Worldwide briefing

Sales fall at Accor

French hotel group Accor has reported a 1.7% fall in group turnover to i5.4b (£3.5b) in the first nine months of the year. Turnover in the group's hotels fell by 0.6% to €3.8b (£2.4b). Accor said the economic slowdown had caused the decline. It added that it expected revenue per available room to increase by 1% by the year-end in its European business and leisure hotels, by 3.2% in its economy hotels in Europe, and to fall by 3% in its US economy hotels. Accor expects to post a pre-tax profit of €700m (£448m) for the full year.

Cooler Seasons

Canadian hotel group Four Seasons has warned that earnings in the last six months of the year will be lower than it had expected. The group said the continuing uncertainty in global travel and the closure of its 212-bedroom Four Seasons Hotel Caracas in Venezuela were to blame for the decline.

Starbucks grows on

Coffee-shop giant Starbucks has reported a 24% increase in turnover to $279m (£178.5m) in the four weeks to 27 October. Same-store sales increased by 10%. During the period the company opened 94 coffee shops, taking its total to 5,980.

Starwood expands

Starwood Hotels & Resorts will open 12 hotels in cities around the world before the end of the year. The group has recently opened three hotels in the USA, a hotel in Shanghai, China, and one on the island of Bora Bora in the South Pacific. Before the year end the group will open a further seven hotels in the USA and one in Thailand.