A government minister yesterday told Tribune Business he was "extremely" concerned about the protracted legal battle that has enveloped the South Ocean resort and inhibited its potential $867 million redevelopment, telling Tribune Business yesterday that it further exacerbated the Bahamas' "asset utilisation problem".
Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace, minister of tourism and aviation, said the ongoing litigation between the project's developer and financing partners, and the failed attempt by a Canadian pension fund to foreclose on the $85 million first mortgage it holds on the South Ocean property, only delayed the potential benefits Bahamians were likely to gain from employment and entrepreneurial spin-off opportunities.
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Saturday, February 13, 2010
Peruvian airline considers handing out free tickets to boost tourism
Lima. LAN Peru Airlines said Thursday it was considering offering foreigners free transportation to southern Peru to revive tourism after the Cusco region was hit by torrential rains last month, Xinhua informed.
The special offer will benefit those who choose LAN Peru to come to Peru and wish to visit Cusco, said Jorge Vilchez, general manager of the airline company.
He said domestic tourists would also enjoy a discount of nearly 50 percent on each flight.
"The number of tourists coming from abroad such as Japan and Germany registered a big drop. We are talking about 10,000 less reservations," said Vilchez, who urged the Peruvian government to start a promotion campaign for all tourist destinations in Peru.
Vilchez added that the company's new air routes such as Lima-Madrid-Paris and Lima-San Francisco would contribute to the arrival of more foreign tourists.
Tourist arrivals in Cusco dropped by more than 50 percent shortly after the torrential rains, declining from 7,800 in the first three days of January to 3,300 at the beginning of February, according to the local government.
The downpours paralyzed traffic on the ground and forced the government to evacuate about 4,000 people, including tourists, with helicopters from around the renowned ancient Inca ruins site Machu Picchu.
The special offer will benefit those who choose LAN Peru to come to Peru and wish to visit Cusco, said Jorge Vilchez, general manager of the airline company.
He said domestic tourists would also enjoy a discount of nearly 50 percent on each flight.
"The number of tourists coming from abroad such as Japan and Germany registered a big drop. We are talking about 10,000 less reservations," said Vilchez, who urged the Peruvian government to start a promotion campaign for all tourist destinations in Peru.
Vilchez added that the company's new air routes such as Lima-Madrid-Paris and Lima-San Francisco would contribute to the arrival of more foreign tourists.
Tourist arrivals in Cusco dropped by more than 50 percent shortly after the torrential rains, declining from 7,800 in the first three days of January to 3,300 at the beginning of February, according to the local government.
The downpours paralyzed traffic on the ground and forced the government to evacuate about 4,000 people, including tourists, with helicopters from around the renowned ancient Inca ruins site Machu Picchu.
Bahamas tourism minister explains recipe for casino success
BAHAMAS Tourism Minister Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace says prohibiting locals from gambling in casinos and limiting the number of casinos are what makes gaming a successful part of that destination's tourism offerings.
So successful is casino gambling in Bahamas, according to Vanderpool-Wallace, that 80 per cent of their visitors partake in casino gambling, some for the sport of gambling and others for the excitement the resort-based gaming facilities offer.
He noted that even those who do not come to the island with the intention of participating in casino gambling usually end up doing so once they are there
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So successful is casino gambling in Bahamas, according to Vanderpool-Wallace, that 80 per cent of their visitors partake in casino gambling, some for the sport of gambling and others for the excitement the resort-based gaming facilities offer.
He noted that even those who do not come to the island with the intention of participating in casino gambling usually end up doing so once they are there
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Hooters on the block for up to $250 million
Hooters, the US restaurant chain famous for its buxom, scantily clad waitresses, is up for sale for as much as $250 million (£159 million), according to reports.
The company has hired North Point Advisors, a San Francisco investment bank, to advise on the possible sale and is approaching potential private equity buyers, the New York Post said.
Hooters’ chain of 450 owned and franchised “breast-aurants”, which stretches from the company’s Atlanta base to Nottinham in the UK, made more than $1 billion of sales in 2008.
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The company has hired North Point Advisors, a San Francisco investment bank, to advise on the possible sale and is approaching potential private equity buyers, the New York Post said.
