Innkeepers USA Trust, a real-estate investment trust that owns more than 70 hotels, is shopping for investors or outright buyers to take the firm out of bankruptcy-court protection, said people familiar with the matter.
Innkeepers bankers have contacted some 70 potential investors and are readying for a prolonged auction to pick a bidder to finance the company's bankruptcy exit, the people said.
Innkeepers is likely to attract investors who work with creditors to restructure the hotel company's debt, the people said. But Innkeepers is also essentially putting itself up for sale, looking for buyers who would take control of the company in an all-cash bid, the people said. Innkeepers runs hotels under brands including Marriott, Hyatt and Hilton in 19 states and the District of Columbia.
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Monday, January 24, 2011
Argentina woman survives 23-storey hotel fall
A young woman has survived after falling from the 23rd floor of a hotel in the Argentine capital, Buenos Aires.
Her fall was broken by a taxi, whose driver got out moments before the impact crushed the roof and shattered the windscreen.
Eyewitness said the woman had climbed over a safety barrier and leapt from a restaurant at the top of the Hotel Crown Plaza Panamericano.
She was taken to intensive care for treatment for multiple injuries.
The woman, who has not been named, is reported to be an Argentine in her 20s.
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Sunday, January 23, 2011
Taco Bell in a beef about beef
Image via Wikipedia(Hospitality Business News) January 23, 2010 - - - -The law firm of Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, P.C. has filed a consumer rights class action lawsuit against Taco Bell Corporation. Whereby the lawsuit challenges Taco Bell's practice of representing to consumers that its restaurants serve "seasoned ground beef" or "seasoned beef" filling in its products, when in fact a substantial amount of the filling contains substances other than beef. The lawsuit seeks to require Taco Bell to properly advertise and label food items, and to engage in a corrective advertising campaign to educate the public about the true content of its food products.
According to standards established by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the meat filling in Taco Bell's products does not meet the minimum standard requirement to be labeled and advertised as "beef," seasoned or otherwise. The substantial majority of the filling is comprised of substances other than beef, and is required to be labeled and advertised as "taco meat filing." Taco meat filling includes ingredients added to increase the volume of the product, such as binders and extenders like "isolated oat product."
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South Indian actress Yamuna arrested for prostitution at 5 star Banglalore Hotel
Bangalore, Jan 23: South Indian beauty, actress Yamuna has been arrested by the police for her alleged involvement in flesh trade. Later, she was released on bail on Saturday, Jan 22. The investigation is on, the team headed by the City police commissioner Shankar M Bidari were looking into all the aspects to file the charges.
Police sources said, "on a specific information, we conducted a raid on room no 1402, 4th floor in ITC Royal Gardenia Hotel, Bangalore. During the raid, we have recovered Rs 2 laks from actress Yamuna and Rs 46,000 from her pimp Surakshit of Puttur in Andhra Pradesh."
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Police have arrested seven women and two men in connection with call girl racket, during a raid in a five star hotel in Bangalore on Thursday, Jan 20. This group is suspected to be part of a nationwide sex racket, which has been active in the city for quite some time. Actress Yamuna, is one among them.
Police sources said, "on a specific information, we conducted a raid on room no 1402, 4th floor in ITC Royal Gardenia Hotel, Bangalore. During the raid, we have recovered Rs 2 laks from actress Yamuna and Rs 46,000 from her pimp Surakshit of Puttur in Andhra Pradesh."
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Al Jaber Group to build first robotic car park in Abu Dhabi
WAM Abu Dhabi, Jan 23rd, 2011 (WAM) -- Al Jaber Group will be commencing the works on the first robotic car park in Abu Dhabi. The new car park will be located next to the Traders Hotel in Qaryat Al Beri Resort.
This Project is the first of its kind in Abu Dhabi with a capacity to handle 325 cars; it will be located next to the Traders Hotel and will have the same finishing and building specifications and height of the Traders hotel to fit in with the gorgeous architectural environment of the development.
The new robotic car park is based on a very sophisticated mechanical system that works via small robots which are placed on steel pallets. The robots pull, rotate and stack the cars in their parking bays. The whole mechanical process of parking the car and retrieving it does not take more than 50 seconds, which makes parking cars a smooth and quick process for the visitors of Qaryat Al Beri Resort.
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This Project is the first of its kind in Abu Dhabi with a capacity to handle 325 cars; it will be located next to the Traders Hotel and will have the same finishing and building specifications and height of the Traders hotel to fit in with the gorgeous architectural environment of the development.
The new robotic car park is based on a very sophisticated mechanical system that works via small robots which are placed on steel pallets. The robots pull, rotate and stack the cars in their parking bays. The whole mechanical process of parking the car and retrieving it does not take more than 50 seconds, which makes parking cars a smooth and quick process for the visitors of Qaryat Al Beri Resort.
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Garbage Hotel opens in Madrid
January 23, 2010 (Hospitality Business News) The “Coronita Save the Beach Hotel”, designed by German eco-artist is built using 12 tonnes of garbage collected from the beaches of Spain, Italy, France and Belgium. The goal of Schult’s installation is to raise awareness of the damage consumerism has on the world beaches.
More NCAA Basketball for Atlantis
OVER a year of lobbying and the hosting of a landmark basketball event in the country has led to the Bahamas being granted exempt status by the National Collegiate Athletic Association.
The NCAA's Division I Board of Directors approved the Bahamas' proposal last weekend and the legislation will go into effect, August 1.
