Savoy Thrill: Hotel Gets Its Prince - Hotel romantics who had their hopes raised by the press last autumn that the Savoy Hotel in London might one day find its prince are now reassured that though what they read in the papers was no fairy tale the story will still have a happy ending. The prince is Saudi billionaire HRH Prince Alwaleed, the Chairman of Kingdom Hotels International, who has seen his company summon forth its joint venture partner Bank of Scotland Corporate (BoS) to take part in the duo's second acquisition in the European luxury sector in the space of a month. Just before Christmas, in tandem with Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, Kingdom and BoS paid an undisclosed sum for the 619-room Monte Carlo Grand Hotel in Monaco. The trio are equally as quiet about the price they have paid Quinlan Private for the 263-room Savoy Hotel; the Financial Times quotes a figure of somewhere between £200 million and £230 million. Fairmont becomes the manager of all properties acquired and to reflect this the latest purchase will be changing its name on 28 January to The Savoy, A Fairmont Hotel.

Golden Tulip Establishes New Partnership - There is likely to be a new entry in the charts ranking hotel companies by size (based on the number of properties under management and franchise). Coming in perhaps as high as number 11 is the new strategic partnership of Golden Tulip Hospitality (GTH) and Tourism Hotels & Leisure (THL). The partnership will have a total of 534 hotels in 45 countries and each will help the other become a hit in new regions. Thus Australia's THL will bring GTH's brands to the Asia Pacific region, and GTH will return the favour with the Pacific International brand in Europe. Under the terms of the agreement, THL will take a 30% stake in GTH by placing a mix of cash and its own shares. The placement of the shares will in turn give GTH an equity stake of 19.9% in THL.

Shelbourne Hotel Sold: Sweeney On The Case - A consortium calling itself Kantaka Enterprises, and one that is said to include hotelier John Sweeney and developer Gerry O'Reilly in its line-up, is reported to have paid somewhere between €120 million and €130 million for the Shelbourne Hotel in Dublin. Marriott International's lease agreement with former owner the Royal Bank of Scotland, which was signed early last year, is unaffected by the deal and the property remains on course for its rebirth in 2007 as the 276-room The Shelbourne, a Renaissance Hotel. Another hotel once run by Le Meridien making the news this week is what is now The Waldorf Hilton, in London. Hilton International moved in as the manager of the 300-room property in January 2004 and one year on the company has announced the completion of renovation work costing £30 million.

Losan's Third Is Hesperia's Second - Spanish real estate firm Losan has paid a reported €9 million for the Hotel Le Sablon in the Belgian capital Brussels. The 32-room, four-star property is Losan's third hotel in the city and the second that the company has leased to its compatriot Hesperia Hoteles. What is now the Hesperia Sablon will be a companion for the Hesperia Grand Place. Belgium presents unpromising terrain for skiing, in sharp contrast to Norway. Here, an Olympic gold medal-winning exponent of the sport, Bjørn Daehlie, has reportedly ventured to the town of Trysil in the eastern part of his native land to purchase the 54-room Norlandia Trysil-Knut Hotel for an undisclosed sum.

Accor Starts Out In Ethiopia - Accor is to team up with the Al Kharafi Group of Kuwait and take its first trip to Ethiopia. Reports from the region suggest that the team will begin work before the end of this year on a US$17 million project that will bring a 140-room Novotel and a 100-room Ibis to the country's capital Addis Ababa. Further down the eastern side of Africa, South African company Legacy Hotels & Resorts International has handed over managerial duties at the Royal Palm Hotel to an unnamed party. The company made the decision after owner Tanruss Investment sold the five-star property in the Tanzanian port of Dar es Salaam to an unnamed institutional investor for an undisclosed sum.

NH Hoteles Returns To Romania - NH Hoteles has called by Romania for the second time in four months. In October it came to announce the NH Bucharest, and that hotel in the capital will now be joined by one in the western city of Timişoara. The 83-room hotel is due to open this June. Elsewhere in eastern Europe, reports suggest that Petrol Holding of Bulgaria is to spend US$18.3 million on the construction of a five-star hotel in the Black Sea resort of Pomorie. An opening date of May 2006 has been set. We drop one star as we head to Lithuania, where a four-star hotel is said to be on Baltpark's agenda. The company is ready to spend a reported €1.7 million on the conversion of a building in Vilnius into the Baltpark Superior Pasage Hotel. Baltpark expects to open the hotel in spring 2006.

CP Holdings Close To A Deal In London - CP Holdings has exchanged a conditional contract with Jarvis Hotels with a view to purchasing the Ramada Plaza Regent's Park. The 377-room property in central London went on the market last February with an asking price of a reported £65 million. CP Holdings has a 53% stake in Danubius Hotels, which fact has led to speculation in the press that the Hungarian chain might be invited to operate the hotel should a transaction be concluded.

HVS International Celebrates 25 Years Of Excellence - I am writing to you festooned in streamers; oh yes, we're already celebrating here in the London office. HVS International turns 25 on 1 June 2005. What was at first just a small office on Hilton Avenue in Garden City, Long Island, USA has grown into a respected consulting and services organisation with 23 offices worldwide. As I return to my cakes and ale, I encourage you to find out more about us by exploring our website at . click here

Bourdais Presents - Dominique Bourdais, a Director at HVS International's London office, is one of the many speakers gracing the Henry Stewart Briefing that is coming up on 25 January at the Radisson SAS Portman Hotel in London. This one-day event will be addressing all aspects of hotel funding. So whether you be hotel owner or operator, surveyor or lawyer you really should be there. For more information you are invited to contact Christiana Sztadhaus +44 (0)207 404 3040 or email [email protected].

Absolute Share Price Performance Over the Past Week 13/01/05-20/01/05

  • Hilton Group - Morgan Stanley raised its target price from 250p to 290p, noting that the betting arm was less reliant than some of its rivals on fixed-odds betting terminals.
  • InterContinental Hotels Group - Panmure Gordon initiated its coverage with a 'Buy' rating.
  • Whitbread - Morgan Stanley placed an 'Overweight' rating on the stock.

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HVS International is a hospitality services firm providing industry skill and knowledge worldwide. The organization and its specialists possess a wide range of expertise and offer market feasibility studies, valuations, strategic analyses, development planning, and litigation support. Additionally, HVS International supplies unique knowledge in the areas of executive search, investment banking, environmental sustainability, timeshare consulting, food and beverage operations, interior design, gaming, technology strategies, organizational assessments, operational management, strategy development, convention facilities consulting, marketing communications, property tax appeals and investment consulting. Since 1980, HVS International has provided hospitality services to more than 10,000 hotels throughout the world. Principals and associates of the firm have authored textbooks and thousands of articles regarding all aspects of the hospitality industry. Click here for more...

Leora Lanz
HVS Sales & Marketing Services
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