Turnberry's next role -- asset management

Seeking to generate additional income and capitalize on a need in the real estate market, Turnberry Associates has launched a new division offering its services as an asset manager.
Turnberry Asset Management will focus the majority of its business on commercial properties, offering leasing, marketing and operations support for retail centers, office complexes, hotels and resorts. The Aventura company also has the capability of providing similar service for residential properties through its affiliated Turnberry Ltd.

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City picks new Tavern on the Green leaseholder

The most anticipated restaurant deal in the New York was announced Friday when the city selected Dean Poll, owner and operator of the Loeb Boathouse in Central Park, to run the eatery where Tavern on the Green has stood for more than three decades.

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Resort at Singer Island to lay off 230

The Resort at Singer Island has filed a notice with the state of plans to lay off 230 employees.
The hotel, at 3800 N. Ocean Drive in Riviera Beach, said in its Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) notice that White Plains, N.Y.-based Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, which manages the hotel, has been told by the hotel’s owner – WCI Communities of Bonita Springs – that it will not be honoring its management contract.

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Accor's Volte-Face

It has taken a recession, a profit warning and a boardroom shake-up, but activist shareholders calling for strategic changes at French hotels group Accor may at last get their way.
Chief Executive Gilles Pelisson has agreed to separate Accor's hotels and services units, a move that Mr. Pelisson has resisted. That is good news for shareholders, particularly as it may be the catalyst for a much wider shake-up.

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Restaurant Group boosted by growth plans

Shares in The Restaurant Group, the owner of the Garfunkel’s and Frankie & Benny’s chains, surged 19p, or 11 per cent, to 193p in early deals today after it posted a 3 per cent increase in first-half profits and boasted plans for a further eight new outlets before the end of the year.
Investors cheered the group, which also owns the Chiquito and Blubeckers chains, for continuing to grow despite the economic downturn, partly by offering its diners more chicken and less steak.

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http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/retailing/article6813299.ece

Trump Casinos Must Face Examiner’s Review of Donald Trump Deal

Aug. 28 (Bloomberg) -- Donald Trump’s effort to regain control of Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc. will be investigated by a court-approved bankruptcy examiner, the judge overseeing the casino operator’s Chapter 11 case ruled.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Judith Wizmur in Camden, New Jersey, yesterday approved a request by Trump Entertainment’s bondholders to investigate the company’s decision endorsing Trump’s reorganization plan. Bondholders urged the judge in court papers to investigate whether the board acted in good faith

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http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601206&sid=ajx31iU6jhlQ

Billionaire Tan and Star Cruises Open Manila Casino

Aug. 28 (Bloomberg) -- Philippine billionaire Andrew Tan and Star Cruises Ltd. today opened their $700 million Resorts World Manila, which will double the tables in the city and may boost its casino revenue more than 120 percent.
“Our expectation is this will contribute to earnings within the first year of operations,” said Kingson Sian, president of Alliance Global Group Inc., the holding company of Tan, the Philippines’ fourth-richest person. The venture will tap Star Cruises’ network of more than 2.5 million customers and will bus in people from outside Manila, he said.

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http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601205&sid=aS22lEJCBnXE

Washington Hotels Defy U.S. Travel Slump on Government Bailouts

Aug. 28 (Bloomberg) -- Washington politicians, many of whom led the backlash against lavish spending on business travel, are helping the city’s hotels outperform the rest of the country.

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http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601205&sid=abRrhjhnKUaA

Is Marriott Taking Out a Hit On The Ritz-Carlton?

We got a tip late last night that told us things could be changing drastically at Ritz-Carlton Hotels which as you all know is a part of the Marriott Hotels.

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http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2009/8/26/21443/5697/hotels/Is_Marriott_Taking_Out_a_Hit_On_The_Ritz_Carlton_

Dubai's desert theme park suddenly a mirage

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES -- Walk through the grand arched entrance of Universal Studios' Dubai theme park, and you step into ... wind-swept desert.
No Hollywood thrill rides, no ticket kiosks, no studio backlots. Even the guard house and the construction office sat empty during a recent visit.
The planned park is part of a vision by Dubai officials to turn a patch of sand on the edge of the Mideast city-state into Dubailand - a vast amusement complex twice the size of Walt Disney World studded with theme parks including Universal Studios, Six Flags and Legoland, along with resorts, the world's biggest shopping mall and the first golf course designed by Tiger Woods.
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http://www.globeinvestor.com/servlet/story/GAM.20090825.IBDUBAILAND25ART1900/GIStory/

MGM Mirage announces debt-exchange deal

MGM Mirage announced a debt-exchange deal Thursday in which it plans to swap some of its $782 million in 8.5 percent notes due in 2010 for up to $500 million in 10 percent notes due in 2016.

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http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/aug/27/mgm-mirage-announces-debt-exchange-deal/

Why InterContinental Chose to Relaunch Holiday Inn

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- InterContinental Hotels Group earlier this summer announced the opening of its 1,000th relaunched Holiday Inn hotel: the Holiday Inn Express New York Times Square. The opening was part of an overall $1 billion relaunch of more than 3,200 Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express hotels worldwide, as well as the opening of another 1,050 hotels featuring the new branding over the next few years, with the completion of the global relaunch set for 2010

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http://adage.com/cmostrategy/article?article_id=138687

Starbucks to open second ‘stealth’ coffee shop

Call it stealth Starbucks II. The Seattle-based coffee chain plans to add a second coffee house in the style of the much-talked about 15th Avenue Coffee & Tea cafe that opened recently in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood.
The new cafe will be called Roy Street Coffee & Tea and will open this fall, also in Capitol Hill, at 700 Broadway East.

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http://seattle.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/2009/08/24/daily39.html?ana=yfcpc

Send This Restaurant Stock Back

At first blush, Burger King's (NYSE: BKC) fourth-quarter results look downright tasty. The company's earnings of $0.43 per share came in well ahead of analyst estimates of $0.33. The market's reaction to the news was, well, fit for a king. Burger King shares jumped more than 6% on the news.
On second thought When looking deeper into the report, however, Burger King's results didn't quite hit the spot. Sales trends remain dismal. Fourth-quarter sales fell 15.8% versus the year-ago quarter, and global same-store sales decreased 2.4%. Comps in its U.S. and Canadian restaurants were even worse with a decline of 4.5%.

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http://www.fool.com/investing/small-cap/2009/08/27/send-this-restaurant-stock-back.aspx

Creditors probe deal that took Station private

A group of creditors in the Station Casinos Inc. bankruptcy case revealed Wednesday it's investigating the 2007 deal in which the Las Vegas company was taken private -- a deal the creditors say involved questionable terms that now threaten recovery of funds by the creditors.
Attorneys for the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors made the revelation in a motion objecting to plans by Station and some of its bank lenders to spend cash during the bankruptcy process.

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http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/aug/27/creditors-probe-deal-took-station-private/