Host Hotels & Resorts Inc. (HST) plans to sell up to $400 million of stock to raise funds for potential acquisitions and other purposes.
The lodging real-estate investment trust has an agreement with Bank of New York Mellon Corp. (BK) under which it will issue and sell the shares from time to time, according to its filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Host's market value is about $9.3 billion.
The two parties recently completed a similar stock-sale effort that was announced a year ago.
Host owns 111 properties world-wide and hires operating companies such as Marriott or Hilton Worldwide to manage them. A number of lodging REITs have been raising capital for potential acquisitions, as they believe market conditions will allow them to acquire high-quality properties at cyclically low prices.
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Saturday, August 21, 2010
Florida Inmate scams Hotel Guests out of Credit Card information
By: Eric Hertha
Hospitality Business News – Bahamas Desk
August 21, 2010
Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Florida Department of Corrections announced Friday the arrest of five Orlando residents on charges of fraud. Those arrested include Daimion Goldsmith, 40, Kendra Hodge, 22, Lavonda Goldsmith, 45, Geneva Legrier, 18, and Levell Jones, 64. One additional suspect, Edison Filer, 48, is currently at large.
Damion Goldsmith who was previously convicted of credit card fraud, fraud and grand theft is an inmate at the Suwannee Correctional Institution in Live Oak Florida. According to arrest documents Goldsmith had friends help him call hotels and ask room-service employees for the numbers of rooms they had just delivered to. When speaking to room service employees he claimed to be a hotel employee from security and the room service workers would routinely supply the guest room information.
Once Goldsmith obtained the guest room number he or one of his accomplices would contact the guest and pretend to be a hotel employee. They would claim that the computer system was down and that they needed the guest’s credit card information. Although many guests did not supply the information the FDLE has identified eight victims who agents said lost more than $10,000.
Orlando hotel guests were not the only ones targeted. Tourists in Alabama, North Carolina and other states also were victimized in incidents going back to August 2009, the FDLE said.
Prior to this incident Goldsmith was scheduled to be released in April 2015. Not that his incarceration makes Florida, or any other state, safer.
Hospitality Business News – Bahamas Desk
August 21, 2010
Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Florida Department of Corrections announced Friday the arrest of five Orlando residents on charges of fraud. Those arrested include Daimion Goldsmith, 40, Kendra Hodge, 22, Lavonda Goldsmith, 45, Geneva Legrier, 18, and Levell Jones, 64. One additional suspect, Edison Filer, 48, is currently at large.
Damion Goldsmith who was previously convicted of credit card fraud, fraud and grand theft is an inmate at the Suwannee Correctional Institution in Live Oak Florida. According to arrest documents Goldsmith had friends help him call hotels and ask room-service employees for the numbers of rooms they had just delivered to. When speaking to room service employees he claimed to be a hotel employee from security and the room service workers would routinely supply the guest room information.
Once Goldsmith obtained the guest room number he or one of his accomplices would contact the guest and pretend to be a hotel employee. They would claim that the computer system was down and that they needed the guest’s credit card information. Although many guests did not supply the information the FDLE has identified eight victims who agents said lost more than $10,000.
Orlando hotel guests were not the only ones targeted. Tourists in Alabama, North Carolina and other states also were victimized in incidents going back to August 2009, the FDLE said.
Prior to this incident Goldsmith was scheduled to be released in April 2015. Not that his incarceration makes Florida, or any other state, safer.
150 Irish hotels under threat after bank closure
The Irish Hotel Federation has claimed 150 hotels are under threat after the announcement that Bank of Scotland Ireland is to close.
The bank provides 20% of all loans to the hotel sector in the Irish Republic.
Irish Hotel Federation President Paul Gallagher wants an Irish government "guarantee" scheme for the sector.
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The bank provides 20% of all loans to the hotel sector in the Irish Republic.
Irish Hotel Federation President Paul Gallagher wants an Irish government "guarantee" scheme for the sector.
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Friday, August 20, 2010
Hilton workers OK strike at 4 Chicago hotels
Hilton Hotels workers in Chicago voted Thursday night to authorize a strike at the Chicago Hilton, Hilton O’Hare, the Palmer House Hilton and the Drake, according to Unite Here Local 1 and Local 450.
The union said 96 percent of its members voted in favor of a strike, which authorizes the bargaining committee to call a strike, if necessary. They are the third group of hotel workers in nine months to hold such a vote in the wake of unsettled contract negotiations between Chicago hotels and the union.
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The union said 96 percent of its members voted in favor of a strike, which authorizes the bargaining committee to call a strike, if necessary. They are the third group of hotel workers in nine months to hold such a vote in the wake of unsettled contract negotiations between Chicago hotels and the union.
