Bass suspends hotels after West Bank unrest

Bass Hotels and Resorts has suspended operations at its two hotels in the West Bank following continuing political unrest. It announced the move at a conference at the Arabian Travel Market in Dubai last week.

Most of the staff at its Jacir Palace Inter-Continental hotel in Bethlehem and at the Hotel Inter-Continental in Jericho have been temporarily moved. Bass said that the hotels would reopen as soon as it was safe.

The 250-bedroom Jacir Palace was the company's first hotel in the West Bank when it opened in May last year. The 184-bedroom Inter-Continental in Jericho opened in June.

Bass added that it planned to open five Inter-Continental, four Crowne Plaza and 12 Holiday Inn hotels by the end of 2002 in the Middle East and Africa.

In July it will make its first foray into Tunisia when it opens a 256-bedroom Holiday Inn in Hammamet.

Bass Hotels and Resorts owns, operates or franchises more than 3,000 hotels in 100 countries under a variety of names including Inter-Continental, Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza. Last month, it bought the Posthouse chain from Compass for £810m.

At the conference, Bass confirmed that it would change its name by the end of the year, but it would not say to what.

The Bass name was sold when Interbrew of Belgium bought its brewing division for £2.3b last year (Caterer, 31 August 2000, page 4).

by Jenny Webster

Source: Caterer & Hotelkeeper magazine, 10-16 May 2001