Hooters’ chain of 450 owned and franchised “breast-aurants”, which stretches from the company’s Atlanta base to Nottinham in the UK, made more than $1 billion of sales in 2008.
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China's hotel industry lags as economy soars
LONDON—Dramatic declines in China’s hotel performance during 2009—underscored by revenue per available room (RevPAR) falling 26.2 percent compared with a year ago—contrast strongly with the continuing good performance of the Chinese economy. An 8.7 percent year-on-year increase in GDP (Source: National Bureau of Statistics of China) for 2009 has experts predicting China’s economy will overtake Japan’s in 2010 and become the world's second-biggest economy after the United States. Data from STR Global, the leading provider of market information to the global hotel industry, shows the decline in RevPAR was largely due to falling average daily rate (ADR) of 21 percent with further impetus from declines in occupancy of 6.5 percent. The fall off in occupancy came amid significant increases in hotel supply during the last few years. STR Global’s Census database shows a 5-percent increase in available rooms across the country for 2009 compared to the prior year.
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Ark Restaurants Announces First Quarter Financial Results
NEW YORK, New York -- February 12, 2010 -- Ark Restaurants Corp. (NASDAQ: ARKR) today reported financial results for the first quarter ended January 2, 2010.
Total revenues for the three-month period ended January 2, 2010 were $25,576,000 versus $26,792,000 in the three months ended December 27, 2008.
EBITDA, as adjusted for non-cash stock option expense and non-controlling interests for the three-month period ended January 2, 2010, was $59,000 versus $1,963,000 during the same three-month period last year. The Company's net loss for the three-month period ended January 2, 2010 was $723,000, or $0.21 per basic and diluted share, as compared to net income of $847,000, or $0.24 per basic and diluted share, for the same three-month period last year.
Company-wide same store sales decreased 4.4% compared to the same period last year
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Total revenues for the three-month period ended January 2, 2010 were $25,576,000 versus $26,792,000 in the three months ended December 27, 2008.
EBITDA, as adjusted for non-cash stock option expense and non-controlling interests for the three-month period ended January 2, 2010, was $59,000 versus $1,963,000 during the same three-month period last year. The Company's net loss for the three-month period ended January 2, 2010 was $723,000, or $0.21 per basic and diluted share, as compared to net income of $847,000, or $0.24 per basic and diluted share, for the same three-month period last year.
Company-wide same store sales decreased 4.4% compared to the same period last year
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Lehman Brothers sues to enforce a $168 million loan guarantee on the bankrupt Fontainebleau Las Vegas
Lehman Brothers wants South Florida developer Jeffrey Soffer to cover a $168 million loan he personally guaranteed for the failed Fontainebleau Las Vegas casino.
The federal suit filed Thursday sets up a long-awaited showdown between Soffer and creditors of the Vegas project, which was sold for pennies on the dollar in bankruptcy court last month. Soffer partially blamed the Vegas venture's downfall on Lehman, the lender whose collapse in 2008 helped spark the global financial crisis.
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The federal suit filed Thursday sets up a long-awaited showdown between Soffer and creditors of the Vegas project, which was sold for pennies on the dollar in bankruptcy court last month. Soffer partially blamed the Vegas venture's downfall on Lehman, the lender whose collapse in 2008 helped spark the global financial crisis.
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Loews CEO Tisch Says U.S. Rang Hotel ‘Death Knell’
Feb. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Jim Tisch, the leader of Loews Corp., said the U.S. did a “good job of killing” the hotel business by lambasting corporate travel and hurt American International Group Inc.’s ability to return bailout funds by curbing pay.
“The criticism that took place of group travel was really a death knell for the industry,” Tisch said yesterday in an interview at an office of the New York-based holding company, which owns hotels. “It’s easy for the politician to get the sound bite. What they are doing with those sound bites is putting maids and bellmen out of work.”
Loews’s hotel unit posted a $34 million loss in 2009, compared with a $40 million profit in 2008. Tisch, the chairman and chief executive officer of Loews, said group travel comprises about half the firm’s hotel business, and operations suffered as lawmakers disparaged corporate trips amid the $700 billion rescue of financial firms. In 2008, bailed-out AIG canceled about 160 events costing a total of $80 million.
