Finance Europe - Hospitality Net

October 1, 2009

Russia & CIS Hotel Investment Conference (RHIC) to Discuss Real Estate Development at Leading Russian Airports

The Russia & CIS Hotel Investment Conference (RHIC) reveals a new session added to the 2009 conference program that will discuss the pros and cons of real estate development at Russia’s leading airports. Held Monday 26 October at 14:15 -15:15, the session will examine possible opportunities presented by the planned real estate developments at Russia’s leading airports and how comparable it could be to the success of other gateway cities around the globe.

Questex

Russian Federation

Press Release

September 22, 2009

Accor Announces sale of 158 hotelF1 properties for €272 million

In line with its ongoing asset-right strategy, Accor today announced a major real estate transaction in the Budget segment in France, with the sale of 158 hotelF1 properties, representing a total of 12,300 rooms.

Accor

France

Press Release

September 15, 2009

NH Hoteles and Hesperia agree the integration of the hotel management business and Hesperia joins the Board of NH Hoteles

NH Hoteles and Hesperia have signed an agreement aiming to integrate their respective hotel management businesses. This deal, supported by both of the Boards, implies the creation of the largest Spanish hotel group within the urban segment.

NH Hotel Group

Spain

External Article

September 7, 2009

No buyer, no chef and a €50 million legal wrangle for Hôtel de Crillon in Paris | timesonline.co.uk

It is the grandest hotel in France, with suites costing up to €8,220 (£7,150) a night and a register signed by the likes of King George V, Sir Winston Churchill and Charlie Chaplin. But Hôtel de Crillon in Paris is in limbo — lacking a chef for its Michelin-starred restaurant and awaiting a renovation — amid a legal wrangle over its sale by its US owner Starwood Capital, the investment firm.

timesonline.co.uk

Paris, France

Press Release

September 7, 2009

NH Hoteles Strengthens Its Financial Situation And Continues To Drive Its Efficiency Plan

NH Hoteles has reacted to this adverse situation with a significant efficiency and cost reduction plan, thereby achieving a decrease in expenses of €74M | NH Hoteles strengthens its liquidity and ends with a successful capital increase of €221M | Additionally, the Group props up its financial situation due to the fact that the bank syndicate postpones the measuring of financial debt ratios, agreed with NH Hoteles in the syndicate credit that it signed in 2007, to 31 December 2010

NH Hotel Group

Spain

Press Release

August 24, 2009

Steigenberger paves the way for a successful future with new shareholder

STEIGENBERGER, a leading European hotel Company based in Frankfurt, has completed its process of strategic repositioning that has started in 2008. With the Egyptian tourism group TRAVCO Group International Holding S.A.E., owned by Hamed El Chiaty and his family, a new partner has been found for the hotel business of STEIGENBERGER Hotels AG as of today, comprising the brands “STEIGENBERGER Hotels and Resorts” and “InterCityHotel”. The new partner will continue to pursue and further develop the long-term targets of the Company. In addition to hotels and Nile cruise ships, TRAVCO’s business activities also include complete tourism services. The parties have agreed not to disclose the price of the transaction.

H World International

Germany

Press Release

July 27, 2009

PwC appointed receivers to 5-star hotel and luxury apartments being built on The Strand, London

Three partners from PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Russell Downs, Barry Gilbertson and Mark Shires, have been appointed by Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. ("BBVA") as joint fixed charge receivers over the Foster & Partners designed 336-337 Strand, London WC2R 1HB.

PwC (UK)

London, United Kingdom

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Hospitality Net

External Article

July 27, 2009

Jury's Inn hotel chain raises £60m to expand its brand into Europe | telegraph.co.uk

The Oman Investment Fund and Quinlan Private, the investment firm, have backed a £60m capital raising at Jury's Inn, the mid-market hotel chain. The two investors have each put £15m into the hotel group with Allied Irish Banks and Anglo Irish putting in a further £30m of debt between them. The funds will be used to drive Jury's growth in the UK and help it to establish itself in continental Europe. The group plans to open its first hotel on the continent in Prague in September.

telegraph.co.uk

United Kingdom

External Article

July 17, 2009

Accor Shares Tumble After Sharp 2Q Sales Drop | wsj.com

Shares in French hotels and services group Accor SA (AC.FR) tumbled Friday after it reported a 9% drop in second-quarter sales as its traditional growth source, prepaid services, took a first-time hit from the economic crisis. At 0744 GMT, Accor shares were down 7.6% to EUR26.3, underperforming the French CAC-40 index, which was up 0.7%, as investors were diappointed with the group's performance, in particular in the services division. Accor has mainly suffered from the economic crisis in its top-tier hotels division as companies tighten business travel budgets.

WSJ

France

Opinion Article

July 16, 2009

Is Russia still the investment community’s sweetheart?

For much of the last decade, international institutional and private investors were begging the Russian real estate industry for attention. Land was scarce, acquisition opportunities were dear and returns riding the highest wave. Russia went down with everyone else a victim of economic difficulties, as did the oil prices. However, the Russian government speculates that the country’s budget was built on ultra-conservative predictions of $40 per barrel of oil; it is now at about $60 per barrel and stable, but the country’s economy is nowhere near the safe haven the government had hopes for. Prompted by a recent report by the World Economic Forum (WEF) on the Travel & Tourism Competitiveness of various markets in the world, HVS Executive Search decided to take a look at how competitive Russia remains for investment in its hotel real estate for market entry by hotel brands, and for further development in it.

