The Bahamas is having a precedent-setting dispute with China over a development agreement that calls for Chinese men to comprise the vast majority of workers on a $2.5 billion project (Baha Mar) that China is funding.
(FYI: Baha Mar is to comprise six hotels with approximately 3,500 rooms and condominiums, a 100,000-sq-ft casino, 200,000-sq-ft of convention space, twenty acres of beach and water parks, an 18-hole golf course, and a 60,000-sq-ft retail village. Just what the already overdeveloped island of New Providence needs...)
Specifically, China is demanding that this small Caribbean nation issue permits for 8,150 foreign workers, which would amount to 71 percent of the labor force needed for this project; notwithstanding that The Bahamas is teeming with unemployed men (and women) who are willing and able to do the work.
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Saturday, November 6, 2010
Friday, November 5, 2010
Porn mogul plans hotel chains where guests stay for free
A porn mogul is planning a chain of hotels where guests stay for free - if they allow their sex sessions to be broadcast live on the web.
Swedish businessman Berth Milton Jr says he plans to open 100 of the shocking sex hotels in hotspots around the world.
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Swedish businessman Berth Milton Jr says he plans to open 100 of the shocking sex hotels in hotspots around the world.
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Saudi royalty buys Paris's Crillon hotel
PARIS — Paris's world-famous luxury Crillon hotel has been sold to Saudi investors linked to the royal family for around 250 million euros (355 million dollars), sources close to the sale told AFP on Friday.
US-based Starwood Capital is in the final stages of the sale which does not include a reportedly 100-million-euro programme needed to modernise one of the world's oldest luxury hotels, according to the daily Le Figaro.
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US-based Starwood Capital is in the final stages of the sale which does not include a reportedly 100-million-euro programme needed to modernise one of the world's oldest luxury hotels, according to the daily Le Figaro.
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Thursday, November 4, 2010
Hard Rock Hotel continues to face financial problems
Financial problems continue to plague the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas, its management company announced Wednesday.
"Unless the market improves markedly, or the joint venture generates additional liquidity, there is a risk to (our) equity position and management agreement, which may be terminated by the lenders in the event of foreclosure," Morgan Hotels Group Co., manager of the Hard Rock and a minority investor, said in its third-quarter earnings report.
"Unless the market improves markedly, or the joint venture generates additional liquidity, there is a risk to (our) equity position and management agreement, which may be terminated by the lenders in the event of foreclosure," Morgan Hotels Group Co., manager of the Hard Rock and a minority investor, said in its third-quarter earnings report.
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Chipotle Will Open Asian-Inspired Concept
A small team from Chipotle Mexican Grill led by founder, chairman, and co-CEO Steve Ells is working on an Asian restaurant concept that follows the Chipotle model. The company plans to open one Asian-inspired restaurant in 2011.
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Man posing as valet swipes SUV Downtown
A woman thought a man posing as a valet attendant at a Downtown hotel would park her sport utility vehicle, but instead he took her -- and the SUV -- for a ride. It's a scheme Pittsburgh police said they hadn't seen before Wednesday night. Police found the vehicle undamaged yesterday on Chauncey Drive in the Hill District and were trying to identify the thief.
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Cross-Dresser Arrested in Omni Hotel Murder
Police have arrested a 22-year-old cross-dresser for the murder of a Chester County man who was found dead by firefighters inside a burning Old City hotel room last Saturday.
Police say that Herman Burton, a man who dresses as a woman, allegedly entered 49-year-old Patrick Brady's room at the Omni Hotel between Friday night and Saturday morning, robbed and strangled him, then set his room on fire to cover up the crime.
Brady's body was found by firefighters Saturday as they tended to the blaze.
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Sunstone Hotel Investors Reports Results for Third Quarter 2010
ALISO VIEJO, Calif., Nov. 4, 2010 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc. today announced results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2010.
RevPAR and hotel EBITDA margin information presented reflect the Company's 30 hotel comparable portfolio on a pro forma basis (excludes the Royal Palm Miami Beach). Third Quarter 2010 Operational Results:
Total revenue was $177.7 million.
Comparable Portfolio RevPAR was $108.07.
Income available to common stockholders was $18.3 million.
Income available to common stockholders per diluted share was $0.19.
Adjusted EBITDA was $38.9 million.