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Analysts give M&B pub sale the thumbs up
The move by Mitchells & Butlers (M&B) to sell 333 drink-led pubs and late night venues to private equity firm TDR Capital has received the thumbs up from City analysts.
The O'Neills and Harvester owner this morning announced the sale of the "non-core" pubs for £373m to a newly-formed pub and leisure group created by TDR, called Stonegate Pub Company.
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The O'Neills and Harvester owner this morning announced the sale of the "non-core" pubs for £373m to a newly-formed pub and leisure group created by TDR, called Stonegate Pub Company.
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Thursday, August 19, 2010
Radisson’s stance against ancillary fees
Whether one calls it unbundling, or ancillary fees, the practice of retailing marked-up amenities or charging for items or services that used to be included is a hot debate within the industry. Radisson's new empathetic brand promise goes the other way, with lots of extras included.
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Lake George Comfort Suites files for Banruptcy protection
The Comfort Suites in Lake George, New York, filed for bankruptcy protection on Thursday.
The 98-room hotel, on State Route 9, will remain open and operating while it reorganizes finances during bankruptcy.
The hotel reported $13.4 million in assets and $11.2 million of debt.
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The 98-room hotel, on State Route 9, will remain open and operating while it reorganizes finances during bankruptcy.
The hotel reported $13.4 million in assets and $11.2 million of debt.
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How to Gripe Effectively While You're Traveling
Anyone who travels knows something always goes wrong, and it usually happens in a sequence of bad events. I once counted about 47 different points of abuse awaiting travelers from the moment they buy their ticket until they return home. And I've always said that we define a successful journey by how much we minimize the abuse.
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And you thought it only happend in China, Philadelphia Police Bust Alleged Airport Hotel Prostitutes
Philly Police used ads posted online to bust an alleged prostitution ring that operated out of hotels near the Philadelphia International Airport.
Six women along with three male drivers were arrested during the sting, police said.
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Six women along with three male drivers were arrested during the sting, police said.
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Truth & Salvage Company Singer Files Suit Against Marriott Hotel Corporation
Tim Jones, one of the four singers/songwriters of the musical group Truth & Salvage Company, has filed a lawsuit against the Marriott Hotel Corporation. Why? He was shaken awake and ripped from his bed by hotel security and local police while sleeping at the Marriott Hotel in Visalia, California. Jones, a Marriott Rewards member and a registered guest staying the night at the Visalia Marriott in February 2010, was handcuffed, assaulted, taken to jail and cited for trespassing and resisting arrest in his own hotel room
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Omni to build Music City Center hotel
Texas-based Omni Hotels has beaten out Marriott International and will develop a headquarters hotel for the Music City Center convention hall under construction downtown. The project is expected to be 750 to 1,000 rooms and could cost up to $300 million.
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FelCor Completes Acquisition of the Fairmont Boston Copley Plaza Hotel
IRVING, Texas, Aug 19, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- FelCor Lodging Trust Incorporated /quotes/comstock/13*!fch/quotes/nls/fch (FCH 4.59, -0.24, -4.97%) today completed the previously announced purchase of the Fairmont Copley Plaza hotel in Boston for $98.5 million. The purchase was funded with cash on hand.
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Historic Hotel Operator Furious at Sheraton
ST. LOUIS (CN) - Sheraton Operating Corp. grossly mismanaged an historic downtown hotel, costing a development company $16 million, Breckenridge Edison Development claims in City Court.
Breckenridge Edison claims that Sheraton loaned Donald Breckenridge several million dollars in the late 1990s to convert the historic Edison Brothers Warehouse into the Sheraton Hotel & Suites.
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Breckenridge Edison claims that Sheraton loaned Donald Breckenridge several million dollars in the late 1990s to convert the historic Edison Brothers Warehouse into the Sheraton Hotel & Suites.
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Starbucks Acquires Full Ownership of Starbucks Brazil
SAO PAULO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) announced today that it has assumed 100 percent ownership and operating control of Starbucks Brazil through the acquisition of Cafés Sereia do Brasil Participações S.A. Converting the market to a company-operated business allows Starbucks to focus on the enormous opportunity in Brazil through pursuing thoughtful growth while continuing to deliver unparalleled customer experience in the largest consumer market in South America.
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Extended-Stay Looks Up
The recession and business cost-cutting has hurt the hotel industry over the past two years—with one exception: extended-stay hotels.
As business travel tailed off in this market during the economic downturn, leisure travelers stepped in.
Occupancy in this part of the business rose 8.9% in July from a year earlier and demand was up 14.1%, according to data from hotel-industry research and consulting firm Smith Travel Research Inc.
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As business travel tailed off in this market during the economic downturn, leisure travelers stepped in.
Occupancy in this part of the business rose 8.9% in July from a year earlier and demand was up 14.1%, according to data from hotel-industry research and consulting firm Smith Travel Research Inc.
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