Bids are due Friday from companies and individuals wanting to buy the bankrupt Fontainebleau casino-resort development project on the Las Vegas Strip.
Parties desiring to take over the 70-percent-complete, 3,815-room resort will have to offer more than the $156.2 million currently offered by "stalking horse bidder" and investment veteran Carl Icahn.
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Note: Investopedia explains Stalking-Horse Bid
This method allows the distressed company to avoid low bids on its assets. Once the stalking horse has made its bid, other potential buyers may submit competing bids for the bankrupt company's assets. In essence, the stalking horse sets the bar so that other bidders can't low-ball the purchase price.
Monday, January 11, 2010
Cable Beach Bahamas Hotels open only because of Owner funding
Baha Mar's two existing Cable Beach resorts are only still open because their owner's family has used their own money to cover "significant multi-million dollar losses", particularly over the last two years, something that has made the Izmirlians the "largest private investor in the history of the Bahamas".
Sarkis Izmirlian, Baha Mar's chairman and chief executive, told Tribune Business in an exclusive interview that there was "no way" the Bahamian hotel industry could maintain its long-term competitiveness unless its operating cost base - chiefly labour and utilities - were brought into line with this nation's rivals.
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Sarkis Izmirlian, Baha Mar's chairman and chief executive, told Tribune Business in an exclusive interview that there was "no way" the Bahamian hotel industry could maintain its long-term competitiveness unless its operating cost base - chiefly labour and utilities - were brought into line with this nation's rivals.
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Sunday, January 10, 2010
Franchises sue KFC over shift to grilled chicken
At Kentucky Fried Chicken, the name once said it all. But the world's most popular chicken chain is betting heavily that its grilled chicken -- which racked up nearly $1 billion in sales in its first year -- is the Next Big Thing. That has angered a coalition of franchise owners, who run most of the restaurants and believe the focus should remain fried.
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Travelodge unveils plan for 26 new hotels
Travelodge, the budget hotel chain, pledged yesterday to create more than 500 jobs in Britain this year with the opening of 26 new hotels.
The group, owned by Dubai International Capital, said that the opening programme, to cost £115 million, would add more than 2,000 rooms to its estate.
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The group, owned by Dubai International Capital, said that the opening programme, to cost £115 million, would add more than 2,000 rooms to its estate.
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California Hotel Foreclosures Quadrupled in 2009 on Travel Drop
Jan. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Hotel foreclosures in California more than quadrupled last year as business travelers and vacationers cut spending and commercial real estate values plunged, forcing owners into default, according to a survey released today.
There were 62 foreclosures on hotels in the state last year, compared with 15 in 2008, Irvine, California-based Atlas Hospitality Group said in a statement. Properties in default jumped almost six-fold to 307, said Atlas, which specializes in selling hotels. The survey only covered California.
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There were 62 foreclosures on hotels in the state last year, compared with 15 in 2008, Irvine, California-based Atlas Hospitality Group said in a statement. Properties in default jumped almost six-fold to 307, said Atlas, which specializes in selling hotels. The survey only covered California.
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Friday, January 8, 2010
New Cici's CEO revamps corporate structure
Michael R. Shumsky, recently appointed CEO of CiCi's Pizza, announced in a statement a restructuring plan to better position the company for growth and success in 2010 and beyond. The restructuring has resulted in new organizational realignments to better support CiCi's franchisees, provide an industry leading experience for its guests and own the value position in the pizza segment.
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Marriott: 4Q better than expected in North America
BETHESDA, Md. Marriott International Inc. said Thursday it expects its fourth-quarter revenue per available room in North America to be slightly better than it forecast.
Marriott said the figure, a key measure of a hotelier's fiscal health, fell 13 percent to 14 percent, while the company said in early December that it would fall 13 percent to 16 percent decline.
Marriott said the decline in other regions would be in line with its earlier estimate of 14 percent to 16 percent on a constant dollar basis.
Marriott is scheduled to report its fourth-quarter results on Feb. 11. The hotel company is based in Bethesda, Md.
Its shares fell 11 cents to $27.87 in after-hours trading Thursday after closing up 11 cents at $27.98 during regular trading.
Marriott said the figure, a key measure of a hotelier's fiscal health, fell 13 percent to 14 percent, while the company said in early December that it would fall 13 percent to 16 percent decline.
Marriott said the decline in other regions would be in line with its earlier estimate of 14 percent to 16 percent on a constant dollar basis.
Marriott is scheduled to report its fourth-quarter results on Feb. 11. The hotel company is based in Bethesda, Md.
Its shares fell 11 cents to $27.87 in after-hours trading Thursday after closing up 11 cents at $27.98 during regular trading.
Haiti experiences a hotel boom
A decade after Haiti's only U.S. hotel franchise removed its marquee from a downtown Port-au-Prince building, the Caribbean nation is preparing to welcome its first international hotel brand.
Choice Hotels International, owners of Comfort Inn, is franchising its brand to two hotels in touristy Jacmel, a quaint seaside town in southeast Haiti known for its spell-binding carnival and viewed as Haiti's arts capital.
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Choice Hotels International, owners of Comfort Inn, is franchising its brand to two hotels in touristy Jacmel, a quaint seaside town in southeast Haiti known for its spell-binding carnival and viewed as Haiti's arts capital.
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Wednesday, January 6, 2010
The Mansion facing threat of foreclosure
One of Buckhead’s most prominent new developments — the Mansion on Peachtree — could be heading back to the lender.
