Sunday, May 30, 2010
Hawaii bans shark fin
HONOLULU -- The $48-a-plate shark fin has been a favorite dish at Vienna Hou's Chinese restaurant since it opened 25 years ago. But Hawaii became the first state to ban the possession of shark fins last week in an attempt to help prevent the overfishing and extinction of sharks around the world. "Something will be missing," Hou said. "Decent Chinese restaurants -- they all serve shark fin." The ban drew criticism from some in Hawaii's Chinese community -- more than 13 percent of the state population is Chinese or part Chinese. Many consider shark fin a delicacy and important part of Chinese culture. Some people eat it because they think it's good for bones, kidneys and lungs and helps treat cancer.
Mastermind Behind Grand Hyatt Robbery Apprehended
Remember the day that the purity of our live poker tournaments got tarnished with a crazy heist (that by-the-way had nothing on Ocean’s 11, but hey), armed to the teeth with revolvers and even old school machetes, finding their way home with some of the prize pool money? This incident took place on at the Grand Hyatt Hotel located in Potsdammer Platz in downtown Berlin on the 6th of March of this year.
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World Cup fans face 300 per cent hike in hotel room rates
Tens of thousands of football supporters heading to South Africa for the world's biggest sporting event – the world cup, which starts next week – face hugely inflated prices for accommodation. In some cases hotel tariffs have risen by up to 300 per cent over the normal charge, prompting allegations of a "rip off".
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Saturday, May 29, 2010
Coalition considers retracting tax break for hotels
The German government is considering retracting the much-criticised reduction in sales tax for hotel stays, which came into force on January 1. The measure is one of several aimed at shoring up Germany's ailing state finances.
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You Can Still Drink On Miami Beach This Weekend
Miami Beach hotels will be able to serve alcoholic drinks to beachgoers this Memorial Day weekend. The city is not cracking down on hoteliers who serve alcohol on the shores of the Atlantic this weekend, City Manager Jorge Gonzalez said Thursday. Earlier in the week, City Attorney Jose Smith told The Miami Herald that hotels cannot serve or sell alcohol on the public beach, based on a review of hotel concession agreements and the city's laws. Smith's review was prompted by complaints about public drinking and littering during spring break. In response, Beach commissioners told police they wanted a strict enforcement of the city's drinking laws, which ban alcohol consumption and sales in public places. Gonzalez said he is awaiting a formal legal opinion from Smith on the issue before tackling the question of beachside booze sold by hotels.
Proposed Bahamian Budget Bad For Hotels
THE BAHAMIAN hotel industry is facing a potential five-fold whammy, with the Government adding to increases in National Insurance Board (NIB) contribution rates, electricity costs and Out Island Promotion Board fees by increasing hotel room/guest taxes from 6 per cent to 10 per cent, along with an $5 increase in departure taxes.
The Bahamas Hotel Association's (BHA) vice-president, Frank Comito, said the increases were a cause for concern, as they countered efforts by tourism officials to make the Bahamas a more competitive and cost-effective destination.
Mr Comito said despite the increases, the BHA understood the Government's fiscal difficulties and the reason and need for the increases.
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The Bahamas Hotel Association's (BHA) vice-president, Frank Comito, said the increases were a cause for concern, as they countered efforts by tourism officials to make the Bahamas a more competitive and cost-effective destination.
Mr Comito said despite the increases, the BHA understood the Government's fiscal difficulties and the reason and need for the increases.
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The Hotel Minneapolis joins Marriott International Inc.’s Autograph Collection
A fast-growing hospitality-investment company has agreed to acquire a majority interest in The Hotel Minneapolis and will rebrand it under Marriott’s newest hotel flag.
The terms of Norwalk, Conn.-based HEI Hotels & Resorts’ acquisition were not known. The developer, Hempel Properties, and its hospitality partner, Morrissey Hospitality Cos. Inc., will retain minority interests in the 222-room hotel, located at 215 S. Fourth St. in downtown Minneapolis
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The terms of Norwalk, Conn.-based HEI Hotels & Resorts’ acquisition were not known. The developer, Hempel Properties, and its hospitality partner, Morrissey Hospitality Cos. Inc., will retain minority interests in the 222-room hotel, located at 215 S. Fourth St. in downtown Minneapolis
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JAL To Sell Lodging Portfolio To Hotel Okura
MAY 28, 2010 -- Japan Airlines Corp. is finalizing negotiations to sell its hotel portfolio to Tokyo-based Hotel Okura Co., news sources reported today.
JAL, which currently is undergoing state-backed reorganization following its filing for the Japanese equivalent of bankruptcy protection earlier this year (BTNonline, Feb. 9), is selling its hotels as part of an attempt to regain profitability, according to Kyodo News International. JAL's managed hotel brands include the luxury Nikko Hotels International brand and the business-travel-focused Hotel JAL City brand.
JAL has managed hotels since it established its subsidiary JAL Hotels in 1970. Its current portfolio consists of 58 hotels, totaling more than 18,000 rooms, mostly in Japan and in JAL hub cities globally.
Hotel Okura has a portfolio of 23 member hotels, mostly in Japan but also in Korea, China, the Netherlands and Hawaii.
JAL, which currently is undergoing state-backed reorganization following its filing for the Japanese equivalent of bankruptcy protection earlier this year (BTNonline, Feb. 9), is selling its hotels as part of an attempt to regain profitability, according to Kyodo News International. JAL's managed hotel brands include the luxury Nikko Hotels International brand and the business-travel-focused Hotel JAL City brand.