By Tatiana Veller, HVS

Russian Federation

Press Release

July 6, 2009

9th Annual European Hotel Finance Summit - early bird period expires this Friday

The hotel industry is without doubt facing its most challenging period of operation for years. However, despite the turmoil in the financial markets, new developments and investment opportunities are abound.

Euromoney Seminars

London, United Kingdom

Report

July 1, 2009

Germany forecasts make tough reading | STR GLobal

Forecasts from the May 2009 Hotel Market Forecast report from STR Global, the leading provider of market information to the world’s hotel industry, indicate that average daily rate declines during the next 24 months across Germany’s major cities will be the main cause of the industry’s sluggish performance. Just as positive recent data from Germany’s Ifo business climate index on the prospects for the German economy is tempered with on-going fears of further job losses, limited improvements in hotel occupancy during the next two years are offset by the rate declines. See the chart below. Even in those cities such as Hamburg and Munich where there are expectations of modest increases in occupancy of up to 2 percent and 3 percent in 2010, respectively, the forecasted decreases in room rate are 6 to7 percent.

STR Global

Germany

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Press Release

June 26, 2009

Report from 1st joint Cornell - ESSEC Annual Forum on Commercial and Hospitality Real Estate

On June 5th, Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration and ESSEC Business School jointly organised the first Annual Forum on Commercial and Hospitality Real Estate at the Hilton Arc de Triomphe in Paris, France. Led by Professor Dan Quan of the Centre for Real Estate at Cornell University and Professor Michel Baroni of Essec Business School, nearly 100 alumni and other industry executives from the real estate, banking and financial sectors participated in a lively debated on current developments in hospitality finance and real estate.

ESSEC IMHI

Paris, France

External Article

June 18, 2009

London Economy conference affirms segment's strength in downturn | hotelnewsnow.com

Recession resilience as opposed to recession proof is the buzz term at the World Budget and Economy Hotel Congress taking place in London. The general consensus is that whilst increasingly difficult times are ahead, the budget and economy sector is well placed to ride it out and even expand, as long as clever strategies and strong brand awareness are cultivated. Duncan Berry, COO of Choice Hotels Europe, opened the first session called “Tough Times, Unique Opportunities” with an exploration into what opportunities might exist for the budget sector in such a financially stringent period. Berry cited the generation of new types of client as key for the continued growth of the sector.

HotelNewsNow

London, United Kingdom

External Article

June 17, 2009

Travelodge plans £100m fund to buy hotels | timesonline.co.uk

Britain's second-biggest budget hotel operator is continuing to seek acquisitions as its weaker rivals retrench. Travelodge, Britain’s second-biggest budget hotel operator, will announce plans today to launch a £100 million fund aimed at the growing number of distressed hotels that are coming up for grabs. The move comes a day after the head of Whitbread, which owns the Premier Inn chain, warned of significant industry restructuring.

timesonline.co.uk

United Kingdom

External Article

June 17, 2009

Russia: Risks, room shortage greet developers | hotelnewsnow.com

International hotel companies are salivating at the prospect of growing their portfolios in Russia, but opening a hotel in the country is not an easy task. One of Russia’s biggest attractions is the fact that it faces a serious undersupply of quality hotel rooms. Moscow, a city of 12 million people, has only about 6,000 Western-standard beds, compared with Paris, which has 100,000 beds, and London with 90,000, according to Scott Antel, a partner in the Russia office of DLA Piper, a legal-services firm with offices located throughout the world. There are 14 cities in Russia with more than 1 million people, and most have no Western hotels, he said.

HotelNewsNow

Russian Federation

Press Release

June 10, 2009

Accor Sells Stake in Club Méditerranée

As part of its refocusing strategy, Accor today sold 1,063,830 Club Méditerranée shares, corresponding to around a 4% interest in the company’s capital, to Group Crédit Agricole SA for €9.40 a share, representing a total amount of €10 million.

Accor

France

Press Release

June 4, 2009

Orient-Express Hotels Sells Lapa Palace Hotel, Lisbon

Orient-Express Hotels Ltd. (NYSE: OEH) (http://www.orient-express.com), owners or part-owners and managers of 51 luxury hotels, restaurants, tourist trains and river cruise properties operating in 25 countries, today confirmed that it has sold its Lisbon hotel, Lapa Palace, to a private Portuguese investor for EUR29.4 million, ($41.8 million).

Belmond

Portugal

Report

June 3, 2009

Frankfurt Benefits From Trade Fair | STR Global

Positive hotel performance news comes from Frankfurt, the city of trade fairs: Recent data from STR Global, the leading provider of market information for the world’s hotel industry, shows the direct impact of trade fairs on the region during recent weeks. Both the Musikmesse and ProLight + Sound fairs took place in Frankfurt on 1-4 April this year, rather than in March as in previous years. This explains the positive change in year-on-year revenue per available room (RevPAR) for the region as seen on the left-hand side of the chart below. Similarly for Wiesbaden, the peak around 18 April coincides with the start of the Internistenkongress, which was also held in March last year. It must be noted that performance in March suffered as these fairs moved forward in the calendar.

STR Global

Frankfurt, Germany

Press Release

May 26, 2009

Golden Tulip says 13 Netherlands hotels bankrupt | reuters.com

Loss-making Dutch hotel operator Golden Tulip will file for bankruptcy for 13 hotels in the Netherlands that it directly owns and operates, it said on Tuesday. The decision will not affect franchised or affiliated hotels, of which there are 720 in more than 50 countries, and the affected hotels will continue to operate during the proceedings, the company said. The group owns 60 hotels directly.

reuters.com

The Netherlands