With five days to go before the senior class trip, the Senior Class Council was forced to change its plans for housing nearly half of the trip’s participants. The Fairmont Millennium Hotel had agreed to house 128 of the trip’s 272 participants but pulled out of the contract with the Senior Class Council (SCC) on Wednesday after
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Monday, October 11, 2010
Businessman Acquitted of Rape Rap Sues Standard Hotel
After seeing his name dragged through the mud, an Australian businessman acquitted of trying to rape a maid is suing The Standard hotel for $10 million. Matthew Moorhouse, 42, was accused of throwing the unidentified maid onto the bed and trying to force himself upon her, until another worker came to her rescue. But he convinced a jury that the maid made up the story after he caught her rifling through his bag. His lawsuit against The Standard charges that the hotel's "racy atmosphere contributed to the false charges against him," the Post reports.
Maybourne Hotel Group denies it is to be sold by Irish government
Claridge's owner the Maybourne Hotel Group has dismissed media reports it is to be sold by the Irish government. The owner of some of London's most prestigious hotels - including the Berkeley and the Connaught - released a statement that it was "categorically not for sale".
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Rajasthan (India) hotel owner held for 'assaulting' foreigner
JODHPUR (Rajasthan): A hotel owner in Rajasthan's Jodhpur district has been arrested for allegedly molesting and assaulting a tourist from Netherlands who had to spend the night in the bathroom to fend off his advances, police said on Monday. Identified as Narendra Singh, the owner of the hotel in Bap sub-district, some 170 km from this popular Rajasthan tourist town, was held on Sunday night, a police official said.
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Hotel records helped bust Boston child-prostitution ring, report says
The Boston Globe updates us on the ugly side of the hotel world: Prosecution of a major, child-prostitution ring that sometimes operated out of hotels. Key to prosecutors' case? Confirming the girls' stories with hotel records, which included multi-day stays paid in cash.
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Sunday, October 10, 2010
Chicagos Hotel Indigo faces foreclosure
(Crain’s) — The turnaround of the local hotel market came too late for Hotel Indigo in the Gold Coast, which has been hit with a $27-million foreclosure lawsuit.
The owner of the 165-room property, an investor group affiliated with Chicago-based Neighborhood Development Corp., stopped making its monthly loan payments back in January, according to the complaint, filed last week in Cook County Circuit Court.
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The owner of the 165-room property, an investor group affiliated with Chicago-based Neighborhood Development Corp., stopped making its monthly loan payments back in January, according to the complaint, filed last week in Cook County Circuit Court.
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Jamaica approves gaming licenses
Kingston, JAMAICA-More competition is on the way for the decreasing tourism dollar. Jamaica has approved gaming licenses for three properties, with the first one set to come on stream as early as 2012, Guardian Business has learned.
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Restaurant-goers haven't cut back on tipping
The recession curbed many Americans' appetite for dining out and took a bite out of restaurant and bar receipts.
Today as the economy improves and foodies are returning to indulge their palates again, many are toting their belt-tightening habits with them.
For these diners, trading down to cheaper meals, skipping courses or forgoing alcoholic drinks has become the new norm.
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Today as the economy improves and foodies are returning to indulge their palates again, many are toting their belt-tightening habits with them.
For these diners, trading down to cheaper meals, skipping courses or forgoing alcoholic drinks has become the new norm.
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Blackstone May Gain 14 Columbia Sussex Hotels After Acquiring Junior Debt
Blackstone Group LP bought the junior debt on 14 hotels owned by Columbia Sussex Corp. and may seize the properties from the company, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.
A $539 million mortgage on the real estate that comes due this month was turned over to a firm specializing in troubled commercial property loans due to imminent default, Fitch Ratings said in June. Blackstone has purchased portions of mezzanine debt tied to the mortgage that may allow it to take control of the hotels as soon as this month, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the talks are private.
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A $539 million mortgage on the real estate that comes due this month was turned over to a firm specializing in troubled commercial property loans due to imminent default, Fitch Ratings said in June. Blackstone has purchased portions of mezzanine debt tied to the mortgage that may allow it to take control of the hotels as soon as this month, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the talks are private.
