There are a few things American chef Bobby Flay knows how to do better than most people. They include a cornmeal-crusted chile relleno, anything that requires a grill, and running a restaurant. The master of Southwestern cuisine has more than seven restaurant openings under his belt. Among the most critically acclaimed eateries is New York City’s Mesa Grill, which has been around for 20 years. Flay, whose latest food show, Brunch @ Bobby’s, will air starting next month on the Cooking Channel, spoke to NEWSWEEK’s Jessica Ramirez about what new owners should avoid if they want to succeed in the restaurant business.
Read More:
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Helmsley Hotel Up for Sale
HOSPITALITY BUSINESS NEWS— The New York Helmsley hotel near Grand Central Terminal has been put on the market for sale, according to the New York Post.
The 788-room hotel could sell for more than $300 million, the paper reported.
The same team that sold the Carlton Hotel on the Upper East Side as a condo redevelopment for the Helmsley Estate last year will be working on the listing to sell the Midtown East hotel, the Post said.
The team includes CB Richard Ellis investment brokers Darcy Stacom and Bill Shanahan, as well as their colleague Brad Brunnell.
The real estate empire built by Harry and Leona Helmsley been sold off piece by piece since her death. Only two of the Helmsley's hotels remain in the group New York, the Park Lane and the New York Helmsley, and another Helmsley hotel remains in Sarasota, FL.
The 788-room hotel could sell for more than $300 million, the paper reported.
The same team that sold the Carlton Hotel on the Upper East Side as a condo redevelopment for the Helmsley Estate last year will be working on the listing to sell the Midtown East hotel, the Post said.
The team includes CB Richard Ellis investment brokers Darcy Stacom and Bill Shanahan, as well as their colleague Brad Brunnell.
The real estate empire built by Harry and Leona Helmsley been sold off piece by piece since her death. Only two of the Helmsley's hotels remain in the group New York, the Park Lane and the New York Helmsley, and another Helmsley hotel remains in Sarasota, FL.
More Westin rooms to shut as receivership fight continues
The Westin Hotel is "making the best of a bad situation" as a dispute between the owners and receivers of the hotel's management company rumbles on during one of its busiest booking weeks of the year.
The Westin is doing a fraction of its normal trade and has had to turn away several NZ Fashion Week guests after half of the hotel was made off limits earlier this month. Owners are seeking to cancel the leases of a further 19 rooms at the five star hotel in the next two weeks.
Read More:
The Westin is doing a fraction of its normal trade and has had to turn away several NZ Fashion Week guests after half of the hotel was made off limits earlier this month. Owners are seeking to cancel the leases of a further 19 rooms at the five star hotel in the next two weeks.
Read More:
TripAdvisor steers well clear of bizarre Blackpool hotel saga
User review site TripAdvisor is perhaps wisely attempting to remove itself from the strange story of a couple asked to leave a UK hotel because of a negative review.
News of the saga has spread quickly after the alleged reviewer went to the press with the tale.
According to Adrian Healey, a 33 year old retail manager, he was asked to leave a hotel before the end of the booking after being accused of posting a negative review about the property on TripAdvisor.
Read More:
News of the saga has spread quickly after the alleged reviewer went to the press with the tale.
According to Adrian Healey, a 33 year old retail manager, he was asked to leave a hotel before the end of the booking after being accused of posting a negative review about the property on TripAdvisor.
Read More:
Omni Detroit to close
The Omni Detroit Hotel will cease operations Oct. 12 as the hotel’s owner wants to “focus on other properties.”
The 108-room hotel has been up for sale since the beginning of the year, with a plan to close unless a sale is under contract, said Caryn Kboudi, vice president of corporate communications for Irving, Texas-based Omni Hotels & Resorts, which operates 45 hotels in North America.
Read More:
The 108-room hotel has been up for sale since the beginning of the year, with a plan to close unless a sale is under contract, said Caryn Kboudi, vice president of corporate communications for Irving, Texas-based Omni Hotels & Resorts, which operates 45 hotels in North America.
Read More:
Virgin Is Getting into the Hotel Business
PHOENIX-Virgin Group is getting into hotels. The multinational company is diving into the hotel market, planning to put out 25 branded hotels over the next seven years. Virgin Hotels will be a “four-star lifestyle hotel brand,” according to the company, and will launch first into gateway markets with the first property opening within the next 12 to 18 months.
Read More:
Read More:
Ahmadinejad's food stinks up Hilton
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad doesn't need nuclear weapons -- his food stinks so bad, he's practically cleared out the Hilton Manhattan East. The finicky fascist brought his own personal chef to prepare his meals while he's in town for the UN General Assembly, a source told The Post's Helen Freund. Unfortunately, his meals "make the whole hotel stink like hell," said the source. The Hilton did not return a call for comment.
Read More:
Read More:
Dallas-Fort Worth hotel foreclosure filings more than triple
Business and tourist travel is picking up, but the number of Dallas-Fort Worth hotels facing foreclosure this year has more than tripled.
So far in 2010, 94 North Texas hotel foreclosure filings have been recorded. There were 30 filings for the same period in 2009, according to Foreclosure Listing Service Inc.
"Among D-FW hotels, the threat of foreclosure has skyrocketed over the past two years," said George Roddy, president of the Addison-based foreclosure-tracking firm. "For the upcoming foreclosure auctions on Oct. 5, eight postings have been filed, threatening hotel projects within the area."
