Saudi royal buys landmark Crillon hotel in Paris

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The prestigious Hotel de Crillon in the heart of Paris has been sold to a member of the Saudi royal family.

The 18th Century former palace, on the Place de la Concorde, is said to have been bought for around 250m euros (£212m, $328m).

The Crillon is currently owned by US company Starwood Capital which acquired the hotel when it took over the Taittinger empire in 2005.

An earlier attempt to sell the hotel to Saudi-backed JJW ended up in court.
In April, the court ruled that JJW would have to pay Starwood 100m euros to settle the dispute, which involved an alleged breach of contract.

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Two found dead in Somerset Days Inn

Somerset Borough police are investigating the deaths of two people found shot to death in a hotel room Wednesday morning.

Borough police Chief Randy Cox said police were notified late Wednesday morning that staff at the Days Inn along Waterworks Road found a deceased person when checking on an individual who did not check out at the proper time. They are treating the investigation as a homicide.

“They immediately exited and secured the room and contacted 911,” Cox said.

When police arrived they discovered two deceased individuals, one male and one female, in the hotel room.
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Manhattan restaurant owner pleads to tax charge

NEW YORK — An 80-year-old Manhattan restaurant owner has pleaded guilty to filing false tax returns by hiding $4.9 million overseas.

Ernest Vogliano entered the plea in federal court in Manhattan Wednesday. He agreed to pay a civil penalty of $940,000. Sentencing was set for March 24.

Vogliano owns Il Vagabondo, a legendary midtown restaurant. He said during his plea that he knew what he was doing was wrong and illegal when he failed to report the money from 2003 through 2007.

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Woman jailed for putting glass in restaurant meals

A woman has been jailed for four years after admitting she sprinkled shards of glass in her restaurant meals and ate them as part of a lucrative insurance swindle.


Mary Evano, 49, claimed $200,000 in compensation after filing the bogus insurance claims. She also incurred more than $100,000 in medical bills after carrying out the dangerous stunts.
After confessing to the deceptions, she was jailed in Boston and ordered to pay more than $340,000 in restitution.

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Chinese restaurant hires robot waiters

The owner, Zhang Yongpei, is hoping that his robots will prove to the world that China is on the global front line of technological development.

Inspired by space exploration and robot technology, each of the seven robots costs nearly four thousand pounds each, and they are wired to perform a specific duty within the restaurant.

As diners enter, they are met by a female robot equipped with batting eyelashes and a mechanical "welcome". They will later encounter receptionists, waiters and even dancing entertainers.

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Jamaica: Tourist dead, 10 hospitalised from food poisoning

KINGSTON, Jamaica (CMC) — An Argentinean tourist is dead while 10 other visitors to the island have been admitted to hospital in St Ann suffering from suspected food poisoning.

The group, which comprises tourists from the United States, Japan, Italy, as well as four visiting Jamaicans, was staying at a villa in the neighbouring parish of St Mary when they consumed a meal of fish and potato salad late last night. Following the meal they all became extremely ill.

They were rushed to hospital where a doctor confirmed that the Argentinean visitor had died. His identity was not released.

One of the other tourists is said to be in critical condition.

Christmas Occupancy Down 16%

If 2010 was a year of rebuilding, 2011 is about sustaining occupancy and revenue growth. The industry is carrying a strong book of business into 2011, which will get the New Year off to a good start. Committed occupancy for the top 25 markets in North America for the current quarter and three future quarters is ahead of the same time last year by 6.7%. Group business continues to strengthen with group commitments for the next 12 months up 6.1% year-over-year. For the first quarter of 2011 they are up 7.0%. Group booking pace continues to improve, with new bookings added over the past month up 4.9% over the comparable period last year. Group ADR is behind by 2.2% year-over-year.

As has been the case for the past several months, transient demand continues to lead occupancy growth, with transient room nights ahead of the same time last year by 7.3%. Business demand (transient weekday retail and negotiated segments) in particular has been and remains very strong, with reserved room nights up 12.8% year-over-year. Transient leisure demand is growing as well, though at a far slower rate.

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A Preview Clip of NBC's America's Next Great Restaurant

NBC just released a preview clip of the upcoming series America's Next Great Restaurant in which contestants compete to see who has the best restaurant concept and win "the biggest reality prize in television history, a new restaurant chain." The kicker here, though, is that the four judges — Australian chef Curtis Stone, chef/Food Network host Bobby Flay, Nestle/Splenda spokesperson Lorena Garcia; and Chipotle founder Steve Ells — are actually going to invest in the nationwide launch of the chain. (Or maybe just three cities as a press release announced earlier this year.)


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Gunmen attack Jamaica all-inclusive hotel

There are worries that there could be a fallout in the tourist sector this winter following Tuesday  night’s attack by gunmen on a prominent all-inclusive hotel in Negril Westmoreland.

