A Brazilian couple whose visa fraud scheme allowed more than 1,000 people to enter the United States illegally was sentenced to federal prison Thursday.
Valeria Barbugli, 57, was sentenced to two years; Wilson Barbugli, 63, to 18 months. The Barbuglis pleaded guilty in Orlando to charges of conspiracy, visa fraud and alien-smuggling.
U.S. District Judge Mary S. Scriven also ordered the couple to forfeit $55 million to the government.
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Friday, October 15, 2010
Folding towels into profit
When it comes to entertaining his kids, John Pullum's philosophy is simple: Don't throw in the towel — fold it. Pullum is a corporate speaker and entertainer, as well as a former TV host, and does a lot of traveling. One perk he enjoyed at hotels and on cruise ships was when the maids folded room towels to resemble a bird, fish or other animal. That's something, Pullum thought, he'd like to try at home for his kids.
Goldman’s £107m hotel deadline
Pressure was mounting this week from creditors on Goldman Sachs’ Whitehall Street fund management arm ahead of refinancing a £230m hotel portfolio.
A £107m loan secured on a portfolio of 14 Queen’s Moat House hotels bought by Whitehall in 2005 matures in February. Whitehall is attempting to refinance the portfolio and has appointed Cairn Capital to advise it.
The £107m loan was provided
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A £107m loan secured on a portfolio of 14 Queen’s Moat House hotels bought by Whitehall in 2005 matures in February. Whitehall is attempting to refinance the portfolio and has appointed Cairn Capital to advise it.
The £107m loan was provided
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Cab drivers protest at Disney-area hotel
ANAHEIM – About two dozen taxi drivers marched in protest outside the Anaheim Hilton on Thursday, demanding that hotel management give equal treatment to all permitted cab drivers and allow them to pick up guests. The cab drivers chanted and held signs with slogans such as, "Say No to Corruption, Boycott Hilton."
The protesters claim that while three cab companies hold city franchises in the Anaheim Resort area, only Anaheim Yellow Cab Co. is allowed to pick up guests in front of the Hilton and Marriott hotels.
That has been the case for at least six months, said cab driver and protest leader Solomon Kedebe, 51, of Anaheim. But while negotiations are ongoing with the Marriott, he said, Hilton officials have refused to talk with them – which led to Thursday's protest.
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Protesting taxi drivers claimed that while three cab companies hold franchises in the Anaheim Resort area, only Anaheim Yellow Cab Co. is being allowed to pick up guests in front of the Hilton and Marriott hotels.
VIDEO: Taxi drivers picket two Disney area hotels:
That has been the case for at least six months, said cab driver and protest leader Solomon Kedebe, 51, of Anaheim. But while negotiations are ongoing with the Marriott, he said, Hilton officials have refused to talk with them – which led to Thursday's protest.
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Prestigious law firm sues burger joint over smell
It's a classic David and Goliath story: A white-shoe law firm staffed with hundreds of D.C.'s most-powerful lawyers has moved to shutter a hamburger eatery on the grounds that the lawyers didn't like the aroma of cooking meat wafting into their offices.
So far, Goliath is winning.
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So far, Goliath is winning.
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Thursday, October 14, 2010
Morgan Hotel Group signes up for new hotel in Bahamas
Baha Mar announced last night that it has signed"a letter of intent"with Morgans Hotel Group to operate and manage the planned 300-room luxury lifestyle hotel to be included as part of the development.
Baha Mar said in a press release that,"The partnership with Morgans Hotel Group comes following a decision previously announced by Baha Mar to shift its strategy away from aligning with a single family of hotels, towards one that allows it to work with multiple, best-in-class brands".
Baha Mar said Morgans has a long history of revolutionizing the hospitality industry with innovative lodging concepts characterized by personalized service, design-centric ambiance and timeless elegance.
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Baha Mar said in a press release that,"The partnership with Morgans Hotel Group comes following a decision previously announced by Baha Mar to shift its strategy away from aligning with a single family of hotels, towards one that allows it to work with multiple, best-in-class brands".
Baha Mar said Morgans has a long history of revolutionizing the hospitality industry with innovative lodging concepts characterized by personalized service, design-centric ambiance and timeless elegance.
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Sandals all-inclusive model hurts Exuma
Sandals' purchase of the Emerald Bay Resort has not made the economic impact Exuma hoped for, the president of the island's Chamber of Commerce said yesterday, arguing that its all-inclusive nature meant that 'trickle down' and spin-off effects for Bahamian-owned businesses were limited.
Speaking at a press conference to promote the upcoming Exuma Business Outlook Conference, Floyd Armbrister said many Exumians had been "shocked into reality" since the Sandals property re-opened earlier this year, and now recognised that the growth years enjoyed when Emerald Bay was operated under the Four Seasons brand may not return.
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Speaking at a press conference to promote the upcoming Exuma Business Outlook Conference, Floyd Armbrister said many Exumians had been "shocked into reality" since the Sandals property re-opened earlier this year, and now recognised that the growth years enjoyed when Emerald Bay was operated under the Four Seasons brand may not return.
