Worldwide briefing

Marriott denial

US-based hotel group Marriott International has denied claims that it pocketed millions of dollars in bribes from suppliers. Hong Kong-based CTF Holdings, one of Marriott's largest owners, has filed a lawsuit against the company, accusing it of racketeering and commercial bribery.

Inter-Continental

UK-based hotel group Six Continents is to open its first Inter-Continental in Seattle, Washington. The 116-bedroom hotel is expected to open in the first three months of 2005. The hotel will have a 4,000sq ft restaurant, 1,450sq ft of meeting space and 38 condominiums.

Radisson in Poland

Radisson SAS has opened the first of five new hotels in Poland. The 162-bedroom Radisson SAS hotel in Wroclaw has an all-day restaurant, two conference rooms, four boardrooms and a banquet hall with seating for 120 people. Radisson will also open hotels in Warsaw, Krakow, Katowice and Lublin, adding almost 1,000 rooms to its portfolio.

NRA blasts book

America's National Restaurant Association (NRA) has criticised a new book from the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) that reveals calorie, sodium and fat levels in thousands of foods served at the nation's restaurants. The NRA said the book, Restaurant Confidential, was "simplistic and naïve to target particular foods or portion sizes as the sole cause for some Americans' battle with weight."