The Algonquin, the hotel where literary figures of the 1920s held court at the Round Table, is becoming a Marriott.
The storied landmark at 59 W. 44th St. will become another link in the giant hotel chain this week as the the first New York City property in the Marriott Autograph Collection, Crain's New York Business reports.
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Monday, September 20, 2010
PwC Offers up new Advance Deposit system for London Olympics
UK hotels and restaurants looking forward to steady cash inflows from advance bookings for the 2012 London Olympics could be disappointed under a new delayed payment structure being employed by PwC.
The accountancy firm’s legal arm has established an escrow system for a handful of European Olympic committees who have signed contracts for hotel rooms or dining venues at the games.
Under the system, the PwC clients deliver the agreed down-payments into accounts administered by the firm. The venues can see the money is there, but have no access to it.
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The accountancy firm’s legal arm has established an escrow system for a handful of European Olympic committees who have signed contracts for hotel rooms or dining venues at the games.
Under the system, the PwC clients deliver the agreed down-payments into accounts administered by the firm. The venues can see the money is there, but have no access to it.
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Dublin's Four Seasons Hotel for sale after £1.7m loss
In a move that will “send shockwaves through the industry”, the luxurious Four Seasons Hotel in Ballsbridge, Dublin, is up for sale after posting losses of £1.7m.
The icon of the Republic’s Celtic Tiger era attracted well-heeled and celebrity guests, including Eminem and Mariah Carey, down the years.
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The icon of the Republic’s Celtic Tiger era attracted well-heeled and celebrity guests, including Eminem and Mariah Carey, down the years.
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Sunday, September 19, 2010
Ohio Domino's is first in U.S. to go 24-hours
CINCINNATI — Domino's Pizza Inc. says a franchise store in southwest Ohio is the first of its U.S. stores to remain open 24 hours a day.
A manager of the store near the University of Dayton campus says it began staying open 24 hours about a month ago. Manager Steve Martin says the store is offering a breakfast pizza with toppings like eggs, cheese and bacon.
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A manager of the store near the University of Dayton campus says it began staying open 24 hours about a month ago. Manager Steve Martin says the store is offering a breakfast pizza with toppings like eggs, cheese and bacon.
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St. Louis Sheraton owner files for bankruptcy
The owner of the Sheraton St. Louis City Center Hotel & Suites filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Wednesday, putting off a foreclosure auction that was scheduled for hours later.
Breckenridge Edison Development, owner of the 288-room hotel at 400 S. 14th St., lists assets of about $14 million and liabilities of $33 million.
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Breckenridge Edison Development, owner of the 288-room hotel at 400 S. 14th St., lists assets of about $14 million and liabilities of $33 million.
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Sea Island execs got big bonuses before bankruptcy
Court filings show Sea Island Company executives were paid fat bonuses in the year before the coastal Georgia resort operator filed for bankruptcy protection.
The bonuses — totaling $510,000 and shared by five Sea Island executives — came up during a meeting of creditors in the Chapter 11 case Wednesday in Brunswick. The heftiest bonus was $222,000 paid earlier this year to David Bansmer, Sea Island Company's president. Bansmer says he understands the bonuses could upset people after the company eliminated jobs and cut salaries.
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The bonuses — totaling $510,000 and shared by five Sea Island executives — came up during a meeting of creditors in the Chapter 11 case Wednesday in Brunswick. The heftiest bonus was $222,000 paid earlier this year to David Bansmer, Sea Island Company's president. Bansmer says he understands the bonuses could upset people after the company eliminated jobs and cut salaries.
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Most NY hotels refuse to host Ahmadinejad - Hilton does
By: Eric Hertha, Hospitality Business News
September 19,2010
According to the Foreign Affairs Committe of The National Council of Resistance of Iran, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has found it almost impossible to reserve a room at any of the normal New York hotels that usually accomodate world leaders. According to the article, Ahmadinejad is scheduled to attend a UN General Assembly meeting next week in New York.
Weary of facing the same level of difficulty in reserving hotels as last year, the clerical regime had ordered its permanent representative at the UN since July to start searching for hotels and use all necessary means to reserve rooms. But, despite the extensive efforts and investments by Ahmadinejad’s deputy chief of ceremonies, prominent hotels in New York have refused to host the clerical regime’s president, the article said.
Mohammad Torshizi, the regime’s permanent representative at the UN has told Tehran in a report, “In view of some political issues, it is very difficult to find hotels for the Islamic Republic. The permanent UN representative office has with extreme difficulty succeeded in reserving rooms at Hilton in Manhattan, but we cannot count on it until the day we are actually there because pressures can lead to cancellation. Of course, the hotel has limited space and is small. It is not meant for the presidency.”
The article states that the regime’s UN envoy is reportedly working even harder to keep the reservation in the small Manhattan hotel a secret, fearing a backlash by New York residents against the hotel’s management as there is widespread anger in the city against Ahmadinejad’s visit.
September 19,2010
According to the Foreign Affairs Committe of The National Council of Resistance of Iran, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has found it almost impossible to reserve a room at any of the normal New York hotels that usually accomodate world leaders. According to the article, Ahmadinejad is scheduled to attend a UN General Assembly meeting next week in New York.
Weary of facing the same level of difficulty in reserving hotels as last year, the clerical regime had ordered its permanent representative at the UN since July to start searching for hotels and use all necessary means to reserve rooms. But, despite the extensive efforts and investments by Ahmadinejad’s deputy chief of ceremonies, prominent hotels in New York have refused to host the clerical regime’s president, the article said.
