Marriott, Hilton against Disney, Universal in Expedia tax battle

Some of the biggest players within Florida’s $60 billion-a-year tourism industry are at odds in a battle over how online-travel companies such as Expedia Inc. and Orbitz Worldwide Inc. should be taxed.
One on side are hotel heavyweights such as Marriott International and Hilton Hotels & Resorts, which are out to eliminate what they contend is a competitive advantage the online companies have in selling hotel rooms.

Aligned with the Internet companies are theme-park giants Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando, motivated at least in part by concerns that requiring Expedia, Orbitz and others to absorb higher taxes could jeopardize a tax advantage the resorts themselves now have when selling vacation packages.

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Related articles

• Florida Dispute over hotel taxes escalates (hospitalitybusinessnews.com)

Bank of America says Cornhusker Marriott's owner in default

Bank of America says it is entitled to a place in front of other creditors of The Cornhusker Marriott hotel because the hotel's owner has defaulted on a $30 million secured loan.

The bank's assertion of a secured position in front of other creditors is the latest in a series of financial maneuvers staking claims to The Cornhusker Marriott's revenue. It isn't clear how the owner's legal and financial issues will affect the hotel's operations, if at all, and how they will play out.

The court filings did little to clarify the financial condition of The Cornhusker Marriott's proprietor, Shubh Hotels Lincoln, and its owner, Atul Bisaria, who bought The Cornhusker Marriott in 2004, except to reveal his company is in default. That doesn't necessarily mean the secured creditor intends to force the immediate collection of what's owed nor to force liquidation or reorganization.

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Hotel Guest murdered at Tbilisi Courtyard by Marriott hotel

(Hospitality Business News) January 28,2011 --- According to the Georgia News Agency, Police have detained a person suspected of murdering a French citizen in the Tbilisi (Georgia) Courtyard by Marriott hotel. According to the police, the suspect is a teenage boy and his identity has not been released. In video footage that was released by the Georgian Interior Ministry, the suspect confessed to having killed Stephan Cohen, a French citizen. The suspect said he killed Cohen due to a “dispute.” According to information obtained, Cohen died of multiple stab wounds.

According to the Police, the murder suspect took some of the belongings of Cohen, including a photo camera and a laptop and escaped from a balcony of the hotel. The head of Security at The Courtyard by Marriott Hotel told journalists that the murderer was an acquaintance of the murdered hotel guest.

“We confirm that the regretful incident happened between one of our guests and his private guest in one of the rooms of the hotel,” Security Service head, Zaza Kvaratskhelia said

“I would like to stress that according to our regulations, a stranger cannot enter the hotel room without permission of the hotel guest,” he added.

Guest claims drunk Marriott employee sexually assaulted sleeping guest

A woman claiming she was sexually assaulted by an intoxicated northwest suburban hotel employee who used a master key to enter her room while she slept filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the hotel.

Katherine Olson claims Marriott hotel employee Mauricio Rodriguez used a universal hotel card to break into her room and sexually assault her April 23, 2010, at the Marriot Schaumburg at 50 N. Martingale Rd. in Schaumburg, according to a suit filed in Cook County Circuit Court.

The suit claims Olson was a guest at the hotel when employee Rodriguez became intoxicated and used a hotel master key to enter her room without her permission while she slept late April 22 or early April 23.

Once inside the room, Rodriguez removed his clothing and sexually assaulted Olson, according to the suit.

The two-count suit claims Marriott International Inc. failed to provide adequate security, allowed employees with access to master keys to become intoxicated, served employees excess amounts of alcohol and allowed employees access to master keys after their shifts.

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Marriott takes porn off the menu at new hotels

Marriott International, one of the nation's leading hotel groups, tells USA Today's Hotel Check-In that it's pulling access to adult movies from the new hotel rooms it will be opening the next several years.
Marriott says that its decision coincides with a pending shift to new, in-room entertainment technology.

See related story - LodgeNet says outlook unchanged as some customers start to phase out Adult content

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New AC Hotels by Marriott Brand Formally Launches

(Hospitality Business News) January 20, 2011---Today the Spanish hotel group AC Hotels and Marriott International, Inc. formally announced their joint venture to manage and franchise a new lodging co-brand across Europe and Latin America  – “AC Hotels by Marriott.”

At launch, over 90 existing AC Hotels in Spain, Italy and Portugal will be re-branded as AC Hotels by Marriott and enter into long term management or franchise agreements with the joint venture. 

