HVS EMEA Hospitality Enews - Week Ending 6 November 2009
A Spa Less For Starwood | Starwood Hotels and Resorts and global spa company Steiner Leisure have entered into an agreement which will see Steiner acquire Starwood’s Bliss spa and product company for US$100 million. The deal is expected to be closed on or before 31 December 2009. After the acquisition, the Bliss and Remède spas will continue to remain exclusive to Starwood’s W and St. Regis hotels, respectively.
A Radisson Blu For Monastir | The residents of Monastir in Tunisia, North Africa, are familiar with the colour blue as the city sits snugly on Tunisia’s northeastern shore facing the Mediterranean Sea. However, Rezidor Hotel Group has now added a different spectrum to the city’s palette of blues in the form of the Radisson Blu Resort & Thalasso, Monastir. The 280-room hotel opened this week on the beachfront and the adjacent spa is scheduled to open at the beginning of 2010.
Hilton Number Two For Portugal | Hilton Worldwide has signed a management agreement with Oporto-based HN Group for the Hilton Alvor, its second property in Portugal along side the Hilton Vilamoura As Cascatas Golf Resort & Spa. The mixed-use Hilton Alvor resort is expected to open in 2012 on the beachfront near the town of Alvor, on the Algarve. The total investment in the resort is rumoured to be €150 million, of which €50 million is for the 174-room hotel.
Rezidor Parks Up In Yaroslavl | Rezidor Hotel Group has announced the third property to come to fruition in Russia from its strategic agreement with Regional Hotel Chain (RHC) for the development of Park Inn hotels across the country. The latest destination is the city of Yaroslavl, in the west of the country, on the River Volga. A 150-room Park Inn is to be constructed and is scheduled to open at the beginning of 2013. RHC and Rezidor currently have 11 hotels in the pipeline and 22 are expected to be in operation by 2014.
From Southwest France To Northwest England | Accor’s first port of call this week was the town of Biarritz on the Bay of Biscay, southwest France. The reason for this visit was the Biarritz Le Président hotel. Following the completion of an extensive renovation and refurbishment, the 69-room hotel has joined Accor’s Mercure brand and now goes by the name of the Mercure Le President Biarritz Centre. Once the hotel was flying the Mercure flag, Accor then turned its attention to its Novotel brand. This meant a trip across the English Channel to the city of Liverpool, in northwest England, where Accor opened the 209-room Novotel Liverpool.
A Rainbow Rises Over Edinburgh | Manchester-based aparthotel company Blue Rainbow Apartments has bought the leasehold interest in the Royal Garden Apartments in Edinburgh, Scotland for an undisclosed sum. Blue Rainbow Apartments now plans to renovate the property to bring it up to a five-star standard. The 30-unit Royal Garden Apartments is property number two for the company as it also operates the Blue Rainbow Aparthotel in Manchester, northwest England.
A Lofty Venture For Starwood | Starwood Hotels and Resort’s Aloft brand made its debut in the Middle East this week with the opening of the Aloft Abu Dhabi in the emirate of Abu Dhabi, UAE. The 408-room hotel is directly linked to the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre. However, the region’s first Aloft will not be alone for long as the Aloft Riyadh is expected to open on 1 November 2011 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
A New Address For Dubai | The emirate of Dubai has a new address. Really, where has it moved to? I hear you ask. Well that wasn’t quite the type of address I meant. I’ll give you a clue. It has 200 rooms, 442 serviced apartments and views of Dubai Marina. Yes, there is only one thing it could be: the long-awaited The Address Dubai Marina, which opened this week to bring The Address Hotels + Resorts' portfolio up to five properties in the Middle East.
A Mövenpick for Mecca | The Mövenpick Hotel & Residence Hajar Towar Makkah opened this week with 1,204 rooms and apartments in the city of Mecca (Makkah), Saudi Arabia. This is Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts’ eighth property in Saudi Arabia but its first in Mecca.
Interval In The Garden Of Egypt | This week Interval International trekked across the sands of Egypt, crossing the Western Desert and navigating the Nile. And just when it thought it would never reach its destination it caught sight of its goal: the city of Hurghada on the Red Sea Coast, where it promptly affiliated the Gardenia Resort to its global network of timeshare properties. This mixed-use resort is currently under development and is scheduled to open in 2011 with 175 units. This is Interval’s third property in Hurghada.
Rezidor Reports Its Third-Quarter Revenue | Rezidor Hotel Group has reported a decrease in total revenue of 14.1% to €165.4 million for the third quarter of 2009, from €192.5 million for the same period in 2008. Like-for-like RevPAR decreased by 15.9% to €64.3 from €76.4. EBITDA for July to September 2009 was €3.1 million compared to €20.0 million for the same period in 2008. Rezidor’s president and chief operating officer Kurt Ritter commented that “Visibility is still limited and our current plans are based on the assumption that the difficult business climate will continue at least for the near future. Our focus on capturing revenue and controlling costs is targeted to ensure that Rezidor is well positioned to benefit when market conditions improve.”
Kiessling’s Corner | The news from Spain by Gabriele Kiessling, Analyst, HVS Madrid. Hoteles Catalonia has recently opened the four-star, 71-room Catalonia Catedral hotel in Barcelona. The hotel is owned by Rossendpark Hotel, which converted the building into a hotel for a total of €6 million. Sol Meliá signed a franchise agreement for the Montalvo hotel in Salamanca; the 57-room hotel is now operating as the Tryp Montalvo. This is Sol Meliá’s third hotel in Salamanca. Real estate group Tisa has recently opened the first phase of its Suites Florida tourist apartments in Madrid. Of the 325 units planned for the property, 75 are now in operation.
- Millennium & Copthorne - Evolution raised the price target from 350p to 400p.
- Sol Meliá - Deutsche Bank changed its recommendation from "buy" to "neutral".
- NH Hoteles - UBS changed its recommendation from "neutral" to "buy".
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