JAL has managed hotels since it established its subsidiary JAL Hotels in 1970. Its current portfolio consists of 58 hotels, totaling more than 18,000 rooms, mostly in Japan and in JAL hub cities globally.
Hotel Okura has a portfolio of 23 member hotels, mostly in Japan but also in Korea, China, the Netherlands and Hawaii.
2 Pittsburgh-area Marriott hotels sold for $50.5M
Two Courtyard by Marriott hotels in the Pittsburgh area have been sold for a combined $50.5 million. They are the 182-room hotel at 945 Penn Ave., Downtown, and the 94-room hotel at The Waterfront complex in West Homestead.
Both will get upgrades costing $15,000 per room over the next year, said Philip A. Wade, vice president of investment for Inland American Lodging Advisor Inc., the new owner, based in Orlando, Fla.
The price for the Downtown hotel was $35 million. The Waterfront hotel cost $15.5 million. Moody National of Houston, Texas, was the seller in both cases; current management teams will stay.
Both will get upgrades costing $15,000 per room over the next year, said Philip A. Wade, vice president of investment for Inland American Lodging Advisor Inc., the new owner, based in Orlando, Fla.
The price for the Downtown hotel was $35 million. The Waterfront hotel cost $15.5 million. Moody National of Houston, Texas, was the seller in both cases; current management teams will stay.
Mortgage Holders Prevail in Auction of Former Maui Prince Hotel
The former Maui Prince Hotel in Hawaii was sold at a foreclosure auction Friday to its mortgage holders for $55 million.
Makena Beach & Golf ResortThe 310-room, renamed the Makena Beach & Golf Resort last year, became the target of foreclosure proceedings last summer when its previous owners missed payments on its $192.5 million mortgage. Friday’s auction puts the resort in the hands of those mortgage holders, represented by Wells Fargo Bank.
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Makena Beach & Golf ResortThe 310-room, renamed the Makena Beach & Golf Resort last year, became the target of foreclosure proceedings last summer when its previous owners missed payments on its $192.5 million mortgage. Friday’s auction puts the resort in the hands of those mortgage holders, represented by Wells Fargo Bank.
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Friday, May 28, 2010
Centerbridge Group Wins Extended Stay Bankruptcy Auction
A group led by Centerbridge Partners LP prevailed in an auction to take Extended Stay Inc. out of bankruptcy protection, offering nearly $4 billion to clinch the purchase of the distressed hotel chain.
The investor consortium, which includes Paulson & Co. and Blackstone Group, put up $3.925 billion for Extended Stay, topping a rival bid from a group led by Starwood Capital Group, said people familiar with the matter.
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The investor consortium, which includes Paulson & Co. and Blackstone Group, put up $3.925 billion for Extended Stay, topping a rival bid from a group led by Starwood Capital Group, said people familiar with the matter.
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Thursday, May 27, 2010
New loyalty scheme for US independent hotels
Stash Hotel Rewards has launched a loyalty scheme with 65 independent properties in 50 US cities, and aims to have 200 hotels participating by the end of the year.
The scheme says that it only includes hotels with “a star rating of 3.5 or above, with some exceptional three-star properties” (although note that the programme itself determines these star ratings), and that its portfolio of properties have on average 150-200 rooms, and a Tripadvisor “Recommend” rating of over 80 per cent.
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The scheme says that it only includes hotels with “a star rating of 3.5 or above, with some exceptional three-star properties” (although note that the programme itself determines these star ratings), and that its portfolio of properties have on average 150-200 rooms, and a Tripadvisor “Recommend” rating of over 80 per cent.
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Watergate Hotel sold
The Watergate Hotel was sold Wednesday to a European real estate group that plans to restore the fabled, 251-room property to a luxury hotel.
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Hyatt Regency workers back on the job
Crain’s) — Union employees at the Hyatt Regency Chicago returned to work just before noon Wednesday after a brief walkout to protest the hotel’s treatment of housekeepers.
“They wanted to demonstrate that they are angry and frustrated,” says Annemarie Strassel, a spokeswoman for Unite Here Local 1, which represents about 700 workers at the hotel, 111 E. Wacker Drive.
She says the decision to return to work after a couple hours of picketing was not triggered by any response or promises by hotel management.
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“They wanted to demonstrate that they are angry and frustrated,” says Annemarie Strassel, a spokeswoman for Unite Here Local 1, which represents about 700 workers at the hotel, 111 E. Wacker Drive.
She says the decision to return to work after a couple hours of picketing was not triggered by any response or promises by hotel management.
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Jamaican Hotels Boost Security as Tourists Cancel
May 26 (Bloomberg) -- Jamaican hotels are adding security to reassure tourists as clashes in the capital Kingston cause visitors to cancel trips, said Wayne Cummings, the head of Jamaica’s Hotel and Tourism Association.
There have been 300 hotel room cancellations on the Caribbean island since Prime Minister Bruce Golding declared a state of emergency May 23 to contain gang violence related to the government’s efforts to extradite an accused drug lord to the U.S., Cummings said today. At least 44 people have been killed in street battles between police and supporters of Christopher “Dudus” Coke, the target of a four-day manhunt.
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There have been 300 hotel room cancellations on the Caribbean island since Prime Minister Bruce Golding declared a state of emergency May 23 to contain gang violence related to the government’s efforts to extradite an accused drug lord to the U.S., Cummings said today. At least 44 people have been killed in street battles between police and supporters of Christopher “Dudus” Coke, the target of a four-day manhunt.
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