None of the visitors were injured, but it is understood that a staff member was hurt in the attack which also triggered widespread panic at the hotel.

According to reports at about 10:30 p.m. three armed men entered the hotel and demanded that the receptionist direct them to the manager.

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Oakland sues to close three hotels, claiming prostitution occurs on their property

OAKLAND -- A significant problem with human trafficking has led the city to sue three hotels police say are hot spots for prostitution, City Attorney John Russo said Wednesday.

The public nuisance suits, filed Tuesday, will ask the court to close each hotel for a year and fine each one $25,000, though Russo said he'd prefer to have the hotel operators solve the problem by doing a better job keeping prostitution off the premises.
Of the three, according to the lawsuits, the human trafficking issue is worst at the Economy Inn at 122 E. 12th St., near the southern shore of Lake Merritt. The suit Russo filed cites numerous recent arrests there for rape and kidnapping, often with underage girls as the victims and often related to prostitution, according to police.
Several men working at the hotel Wednesday declined to give their names or comment. Refusing to give his name, one man said, "We have no knowledge of what's going on."

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Hilton and Starwood settle lawsuit over trade secrets

Hilton Worldwide and Starwood have reached an agreement in the unusual - and unusually nasty - feud that pitted two hotel giants against each other over corporate spying.

The unprecedented case started in 2008 when Starwood charged that Hilton - and two former Starwood executives who had joined Hilton's luxury hotel development team - stole documents to help Hilton develop its own version of Starwood's successful W hotel chain (Denizen) and rush it to market. A federal investigation was launched in April 2009 into the allegations, at which time Hilton grounded efforts to develop Denizen.


Newly filed court documents show that Hilton and Starwood's agreement:

• Bans Hilton until January 2013 from developing a hotel brand that would compete in the same category as Denizen, the W-style hotel that it tried to develop using information.
• Requires Hilton to make payments to Starwood; no sum is disclosed.
• Calls for Hilton to be supervised until January 2013 by two federally appointed monitors to, Starwood says, "assure that the conduct that occurred does not occur again."

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Papa John’s Announces Key Operating Assumptions and Earnings Guidance for 2011

(Hospitality Business News) December 21, 2010 - - - Company Reaffirms 2010 Earnings Guidance; Year-end BIBP Deficit to be Retired by Company as part of Multi-Year National Marketing Fund Agreement with Domestic Franchisees .

Highlights

• Projected 2011 earnings per share of $2.00 to $2.12, an increase of over 16% as compared to the reaffirmed 2010 earnings range of $1.74 to $1.80 per share at the mid-point, excluding the impact of the franchisee-owned cheese purchasing company, BIBP Commodities, Inc. (BIBP)

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Appeals Court upholds verdict in favor of Hilton Hotels in Discrimination case

The United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit upheld a lower court verdict in case No. 10-453-cv

Former Hilton New York employee Walid El Sayed, a United States citizen of Egyptian descent, who is Muslim, was hired as an Assistant to the Director of Housekeeping in December 2004. El Sayed was terminated on August 9, 2006 approximately three weeks after he complained to the Hilton's Housekeeping Director, Barbara Still, that a co-worker referred to him as a "Terrorist Muslim Taliban."

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Chartres Lodging Completes Acquisition of 451-Room Ocean Resort Waikiki

SAN FRANCISCO--(Hospitality Business News)--The Chartres Lodging Group, LLC ,the San Francisco hotel investment and advisory firm, has completed its purchase of the 451-room Ocean Resort Waikiki in a joint venture with a fund managed by Morgan Stanley Real Estate Investing, and has announced plans for complete renovation, rebranding and repositioning of the property. Kokua Hospitality, an independent management firm affiliated with Chartres Lodging, will take on the management of the hotel.

"Chartres Lodging has been patiently waiting for the right time and circumstances to invest in the Waikiki lodging market and discovered the Ocean Resort to present the ideal opportunity,” said Robert D. Kline, Chartres Lodging president and co-founder. “Waikiki's market fundamentals have been resurgent. The Ocean Resort is located within a block of the beach and is an ideal value-added investment opportunity."

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TCS partners with Hilton on IT strategy

MCLEAN, Va. & MUMBAI, India--(Hospitality Business News)--Hilton Worldwide, the leading global hospitality company, and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), (BSE: 532540) (NSE: TCS), a leading IT services, consulting and business solutions firm, today announced a multi-year agreement to help accelerate and enhance Hilton Worldwide's technology strategy as part of the Hilton Worldwide Innovation Collaborative.

The Innovation Collaborative will evolve Hilton Worldwide’s technology infrastructure and accelerate innovation across the company’s portfolio of ten brands. TCS will leverage its extensive experience in running large transformational initiatives and modernizing legacy systems to help develop a platform that keeps Hilton Worldwide in the forefront of the business and technology landscape.
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