Antonio Catalan, chairman and founder of AC Hotels said, “We are thrilled to be partnering with Marriott. The new AC Hotels by Marriott co-brand combines the strengths of both AC Hotels and Marriott International--AC Hotels’ exceptional product and expertise and the power of Marriott’s engines, global footprint and the power of its development organization. We see tremendous growth potential for AC Hotels by Marriott and will be aggressively pursuing development opportunities throughout Europe and Latin America.” 

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MGM reinvents loyalty program

M Life is MGM Resorts International's answer to Marriott Rewards, Hilton Honors, Caesars Entertainment's Total Rewards and other hotel or casino customer reward programs.

But it's more than a slot club with loyalty incentives.

Let's say you're planning a guy's weekend in Las Vegas. On the M Life website you can develop the entire weekend itinerary, all within the confines of MGM Resorts' 10 Strip hotel-casinos.

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RBS May Take Marriott Hotel Stake in Restructuring

(Hospitality Business News) According to the SundayTimes Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc is close to taking a stake in 42 Marriott hotels as part of a debt restructuring.

Quinlan Private, renamed Avestus Capital Partners, and a group of Israeli investors borrowed 900 million pounds ($1.4 billion) from banks including RBS in 2007 to buy the hotels, the newspaper said. After the investment defaulted, the banks are expected to swap around 200 million of debt for equity next month

Doral unaffected by sale of parent debt

Doral Golf Resort & Spa says its operations will be unaffected by the sale of a loan on its parent company's corporate debt.

The 693-room hotel, which is hosting the 2011 World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship in March, is one of eight properties around the United States used as security for the $200 million mezzanine loan that will be auctioned in New York on Jan. 28.

Some of the other properties include Grand Wailea in Maui; the Arizona Biltmore in Phoenix and the Ritz-Carlton and JW Marriott at Grande Lakes in Orlando.

``This is a matter involving the owner of the hotel and the lender,'' said hotel sales and marketing director Christopher Bielski.

The hotel will continue to be managed by Marriott under terms of the existing management agreement, he said. The Doral had a lackluster year in 2009 but still eked out an operating profit of $3.2 million, said Thomas Fink, senior vice president of Trepp, which tracks financials of properties backed by securitized loans.

The sprawling resort spent about $4 million improving the property, more than eating up the extra cash and pushing the bottom line into the red.

In 2010, the numbers improved and Trepp forecasts that the Doral will end the year with an operating profit of about $18 million.

CBRE HOTELS ANNOUNCE THE SALE OF THE COURTYARD BY MARRIOTT LONDON GATWICK AIRPORT

CBRE Hotels have been instructed by Kew Green Hotels to market the 218 bedroom purpose built Courtyard by Marriott London Gatwick Airport.  The hotel opened in April 2009 and is the flagship Courtyard by Marriott hotel in the UK.

This property provides an excellent opportunity to acquire a new build hotel asset at the UK’s second busiest airport at a time when there are few other quality assets on the market.  The hotel has been developed in line with Courtyard by Marriott standards and includes 218 bedrooms, a fitness centre, restaurant, bar, business centre and parking for circa 150 cars.

Paul Johnson, Chief Executive Officer of Kew Green commented “The Courtyard by Marriott London Gatwick Airport is a high quality branded hotel in an unrivalled location at the South Terminal of the airport.  Since we opened last year demand has boomed and the hotel now achieves about 90% occupancy year round.  Demand for high quality assets like this is very strong and following expressions of interest from a number of parties, we have decided to market the hotel through CBRE Hotels.”  

Craig Millward, Director of CBRE Hotels commented “This hotel has opened into a difficult market and quickly established itself and secured excellent market share due to its outstanding location and product quality.  As the trading and economic environment continues to recover in and around London combined with the expected growth in passenger numbers at Gatwick there is excellent potential for a purchaser to realise a strong return on their investment.”

The sale of the hotel will be subject to the franchise and related agreements with Marriott International, Inc. and its affiliates.  Courtyard by Marriott is a registered trademark of Marriott International, Inc.

Carl Wilson, Marriott CIO, to Retire, Succeeded by Bruce Hoffmeister as Global Chief Information Officer

Marriott International, Inc. (Hospitality Business News) announced today that Carl Wilson, executive vice president and chief information officer at the company since 1997, will retire March 31. Bruce Hoffmeister, a 22-year Marriott veteran, will succeed him as Global Chief Information Officer on April 1.

Mr. Wilson was instrumental in managing the critical nexus between technology and business strategy as the company’s lodging portfolio grew to encompass 3,500 properties in 70 countries worldwide.

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Dublin's Shelbourne Hotel suffers a loss of €156m

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One of Ireland's best-known hotels, the five-star Shelbourne Hotel in Dublin, made a staggering pre-tax loss of €156m in 2008 after the value of the hotel property was written down by €155m.

