Recession Chills Sunshine State Tourism

Florida's hotels, theme parks and restaurants have suffered as out-of-state travelers vacation closer to home, or spend less time and money on trips to the Sunshine State. With tourism generating as much as 15% of total state tax revenue, and responsible for as many as one million jobs, many see the tepid summer season as evidence that good times are still a long way off.

Read more:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125029395091933479.html?mod=dist_smartbrief

Steak n Shake to buy Western Sizzlin

The Steak n Shake Co.’s announcement this morning that it plans to purchase Western Sizzlin Corp. for about $23 million puts the Indianapolis restaurant company back in the steakhouse business for the first time since exiting it nearly a decade ago.In 2000, the company — then known as Consolidated Products Inc. — sold off its 11 Colorado Steakhouses in order to focus on its core Steak n Shake business.

Read more;
http://www.ibj.com/html/detail_page.asp?content=43869AmpersandRedirected=true

O’Hare hotel developer files Chap. 11

(Crain’s) — The developer of the new InterContinental Chicago O’Hare in Rosemont has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

The 556-room hotel, which opened last September, has struggled amid the sharp downturn in travel brought on by the recession. Reasons for the bankruptcy weren’t disclosed in the petitions, which were filed Monday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Chicago by six development entities led by Oak Brook-based Harp Group Inc.

Read more;
http://www.chicagorealestatedaily.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=35163

US Construction Update - Q2 - 2009

For the first time, Lodging Econometrics (LE) has compiled and announced its forecast for New Hotel Openings for 2011. New hotel openings are projected at 759 hotels/74,493 rooms. LE has also adjusted its forecasts for 2009 and 2010. The 2009 forecast has been reduced to 1,425 new hotels/156,653 rooms, down by 5,036 rooms, a decrease of 3%. The 2010 forecast has been adjusted to 1,073 projects/
124,439 rooms, down 21,277 rooms or 15%.

Read more:
http://www.hotelnewsresource.com/pdf8/LE081709US.pdf

Hotel Owners walk away from mortgages

Morgans Hotel: A Zombie Company Bleeding Cash and Defaulting on Loans

Morgan Hotel Group (MHGC) “owns” several heavily mortgaged hotels, operates a few more, and is involved in several others as joint ventures. These properties are generally high end independent hotels, which is the single worst performing segment of the very weak lodging industry. In the most recent quarter, MHGC’s Revenue per Available Room plummeted 39.5%, by contrast for the overall hotel industry this metric was around -20%. MHGC’s hotels are suffering from severe double whammy: less overall travel and substitution from high-end to mid-priced and business class hotels

Read more:
http://seekingalpha.com/article/156544-morgans-hotel-a-zombie-company-bleeding-cash-and-defaulting-on-loans?source=yahoo

Weekly Restaurant Stock Update

Here is the link to the stock update:

Houston’s refuses to submit to NYC law; challenging in court

California-based restaurant chain Houston’s doesn’t like New York City’s calorie labeling law, and it has refused to submit to it, setting the stage for a battle with city health officials.
With more than 30 restaurants across the country, including two in Manhattan, the upscale chain falls under the city’s definition of a company required to include caloric information on its menus here. But diners won’t find calories listed anywhere at either of the restaurants, on East 53rd Street and Third Avenue and East 27th Street and Park Avenue South.

Read more:
http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20090816/FREE/908159995

Lack of finance could stifle restaurant industry recovery

A survey of members of the British Hospitality Association's National Restaurants Group, and conducted by the accountancy firm BDO Stoy Hayward, reveals that over one-third of businesses believe there will be slight growth in both 2009 and 2010 while a similar number believes there will be strong growth in 2010.

The survey warns, however, that growth in the future will be curtailed if finance is not made more readily available. This is widely considered to be one of the most inhibiting factors to restaurant expansion.
Read more:
http://www.costsectorcatering.co.uk/online_article/lack-of-finance-could-stifle-restaurant-industry-recovery/8369

Chain Restaurants Q2 Earnings: What's Going on?

Most of the chain restaurant earnings for the quarter are now in, but it will be interesting to watch Burger King (BKC) on August 25. This quarter, virtually all companies beat analysts estimates based on commodity and other cost structure reductions, all of which essentially fall 100% through to the bottom line.
So beating projections on cost decreases is good but should be no surprise in this sector right now.

Read more:
http://seekingalpha.com/article/156468-chain-restaurants-q2-earnings-what-s-going-on?source=yahoo

Alternative Hotel Group in debt talks with Lloyds

The company behind some of Britain’s most prestigious hotels is set to open talks about a restructuring of its £1.4 billion debt pile.
Alternative Hotel Group, which owns properties such as Cameron House in Scotland and Slaley Hall in Northumberland through its De Vere chain, is to begin negotiations with its lender Lloyds Banking Group after the bank appointed Deloitte to carry out an independent review of the business.

Read more:
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/leisure/article6797711.ece

Dubai Holding to Focus on Four Businesses

Aug. 16 (Bloomberg) -- Dubai Holding LLC, a diversified group owned by Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed Bin RashidAl Maktoum, plans to focus on four businesses, including property and hospitality, as part of a restructuring.

Read more;
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601206&sid=aC7phLh7NeIY

2011 Latin America Pipeline: 132 Hotels, 23,693 Rooms

Lodging Econometrics (LE) has compiled and released its first 2011 Forecast for New Hotel Openings in Latin America, projected to be 132 hotels/23,693 rooms. Adjusted for the global recession, LE has made further downward revisions to its forecasts for 2009 and 2010.Still, Latin America remains in the midst of a four-year New Openings surge that began in 2008. 151 new hotels/26,204 rooms are expected to open in 2010, a cyclical high for room counts. The 2009 forecast calls for 220 new hotels/20,754 rooms to come online, of which 73 hotels/10,678 rooms opened in Q1-Q2.

Read more:
http://www.hotelsmag.com/article/ca6676859.html

NPC International, Inc. Reports Second Fiscal Quarter 2009 Earnings

OVERLAND PARK, KANSAS, (AUGUST 14, 2009) - NPC International, Inc. (the "Company"), today reported results for its second fiscal quarter and year-to-date period ended June 30, 2009.
SECOND QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS:
-Non-GAAP Adjusted EBITDA from continuing operations (reconciliation attached) of $25.6MM exceeded the prior year by $6.4MM or 33.1%.
Income from continuing operations of $3.4MM was $2.3MM greater than the $1.1MM recorded last year.
-Debt declined $12.1MM from the first quarter to $438.7MM and our Leverage Ratio remained largely the same as our first quarter at 3.83X Consolidated EBITDA, as defined in our credit agreement.
-Comparable store sales from continuing operations declined -12.6% rolling over an increase of +7.2% last year.

Read more:
http://www.npcinternational.com/investors/financial_report/66

Restaurant Marketing: iPhone Revolutionizing Restaurant Marketing

Restaurant Marketing: The iPhone, Blackberry and other smartphones are revolutionizing restaurant marketing and the way guests find restaurants. Specific dining “apps” have been developed that that can be downloaded onto smartphones that are either exclusive to specific chains or exclusive to specific food categories. Most apps feature location-based technology. For the user, they provide instant information just with the tap of your finger. For the restaurants, they get in front of the millions who are depending on their smartphones for instant dining information.

Read more:
http://www.restaurantmarketingblog.com/index.php/weblog/restaurant_marketing_iphone_revolutionizing_restaurant_marketing/