Barring a last-minute deal, the high-end Mansion on Peachtree is facing imminent foreclosure, according to the project’s developer. A 30-day foreclosure notice is expected to be advertised on Jan. 5
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Barring a last-minute deal, the high-end Mansion on Peachtree is facing imminent foreclosure, according to the project’s developer. A 30-day foreclosure notice is expected to be advertised on Jan. 5
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Gordon Ramsay's Recipe For Redemption
On a gray morning in October, Gordon Ramsay bursts into the kitchen of his south London house, pop music blaring from the radio. At the heart of the room stands a 67,000-pound ($109,000) French cooking range that weighs 2.5 tons and had to be lowered by crane into the celebrity chef’s home.
Ramsay, who is 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 meters) tall and weighs 215 pounds (98 kilograms), is wearing jeans, a tight black T-shirt that accentuates his muscles and a Bell & Ross watch -- a Swiss brand marketed to soldiers, bomb-disposal experts and other “men facing extreme situations.”
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Ramsay, who is 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 meters) tall and weighs 215 pounds (98 kilograms), is wearing jeans, a tight black T-shirt that accentuates his muscles and a Bell & Ross watch -- a Swiss brand marketed to soldiers, bomb-disposal experts and other “men facing extreme situations.”
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Damage Is Done: Lower Room Rates Hurt Hotel
A dismal economy and the plummeting cost of an average room made 2009 a year the hotel industry would just as soon forget.
“I’ve been in the San Diego hotel business for 36 years and have never seen anything worse than this — not even after 9/11, because that recession didn’t last as long,” said Jack Giacomini, vice president, managing director and partner at the Hotel Crowne Plaza Hanalei in Mission Valley
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“I’ve been in the San Diego hotel business for 36 years and have never seen anything worse than this — not even after 9/11, because that recession didn’t last as long,” said Jack Giacomini, vice president, managing director and partner at the Hotel Crowne Plaza Hanalei in Mission Valley
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Harrah’s uses resort fees to take swing at competitors
Struggling under a mammoth debt burden in penny-pinching times, Strip casino giant Harrah's Entertainment is taking the offensive with a press release informing consumers that none of the company's Las Vegas hotels charge so-called mandatory resort fees.
The release also takes a broad swipe at the competition, including the many Las Vegas hotels that charge such fees.
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The release also takes a broad swipe at the competition, including the many Las Vegas hotels that charge such fees.
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Flanigan's reports higher profits
Miami Herald Staff Report
Fort Lauderdale-based Flanigan's Enterprises, which owns and operates Flanigan's Seafood Bar and Grill restaurants and Big Daddy's liquor stores, reported increased earnings for the 14 weeks ended Oct. 3, in comparison to 13 weeks ended Sept. 27, 2008.
Net income rose to $222,000, or 12 cents per share, compared to $66,000, or 3 cents per share, in the 2008 period.
Revenue grew 6.4 percent to $16.6 million.
Fort Lauderdale-based Flanigan's Enterprises, which owns and operates Flanigan's Seafood Bar and Grill restaurants and Big Daddy's liquor stores, reported increased earnings for the 14 weeks ended Oct. 3, in comparison to 13 weeks ended Sept. 27, 2008.
Net income rose to $222,000, or 12 cents per share, compared to $66,000, or 3 cents per share, in the 2008 period.
Revenue grew 6.4 percent to $16.6 million.
Ruth’s Hospitality: Sales decline stabilized
HEATHROW, Fla. (Jan. 5, 2009) Ruth’s Hospitality Group Inc. gave investors a glimmer of stabilization late Monday as its fourth-quarter preliminary report indicated a slowing in its same-store sales slide.
The parent of Ruth’s Chris Steak House said same-store sales at corporate units of the signature brand for the Dec. 27-ended quarter fell 11.2 percent, compared with an 18.7 percent decline in the same quarter of 2008. At market close Tuesday, Ruth’s shares were up a penny from the day earlier, or 0.41 percent, to $2.43. A day earlier the stock had spiked after an analyst said business spending may be increasing and help boost fine-dining sales.
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The parent of Ruth’s Chris Steak House said same-store sales at corporate units of the signature brand for the Dec. 27-ended quarter fell 11.2 percent, compared with an 18.7 percent decline in the same quarter of 2008. At market close Tuesday, Ruth’s shares were up a penny from the day earlier, or 0.41 percent, to $2.43. A day earlier the stock had spiked after an analyst said business spending may be increasing and help boost fine-dining sales.
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World’s Tallest Hotel Gives Dubai Its Second Record in a Week
Jan. 6 (Bloomberg) -- The world’s tallest hotel opened in Dubai today, continuing a record-setting week for the emirate that started with the inauguration of highest skyscraper.
Rose Rayhaan, a 72-story building with 482 rooms and suites, rises less than a mile from Burj Khalifa, the 200-floor tower that opened Jan. 4 with firework, light and water displays. The alcohol-free hotel will be operated by Rotana, an Abu Dhabi-based hotel management company that announced the opening in an e-mailed statement today.
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Rose Rayhaan, a 72-story building with 482 rooms and suites, rises less than a mile from Burj Khalifa, the 200-floor tower that opened Jan. 4 with firework, light and water displays. The alcohol-free hotel will be operated by Rotana, an Abu Dhabi-based hotel management company that announced the opening in an e-mailed statement today.
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