HVS EMEA Hospitality Enews - Week Ending 17 June 2011
A PORTFOLIO OF 42 UK HOTELS FALLS INTO ADMINISTRATION
The holding company of 42 Marriott-operated hotels in the UK has gone into administration. Receivers have now been brought in to take control of the portfolio, which comprises approximately 8,000 rooms, after the Royal Bank of Scotland was unable to restructure £700 million of debt with the hotels’ owners. The portfolio, which originally included 47 hotels, was acquired in 2007 for £1.1 billion by private equity firm Quinlan Private, Israel-based Delek Real Estate and Israeli investor Igal Ahouvi. The hotels will continue to be operated as normal by Marriott, which holds 30-year management agreements with the properties. A spokeswoman for Marriott commented that the operation of the hotels is “entirely unaffected by these actions as is any subsequent sale to a new ownership group”.
A WALDORF ASTORIA FOR SCOTLAND
Late last week, Hilton Worldwide announced that it has signed a deal with the owner of the 254-room Caledonian Hilton Edinburgh hotel, in Scotland, to relaunch the property under its Waldorf Astoria brand. After an investment of £24 million, the hotel will open in summer 2012 as The Caledonian, A Waldorf Astoria Hotel. The hotel, which is more than 100 years old, will be Scotland’s first Waldorf Astoria and the UK’s third.
W STARS IN ST PETERSBURG
Starwood Hotels and Resorts’ W brand has marked its entry into Russia with the official opening of the W St Petersburg. The 137-room hotel, which soft-opened in April, is owned by Real Estate Development Ltd. The opening of the new W “is an iconic addition to the W brand’s impressive global portfolio and underlines our commitment to grow this brand in key markets around the world,” said Roeland Vos, Starwood’s president in Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
A NEW HILTON RESORT FOR TURKEY
Hilton Hotels & Resorts opened its second property in Turkey this week. After an extensive refurbishment, the Bodrum Princess Deluxe Resort & Spa, previously managed by Spanish company Princess Hotels & Resorts, has been transformed into the Hilton Bodrum Turkbuku Resort & Spa. The beachfront resort, near the town of Turkbuku in southwestern Turkey, has 433 rooms, 53 suites and eight villas.
BEST WESTERN BLOOMS IN MOLDOVA
There was a distinct floral tinge to the air in Moldova at the beginning of the week. It wasn’t the heady aroma of summer blooms, however, but US-based Best Western International’s first hotel in the country: the 40-room Best Western Plus Flowers Hotel, which opened in the country’s capital, Chisinau.
BOUTIQUE HOTEL SUMMIT HITS A HIGH NOTE
The first ever Boutique Hotel Summit, which took place this week in London, was a huge success More than 150 delegates from all over the world attended the conference, which kicked off with a tour of the newly refurbished St Ermin’s Hotel and the St James’ Hotel and Club. The following day, delegates were treated to numerous panel sessions with a stellar cast of speakers, including Tim Smith, a director with HVS London. “As a first time event, The Boutique Hotel Summit hit all the right notes in attracting an appreciably large number of delegates who were attracted by an impressive array of knowledgeable speakers and panellists, all experts in their own right and with lots of opinions to contribute on the boutique and lifestyle sector of the hotel industry,” commented Russell Kett, HVS London’s managing director.
FROM BEDDING TO BAGS
The London Marriott Hotel Marble Arch has found a novel way of keeping its old bed linen from being piled onto a landfill. Sleeping Bags, a social enterprise founded by entrepreneur Andy Marks, collects the sheets and duvets from the 240-room hotel and then recycles them into tote bags. The bags, which feature a design by artist Vicki Murdoch, are currently on sale at the hotel and the profits are being donated to the St Mungo’s homeless charity in London.
A PRIME NEW VENTURE FOR HILTON IN THE UAE
Hilton Worlwide has announced hotel number five for Ras al Khaimah, in the UAE. Hilton has signed an agreement with Al Hamra Real Estate Development to rebrand the Al Hamra Fort Hotel; the 249-room property will reopen as the Hilton Al Hamra Resort & Spa in the first quarter of 2013. Along with the upcoming Waldorf Astoria, Ras al Khaimah, the new hotel will be part of the emirate’s Al Hamra mixed-use development.
NOVOTEL NUMBER ONE FOR DAMMAM
Accor has opened its first Novotel property in the city of Dammam, eastern Saudi Arabia. The 159-room Novotel Dammam Business Park was developed in partnership with Al Hokair Group for Tourism and Development, owner of the Dammam Business Park. The new hotel is part of a portfolio of 15 Novotels planned for the Middle East by 2014. Nine are now in operation with a further six being developed in Syria and the UAE.
GLADEN’S TIDINGS
The news from Spain by Esther Gladen, Business & Market Intelligence Analyst, HVS Madrid. Pierre & Vacances open a resort in Almería: the 160-unit Residence Roquetas de mar, which is 500 m from the beach. Iberostar adds a resort in Torrox, Málaga, to its portfolio: the Iberostar Málaga Playa resort has 319 guest rooms, 94 apartments, outdoor swimming pools, a restaurant and other facilities. 29 boutique apartments open in Barcelona: the Eric Vökel Boutique Apartments, on Gran Via, will be operated by architect Eric Vökel under a lease agreement. A six-month refurbishment was carried out at the building, which is owned by Caixa Penedés. Las Arenas apartments in Lanzarote converted into a four-star hotel: the new HD Beach resort in Costa Teguise, which is owned by developer Hermanos Domínguez, has been redesigned and refurbished at a cost of €13 million. The 177-room complex is scheduled to reopen at the end of this month. New Sercotel in Bilbao: the 97-room, four-star Sercotel Coliseo, housed in the historical Coliseo Albia, is expected to become one of the city’s most emblematic establishments.
InterContinental Hotels Group – Share prices dropped to a six-month low.
NH Hoteles – Share prices fell on four of the last five days, a five-day fall of 4.0%.
Accor – Accor's five-year Credit Default Swap decreased by 1.16 basis points.
