Radisson Blu Comes To Bad Reichenhall - In the far south of Germany is the resort of Bad Reichenhall. This 30 June will be an auspicious date in the resort’s calendar: the day on which Rezidor Hotel Group rebrands the Steigenberger Axelmannstein. The 152-room hotel will thereafter be known as the Radisson Blu Axelmannstein Resort. The name Radisson Blu is one already familiar to the hotel’s operator EP Group Germany through the group’s association with the Radisson Blu Hotel Stralsund, which stands in the far north of Germany.

Domina Hotel Group Opens Another Hotel In Milan - It was not foil-wrapped or hollow on the inside, but the treat that Domina Hotel Group opened shortly before Easter was as thrilling as any chocolate egg. That treat was a hotel for the northern Italian city of Milan; the Domina Inn Milano – Fiera stands close to the new trade fair grounds of Fiera di Milano. The 194-room hotel, in which €21 million was invested, is owned by the Italian company Immobiliare Novate, a subsidiary of Pro Kapital Grupp, which owns Domina Hotel Group.

A New NH Hotel For The Netherlands - Spanish hotel chain NH Hoteles has opened a new hotel in the Netherlands. The four-star, newly constructed 114-room NH Amersfoort opened this week in the town of Amersfoort in the centre of the country.

A Rosewood Hotel To Bloom On Sowwah Island - Dallas-based Rosewood Hotels & Resorts has signed a management contract with Abu Dhabi investment firm Mubadala Development Company for a new luxury five-star hotel in the Sowwah Island commercial development in Abu Dhabi, UAE. The Rosewood Abu Dhabi is expected to open at the beginning of 2012 with 190 rooms and 140 serviced residences. This hotel will be the fourth property in the Middle East to be managed by Rosewood.

Rezidor To The Max In Brighton - The Royal York and Lansdowne Place are two hotels owned by Max Hotels; the venerable pair stand in the city of Brighton, on the south coast of England. Towards the end of this month, Rezidor Hotel Group will be going for a stroll along the seafront; it will take each hotel by the arm and lead it into its portfolio. The 59-room Royal York will become the Radisson Blu Hotel, Brighton and the 84-room Lansdowne Place will become the Park Inn Brighton.

Bespoke's Adventures In London - Bespoke Hotels’ Bermondsey Square Hotel opened this week south of the Thames in the borough of Bermondsey, London, in the UK. The 79-room hotel is part of the mixed-use Bermondsey Square redevelopment project. Bespoke has plans for more properties in the city as it has signed an agreement with Greenwich Hospital to operate a proposed boutique hotel in Greenwich, southeast London. The 101-room Greenwich Market Hotel is to be developed as part of the regeneration of Greenwich Market. Subject to planning permission being gained for the regeneration of the market, the hotel is expected to open in 2011.

Travelodge Acquires Three New Hotels - This week saw the end of Purple Hotels as UK budget hotel chain Travelodge has bought the last three remaining leases of the brand, which was owned by The Real Hotel Company (RHC), from BDO Stoy Hayward (the administrators of RHC) in a deal worth £14 million. The 71-room Purple Hotel Tewkesbury, in Gloucestershire, southwest England; the 84-room Purple Hotel Derby, in the East Midlands; and the 103-room Purple Hotel Sheffield Meadowhall, in South Yorkshire will all be rebranded and will bring Travelodge’s new openings up to seven so far in 2009.

Hotel Puff - A hotel of some 40,000 m² is not something that is best planned on the back of a cigarette packet. A pity that, given that the company behind the plan to build this hotel – Fabrika Duhana Sarajevo (FDS) – produces cigarettes. FDS wants to invest a reported US$6.7 million in the hotel, which would be built on a plot of land owned by the company in the town of Srebrenica, on the eastern side of Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Bristol Takes It Easy - EasyHotel is planning a new 100-room hotel for the city of Bristol in southwest England. Information on the opening date of the hotel is not yet available but Lawrence Alexander, easyHotel's chief executive officer, commented “We’re actively looking for potential franchisees”.

Accor Reports Its Results For The First Quarter Of 2009
Accor has reported a like-for-like decrease in total revenue of 5.8% for the first quarter of 2009. Revenue from hotels was €1.182 million, a like-for-like decrease of 8.7% on the same period in 2008. RevPAR for upscale and midscale hotels in Europe decreased by 10.5% like-for-like and RevPAR for economy hotels in Europe decreased by 7.6% like-for-like.

The Fractional Summit 2009 Is Fast Approaching - The Fractional Summit 2009 is worth two-365ths of a year of anyone’s time. There is nothing improper in this fractional property conference: both days (23 and 24 April) concentrate solely on all that’s worth knowing, with the knowledge delivered by a host of distinguished speakers. The event is supported by HVS Shared Ownership Services, and the Hilton London Metropole is your quarters. Further details are available from the website click here.

Kiessling’s Corner - The news from Spain by Gabriele Kiessling, Analyst, HVS Madrid. This summer Zamora is to open a five-star, 39-room hotel in Zamora (Castilla y Leon). A golf course is also planned for this development. Jumeirah has signed a long-term contract with Deka Immobilien to manage a resort in Port Soller on the island of Majorca. The five-star, 120-room Jumeirah Port Soller is expected to open in 2010. Accor has recently opened the four-star, 126-room Novotel Murcia in the city of Murcia. The hotel chain now has 13 properties within Spain. SB Hotels has opened the four-star, 262-room Hotel Diagonal Zero in Barcelona.

Absolute Share Price Performance Over the Past Week 9-16 April 2009


Rezidor Hotel Group - Rezidor continues to be in uptrend and it closed in top quartile by P/E.
InterContinental Hotels Group - Shares rose as the weakness of the pound sterling continues to attract more visitors to the UK.
Accor - Shares rose despite the fact that Accor reported a lower first-quarter revenue.

Russell Kett
Managing Director
+44 20 7878 7701
HVS