The newly awarded exempt status will give the Bahamas the authority to host a tournament which will count towards a team's 30 game schedule.
According to George Markantonis, President and Managing Director of Kerzner International Bahamas, tentative plans to host the tournament are scheduled for the Thanksgiving Holiday weekend, November 23-27.
Lofty expectations loom for the revamped and expanded "Battle At Atlantis" which organisers hope to eventually challenge the NCAA's most well known tournament outside the continental United States, the EA Sports Maui Invitational.
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The NCAA's Division I Board of Directors approved the Bahamas' proposal last weekend and the legislation will go into effect, August 1.
The newly awarded exempt status will give the Bahamas the authority to host a tournament which will count towards a team's 30 game schedule.
According to George Markantonis, President and Managing Director of Kerzner International Bahamas, tentative plans to host the tournament are scheduled for the Thanksgiving Holiday weekend, November 23-27.
Lofty expectations loom for the revamped and expanded "Battle At Atlantis" which organisers hope to eventually challenge the NCAA's most well known tournament outside the continental United States, the EA Sports Maui Invitational.
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A Hotel’s Case for Direct Connect
If it costs the airlines billions to conduct business through OTAs and the GDS then what will it take for the hotel industry to address its current conventional distribution strategy?
The recent actions by American Airlines to move forward with their “direct connect” model has stirred the preverbal pot to say the least.
According to an article released by Fairlogix, “A Picture is Worth $7 Billion, The real story behind airline distribution, travel supply chain, and consumer value”, it costs the airlines roughly $7 billion annually to conduct business through their current indirect distribution channels such as Orbitz and Sabre.
To set the record straight “direct connect” is not a new phenomenon in fact Orbitz introduced its own version of direct connect in 2002 with none other than the same airline that they are now battling.
Meeting Planners Optimism Rising
As U.S.
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buuteeq Launches First Digital Marketing System for Independent Hotels
Seattle, WA. (Hospitality Business News) January 18, 2011 — Independent hotels now have a new resource to help them master the challenges of digital marketing. buuteeq, an easy-to-use, subscription-based Digital Marketing System (DMS) that enables independent hotels to create and manage high-performing websites, mobile and social channels, promotions and reservations all from one place, launched today after a year in development and testing.
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David Dodwell of Nisbet Plantation on Nevis Named Caribbean Hotelier of the Year
NEVIS, West Indies — (Hospitality Business News) David Dodwell, the owner of Nisbet Plantation Beach Club on Nevis and hotel industry veteran, has just been named the 2010 Caribbean Hotelier of the Year – the highest professional honor given by the Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association. Peter Yesawich of Ypartnership presented Dodwell with the award in front of an international audience of hospitality leaders and tourism officials at the 2011 Caribbean Marketplace in Jamaica
Dodwell, who has more than four decades of hospitality career experience and also owns The Reefs – a renowned beachfront hotel in Bermuda, was honored by the Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association for his achievements in the areas of hotel operations, food and beverage, marketing, property maintenance, staff training and motivation as well as his commitment to the environment and the St. Kitts and Nevis community. He becomes the 33rd recipient of the distinguished golden conch shell and joins an elite list of the most accomplished hotel leaders in the Caribbean .
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Saturday, January 22, 2011
Bank-owned hotels in San Diego on the rise
Hotel occupancies and revenues may be on the rebound, but that hasn’t kept foreclosures at bay in San Diego County, which has the second highest number of bank-owned properties in the state, according to a lodging report released Friday.
By the end of 2010, 16 hotels accounting for nearly 1,700 rooms had been foreclosed on, a 433 percent over 2009 when there were just three real estate-owned hotels, reported Atlas Hospitality Group, which tracks defaults and foreclosures among California hotels. The county was second only to San Bernardino, which had 17 bank-owned hotels, Atlas said.
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By the end of 2010, 16 hotels accounting for nearly 1,700 rooms had been foreclosed on, a 433 percent over 2009 when there were just three real estate-owned hotels, reported Atlas Hospitality Group, which tracks defaults and foreclosures among California hotels. The county was second only to San Bernardino, which had 17 bank-owned hotels, Atlas said.
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HYATT announces agreement to rebrand Waikiki hotel
CHICAGO (Hospitality Business News - Jan. 20, 2011) — Hyatt Hotels Corporation (NYSE: H) announced today that a Hyatt affiliate has signed a franchise agreement with The Chartres Lodging Group, LLC, for a Hyatt Place hotel in Waikiki, Hawaii. Under the agreement, the hotel, which is currently operating under the name Ocean Resort Hotel Waikiki, will undergo an extensive renovation and will be re-branded in the fall of 2011 as the 425-room Hyatt Place Waikiki.
Kokua Hospitality, LLC (http://www.kokuahospitality.com/), also announced its appointment by Chartres Lodging and Morgan Stanley Real Estate to manage the Waikiki property and oversee its renovation and repositioning. Once the renovation is completed, Kokua will continue to manage the property. The Ocean Resort Hotel Waikiki was acquired in December 2010 by a joint venture of Chartres Lodging and Morgan Stanley.
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Kokua Hospitality, LLC (http://www.kokuahospitality.com/), also announced its appointment by Chartres Lodging and Morgan Stanley Real Estate to manage the Waikiki property and oversee its renovation and repositioning. Once the renovation is completed, Kokua will continue to manage the property. The Ocean Resort Hotel Waikiki was acquired in December 2010 by a joint venture of Chartres Lodging and Morgan Stanley.
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