French ministers on Sunday attacked proposals by lawmakers to increase taxes on hotel stays and called for them to be scrapped as they could undermine plans to boost the tourism sector. France, whose economy came to a standstill in the first quarter, has made tourism one of its priorities. The sector accounts for more than 7 percent of the country's gross domestic product and employs two million people directly or indirectly.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:HOT) today announced it has sold its leasehold interest in The Park Lane Hotel, London to Sir Richard Sutton’s Settled Estates (SRSSE). Starwood will continue to operate the hotel under a new long-term management contract under the Sheraton brand flag.
Today NH Hotel Group signed an agreement with Intesa Sanpaolo under which it will acquire the latter's 44.5% stake in NH Italia in exchange for shares. Intesa Sanpaolo set up the Italian joint venture with NH Hotel Group, which owns the remaining 55.5%, in 2007. Accordingly, the deal will entitle NH Hotel Group for the 100% of NH Italia, which is currently active in the hotel business in Italy and the US, as well as operating hotel establishments in Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium.
Starwood Capital Group, a leading global private investment firm, announced today that it has acquired, through a controlled affiliate, U.K. hotel and conference center operator De Vere Venues from the De Vere Group for approximately $385 million (£232 million).
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) [LON:IHG, NYSE:IHG (ADRs)] today announces that Tom Singer will step down from the Board and his role as Chief Financial Officer on 1 January 2014. He will be succeeded by Paul Edgecliffe-Johnson, who joined IHG in August 2004 and has held a number of senior positions, most recently as Chief Financial Officer of IHG's Europe and Asia, Middle East & Africa regions. Paul will take up his new position and become a member of IHG's Board and Executive Committee on 1 January 2014.
Malmaison Group (Malmaison), the owner of leading UK boutique hotel brands Malmaison and Hotel du Vin, and KSL Capital Partners, LLC (KSL), are pleased to announce that an affiliate of KSL has acquired Malmaison. KSL, based in Denver, Colorado, is a U.S. private equity firm dedicated to investing in travel and leisure businesses.
The annual Global Lodging Forum (GLF) will take place this Monday and Tuesday (25 & 26 February) bringing together over 500 key decision-makers from the hotel and hospitality industry to converse on key industry trends.
Hotel financing has seen a major shift since the credit crunch and subsequent economic recession in 2008. Whereas bank lending was widely available and not a particularly hot topic for discussion, it has since been the focal point of almost every hotel investment conference in Europe and further afield. Despite these constraints shackling hotel transaction activity, Germany is experiencing increased interest from the international hotel investor community. With all the debate over the level of lending and the terms, we want to quantify some of the most important lending parameters and selection criteria.
Germany is receiving continuous interest from the international and national hotel investment and lending community, according to an exclusive survey of the major German financial institutions undertaken by global consultancy HVS London. The survey quizzed banks on their lending parameters in the hotel sector for new loans and refinancing, loan characteristics and the future outlook on lending criteria.
Strong growth on the German hotel market: until the end of 2014 there will be 351 new hotels with more than 46,700 entering the market, among them 15 luxury hotels such as the Waldorf Astoria Berlin and the Steinberger Hotel Bremen. This announced TOPHOTELPROJECTS, the worldwide leading provider of hotel project lead data and worldwide hotel chain contacts.
The Oxford School of Hospitality Management (OSHM) at Oxford Brookes University launched a new strategic risk management course in collaboration with InterContinental Hotels Group, the global hotel organization with nine hotel brands including InterContinental Hotels and Holiday Inn. OSHM faculty and IHG's risk executives have co-developed the content for P58908: Tourism Industry Dynamics and Strategy, which is offered in OSHM's MSc in International Hotel and Tourism Management and MSc in International Hotel and Tourism Marketing.
Hamburg, 2nd May 2012The speed of new hotel construction has note decelerated: TOPHOTELPROJECTS, the leading service for international hotel construction projects, reports that despite some delays caused by the financial and economic crises there are still 52 new hotels with more than 25,000 rooms in the construction and development pipeline. The most recent top hotel projects are three new Starwood properties.
HOSPA (Hospitality Professionals Association for Finance, Revenue Management and IT) Chief Executive Carl Weldon said: "HOSPA wholeheartedly supports the open letter to Government, written by the British Hospitality Association (BHA) and industry leaders, calling for a reduction in VAT to 5% for the UK tourism sector. Such a move represents a 'win-win' situation for the hospitality and tourism industry, the consumer and Government – including an additional £2.6 billion to the Exchequer over the next decade."
Budget hotelier Travelodge has secured a 60 million pounds ($94.89 million) line of funding and is trading well, a spokesman for the Dubai International Capital (DIC) DUBAHP.UL owned business said on Sunday. He said the 60 million pounds medium term loan facility, which replaces an existing line, has been underwritten by junior lenders including U.S. firms Golden Tree Asset Management and Avenue Capital.
HVS and ESSEC Business School partnered to survey the French hotel investment community. The survey assessed expectations about the French hotel market and gauged investment and lending parameters used. This article reports the results of the participants’ expectations. Lending and investment parameters will be reported in a forthcoming article.
HVS and ESSEC Business School partnered to survey the French hotel investment community. The survey assessed expectations about the French hotel market and gauged investment and lending parameters used. This article reports the results of the participants' expectations. Lending and investment parameters will be reported in a forthcoming article. The overall survey consisted of 53 questions, of which 18 were used for this initial article. These questions related to the parameters used in the past three years, future expectations and the respondents' profiles. Some 68 potential respondents were contacted and 28 full responses were received, representing an encouraging response rate of 41%. The respondents were strongly representative of the French hotel investment community, with a good balance of investors, lenders, operators and advisors.
The winners of the prestigious Annual 'Hospitality Finance, Revenue Management and IT Awards of the Year 2011' were announced last Thursday (15 December) in London by HOSPA (formerly BAHA) – the UK's leading educational organisation for professionals involved in financial management, revenue management and IT within the hospitality industry.
'New Approaches to a Bright Future?' is the title of the one-day HOSPACE 2011 Conference & Exhibition – to be held on Thursday, 24 November 2011 at the Sofitel Hotel, London Heathrow at Terminal 5
HVS provides a guide though the peaks and troughs of the various hotel markets in Russia, the CIS and Georgia, giving lenders, investors and owners a clearer view of the region from a valuation perspective. Plummeting hotel performance and cloudy yet ever changing market conditions make hotel investment in Russia, the CIS and Georgia an exciting but potentially risky venture. In this publication, HVS provides a guide through the peaks and throughs of the various hotel markets, giving lenders, investors and owners a clearer view of the region from a valuation perspective.
BAHA – the UK's leading educational organisation for professionals involved in financial management, revenue management and IT within the hospitality industry, which officially is to change its name next month to HOSPA – is now recruiting for the September 2011 cohort of its highly acclaimed Education & Training Programme in Financial Management (ETPFM).