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Sandals eyes new resort purchase
Sandals is eyeing the purchase of another Exuma-based resort from receivership, this time the $110 million Grand Isle Villas Resort, Tribune Business can reveal, the situation having caused "immediate panic" and a "total sense of shock" on the island.
The all-inclusive resort chain would be an obvious purchaser of the 78-unit property, given that it sits at the heart of the Emerald Bay resort, which Sandals purchased from a different set of receivers in late 2009 for around $25 million.
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The all-inclusive resort chain would be an obvious purchaser of the 78-unit property, given that it sits at the heart of the Emerald Bay resort, which Sandals purchased from a different set of receivers in late 2009 for around $25 million.
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Detroit Hotel Owner owes State$1M+ in taxes
The state of Michigan has left a $1 million bill on the pillow of former Hotel Pontchartrain owner Atul Bisaria.
The hotelier, whose time in Detroit was marked by guest complaints and a trail of unpaid bills owed to contractors who renovated the aging landmark, was recently slapped with a $1 million lien by the state for unpaid taxes.
The hotel, renamed the Riverside Hotel, closed in August 2009 after the company, Shubh Hotels Detroit LLC, defaulted on a $30 million mortgage.
Located at 2 Washington Blvd., across the street from Cobo Center, it was downtown's first major hotel to close amid a national wave of distressed properties.
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Strike Begins at Hilton Hawaiian Village
Unionized Hilton Hawaiian Village workers went out on a five-day strike in Waikiki this morning.
The strike by UNITE HERE Local 5 began at 4 a.m. with about 40 picketers at the two main entrances to the hotel off Kalia Road and Ala Moana Boulevard.
More workers arrived later in the morning and put up picket lines at the service and bus entrances off Paoa Road.
BMB Says It Bid $4 Billion for Atlantis Resort Owner Kerzner
BMB Group, a firm representing Malaysian investors, offered to pay as much as $4 billion for Kerzner International Holdings Ltd., the hotel and casino company that built Atlantis in the Bahamas and Dubai, said BMB founder Rayo Withanage.
The firm’s BMB Advisors Malaysia Ltd. unit sent a letter on Oct. 11 to Sol Kerzner, founder of Kerzner International, offering to pay $3.4 billion to $4 billion for his Bahamas-based company, according to a copy obtained by Bloomberg News.
BMB clients in Malaysia are putting up cash for the bid, Withanage said in a telephone interview from New York. They are attracted by the Atlantis properties, he said. Read More:
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Fairmont Hotel Drama Gets Happy Ending For College Students
Yesterday, we brought you the story of 128 Washington University students whose reservations at the Fairmont Millennium in downtown Chicago had been canceled and relocated 15 miles away to an airport Sheraton. We're happy to report that the situation appears to have been resolved, without much bloodshed.
After being told by Fairmont that their contract had been canceled because of overbooking and that the nearest available rooms to downtown would be out in O'Hare country (which, if you know Chicago, isn't exactly a quick jaunt to downtown), the students went about finding their own accommodations.Read More:
Supertel Hospitality, Inc. Announces Sale of Three Missouri Economy Hotels for $2.6 Million
NORFOLK, NE, Oct 13, 2010 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- Supertel Hospitality, Inc. /quotes/comstock/15*!sppr/quotes/nls/sppr (SPPR 1.36, +0.04, +3.03%) , a real estate investment trust (REIT) which owns 108 hotels in 23 states, announced that it closed on the sale of three hotels on October 12, 2010. The three economy hotels are the 45-room Booneslick Lodge in Jane, Missouri, the 47-room Booneslick Lodge in Neosho, Missouri and the 58-room Super 8 hotel in Neosho, Missouri. Combined gross proceeds from the sales totaled $2.6 million, the majority of which will be used to reduce company debt.
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Wyndham Continues Expansion With Three New Luxury Hotels in China
PARSIPPANY, NJ, Oct 13, 2010 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- Following the recent opening of two luxury hotels in the cities of Shanghai and Chengdu, Wyndham Hotel Group /quotes/comstock/13*!wyn/quotes/nls/wyn (WYN 29.27, +0.06, +0.19%) , the world's largest hotel company with nearly 7,200 hotels and 13 brands, today announced its continued expansion in China with management agreements for three new Wyndham Hotels and Resorts(R) properties in Boao, located in south China's Hainan Island province.
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Workers begin 6 day strike at S.F. Hilton
About 850 workers at San Francisco's largest hotel made good on their strike vote last month and walked off the job today in a six-day protest of what they say are unfair contract proposals by management.
The Hilton Union Square workers are among about 9,000 San Francisco hotel employees who have been without new contracts since August 2009. The Hilton workers approved a temporary strike on Sept. 15.
Housekeepers, doormen, bellhops, and kitchen and front desk staff will be honoring the strike and picketing outside the hotel 24 hours a day until 4 a.m. Tuesday, union spokeswoman Riddhi Mehta-Neugebauer said.
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