Baltimore Four Seasons hotel project moving ahead

Baltimore's $197 million Four Seasons Hotel is on target to open by late 2011 with partial financing from the proceeds of $45 million in tax-exempt bonds issued by the Maryland Industrial Development Financing Authority.

Representatives for the state and the hotel developers said PNC Bank is purchasing the state-issued bonds and that the proceeds will be loaned to the developer so that it can complete the 18-story, 256-room luxury hotel in Harbor East. Affiliates of John Paterakis' H&S Properties Development Corp. are the developers.

MIDFA held a public hearing on the bond sale Wednesday morning, and the settlement is scheduled for Thursday. According to H&S Vice President Michael Ricketts, the hotel project is expected to create 1,273 construction jobs and 577 full-time jobs.
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Hotel workers ratify contract with four downtown Vancouver hotels

Unite Here! Local 40 has announced that workers at the Vancouver Hyatt, Four Seasons, Westin Bayshore, and Renaissance hotels have ratified a new four-year deal.
It includes a $1.84 per hour raise over the life of the contract, as well as a 50-percent hike in pension contributions, housekeeping workload relief, improved access to medical benefits , and medical-benefit increases, according to a statement released by the union.
"Now more of our coworkers will keep the extended health care and dental benefits during slower parts of the year," Naden Abenes, a room attendant at the Hyatt and member of the union bargaining committee, said in the statement. "I'm also happy we won housekeeping workload relief which means housekeepers will no longer have to skip their breaks to finish rooms, can rely less on painkilllers, and actually get to enjoy the time they spend with their families after work—instead of losing that time due to pain."

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Overseas buyer sought for Four Seasons

The Ballsbridge hotel is expected to sell for around €30 million, writes JACK FAGAN
THE CBRE property consultancy handling the sale of the Four Seasons Hotel in Ballsbridge, Dublin 4, is targeting hotel investment funds in Europe and the US as well as overseas owners of luxury hotels.
It is thought highly unlikely that an Irish buyer can be found because of the economic downturn and the banking crisis.
Although no guide price is being quoted at this stage for the five-star, 197-bedroom hotel, market sources suggest that the owners would be happy to sell the property for around €30 million.

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Still Without Financing, New York Four Seasons gets New Timeline.

New York real estate developer Larry Silverstein talked about a stalled construction project on Thursday. Nope not the World Trade Center.
The WTC site has seen quite a bit of action in recent months with construction proceeding at a good clip. Meanwhile, Mr. Siliverstein’s Four Seasons Hotel at 99 Church St. downtown has seen no activity, as the developer is still seeking construction financing.

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Four Seasons penthouse sells: $7.2M

The two-story penthouse atop the Four Seasons Hotel and Private Residences in downtown Seattle has been sold for $7.19 million.
The 5,256-square-foot unit sold earlier this week as an unfinished shell for approximately $1,368 a square foot. Finishing the interior could cost anywhere from $200 a square foot on up, depending on what level of finishes the new owner wants, said Scot Wasner, director of the Four Seasons Private Residences and co-founder of Realogics Sotheby’s International Realty.

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Dublin's Four Seasons Hotel for sale after £1.7m loss

In a move that will “send shockwaves through the industry”, the luxurious Four Seasons Hotel in Ballsbridge, Dublin, is up for sale after posting losses of £1.7m.


The icon of the Republic’s Celtic Tiger era attracted well-heeled and celebrity guests, including Eminem and Mariah Carey, down the years.

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KHI sells 43.7% holdings in Four Seasons Hotel Cairo

JEDDAH: Kingdom Hotel Investments (KHI), a subsidiary of diversified Saudi conglomerate Kingdom Holding Company (KHC) chaired by Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, has completed the sale of its 43.7 percent minority interest in the Four Seasons Hotel Cairo at Nile Plaza, Egypt to Arab Company for Hotel and Tourism Investments (a subsidiary of the Egyptian based Talat Moustafa Group Holding Company), the majority shareholder of the referenced hotel, for cash proceeds of $145 million.

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Five people line up for every job at new Denver hotel

Applicants were in high attendance, seeking to fill 260 positions available Wednesday at the Four Seasons Hotel Denver career fair.

About 1,300 job seekers — some living outside Colorado and some fully employed — attended the event. While many applicants said job stability was the major appeal, others said the Four Seasons' reputation alone was the draw.

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Austin Four Seasons Hotel Nabs $56M Refi

AUSTIN, TX-The Four Seasons Hotel here has received a $56 million first mortgage and mezzanine loan to refinance its existing mortgage. Los Angeles-based Mesa West Capital provided the hotel’s owners, Lodging Capital Partners and Syndicated Equities Group, with the first mortgage, while Blackstone Real Estate Debt Strategies provided the mezz piece.