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Gordon Ramsay's kitchen nightmare ends as profits double and Savoy Grill dream unfolds
The combative celebrity chef - who this week delayed the much anticipated reopening of The Savoy Grill in London’s Savoy hotel - produced profits of £4.2m in the 11 months to the end of August, up from £2.47m for the same period a year ago.
The figures come after the entrepreneur and television star combined his two entities, the heavily loss-making Gordon Ramsay Holdings International, which owns all his restaurants opened since September 2007, and Gordon Ramsay Holdings, which encompassed the rest of the chef’s businesses.
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The figures come after the entrepreneur and television star combined his two entities, the heavily loss-making Gordon Ramsay Holdings International, which owns all his restaurants opened since September 2007, and Gordon Ramsay Holdings, which encompassed the rest of the chef’s businesses.
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Saturday, October 9, 2010
Tourism showing strong signs of recovery in Dubai
Dubai’s tourism sector is showing signs of a strong recovery. On September 13, the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) issued a report on the sector’s performance for the first six months of the year, with the results making for pleasant reading for those in Dubai’s tourist trade. Tourist arrivals were up by 9% in the first half of the year, with more than 4.18m visitors, while hotel revenue rose by 6% to $1.87bn. Occupancy rates were also solid, at 71%, this despite the fact that there had been a 7% increase in the number of hotel rooms on offer.
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Four Seasons penthouse sells: $7.2M
The two-story penthouse atop the Four Seasons Hotel and Private Residences in downtown Seattle has been sold for $7.19 million.
The 5,256-square-foot unit sold earlier this week as an unfinished shell for approximately $1,368 a square foot. Finishing the interior could cost anywhere from $200 a square foot on up, depending on what level of finishes the new owner wants, said Scot Wasner, director of the Four Seasons Private Residences and co-founder of Realogics Sotheby’s International Realty.
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The 5,256-square-foot unit sold earlier this week as an unfinished shell for approximately $1,368 a square foot. Finishing the interior could cost anywhere from $200 a square foot on up, depending on what level of finishes the new owner wants, said Scot Wasner, director of the Four Seasons Private Residences and co-founder of Realogics Sotheby’s International Realty.
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5-star hotel with armored rooms opens in Cali Colombia
The Colombian city of Cali gets its first five-star hotel, the Hotel Spiwak, with 226 suits and five armored rooms.
"The armored rooms will meet the requirements of multinational companies that demand higher safety standards for their executives," says the manager of the hotel, Bernardo Velasquez.
The average room size is 50 square meters, with the master suits offering 83 square meters space. The customer can opt for a room with a bath, a shower or a jacuzzi and request whether they wants the mattress hard, soft or semi-hard. Each room has purified water, a microwave, a 36-42 inch TV and an iron with an ironing board.
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"The armored rooms will meet the requirements of multinational companies that demand higher safety standards for their executives," says the manager of the hotel, Bernardo Velasquez.
The average room size is 50 square meters, with the master suits offering 83 square meters space. The customer can opt for a room with a bath, a shower or a jacuzzi and request whether they wants the mattress hard, soft or semi-hard. Each room has purified water, a microwave, a 36-42 inch TV and an iron with an ironing board.
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Extended Stay emerges from Chapter 11 after buyout
Extended Stay Inc. emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, a few months after the hotel chain was bought by a group of investors led by private equity firm Centerbridge Partners LP.
The group, which includes Paulson & Co. Inc. and Blackstone Real Estate Partners VI, paid $3.925 billion in July for the owner of 685 properties bearing the brands Extended Stay America, Extended Stay Deluxe and Homestead Studio Suites in the U.S. and Canada.
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The group, which includes Paulson & Co. Inc. and Blackstone Real Estate Partners VI, paid $3.925 billion in July for the owner of 685 properties bearing the brands Extended Stay America, Extended Stay Deluxe and Homestead Studio Suites in the U.S. and Canada.
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