Worldwide briefing

Essential news from around the world… Suite sensation Accor has launched a new brand with the opening of the 166-suite Suitehotel Paris-Porte de Montreuil. The chain is aimed at individual business travellers and its suites are 30sq m in size. The room rate at the Paris hotel is €80 (£49.90) a night. Kiwis take off Room yield in New Zealand's hotels increased by 8.5% to NZ$82.25 (£23.51) during January, says a survey from consultants Arthur Andersen. Occupancy was up by 15.9% to 74%. Rebirth in Venice The 84-bedroom Hotel Cipriani on the lagoon island of Guidecca in Venice has re-opened after an extensive refurbishment programme over the winter Danish Tulips Eleven hotels in Denmark have joined the Golden Tulip consortium. The properties previously belonged to the Inter Dan Hotels grouping. Mövenpick gambles on Morocco Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts is to open a 240-bedroom hotel in Tangiers, Morocco, this summer. It is connected to a four-storey casino with 200 slot machines and 30 gaming tables. Mövenpick has 41 hotels in seven countries. World leaders Three Le Méridien hotels have become members of Leading Hotels of the World, bringing to 20 the number of Le Méridiens that are members of the consortium. The new member hotels are in Sydney (415 bedrooms), Budapest (218 bedrooms) and Chicago (311 bedrooms). Warsaw pact Bass Hotels & Resorts is to invest €110m (£68.6m) in a joint venture to develop a new hotel in Poland. The Hotel Inter-Continental Warsaw will have 328 bedrooms over 44 floors. It is set to open in autumn 2003.