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Four Seasons Nevis Will Reopen on December 15

The Four Seasons Nevis closed back in October 2008 after Hurricane Omar tore through St. Kitts and Nevis islands. The hotel had hoped to reopen in February 2009 then again in November 2009 but the tough economy forced the property to stay closed until things got better.

Well, things must be better now as the resort is planning to open on December 15. Even better the hotel's website is already accepting and confirming reservations for that date. We found rooms for $345 USD for a deluxe mountain side room which offer partial views of Nevis peak and the nearby old sugar mill. Rooms also promise loveseats, a balcony or patio, deep soaking tubs and marble dining tables for two.

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Kingdom Holding May Sell Minority Stakes in Hotels

July 5 (Bloomberg) -- Kingdom Holding Co., the investment company controlled by Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, and its hotels unit may sell minority stakes held in hotels as part of a plan to focus on higher-earning properties.

Kingdom has a “handful” of assets where it owns a 50 percent stake or less, and it “will assess the viability” of those holdings and may sell them to reinvest in the same industry, Sarmad Zok, chief executive officer of the lodging unit Kingdom Hotel Investments, said by phone from New York on June 30. He declined to identify the properties.

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Four Seasons names Kathleen Taylor CEO; founder Isadore Sharp to step down

Four Seasons just announced that Kathleen Taylor on Aug. 1 will take on the new title of CEO, as founder Isadore Sharp transitions from his longtime role.

Taylor's promotion will make her the only female chief among the big luxury hotel companies, including Ritz-Carlton and Starwood's group that includes the St. Regis chain.

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Why eliminating nightly turndown service wasn't an option at Four Seasons hotels

At the height of the luxury travel downturn last year, the Four Seasons hotel chain questioned whether the longtime tradition of preparing every guest's room for bed time was still worth it at a time when guests were paying less. But, ultimately, the company concluded that eliminating nightly turndown service would be a costly mistake.

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Four Seasons is now the Park Hyatt Aviara

Four Seasons will officially part company today from the Aviara resort in Carlsbad and will now be known as a Park Hyatt hotel.

The changeover follows what had been a months-long, acrimonious dispute between the hotel owner, Broadreach Capital Partners, and the hotel’s longtime operator, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts.

Although Broadreach had sought to immediately remove Four Seasons more than a year ago, alleging that it had failed to run the property in a “cost-effective manner,” the matter ultimately went to arbitration.

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Reopening of Four Seasons Nevis Could Give St. Kitts Much-Needed Boost

NEW YORK CITY – As part of our coverage of the Caribbean Tourism Organization’s annual Caribbean Week event last week, Travel Agent sat down with St. Kitts and Nevis’ Minister of State for Tourism Ricky Skerritt and discussed how important the anticipated November re-opening of the Four Seasons Nevis will be on St. Kitts.

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Four Seasons Sees Rates Returning to Peak Levels in Some Areas

June 8 (Bloomberg) -- Four Seasons Hotels Inc. expects nightly rates at some of its properties will climb to the peak levels of 2008 by the end of this year as demand for luxury accommodation picks up, President Kathleen Taylor said.

The Four Seasons hotels in Washington, Paris, Buenos Aires and the Maldives will achieve or “come extremely close” to 2008 rates, Taylor said in an interview at the NYU Hospitality Conference in New York. She is also the company’s chief operating officer.

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Luxury Chain Cuts the Flowers, Sends Out Wash at Some Hotels

TORONTO–Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts, famed for its top-flight hotels, has agreed to skimp on some of its signature features, bowing to pressures by some financially strapped owners of properties that bear its name.

Many Four Seasons hotels have stopped displaying huge vases of fresh flowers. Others are closing their high-end restaurants on slow days. And some have begun outsourcing laundry.

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Lenders foreclose on Four Seasons Resort in Las Colinas

Mortgage holders sold the 431-room luxury Irving golf course hotel, conference center and spa at auction Tuesday morning. The foreclosure comes seven months after lenders first posted the 400-acre property for sale after the owners missed payments on the more than $175 million in debt

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Hotels Aim to Dominate Europe After Conquering U.S.

April 29 (Bloomberg) -- Europe is the new battleground for the world’s largest hotel companies as they look for sources of growth outside the U.S. market they already dominate.

Four Seasons Hotels Inc., Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. and Marriott International Inc. are stepping up expansion efforts in Europe, where about 34 percent of hotels fly chain flags, Otus & Co. estimates. In the U.S., they already control about 70 percent of the market, according to Smith Travel Research Inc. of Hendersonville, Tennessee.

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Vail's Four Seasons delayed as owner files lawsuit

VAIL, Colorado — The completion date of the Four Seasons in Vail, Colorado has been delayed again, and the owner has filed a multi-million-dollar lawsuit against a consultant.

The $250 million hotel-condo-fractional project was supposed to open in June, but a spokeswoman said there is currently no opening date slated for the project.

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