Scandic's Second Hotel in Sweden | As of 1 May 2008, the Park Inn Stora Hotel in Nyköping, a Swedish city on the Baltic coast south of Stockholm, will be operated by Scandic and renamed the Scandic Nyköping City. Located in the centre of Nyköping, the 98-room hotel is currently being refurbished at a cost of approximately SKr25 million (€2.6 million). This will be hotel number two in Sweden for Scandic’s new franchise initiative: the 126-room Scandic Östersund City opened on 1 April 2008.

Cambridge Celebrates the Opening of Europe's First Doubletree | Back in February of this year, Hilton Hotels Corporation (HHC) announced that it had picked the city of Cambridge, in the UK, to be the proud new owner of the first Doubletree hotel to open outside of the Americas. The 122-room Doubletree by Hilton Cambridge – Garden House opened at the beginning of April on the site of the former Cambridge Garden House Hotel. The hotel is being operated by Hilton and is owned by Ability Hotels.

A Crowne Plaza for Dubai | InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) has signed an agreement with The Chelsea Group, part of Crimson Hotels, to develop a Crowne Plaza hotel in the emirate of Dubai. The 367-room Crowne Plaza Dubai Business Bay is due to open in 2010 and it will be the third Crowne Plaza hotel in Dubai, along with the Crowne Plaza Hotel Dubai and the Crowne Plaza Hotel Dubai-Festival City. The partnership between IHG and Crimson Hotels goes back further and the opening of the Crowne Plaza Gatwick Crawley in 2007 was the first of several projects planned in the UK between both companies.

Minor International Travels to East Africa | Minor International (MINT) is to acquire a 50% stake in Tanzanian-based company Elewana Afrika, with an investment of US$12 million. Elewana Afrika owns and operates luxury lodges in Africa including the Serengeti Migration Camp, Tarangire Tree Tops and Arusha Coffee Lodge.

Alrov Looking for Somewhere to Stay in London | Rumours abound that the Israeli real estate company, Alrov, is to agree a deal with The Crown Estate to turn the Café Royal in Regent Street, London, into a 160-room, ‘six-star’ hotel. The 384-room David Citadel hotel in Jerusalem is just one of several flagship properties owned by Alrov in Israel. The company’s first project in Europe is the Conservatorium building in Amsterdam; construction started on a hotel of approximately 130 rooms at the beginning of this year.

Urban Splash Dives Into Birmingham | Pending planning approval, developer Urban Splash plans to develop a mixed-use hotel project in the former offices of tool manufacturers Cincinatti, in northeast Birmingham. The hotel would be the second for Urban Splash in the UK as hotel number one, the Midland Hotel in Morecambe, is due to open this June.

The Dolder Grand Reopens | The city of Zürich in Switzerland will hear the reception bell of the former Dolder Grand Hotel ring once more. The original hotel, which was built at the end of the nineteenth century, was bought by a private owner in 2000 and then closed in 2004 for a revamp and renovation. The hotel reopened at the beginning of April as the 173-room, five-star Dolder Grand.

Absolute Share Price Performance Over the Past Week 27 March-3 April 2008

  • Accor - Shares were given a boost from rumours of talks with Australian Construction Company, Leighton Holdings, to develop hotels in India and China with a deal reportedly worth more than US$700 million.
  • Whitbread - Shares fell after the company decided to outsource its food logistics operations.
  • NH Hoteles - Shares dropped reportedly fuelled by ongoing takeover speculation.

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