Whitbread - Whitbread rejoined the FTSE 100 index this week. | Marriott International - Share prices rose despite the announcement that Marriott is to stop developing new timeshare and luxury residential properties. | NH Hoteles - UBS downgraded its stance on NH Hoteles from "buy" to "neutral". — Photo by HVS

The Big Sell | Accor has sold 158 of its 270 hotelF1 budget properties in France in a sale and leaseback deal to a consortium of French investors for €272 million. However, Accor will continue to operate the hotels, which total 12,300 rooms, under the hotelF1 brand on 12-year leases (renewable six times at Accor’s option). The rent will be a 100% variable and it will comprise 20% of total turnover. The total turnover of 2008 represents a rent of €21.3 million. As a result of the transaction, Accor will be able to reduce its adjusted net debt this year by approximately €187 million, and €130 million of this will be added to the company’s cash reserves.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes | If you have visited Hilton Hotels Corporation’s website recently you will have noticed a few changes! To reflect the company’s global status, Hilton has changed its corporate name to Hilton Worldwide, and alongside its new name the company has a brand new logo. Hilton’s ten brands will keep their own individual logos but the Hilton HHonors programme will take on the main elements of the new name and logo.

A New Look For Holiday Inn | This week, Holiday Inn, part of InterContinental Hotels Group, has a launched a worldwide US$1 billion refurbishment of its 3,300 properties, which are spread across 84 countries. The work, which will include a new logo, improved public spaces and new bedding, is expected to cost on average from US$100,000 to US$200,000 per hotel. When the work is complete, guests at the new Holiday Inns can be expected to be greeted by a whiff of ginger, white tea, citrus and musk from the scent machines in each lobby and a tinkle of tunes from a 1,000-soundtrack playlist. As part of the brands continuing global expansion, the 117-room Holiday Inn Malé opened this week in the Maldives' capital Malé as the first Holiday Inn property in the country.

Firmdale Hotels Hams It Up In Soho | London-based boutique hotel chain Firmdale Hotels has acquired the Ham Yard site in Soho, London, UK, for £30 million in order to create a £60 million mixed-use project including a 100-room hotel and 50,000 ft² of residential housing. Work on the site is expected to start next year, subject to planning permission. Tim and Kit Kemp, who own Firmdale, plan to fund this new project with a sale and leaseback deal for two of their existing six hotels in London: the 44-room Knightsbridge Hotel and the 42-room Number Sixteen.

Buyer Wanted | An investor is being sought for a Crowne Plaza hotel in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, northeast England. The 252-room property is being developed as part of the £250 million Stephenson Quarter mixed-use development. The hotel’s developer Silverlink Holdings has a management agreement in place with InterContinental Hotels Group but it is now looking for a buyer for the property. Work is to start on the development during the first quarter of 2010 and the hotel is expected to open in the third quarter of 2012.

A New Travelodge For Edinburgh | As part of its £150 million expansion in Scotland over the next decade, Travelodge has announced plans to open its ninth hotel in the country’s capital Edinburgh. A 93-room hotel is to be developed on Waterloo Place. Travelodge has signed a 35-year lease for the hotel with Beaghmore Properties, which will now convert the former office building into a hotel. Other cities in Travelodge’s Scottish portfolio include Glasgow, Dundee and Aberdeen.

Kiessling’s Corner | The news from Spain by Gabriele Kiessling, Analyst, HVS Madrid. According to Spanish economic newspaper Expansion, French fund SA Continental Property Investments is in the lead in the negotiation process for the sale of the Hotel Husa Princesa, in the centre of Madrid, for approximately €150 million. The hotel, which is managed by Husa Hoteles, is owned by the Gaspart family. However, there has been no confirmation from either side yet regarding any finalisation of contracts. The 262-room Diagonal Zero has opened in Barcelona. This is property number five for SB Hotels, the hotel’s owner. Dauro Hotels has just opened the 21-unit Suites Gran Via 44 in Granada, and the 80-room Ada Palace, which is affiliated to Hotusa Hotels, has recently opened in the centre of Madrid.

And Finally…A Note From His Master's Voice | Wanted: singers for impromptu a cappella performance. Must have an interest in hotel investment in its broadest sense, be able to read music, have previous a cappella experience, a good sense of humour and require minimal rehearsal. Please contact Russell Kett [email protected], giving brief details of your preferred voice/part, some indication of your past choral experience and a telephone number.