Mohammad Torshizi, the regime’s permanent representative at the UN has told Tehran in a report, “In view of some political issues, it is very difficult to find hotels for the Islamic Republic. The permanent UN representative office has with extreme difficulty succeeded in reserving rooms at Hilton in Manhattan, but we cannot count on it until the day we are actually there because pressures can lead to cancellation. Of course, the hotel has limited space and is small. It is not meant for the presidency.”
The article states that the regime’s UN envoy is reportedly working even harder to keep the reservation in the small Manhattan hotel a secret, fearing a backlash by New York residents against the hotel’s management as there is widespread anger in the city against Ahmadinejad’s visit.
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Florida couple pleads guilty to abusing Filipino hotel workers
WASHINGTON (AFP) – A Florida couple pleaded guilty to conspiring to hold 39 Filipino employees against their will working in country clubs and hotels, the US Justice Department said Friday.
Sophia Manuel, 41, and Alfonso Baldonado Jr., 45, were owners of a labor contracting service based in the Florida city of Boca Raton.
Manuel and Baldonado "conspired to obtain a cheap, compliant and readily available labor pool, by making false promises to entice the victims to incur debts," read a Department of Justice statement, quoting court documents.
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Sophia Manuel, 41, and Alfonso Baldonado Jr., 45, were owners of a labor contracting service based in the Florida city of Boca Raton.
Manuel and Baldonado "conspired to obtain a cheap, compliant and readily available labor pool, by making false promises to entice the victims to incur debts," read a Department of Justice statement, quoting court documents.
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$400 Million of Sour Hotel Loans on Block
LNR Partners and two other special servicers are jointly shopping more than $400 million of nonperforming hotel mortgages - the largest offering of distressed loans on a single property type since the market collapse.
LNR is supplying most of the roughly 60 securitized loans, with C-III Asset Management and J.E. Roberts Cos. kicking in the others.
A two-day online auction will start Nov. 1, run by a partnership between Jones Lang LaSalle and REDC. Bidders can make offers on individual loans. Unlike with sealed-bid auctions, offers will be posted live and seen by all participants, although the bidders' identities remain anonymous. Investors can then increase their bids, akin to public-outcry auctions.
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LNR is supplying most of the roughly 60 securitized loans, with C-III Asset Management and J.E. Roberts Cos. kicking in the others.
A two-day online auction will start Nov. 1, run by a partnership between Jones Lang LaSalle and REDC. Bidders can make offers on individual loans. Unlike with sealed-bid auctions, offers will be posted live and seen by all participants, although the bidders' identities remain anonymous. Investors can then increase their bids, akin to public-outcry auctions.
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Lawmakers push to extend federal financing programs to save Palm Beach Florida convention hotel project
Plans to build a hotel next to Palm Beach County's downtown convention center could hinge on the extension of two federal programs that officials say are critically needed to help finance the $110 million project.
Palm Beach County Commission Chairman Burt Aaronson teamed Friday with U.S. Reps. Ron Klein, D-Boca Raton, and Ted Deutch, D-Boca Raton, to urge federal lawmakers to extend the programs, both of which set to expire at the end of the year.
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Palm Beach County Commission Chairman Burt Aaronson teamed Friday with U.S. Reps. Ron Klein, D-Boca Raton, and Ted Deutch, D-Boca Raton, to urge federal lawmakers to extend the programs, both of which set to expire at the end of the year.
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NY's Upscale Hotel Market Shows Life
Despite growing concerns that the economy is pulling back once again -- the dreaded double-dip recession -- the New York hotel market is on a roll. There are 44 new hotels to set to open this year, and the Big Apple will see the addition of 7,561 new rooms to its inventory.
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Rotating Hotel Strikes Continue Friday in Toronto
Hotel strikes continue as the Toronto International Film Festival winds down this week.
Workers at the Toronto Hilton on Richmond Street West and the airport Hilton hit the bricks Friday due to a lack of movement in the bargaining process.
Hotel employees in the Westmont chain have been participating in rotating one-day strikes for the past two weeks. The workers, represented by Unite Here local 75, are upset about working conditions, increased work load due to layoffs and wages.
The union claims the hotel chain used the recession to justify staff cuts and it says the chain has rebounded well from the economic downturn. Many staff members have been working without a contract since February.
Workers at the Toronto Hilton on Richmond Street West and the airport Hilton hit the bricks Friday due to a lack of movement in the bargaining process.
Hotel employees in the Westmont chain have been participating in rotating one-day strikes for the past two weeks. The workers, represented by Unite Here local 75, are upset about working conditions, increased work load due to layoffs and wages.
The union claims the hotel chain used the recession to justify staff cuts and it says the chain has rebounded well from the economic downturn. Many staff members have been working without a contract since February.
Hotels in India hire detectives to keep an eye on guests
NEW DELHI: If you are visiting the capital for the Commonwealth Games and are putting up at a five-star or seven-star hotel, then don't be surprised if someone follows you or enquires about your guests. As part of heightened security measures during the Games, hotels are hiring private detectives to keep an eye on visitors and their guests during the 12-day sporting extravaganza.
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Buuteeq raises $1.1 million, rolls out iPhone apps for hotels
Buuteeq, a stealthy Seattle upstart which is creating mobile applications for hotels, has raised $1.1 million in new financing, according to a filing with the SEC. Buuteeq is led by Adam Brownstein, who previously worked on the Surface team at Microsoft and in the marketing department at Sony.
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Miami DDA looks at convention hotel
On Friday, the Miami Downtown Development Authority voted to pursue a market analysis on the viability of a convention hotel in Miami’s downtown.
The Miami DDA hired land use organization Urban Land Institute to study the issue and produce a preliminary report, which was presented to the board Friday.
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The Miami DDA hired land use organization Urban Land Institute to study the issue and produce a preliminary report, which was presented to the board Friday.
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