Read More:
So far in 2010, 94 North Texas hotel foreclosure filings have been recorded. There were 30 filings for the same period in 2009, according to Foreclosure Listing Service Inc.
"Among D-FW hotels, the threat of foreclosure has skyrocketed over the past two years," said George Roddy, president of the Addison-based foreclosure-tracking firm. "For the upcoming foreclosure auctions on Oct. 5, eight postings have been filed, threatening hotel projects within the area."
Read More:
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Miami Beach's Cavalier Hotel faces foreclosure
BPD Bank filed a foreclosure lawsuit Sept. 16 against Ocean Drive Investment, Cavalier Hotel and managing member Ralph Abravaya, according to Miami-Dade County Circuit Court records. It concerns a mortgage issued for $4.2 million in 2005 and increased to $6.5 million in 2007. The loan matured June 1.
Read More:
Read More:
Hilton Worldwide Bolsters Europe and Africa Development Team
Having opened 16 hotels already this year across Europe and Africa, and with approximately 80 additional hotels in the region's pipeline, Hilton Worldwide has announced four new senior appointments to its regional development team.
The new team members include Derrek Anderson as vice president, development, Sub-Saharan Africa; Graham Dodd as development director, UK & Ireland; Wolfgang Gallas as development director, Germany, Switzerland & Austria; and Marybelle Arnett as vice president, development, Europe & Africa, Hampton by Hilton.
Read More:
The new team members include Derrek Anderson as vice president, development, Sub-Saharan Africa; Graham Dodd as development director, UK & Ireland; Wolfgang Gallas as development director, Germany, Switzerland & Austria; and Marybelle Arnett as vice president, development, Europe & Africa, Hampton by Hilton.
Read More:
Workers call for boycott of Vancouver Hyatt
Frustrated hotel workers will try to turn guests away from the Hyatt Regency Vancouver on Tuesday.
Hyatt workers plan to gather in front of the hotel at 655 Burrard Street at noon, calling for a boycott to pressure management over an ongoing contract dispute.
According to boycott organizers, the labour action at the Hyatt in Vancouver will join 14 other active boycotts of Hyatt properties in North America.
Read More:
Hyatt workers plan to gather in front of the hotel at 655 Burrard Street at noon, calling for a boycott to pressure management over an ongoing contract dispute.
According to boycott organizers, the labour action at the Hyatt in Vancouver will join 14 other active boycotts of Hyatt properties in North America.
Read More:
German restaurant in hot water over giant schnitzels
Gerhard Kaltscheuer said his giant schnitzels are popular in the town of Hammerbruecke and he sells about 70 dishes per day. He said tax officials told him they believe he sells 200 portions daily based on the amount of raw material he purchases.
"If I served the customers smaller portions at the normal price like that, I wouldn't have any customers because that wouldn't fill them up," Kaltscheuer told Reuters. He said he makes his portions large because his customers are laborers.
Read More:
"If I served the customers smaller portions at the normal price like that, I wouldn't have any customers because that wouldn't fill them up," Kaltscheuer told Reuters. He said he makes his portions large because his customers are laborers.
Read More:
Darden Restaurants Reports 19% Increase in First Quarter Diluted Net Earnings Per Share
ORLANDO, Fla., Sept 21, 2010 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Darden Restaurants, Inc. /quotes/comstock/13*!dri/quotes/nls/dri (DRI 43.20, -0.82, -1.86%) today reported sales and diluted net earnings per share for the fiscal first quarter ended August 29, 2010. In the first quarter, diluted net earnings per share from continuing operations increased 19% to 80 cents, versus 67 cents in the prior year.
Read More:
Read More:
International company to open shuttered Nevada Ritz-Carlton
An international hotel operator will manage and rebrand the shuttered Ritz-Carlton at Lake Las Vegas that closed in May.
Dolce Hotels and Resorts was selected by Village Hospitality to take over the 349-room property, which sits on 15 acres of Lake Las Vegas. Dolce, which has 27 properties in North America and Europe, plans to reopen the hotel in the first quarter of 2011.
Dolce is majority-owned by Broadreach Capital Partners, has corporate headquarters in Montvale, N.J. and Paris, and employs approximately 4,000 worldwide.
Read More:
Dolce Hotels and Resorts was selected by Village Hospitality to take over the 349-room property, which sits on 15 acres of Lake Las Vegas. Dolce, which has 27 properties in North America and Europe, plans to reopen the hotel in the first quarter of 2011.
Dolce is majority-owned by Broadreach Capital Partners, has corporate headquarters in Montvale, N.J. and Paris, and employs approximately 4,000 worldwide.
Read More:
Wyndham reaches licensing deal with Planet Hollywood
Wyndham Hotel Group, the world’s largest hotel company with nearly 7,200 properties, reached an agreement yesterday to franchise the Planet Hollywood Hotels brand and provide management services.
Founded in 1989 by Robert Earl, Planet Hollywood International will continue to own its trademarks and intellectual property. Developers will be able to create hotels that include Planet Hollywood memorabilia, which includes props from blockbuster movies and classic television shows.
Read More:
Founded in 1989 by Robert Earl, Planet Hollywood International will continue to own its trademarks and intellectual property. Developers will be able to create hotels that include Planet Hollywood memorabilia, which includes props from blockbuster movies and classic television shows.
Read More:
