Central Bank (Bahamas): Decline in hotel receipts

The Central Bank is confirming that hotels in The Bahamas sustained whopping blows to their bottom line in the last quarter — following an earlier Guardian report pinning that decline at 21 percent.

"Preliminary indicators of tourism sector revenues suggest that hotel receipts, across all major markets, declined significantly during the review quarter," said the bank's latest quarterly report ending June 2009. "This reflected the combined adverse effects on average earnings of lower occupancy levels, various discounts and other incentive programs."

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Atlantis hit by slower than expected Sept

Officials at Kerzner International's Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island expected things to be slow this fall, but they did not bank on the dramatic downturn in business now being experienced, according to a top executive. "Fall has turned out to be much softer than we expected [although] it's also a fall where we haven't had any major storms as we experienced in 2008 — or at least when we were threatened with some," said George Markantonis, president and managing director of Kerzner International Bahamas, the largest private employer in the country.


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Restaurant chain sued for overdue rent at 2 malls

(Crain’s) — Simon Property Group Inc. is suing a well-known casual restaurant chain to collect more than $143,000 in past-due rent and other fees for locations at two Chicago-area malls.

The Indianapolis-based mall giant alleges in separate lawsuits that Ruby Tuesday Inc. locations at Lincolnwood Town Center and Orland Square Mall have fallen behind on their monthly rent payments, though Simon has not begun eviction proceedings.

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Marriott International to record $760M in charges

BETHESDA, Md. -- Marriott says it will record $760 million in third-quarter impairment charges as it lowers prices and curbs development in its timeshare business to boost cash flow.

Marriott International Inc. plans to reduce residential prices to boost sales and convert certain projects for other uses.

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Tune Hotels CEO Tony Fernandes Says They're Coming To America

Tune Hotels are "very definitely" coming to the United States in the near future (we're talking like two years here). Tune being just "as big a brand as Air Asia," it's also a brand "that could travel anywhere in the world."

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Is Marriott’s Renaissance brand poised to compete with W?

Last week, we hit up Renaissance Hotels’ official brand “re-launch” at the Hotel 57 in Manhattan (which is now a Renaissance property). Across the pond, plenty of folks were partying in Paris at the Renaissance Arc de Triomphe several hours earlier to celebrate the new look of the Marriott-owned chain the same way.


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Savoy’s Luxury Makeover Adds to London Hotels’ Post-Lehman Woes

Sept. 23 (Bloomberg) -- The Savoy, the 121-year-old London hotel that’s hosted Elizabeth Taylor and Claude Monet, may add to strains on the city’s luxury guesthouses when it reopens in April following British hospitality’s most expensive renovation.

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Hilton executive in corporate 'espionage' case exits

Hilton Hotels Corporation, the American hotel behemoth, has replaced Ross Klein as global head of luxury and lifestyle brands after a lawsuit brought by Starwood Hotels, his former employer, accused him of looting confidential information.


Sources close to the company confirmed today that Mr Klein, who had been placed on paid administrative leave in April after the launch of the legal action, has now left Hilton. He is being replaced by John Vanderslice, former chief executive of Miraval Spa in Tucson, Arizona.

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Mayaguana (The Bahamas) project moving ahead?

The government is making progress in its talks with officials of the I-Group, the developer of a promised billion-dollar project for Mayaguana, Minister of Tourism Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace said yesterday.


Vanderpool-Wallace said government officials will meet with developers in the first week in October as they continue discussions toward a restructured agreement for the development.

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What happened to Raffles n the BVI?

More than two years ago, developers announced plans to turn the Lambert Beach Resort into a $200-$250 million, five-star establishment. Today, ground has yet to be broken on the project, and the resort’s future is murky. But there are at least two possible scenarios.


A pending partnership with developer Mark Vanterpool and the mega-resort conglomerate Raffles could transform the resort into the proposed establishment; or the land could be auctioned off in whole to the highest bidder.

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160,000 applications later, CityCenter makes job offers

CityCenter began making employment offers to hundreds of workers Monday in preparation for the project's opening later this year, bringing hope to those who have been unemployed and new opportunities for others looking to make a change.

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70 Jack in the Box restaurants close, re-open

Longtime Jack in the Box Inc. franchisee Abe Alizadeh suddenly and temporarily closed 70 Jack in the Box restaurants in Northern California, before re-opening Friday, the San Diego-based restaurant franchising company reported in a news release.


The 70 Northern California Jack in the Box locations reopened Friday afternoon after Alizadeh filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for the four corporate entities that operate them, spokesman Scott Rose said.

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Accor announces a major real estate transaction

In line with its ongoing asset-right strategy, Accor today announced a major real estate transaction in the

Budget segment in France, with the sale of 158 hotelF1 properties, representing a total of 12,300 rooms.
Accor pioneered the low-cost hotel concept in France, opening the first Formule 1 hotel in 1984 and introducing particularly innovative construction and management techniques. Formule 1, renamed hotelF1 in 2007, is the entry-level hotel brand of Accor Group in France with an average room rate of around €33.

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T.G.I Fridays outlets close

Jack is back, but T.G.I. Fridays has closed in the Sacramento region, the latest restaurant outlets affected by the financial woes of businessman and developer Abe Alizadeh.


Carlson Restaurants Worldwide Inc. has forced the closure of 10 T.G.I. Fridays in Northern California, Oregon and Washington owned by Alizadeh. The Carrollton, Texas-based company ordered Alizadeh to shut down the restaurants Friday

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Granite City Food & Brewery Ltd. Announces Debt for Equity Transaction

MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Granite City Food & Brewery Ltd. (NASDAQ: GCFB) today announced a transaction that will allow the company to convert approximately $15.0 million of debt owed to DHW Leasing LLC (DHW) into 28 million shares of the company’s common stock at a conversion price of $0.54 per share.

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