COSTA MESA, California, USA Burba Hotel Network (BHN) has announced that three special country/regional session tracks will be featured at the upcoming Hotel Investment Conference Europe (Hot.E) conference. Hosted by BHN, Hot.E is scheduled for 6-8 September 2011, at the Park Plaza Riverbank Hotel in London.
HNA, the acquisitive Chinese airline and logistics group, is paying €431.6m ($620m) for a 20 per cent stake in Spain’s NH Hoteles, in the latest foray by a Chinese investor into previously unfamiliar European markets. Spain, struggling to recover from the economic recession that followed the global financial crisis, has been courting Asian and Middle Eastern investors and sovereign wealth funds to buy its government bonds and stakes in Spanish companies.
Pubs and restaurants continue to be worst affectedHolidays are a top spending priorityRecessionary behaviours are now the norm when booking breaks
A lively debate ensued at the first Inaugural Central Asia and Turkey Investment Conference (CATHIC) as Horwath HTL, the world's largest Hotel Consultants, hosted a panel on the hottest markets in Central Asia. The session, moderated by Michael O'Hare, industry veteran and Managing Director of Horwath HTL in Russia, contained representatives from Accor, Starwood, Wyndham and Capital Partners.
Burba Hotel Network (BHN) has announced that the first planning meeting for the upcoming Hotel Investment Conference Europe (Hot.E) was held in London on February 2, 2011. Hosted by BHN, the inaugural Hot.E is scheduled for September 6-8, 2011 at the Park Plaza Riverbank Hotel in London.
Accor has signed an agreement with Fimalac and Groupe Lucien Barrière for the sale of its 49% stake in Groupe Lucien Barrière for €268 million. In addition, Accor will receive the 2010 dividend on its Groupe Lucien Barrière shares, representing a total of €7.35 million.
BAHA – the UK's leading educational organisation for professionals involved in financial management, revenue management and IT within the hospitality industry – is delighted to announce the publication of 'A Guide to the Use and Interpretation of the Uniform System of Accounts for the Lodging Industry – Tenth Revised Edition'.
In line with its asset-right strategy, Accor announced today a large real-estate transaction in Sweden involving the sale of 18 hotels, totaling 1,760 rooms and representing all the Group's local hotel assets.
The adverse situation of the industry in 2009 underwent a major turnaround during the first 9 months of 2010. The third quarter of the year, in particular, has recorded a significant improvement towards recovery in the Group's basic activity. NH Hoteles´ revenues totalled €980.5M, a 9.4% rise, and EBITDA, an indicator of trends in operations at NH Hoteles, reflected both the strong recovery in the market and the remarkable increase in productivity.
Hoteliers in London could see double-digit revenue per available room (revPAR) growth this year, according to the latest Hotel Market Outlook, a quarterly report issued by Deloitte.
Thirty-three-year-old Maltese national, Roderick Micallef, acting general manager and director of finance at the CHI Hotels & Resorts (CHI) operated five-star Corinthia Hotel Lisbon in Portugal, was proclaimed winner of the prestigious International Hotel Investment Forum (IHIF) Young Leader Award 2010. The award, co-sponsored by IHIF and the International Society of Hospitality Consultants (ISHC), was presented to Roderick Micallef by Jonathan Worsley, chairman Bench Events, co-organizers of the forum, and ISCH chairman Angelos Loizou, during a special plenary session of the 13th edition of the IHIF held in Berlin, Germany, on March 8-10, 2010.
Meeting under the chairmanship of Gilles Pelisson, Accor's Board of Directors approved unanimously (less one vote) the potential benefits of separating the Group's two businesses. Reviews carried out by senior management at the Board's request clearly showed that the demerger would enable the Hotels and Prepaid Services businesses - each a world leader in its industry - to step up their pace of growth.
NH Hoteles and Hesperia have closed the agreement for the integration of their respective hotel management businesses. Through this deal, NH Hoteles will manage 51 hotels that are currently owned or operated by Hesperia and the multinational hotel chain will increase its total number of operating hotels to 400 and its number of rooms to over 60,000.
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.
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.
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 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
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.
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.
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.