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“The criticism that took place of group travel was really a death knell for the industry,” Tisch said yesterday in an interview at an office of the New York-based holding company, which owns hotels. “It’s easy for the politician to get the sound bite. What they are doing with those sound bites is putting maids and bellmen out of work.”
Loews’s hotel unit posted a $34 million loss in 2009, compared with a $40 million profit in 2008. Tisch, the chairman and chief executive officer of Loews, said group travel comprises about half the firm’s hotel business, and operations suffered as lawmakers disparaged corporate trips amid the $700 billion rescue of financial firms. In 2008, bailed-out AIG canceled about 160 events costing a total of $80 million.
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Dubai selling off the Queen Elizabeth 2?
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Dubai is reportedly preparing to sell a host of assets, including one of the world's best known cruise ships, as the emirate's investment arm looks to restructure a mountain of debt.
The Queen Elizabeth II, or QE2, is rumored to be one of the assets that Dubai's state-run private equity firm, Istithmar World, is planning to sell. An Istithmar spokesman did not respond to requests for comment on Tuesday.
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The Queen Elizabeth II, or QE2, is rumored to be one of the assets that Dubai's state-run private equity firm, Istithmar World, is planning to sell. An Istithmar spokesman did not respond to requests for comment on Tuesday.
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Once-beautiful property is allowed to rot and die
PINEAPPLE BAY, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands -- Why would a corporation let a beautiful resort die? Why would it let the resort gasp for breath and be overrun with weeds, broken windows, ripped awnings and filth?
The senseless death of the Grand Beach Resort on St. Thomas is sick and sad.
It has spent more than five years rotting away on one of the most beautiful bays in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
In its heyday in the 1990s as Stouffer's Grand Beach Resort, it bustled with life, with a gorgeous lobby, smart shops, a nice restaurant and a sugary white-sand beach on Pineapple Bay
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The senseless death of the Grand Beach Resort on St. Thomas is sick and sad.
It has spent more than five years rotting away on one of the most beautiful bays in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
In its heyday in the 1990s as Stouffer's Grand Beach Resort, it bustled with life, with a gorgeous lobby, smart shops, a nice restaurant and a sugary white-sand beach on Pineapple Bay
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Nashville convention hotel deal looks less certain
What once seemed like a firm deal to build a Marriott Marquis to serve as the headquarters hotel for a new downtown convention center now appears less solid.
Metro leaders say they hope multiple hotel developers and operators will come forward with new private-public financing plans. The Metro Council approved construction of the $585 million convention center last month, but Mayor Karl Dean decided to hold off on presenting a hotel deal until he could find more attractive terms.
But some experts say 2010 will be another difficult year for building hotels.
Although the city chose Colorado-based Phelps Development and Portman Holdings of Atlanta to develop a convention center hotel last year, it didn't have contracts with them or Marriott International, which was picked to run the facility.
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Metro leaders say they hope multiple hotel developers and operators will come forward with new private-public financing plans. The Metro Council approved construction of the $585 million convention center last month, but Mayor Karl Dean decided to hold off on presenting a hotel deal until he could find more attractive terms.
But some experts say 2010 will be another difficult year for building hotels.
Although the city chose Colorado-based Phelps Development and Portman Holdings of Atlanta to develop a convention center hotel last year, it didn't have contracts with them or Marriott International, which was picked to run the facility.
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Starwood relocation hits a bump
Connecticut pulled off a coup a few months ago when Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc., one of the nation's largest hotel chains, agreed to relocate its headquarters to the state from New York. But the deal is hitting roadblocks over whether the state is seeking federal stimulus money to help pay for its promises.
At the time, Connecticut Gov. M. Jodi Rell awarded Starwood $90 million in public subsidies in exchange for the company's 800 employees moving to Stamford from White Plains, N.Y. At roughly $112,000 per job, the package is the most expensive incentive plan Connecticut has offered, according to state officials. Under terms of the deal, Connecticut also agreed to make substantial infrastructure improvements, and it has filed or plans to file for $35 million in federal stimulus money to pay for it.
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At the time, Connecticut Gov. M. Jodi Rell awarded Starwood $90 million in public subsidies in exchange for the company's 800 employees moving to Stamford from White Plains, N.Y. At roughly $112,000 per job, the package is the most expensive incentive plan Connecticut has offered, according to state officials. Under terms of the deal, Connecticut also agreed to make substantial infrastructure improvements, and it has filed or plans to file for $35 million in federal stimulus money to pay for it.