In spite of the writedown, the company that owns and operates the hotel, Shelbourne Hotel Holdings Ltd (SHHL), made an operating profit in 2008, 2009 and 2010.

The figures show that the company recorded an operating profit of €3m in 2008, following an operating loss of €6m in 2007

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Carbon monoxide sickens 4 in San Francisco hotel

SAN FRANCISCO—Four guests at a downtown San Francisco hotel are recovering from carbon monoxide exposure in their rooms.
Authorities say the guests fell ill while staying in separate rooms at the San Francisco Marriott Marquis around 10:40 p.m. Thursday. The guests complained of flu-like symptoms to the hotel's doctor, who urged staff to call the fire department.

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Las Vegas hotel sued over harassment complaints

A Las Vegas hotel is being sued by a federal agency after multiple female employees complained that a male supervisor groped them.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed suit Thursday in U.S. District Court for Nevada in Las Vegas against the JW Marriott Las Vegas resort.

The Las Vegas Sun reports that the lawsuit says the supervisor rubbed against the female employees, placed his tongue into their ears and regularly made offensive remarks to them starting in 2003.
The lawsuit claims the hotel permitted the harassment.

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La Caille co-owner and wife found in Provo Marriott Hotel in apparent murder-suicide

PROVO, Utah — The bodies of La Caille co-owner Steven Runolfson, 56, and wife Lisa, 57, of Sandy, were found Saturday night at the Provo Marriott Hotel in an apparent murder-suicide. Police say the couple had checked into the Provo Marriott Hotel on Dec. 23 and were suppose to check out out on Dec. 24. On Dec. 25, one of the managers went to the room to see if they had left. They found them in the room and notified Provo Police Department.   Read More:

Man falls from roof of Marriott

SPRINGFIELD, Mass.—Authorities say a trespasser trying to get into a Massachusetts hotel's penthouse suite through a window fell 10 stories and was seriously hurt.

Police in Springfield say the man was on the roof of the Marriott Hotel and tried to shimmy down a holiday star decoration on the outside of the building when he fell more than 70 feet Saturday night. Capt. William P. Collins says the man landed on a ledge on the sixth floor.

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NYC-area hotel portfolio sells for $164M

Updated 12:39 p.m.] MCR Development has acquired a portfolio of 10 Marriott and Hilton hotels for $164 million, marking one of the largest hotel deals in the country so far this year, according to commercial real estate services firm CB Richard Ellis, which brokered the deal. The collection of mostly extended-stay hotels, include 1,100 rooms across New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania.

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Ritz penthouse fetches $13 million

MONTREAL - The penthouse at Montreal’s Ritz Carlton Residences has sold for a whopping $13 million – taxes included – The Gazette has learned.
The 8,000-square-foot unit – which includes a terrace the size of a large three-bedroom apartment – is the most expensive condo ever sold in Montreal.
Despite expectations that a wealthy foreigner would nab the penthouse, the buyer is local, said veteran real estate broker JJ Jacobs.
Jacobs, of JJ Jacobs Realty Inc. wouldn’t disclose the name of the buyer, or divulge any more details about the penthouse.
“It’s a done deal, but it’s not signed yet,” she said.
Ritz Carlton Montreal CEO Andrew Torriani couldn’t be reached for comment yesterday.

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Marriott's Schrager leaves Gramercy and launches two hotel brands

Ian Schrager, who launched Edition boutique hotels for Marriott, has sold his share of Gramercy Park Hotel in New York and started Schrager Hotels, which encompasses two new, currently unnamed, brands.

 

Schrager sold his Gramercy share for a reported $20m (£12.8m) to developer Aby Rosen. His new hotel chains will be targeted at 'international gateway cities'.

 "It was a very good financial transaction for me," said Schrager. "I received an offer that was just too good to refuse. However, it is a bittersweet moment as well. I put 110% into that hotel as I do with all of my projects, but it was time to move on and seek new challenges. As always, I am committed to the idea that the future will always be better than the past."
One of his new brands will be targeted at luxury lifestyle while the other will be a less expensive, style-focused product.
The first hotel under one of these new brands is billed to open in Chicago in September 2011.
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Settlement reached in Marriott rape case

STAMFORD -- A woman raped at gunpoint in front of her children four years ago in the Stamford Marriott parking garage has settled a civil lawsuit filed against the hotel for an undisclosed amount of money.

Attorneys involved in the lawsuits would not comment about details in the case, which was withdrawn this September and resolved using a private alternative dispute resolution firm.

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