Monday, May 3, 2010

W Boston Hotel developer files for bankruptcy

SW Boston Hotel Venture LLC listed both assets and debt in the $100 million to $500 million range. Bovis Lend Lease LMB Inc was named the largest unsecured creditor with a claim of about $700,000.

The sleek glass building was opened in November 2009, just as the United States was emerging from the worst downturn since the Great Depression.

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Pinellas businesses brace for impact from oil spill

The oil spill is hundreds of miles from Florida's coast, but it's raising concerns for Pinellas County's tourist industry.

People across the Gulf Coast are anxiously watching the movement of the oil slick, which is centered off the Louisiana coast and growing by at least 200,000 gallons a day

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Dave & Buster’s to be sold for $570M

Restaurant chain Dave & Buster’s Inc. will be sold to private equity firm Oak Hill Capital Partners for $570 million, the company said Monday.

Dave & Buster’s has three metro Atlanta locations -- Duluth, Lawrenceville and Mariet
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Hong Kong restaurant receipts up 4.8%

HONG KONG - HONG Kong's restaurant receipts rose 4.8 per cent to HK$20.82 billion (S$3.69 billion) in the first quarter of 2010 from the same period last year, data from the Census and Statistics Department showed on Monday.


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Papa John’s passes $2B in online sales

Papa John’s International Inc. Monday surpassed the $2 billion mark in online sales since 2001, when the company began offering the option through its Web site, www.papajohns.com.

The pizza chain reached $1 billion in online sales in 2008. At that time, the company predicted it would take three years to reach another $1 billion in online revenue.

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Hotels Aim to Dominate Europe After Conquering U.S.

April 29 (Bloomberg) -- Europe is the new battleground for the world’s largest hotel companies as they look for sources of growth outside the U.S. market they already dominate.

Four Seasons Hotels Inc., Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. and Marriott International Inc. are stepping up expansion efforts in Europe, where about 34 percent of hotels fly chain flags, Otus & Co. estimates. In the U.S., they already control about 70 percent of the market, according to Smith Travel Research Inc. of Hendersonville, Tennessee.

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Holiday Inn Launches $100 Million Global Advertising Campaign

ATLANTA - IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) [LON:IHG, NYSE:IHG (ADRs)], the world's largest hotel group by number of rooms announced today the launch of Holiday Inn's largest global advertising campaign in brand history - Stay You. With a global $100 million dollar spend, the Stay You campaign supports the biggest brand relaunch in hospitality history.

"Fundamentally, what our guests love about the Holiday Inn brands is that we provide a place where they can take their gameface off, come as they are, relax and just be themselves," said Kevin Kowalski, senior vice president, Global Brand Management, Holiday Inn Brands. "Everything we do in our hotels, from our lobbies, to our rooms, to our friendly and genuine service reinforces this feeling. The Stay You campaign just confirms what they love about us in a fun and memorable way."

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Gaylord's Opryland - Nashville's largest hotel - could close for months due to unprecedented flooding

The Gaylord Opryland Resort - Nashville's largest hotel and convention center - might be closed for months due to severe damage from the unprecedented flooding over the weekend, according to the Nasvhille Business Journal.

The region experienced a historic series of storms that brought record rainfall and, now, widespread flooding, according to a Gaylord press release. The report sits adjacent to the Cumberland River and is protected by levees built to sustain 100-year-flood standard.

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Cuba competition to be discussed at CHTIC

Discussions on whether Cuba will become the top spot for tourism in the Caribbean are set for next week's Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Investment Conference (CHTIC), where Bahamian Tourism Minister Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace will make a presentation.


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Sunday, May 2, 2010

Court Says SF Can Levy Hotel Tax On Parking

The city of San Francisco is entitled to charge its 14 percent hotel tax on hotel parking spaces or valet parking, according to a state appeals court.

The Court of Appeal, in a ruling issued in San Francisco on Wednesday, rejected a San Mateo County woman's challenge to the application of the hotel tax to hotel parking.

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Wyndham Hotels Is On a Roll

Wyndham Hotels seems to have a fascination for hotels with numbers as part of their name. Among recent high-profile additions to the chain are the Graves 601 Wyndham Grand in Minneapolis, the Parc 55 Wyndham in San Francisco and the recently opened Fashion 26-A Wyndham Hotel in New York’s Chelsea neighborhood. While brand officials say the numerology is mere coincidence, the move toward quality isn’t.


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40% of Hilton's near-term hotel openings outside the USA

Hilton CEO Chris Nassetta took over as Hotel Check-In's guest-hotel-CEO blogger for April. (Here are links to his first and second posts.) Here is his final post as part of our 'Checking in with the Chief' series...


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Hoteliers boost outlook as recovery signs emerge

(Reuters) - Lodging companies Wyndham Worldwide Corp (WYN.N) and Host Hotels & Resorts Inc (HST.N) lifted their 2010 outlooks on Wednesday, spurred by signs that the industry can command higher rates and occupancies.

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Thursday, April 29, 2010

NH HOTELES AGREES TO SELL ITS LONDON ST. ERMIN´S HOTEL TO AN INTERNATIONAL INVESTOR GROUP FOR €75M

NH Hoteles will reinforce its liquidity with the sale of the hotel Jolly St Ermin´s, in line with the asset divestment plan announced by the Company last year

The 275-room hotel, located in Westminster, was incorporated by NH Hoteles when it acquired the Italian hotel chain Jolly Hotels in 2007

After recently incorporating another hotel in London into the Group, under the management agreement with the hotel chain Hesperia, NH Hoteles will continues with a significant presence in London, with 3 hotels totalling more than 500 rooms

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Big expansion planned at Whitbread as profits soar by 77%

Whitbread is targeting a 32% expansion in its Premier Inn hotel brand to 55,000 rooms in the UK by 2015, and could increase its Costa brand to 3,000 stores worldwide over the same period.


The news came as the group announced that total revenue climbed by 7.5% to almost £1.44b in 2009, thanks to the expansion of its Premier Inn, Costa and restaurant brands.

The group also pointed to improving like-for-like sales in the final quarter of the year, following a tough start to the year, which meant that overall like-for-like sales were down just 0.5% in 2009.

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