.25 percent convertible senior notes due in 2015 have the option to purchase $150 million more to cover overallotments, the Las Vegas-based company said yesterday in a statement. The owner of 10 Strip resorts said it will use the funds to refinance part of its senior credit facility.
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Outlook for Chicago’s Strategic Hotels not as rosy as stock jump indicates
Headquartered in Chicago, luxury hotel company Strategic Hotels and Resorts Inc. is building faith among investors, judging by its recent stock jumps. However, analysts are still forecasting a loss of 47 cents for this year and a 34 cent loss for 2011, rounding out four consecutive years of red ink.
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Sunstone Hotel Investors Provides Business Update
SAN CLEMENTE, Calif., April 16, 2010 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc. (the "Company") /quotes/comstock/13*!sho/quotes/nls/sho (SHO 10.99, -0.44, -3.81%) today provided both preliminary results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2010 and an update on its finance initiatives
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Chatham Lodging raises $150 million in IPO
NEW YORK -- Chatham Lodging Trust priced 7.5 million shares of its initial public offering at $20 each, raising $150 million, the real estate investment trust said late Thursday.
Underwriters led by Barclays ( BCS - news - people ) Capital and FBR Capital Markets ( FBCM - news - people ) may purchase another 1.1 million shares, bringing the total raised to $172.5 million.
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Underwriters led by Barclays ( BCS - news - people ) Capital and FBR Capital Markets ( FBCM - news - people ) may purchase another 1.1 million shares, bringing the total raised to $172.5 million.
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Protect Your Guests From This Scam
A recent post to the always-entertaining HotelChatter blog discussed a not-so-new scam thieves are trying (apparently with some success) to foist onto hotel guests. In the scam, the thief calls a hotel, asks for room 520 (or whatever). Once connected, the scammer pretends he or she is from the front desk, saying there is a problem with the guest’s credit card info. The would-be thief asks the guest to read back the card number and the secret 3- or 4-digit code on the back.
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View from the top - Sandals' all-butler Emerald Bay resort
One of the biggest names in tourism, the man behind the Sandals resort vision - Gordon 'Butch' Stewart, has written an open letter about the $20 million transformation of the former Four Seasons in Great Exuma into the new Sandals' all-butler Emerald Bay resort.
Some 350 employees are employed at the revamped resort, at least 300 of them Bahamian, many of them previous Four Seasons staff who have returned to the fold under the new company.
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Some 350 employees are employed at the revamped resort, at least 300 of them Bahamian, many of them previous Four Seasons staff who have returned to the fold under the new company.
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Four Seasons Nevis Called a National Emergency
The closure of the Four Seasons Nevis and the involuntary chapter 11 bankruptcy filed against it has been declared a "national emergency" by the government of the island of Nevis.
Once considered one of the best hotels in the entire Caribbean, the Four Seasons Nevis was severely damaged by Hurricane Omar in October 2008 and has been closed ever since. The Four Seasons offered 196 spacious, luxurious guest rooms and suites in 12 two-story guest buildings just steps from the beach and exclusive two- to six- bedroom residence villas. The privately-owned self-sufficient estate home accommodations as well as a 18-hole golf course designed by Robert Trent Jones II, were not damaged by the hurricane and are fully operational.
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Once considered one of the best hotels in the entire Caribbean, the Four Seasons Nevis was severely damaged by Hurricane Omar in October 2008 and has been closed ever since. The Four Seasons offered 196 spacious, luxurious guest rooms and suites in 12 two-story guest buildings just steps from the beach and exclusive two- to six- bedroom residence villas. The privately-owned self-sufficient estate home accommodations as well as a 18-hole golf course designed by Robert Trent Jones II, were not damaged by the hurricane and are fully operational.
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So much for Obama hurting Las Vegas
President Barack Obama, in February 2009, commented that banks receiving government bailouts shouldn’t go to Las Vegas at taxpayers’ expense. The comment did not sit well with our casino leaders.
Several thought the comments would have a devastating impact on the slumping Las Vegas market. Fortunately for Las Vegas, it turned out the “gloom and doom” prognosticators were wrong.
It is true that shortly after the comments were made, major Las Vegas stocks hit bottom. March 2009 brought stock prices of around $2 and $3 per share for MGM Mirage and Las Vegas Sands, and for Wynn Resorts the price for its stock fluctuated between $15 to $23 that month.
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Several thought the comments would have a devastating impact on the slumping Las Vegas market. Fortunately for Las Vegas, it turned out the “gloom and doom” prognosticators were wrong.
It is true that shortly after the comments were made, major Las Vegas stocks hit bottom. March 2009 brought stock prices of around $2 and $3 per share for MGM Mirage and Las Vegas Sands, and for Wynn Resorts the price for its stock fluctuated between $15 to $23 that month.
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Krispy Kreme Reports Net Income for the Fourth Quarter and Breakeven Results for the Fiscal Year Ended January 31, 2010
Fourth Quarter Fiscal 2010 Highlights Compared to the Year-Ago Period:
Revenues decreased 5.6% to $86.8 million from $91.9 million; approximately $1 million of the decrease was due to refranchising
Company same store sales rose 1.1%, the 5th consecutive quarterly increase
Operating income increased 65% to $2.4 million from $1.5 million (the results reflect impairment charges and lease termination costs in both periods of $2.0 million and $1.2 million, respectively)
Net income was $0.5 million compared to a net loss of $0.3 million
Revenues decreased 5.6% to $86.8 million from $91.9 million; approximately $1 million of the decrease was due to refranchising
Company same store sales rose 1.1%, the 5th consecutive quarterly increase
Operating income increased 65% to $2.4 million from $1.5 million (the results reflect impairment charges and lease termination costs in both periods of $2.0 million and $1.2 million, respectively)
Net income was $0.5 million compared to a net loss of $0.3 million
Miami Beach Hotel Developers Accused in Tax Case
April 15 (Bloomberg) -- A pair of Miami Beach hotel developers were arrested and charged with conspiring to defraud the Internal Revenue Service by hiding more than $45 million in offshore accounts.
Mauricio Cohen Assor and his son Leon Cohen Levy, who built residential hotels under the Flatotel name, never told the IRS about proceeds of the $33 million sale in 2000 of a New York hotel, according to a complaint in federal court in Miami. Cohen Assor also used offshore nominee accounts to hide the ownership of a Swiss account at an international bank that held $45.6 million in 2004, according to the complaint.
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Mauricio Cohen Assor and his son Leon Cohen Levy, who built residential hotels under the Flatotel name, never told the IRS about proceeds of the $33 million sale in 2000 of a New York hotel, according to a complaint in federal court in Miami. Cohen Assor also used offshore nominee accounts to hide the ownership of a Swiss account at an international bank that held $45.6 million in 2004, according to the complaint.
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