Britain’s Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG) and Singapore’s Hong Leong Group (豐隆集團) have announced plans to invest in Taiwan’s hotel industry.
IHG last week signed deals to open hotels in Xiamen, China, Hong Kong and Taipei, adding more than 700 rooms to its Asia-Pacific portfolio.
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Tuesday, October 19, 2010
DiamondRock Hospitality Company Reports Third Quarter 2010 Results
BETHESDA, Md., Oct 19, 2010 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- DiamondRock Hospitality Company (the "Company") /quotes/comstock/13*!drh/quotes/nls/drh (DRH 10.69, -0.27, -2.46%) today announced results of operations for its third fiscal quarter ended September 10, 2010. The Company is a lodging focused real estate investment trust that owns twenty-three premium hotels in North America and holds a senior loan secured by another premium hotel.
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Manhattan's Hotel Chelsea, Once Home to Dylan, Warhol, Is Put Up for Sale
The Hotel Chelsea, a Manhattan landmark where Bob Dylan, Andy Warhol and Eugene O’Neill once lived, was put up for sale by the families that owned and operated it for more than 65 years.
“It is time to let a new owner, with perhaps some new innovative ideas and resources, to re-energize and revitalize the Chelsea,” Paul Brounstein, a shareholder and board member, said in a statement today.
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“It is time to let a new owner, with perhaps some new innovative ideas and resources, to re-energize and revitalize the Chelsea,” Paul Brounstein, a shareholder and board member, said in a statement today.
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Is Open Table worth it?
We’ve often been asked why Incanto is not listed on OpenTable.com. For those of you not familiar with the service, OpenTable is the most successful online restaurant reservation portal on Earth; a place on the Web where diners can search for and make reservations at leading restaurants, via a browser or smartphone. Restaurants like Incanto that chose not to offer their seats through OpenTable find themselves in a shrinking minority.
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Benihana Reports Total Restaurant Sales and Comparable Restaurant Sales
Benihana Inc., operator of Japanese theme and sushi restaurants, reported total restaurant sales and comparable restaurant sales for the third four-week period (September 13 - October 10,) and the twelve-week period (July 19 - October 10,) of the second fiscal quarter 2011.
According to a release, for the third four-week period, total restaurant sales increased 4.6 percent to $23.1 million from $22.0 million, while Company-wide comparable restaurant sales increased 5.7 percent, representing the eighth consecutive four-week period of comparable restaurant sales increases. By concept, comparable restaurant sales increased 8.7 percent at Benihana Teppanyaki and 0.9 percent at RA Sushi, but decreased 0.6 percent at Haru. There were a total of 384 store-operating weeks in the third four-week period of the second fiscal quarter 2011 compared to a total of 392 store-operating weeks in the third four-week period of the second fiscal quarter 2010.
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According to a release, for the third four-week period, total restaurant sales increased 4.6 percent to $23.1 million from $22.0 million, while Company-wide comparable restaurant sales increased 5.7 percent, representing the eighth consecutive four-week period of comparable restaurant sales increases. By concept, comparable restaurant sales increased 8.7 percent at Benihana Teppanyaki and 0.9 percent at RA Sushi, but decreased 0.6 percent at Haru. There were a total of 384 store-operating weeks in the third four-week period of the second fiscal quarter 2011 compared to a total of 392 store-operating weeks in the third four-week period of the second fiscal quarter 2010.
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Ramsay’s Father-in-Law Steps Down as CEO of Restaurant Business
Oct. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Gordon Ramsay’s father-in-law, Chris Hutcheson, has stepped down as chief executive officer of Gordon Ramsay Holdings Ltd., the TV chef’s main restaurant business.
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“We can confirm that Chris Hutcheson has left his position as CEO of Gordon Ramsay Holdings Ltd.,” the company said today in an e-mailed statement. “He retains an interest in the business as a shareholder,” it said. “Interim management will be put in place while the search begins for a full-time replacement. It continues to be business as normal for all GRH operations.”
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Iron Chef Michael Symon will close Bar Symon restaurant
Bar Symon, the Iron Chef's restaurant in Avon Lake, will close at the end of the month. Symon cited disappointing sales and a location in a shopping center with significant vacancies as reasons for shuttering the 9,500-square-feet operation at 32858 Walker Road. His partners in the venture are his wife, Liz, and Doug Petkovic
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3G Capital Completes Acquisition of Burger King Holdings, Inc.
MIAMI & NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Burger King Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BKC) (the “Company”) and 3G Capital today announced the completion of the previously announced transaction for an affiliate of 3G Capital to acquire the Company for $24.00 per share in cash, or approximately $4.0 billion in the aggregate, including the assumption of outstanding debt.