Pro forma Adjusted EBITDA was $34.5 million.
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Red Lion Hotels Reports Third Quarter 2010 Results
SPOKANE, Wash., Nov. 4, 2010 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Red Lion Hotels Corporation /quotes/comstock/13*!rlh/quotes/nls/rlh (RLH 7.96, +0.03, +0.33%) , a western U.S.-based owner and franchisor of midscale hotels, today announced its results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2010.
Overview: Third quarter RevPAR for owned and leased hotels increased 8.3% year-over-year; RevPAR up 3.9% year-to-date
ADR at owned and leased hotels up 5.8%, outpacing U.S. trends
EBITDA from continuing operations declined $0.3 million to $12.4 million while hotel operating margin was 31.5%, reflecting costs of growth initiatives
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Wednesday, November 3, 2010
FelCor Reports Third Quarter Results
- Same-store revenue per available room ("RevPAR") at 82 consolidated hotels increased 6.3% for the quarter and 7.9% for September.
- Adjusted EBITDA was $48.2 million and Adjusted FFO per share was $0.00 for the quarter, which was at the high-end of our expectations.
- Hotel EBITDA margin increased 67 basis points for the quarter, driven by a 2.1% increase in average daily rate, or ADR.
- Net loss was $89.3 million for the quarter.
San Francisco Hotel tax rate to remain same
SAN FRANCISCO — San Francisco voters rejected both hotel tax measures, one that would have increased the hotel tax by 2 percent and another that would have only closed the loophole on taxes paid for online hotel bookings.
Propositions J and K were competing ballot initiatives, both aimed at collecting more money from online hotel bookings. Yet, only Proposition J would have increased the overall hotel tax by 2 percent.
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Propositions J and K were competing ballot initiatives, both aimed at collecting more money from online hotel bookings. Yet, only Proposition J would have increased the overall hotel tax by 2 percent.
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Great Wolf Resorts Reports 2010 Third Quarter Results
- Adjusted EBITDA increased 3.5 percent to $25.7 million from the prior year quarter.
- Same store total revenue per occupied room increased 2.2 percent.
- Same store average daily rate increased by 2.2 percent.
- Opened the first freestanding Scooops® Kid Spa in the Mall of America.
Cracker Barrel Promotes Chief Financial Officer Sandra B. Cochran to President & Chief Operating Officer
LEBANON, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. (“Cracker Barrel” or the “Company”) (Nasdaq: CBRL) and its Board of Directors today announced the realignment of the Company’s leadership to build on Cracker Barrel’s recent successes and to position the Company for sustained profitable growth. Michael A. Woodhouse continues as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Sandra B. Cochran, who had served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, has been named President and Chief Operating Officer. She assumes responsibility for Restaurant and Retail Operations, Retail Merchandising, Real Estate, and the functions that will be led by the newly created role of Chief People Officer. Douglas E. Barber, who had served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, has been named Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer, reporting to Cochran. He will lead Human Resources, Diversity and Outreach, Training, and Innovation. Nicholas V. Flanagan has been promoted to Senior Vice President of Restaurant Operations and will also report to Cochran. The Company has started a search for a new Chief Financial Officer; Senior Vice President and Chief Legal Officer N.B. Forrest Shoaf will serve as interim Chief Financial Officer.
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Oklahoma sues online travel companies over hotel room taxes
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The state is suing for back sales taxes from Priceline.com, Expedia, Orbitz, Travelocity.com and other online travel reservation companies that offer discount hotel rooms.
The lawsuit — filed Tuesday in Oklahoma County District Court — is the latest against the online travel industry. A year ago, Florida became the first state to sue the online travel companies. San Antonio and other Texas cities last year won $20 million in their 2006 lawsuit against Expedia and other companies.
Trump says his name is off Fort Lauderdale condo hotel
Real estate mogul Donald J. Trump said he's no longer affiliated with the unfinished luxury condo-hotel tower on Fort Lauderdale beach that was to carry his name and now faces foreclosure.
"We have nothing to do with the building. We had a licensing deal, and we terminated the licensing deal a long time ago," Trump told the SunSentine on Tuesday. "We're not involved with the foreclosure."
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"We have nothing to do with the building. We had a licensing deal, and we terminated the licensing deal a long time ago," Trump told the SunSentine on Tuesday. "We're not involved with the foreclosure."
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