Four Seasons San Francisco in default

Millennium Partners is in default on its two-year $90 million loan for the 277-room Four Seasons Hotel San Francisco, according to the developer.
The luxury condo and hotel developer and operator has purposefully stopped making debt payments as a strategy to jump start renegotiating the debt with the special server, LNR Property Corp. The Four Seasons is the second luxury hotel to default on its debt payments in recent weeks. The owners of the 393-room Renaissance Stanford Court Hotel in Nob Hill, funds controlled by JER Partners, defaulted on a $89 million loan, according to lender Barclays Capital.

Read more:
http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/stories/2009/07/06/daily68.html?

Ten Coffee Republic branches close their doors

The outlets which have ceased trading are; York House, Manchester, Richmond, Staines, 33 Northgate Street, Chester, Canterbury, The Mall, Ealing, Canary Wharf, George Street, London, Rathbone Place, London and Great Marlborough Street, London. The Gloucester Road, London branch closed shortly before the appointment of administrators.

Read more:
http://www.costsectorcatering.co.uk/online_article/ten-coffee-republic-branches-close-their-doors/7957

Details emerge about Fontainebleau Las Vegas' troubles

It may take another $1.5 billion to complete the bankrupt Fontainebleau Las Vegas, leaving a project that would be burdened by debt almost twice what appraisers say the resort is worth.
These are just some of the grim details beginning to emerge in recent court documents filed in Miami bankruptcy court by Bank of America and other lenders. Bank of America Senior Vice President Henry Yu, a specialist in corporate work-outs, states that Fontainebleau had been ''insolvent'' since March, well before last month's bankruptcy filing.

Read more:
http://www.miamiherald.com/business/story/1131841.html

Biltmore Hotel seeks new deal with Coral Gables

The glossy magazine Celebrated Living recently ranked the landmark Biltmore Hotel as one of the top 20 hotels on the U.S. mainland. But operators of the historic city-owned property aren't breaking out the champagne: They're behind by almost $2.4 million in payments to their landlord, the city of Coral Gables.
Executives from Seaway Corp., which has run the hotel for the city since 1992, blame the weak economy and the expense of keeping a 1926 grand dame in peak condition.

Read more:
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/southflorida/story/1130576.html

More Distress to Come in Hotel Sector

NEW YORK CITY-Expect more distress in the hotel real estate sector. That was the consensus of a group of experts convened for a recent GlobeSt.com webinar, "Distressed Hotels: How Bad Will it Get?"

Read more:
http://www.globest.com/news/1446_1446/newyork/179668-1.html

Ilikai hotel to close

HONOLULU -- The new owner of an iconic Waikiki property that was featured in the opening title shot of the 1970s TV series "Hawaii Five-0" said Tuesday it plans to cease operations of the building's Ilikai hotel in two days.
New York-based iStar Financial Inc. ( SFI - news - people ) said 203 hotel rooms in the nearly 1,000-unit property will be closed Thursday because of mounting operating losses. Hotel occupancy has fallen steeply around Hawaii because of the global economic slowdown.

Read more:
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2009/07/08/ap6628670.html

Harbinger Takes Ownership Stake in Morgans Hotel Group

In a 13G filing just filed with the SEC late yesterday, Philip Falcone's hedge fund Harbinger Capital Partners has disclosed an 8% ownership stake in Morgans Hotel Group (MHGC). The filing was made due to activity on June 24th, 2009 and it now owns 2,584,726 shares. This is a brand new position for the fund, as it previously did not hold it when we last looked at Harbinger's portfolio.

Read more:
http://seekingalpha.com/article/147773-harbinger-takes-ownership-stake-in-morgans-hotel-group?rpc=401&source=feed

Canadian Lodging Outlook May 2009

Read more about the Canadian Lodging industry in this report from HVS and STR
http://www.hotelnewsresource.com/pdf8/hvs070809.pdf

Pub trade split on new trade body

Enterprise Inns boss Ted Tuppen said his company would pay £100,000 to fund a new group, which aims to redress the balance of power between pubcos and tenants. He said tenanted operators could pay a levy based on sizes of estates.
Robertson welcomed his approach, but said: “We think there are too many bodies already, what we need is simplicity. Another group isn’t something we’d recommend

Read more:
http://www.morningadvertiser.co.uk/news.ma/article/83677

Steak n Shake shares jump on same-store sales rise

NEW YORK (AP) -- Shares of restaurant chain Steak n Shake Co. soared Wednesday after the company said its same-store sales for its fiscal third quarter jumped 5 percent on a big boost in customer traffic.
Shares rose $1.08, or 13 percent, to $9.19 in midday trading.
After the market closed Tuesday, the company said its customer traffic climbed 13.4 percent for the quarter ended July 1, helping drive up its same-store sales, or sales at locations open at least 18 months

Read more:
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Steak-n-Shake-shares-jump-on-apf-3839324404.html?x=0&.v=1

13 NYC Dunkin’ stores switch to Tim Hortons

NEW YORK (July 8, 2009) The Riese Organization, a longtime multi-concept franchisee in New York City, is converting all 13 of its Dunkin’ Donuts stores to the Tim Hortons brand, president and chief executive Dennis Riese said Wednesday.
Riese said he plans to close the Dunkin’ locations on Friday and reopen the stores July 13 under the Tim Hortons banner. Riese and Dunkin’ had come to an agreement about five years ago that required the termination of a franchise partnership by July 31.

Read more:
http://www.nrn.com/breakingNews.aspx?id=369534&menu_id=1368

LONDON RESTAURANT BAROMETER SUGGESTS STORMS AHEAD

Here are some comments on a previous article that we posted

“London restaurants see green shoots of recovery”, screams a headline in the trade press. The source for this comforting bit of news? The latest bulletin from the London Restaurant Barometer. But sadly, as you’ll see below, the data show no such thing.

Read more:
http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-news/uk-london/08-07-09/london-restuarant-barometer-business-link-may-2009/

BJ's Outperforms Restaurant Stocks but May Trade Lower

It’s amazing to see how many retail stocks have booked incredible gains over the past several months. The gains are largely a combination of severely depressed stock prices during the market panic of late 2007 / early 2008, and a very significant change in investor perception regarding how consumers spend available income. The low base coupled with optimism in certain issues has resulted in a handful of stocks with triple digit gains - many of which come from the retail sector.

Read more:
http://seekingalpha.com/article/147528-bj-s-outperforms-restaurant-stocks-but-may-trade-lower?source=yahoo

European Fast-Casual Concept Expanding in U.S.

[2009-07-08] Vapiano, the European fast-casual restaurant and lounge chain, announced that a franchisee has purchased rights to open new locations in New York City. The chain, with over 55 locations in 16 countries worldwide, also recently announced new deals in markets such as Houston, Chicago, and Atlanta. It currently has six U.S. locations open, including two in Washington, D.C., along with stores in Arlington, Virginia; Dulles, Virginia; Dallas, Texas; and Fort Myers, Florida.
Here is the company web site http://vapianointernational.com/

Read more:

http://www.qsrmagazine.com/articles/news/story.phtml?id=8914&utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication

Taco Bell's New Green Menu Takes No Ingredients From Nature