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“We are thrilled to complete this transaction and eager to continue building the BURGER KING® brand and enhance the guest experience in our restaurants all over the world”As previously announced, Bernardo Hees will become Chief Executive Officer of the Company, and Alexandre Behring, Managing Partner of 3G Capital, will assume the position of Co-Chairman of the Board of the Company effective immediately, alongside John Chidsey, the Company’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer prior to the completion of the transaction.
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Sonic Reports Year-End 2010 Results
- Net income per diluted share totaled $0.08 versus net income per diluted share of $0.28 in the year-earlier quarter;
- Excluding special items, net income per diluted share was $0.23 in the fourth quarter of 2010 versus $0.29 in the same period last year (see reconciliation later in this release);
- System-wide same-store sales declined 6.4% during the fourth quarter, with same-store sales declining 6.4% at franchise drive-ins and 6.1% at company-owned drive-ins; and
- Franchise drive-in openings totaled 24 for the quarter versus 40 in the same period last year.
Whitbread Shares Advance to Three-Year High on Premier Inn Profit Increase
Whitbread Plc, the largest U.K. hotel and restaurant company, rose to a three-year high in London trading after reporting a 58 percent gain in profit on growth at Premier Inn budget hotels and Costa Coffee shops.
The shares advanced as much as 2.1 percent, climbing to the highest since Nov. 1, 2007.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Nathan's Famous loses motion, faces multimillion-dollar damages payment to licensee
JERICHO, N.Y. (AP) -- Fast-food chain Nathan's Famous Inc. said Monday that it could owe $2.9 million to $6.1 million in a legal dispute with a licensee and it expects to record a charge of $2.9 million for its second quarter, which ended Sept. 26.
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Marriott, Hilton seek permission to hire more legal immigrants
As the economy rebounds and hotel giants expect to hire more employees, Marriott and Hilton Worldwide are among the large companies seeking to boost the number of legal immigrant workers they're allowed to hire, according to a Bloomberg News piece that also looks at campaign contribution patterns.
The hotel companies want increases in worker visas and more employment-based "green cards" - proof of permanent residency in the U.S. that can allow for a lifetime career, the story says.
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The hotel companies want increases in worker visas and more employment-based "green cards" - proof of permanent residency in the U.S. that can allow for a lifetime career, the story says.
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Kerzner rumours still swirl
Despite Kerzner International's adamant denial last week that the Atlantis and One & Only Ocean Club Owner is not for sale, rumours and speculation continue to swirl, with claims being made to this newspaper that other suitors are also interested.
Apart from BMB Group, a firm with connections to the Brunei Royal Family, making an unsolicited $3.4 billion all-cash bid that was rejected, one message sent to Tribune Business last night suggested that other parties potentially interested in Kerzner International included the Qatar Investment Authority, billionaire Las Vegas developer Steve Wynn and China Investment Corp, another Chinese government-owned entity.
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Apart from BMB Group, a firm with connections to the Brunei Royal Family, making an unsolicited $3.4 billion all-cash bid that was rejected, one message sent to Tribune Business last night suggested that other parties potentially interested in Kerzner International included the Qatar Investment Authority, billionaire Las Vegas developer Steve Wynn and China Investment Corp, another Chinese government-owned entity.
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Harrah's files with SEC for initial public offering
Harrah's Entertainment said this morning it is planning an initial public offering in order to raise at least $500 million for several development projects, including the completion of a hotel tower at Caesars Palace.
In documents filed with U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Harrah's said it would sell an unspecified amount of shares "to fund a near-term pipeline of growth projects and for general corporate purposes."
In documents filed with U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Harrah's said it would sell an unspecified amount of shares "to fund a near-term pipeline of growth projects and for general corporate purposes."
The Las Vegas-based company said the money would be used to build LINQ, a retail, dining and entertainment area between the Imperial Palace and the Flamingo, and complete the Octavius tower at Caesars Palace, which has 660 hotel rooms. Harrah's said completion of the Caesars tower will cost $85 million.
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Washington St. Regis foreclosed on
Barclays Capital has foreclosed on the owners of the St. Regis hotel and plans to auction it off Oct. 22, adding the iconic property to a heap of those purchased in Washington with heavy borrowing during the real estate bubble and that are therefore in danger of being lost by their owners.
Adorned with Italian Renaissance Louis XVI chandeliers and located two blocks from the White House on 16th Street Northwest, the 150-room, 25-suite St. Regis Washington is routinely ranked as one of the most luxurious hotels the region, its reputation further burnished after undergoing two major renovations in the past 23 years.
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