Hotels Round-up
Hotel raffle fails to find a winner
Four Austrian tax advisers are struggling to sell their Scottish hotel in a raffle due to lack of interest.
Tax and economy consultants Wolfgang Baldauf, Christian Kienzl, Johannes Reimeir and Klaus Nairz bought the 17-bedroom Kimberley hotel in Oban in 1996.
Having invested thousands of pounds in the property, they are now offering it as the first prize in an online raffle.
They are giving 350,000 people the chance to win it, but so far only 144,000 have entered the competition.
The draw had been scheduled to place on 13 July. The date will now be extended unless 350,000 people have entered by next week. To enter, visit the website: www.kimberley-hotel.com/game.
Hotel de Russie joins Leading Hotels
The five-star, 125-bedroom Hotel de Russie in Rome has become the seventh property in Rocco Forte Hotels' portfolio to join Leading Hotels of the World, the marketing consortium that represents 400 luxury hotels around the world.
Manchester to gain new five-star hotel
Hilton International has signed an agreement to build a five-star hotel in Manchester. The £150m property will have 285 bedrooms and will open in 2006, subject to planning permission. It is expected to create about 250 jobs.
Facilities will include conference and meeting rooms, a ballroom and a health and fitness centre.
Tourism prospects
International tourism looks set to change for the better in the second half of the year, according to a survey of more than 100 tourism experts by the World Tourism Organisation.
The greatest improvement is expected in the Middle East, followed closely by Europe. However, late reservations and noticeable price sensitivities are expected to persist as main market trends.
On a scale of one to five (ranging from much worse to much better), the experts gave the industry a rating of 3.6 for the May to August period, compared with just 2.8 for the first four months of the year, which were hit by the Iraq war and the Sars epidemic.
Insurance costs hit Irish hoteliers
The cost of insurance has soared by 351% over the past three years in the Irish Republic and poses the biggest threat to the viability of hotels and guesthouses, according to a survey of more than 900 properties by the Irish Hotels Federation (IHF).
The IHF warned that many businesses will close down if the government takes no action. It blames a lack of competition in the insurance market, rising levels of fraudulent and exaggerated claims, unnecessarily high legal and professional fees and higher payouts for personal injury claims than in Europe and the UK.
It wants a personal injuries assessment board set up to scrutinise claims and bring payouts into line with other countries.
Rezidor will manage new Irish Radissons
Rezidor SAS Hospitality has signed deals to manage two Radisson SAS hotels being built in Ireland. A 116-bedroom hotel in Athlone and a 132-bedroom hotel in Sligo are due to open next spring.