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Pinnacle kills Atlantic City casino project
ATLANTIC CITY — The company that spectacularly imploded the Sands Casino Hotel is pulling out of Atlantic City after its plans for a $1.5 billion gaming resort proved to be a dud.
Dealing another blow to the struggling gaming market, Pinnacle Entertainment Inc. announced Friday it has abandoned its casino project and will sell its Boardwalk property.
“We put the property up for sale in Atlantic City,” John Giovenco, Pinnacle’s interim chief executive officer, told gaming analysts during a conference call. “We hope to sell as soon as a reasonable bid comes in. I can’t tell you when. Hopefully, sooner than later.”
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Dealing another blow to the struggling gaming market, Pinnacle Entertainment Inc. announced Friday it has abandoned its casino project and will sell its Boardwalk property.
“We put the property up for sale in Atlantic City,” John Giovenco, Pinnacle’s interim chief executive officer, told gaming analysts during a conference call. “We hope to sell as soon as a reasonable bid comes in. I can’t tell you when. Hopefully, sooner than later.”
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Friday, February 12, 2010
Vegas Strip Gambling Rises for Second Straight Month
Feb. 11 (Bloomberg) -- Las Vegas Strip gambling revenue rose 5.9 percent in December, the second straight monthly gain and a fresh sign the worst casino slump on record may be easing.
Strip proceeds climbed to $502.2 million in December from a year earlier, Nevada’s Gaming Control Board said today on its Web site. Revenue for the full year declined 9.4 percent.
Gains were driven by baccarat winnings, particularly at Aria casino, a venue at the $8.5 billion CityCenter resort MGM Mirage and Dubai World opened last month, analysts Bill Lerner at Union Gaming Group LLC and Robert LaFleur with Susquehanna Financial Group said today.
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Strip proceeds climbed to $502.2 million in December from a year earlier, Nevada’s Gaming Control Board said today on its Web site. Revenue for the full year declined 9.4 percent.
Gains were driven by baccarat winnings, particularly at Aria casino, a venue at the $8.5 billion CityCenter resort MGM Mirage and Dubai World opened last month, analysts Bill Lerner at Union Gaming Group LLC and Robert LaFleur with Susquehanna Financial Group said today.
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Choice Hotels Reports Full Year 2009 Adjusted Diluted EPS of $1.71, Domestic Unit Growth of 4.0%
•Adjusted diluted earnings per share ("EPS") for full year 2009 were $1.71 compared to $1.77 for full year 2008. Diluted EPS were $1.63 for full year 2009 compared to $1.59 for 2008. Adjusted diluted EPS for full year 2009 and 2008 exclude special items, as described below, totaling $0.08 and $0.18, respectively.
•Excluding special items, adjusted earnings before interest, taxes and depreciation ("EBITDA") were $163.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2009, compared to $200.5 million for full year 2008. Operating income for the year ended December 31, 2009 was $148.1 million compared to $174.6 million for the same period of 2008.
•Franchising revenues declined $45.6 million or 15% from $300.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2008 to $254.7 million for the same period of the current year. Total revenues declined $77.5 million or 12% to $564.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2009 compared to the same period of the prior year.
•Adjusted selling, general and administrative ("SG&A") costs for full year 2009 totaled $91.9 million which represented a 9% decline from the same period of the prior year. Adjusted SG&A costs exclude special items totaling $7.3 million and $17.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2009 and 2008, respectively.
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•Excluding special items, adjusted earnings before interest, taxes and depreciation ("EBITDA") were $163.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2009, compared to $200.5 million for full year 2008. Operating income for the year ended December 31, 2009 was $148.1 million compared to $174.6 million for the same period of 2008.
•Franchising revenues declined $45.6 million or 15% from $300.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2008 to $254.7 million for the same period of the current year. Total revenues declined $77.5 million or 12% to $564.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2009 compared to the same period of the prior year.
•Adjusted selling, general and administrative ("SG&A") costs for full year 2009 totaled $91.9 million which represented a 9% decline from the same period of the prior year. Adjusted SG&A costs exclude special items totaling $7.3 million and $17.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2009 and 2008, respectively.
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