Worldwide briefing
Essential news from around the world…
Rezidor opens first Regent in Germany Rezidor SAS Hospitality has taken over the Four Seasons hotel in Berlin. The deal will see the five-star property operate under the Regent flag with immediate effect. The move will also bring €2.5m (£1.72m) of investment, including the addition of a new restaurant to the 204-bedroom property. This latest acquisition boosts the Regent portfolio to seven hotels across three continents.
Le Méridien opens in Kuala Lumpur
Le Méridien has opened its first hotel in Malaysia. The five-star, 422-bedroom Le Méridien Kuala Lumpur opened for business on 8 October. The 35-storey property is located in the modern KL Sentral area of the city, which comprises a transport hub, high-tech entertainment venues and luxury apartments. The development also includes a 38-storey Hilton International.
Sol Melia to build luxury lake lodge in Cuba Spanish hotel chain Sol Melia is planning to build its third Paradisus lodge in Cuba. The group's latest venture is a $51m (£28.5m) project in Cayo Largo and is set to open in 2006. The 403,000sq ft development will be built on pillars and will appear to float in the middle of a 15-foot deep lake. Sol Melia controls 21% of Cuba's tourist accommodation.
Matsuhisa slips to number two in LA Zagat guide
The Zagat Survey 2005 Los Angeles Restaurant Guide, released on 5 October, featured a new number-one food venue for the first time in six years. Although Angelinos' taste for Asian food held steady, the Matsuhisa restaurant was replaced at the top by Sushi Nozawa.
Paris revpar slumps
Revenue per available room (revpar) in Paris has fallen by 8.8% for the twelve months to August 2004 as the effects of a price war hit home. The figures, released by MKG Consulting, also show that the wider Ile de France region saw revpar fall by 4.7%. But the bad news was offset by better performances at hotels along the Atlantic coast and in the Mid-Pyrenees region, which meant revpar across France fell by just 2.1%
San Francisco staff lockout continues
A staff lockout at fourteen San Francisco hotels is continuing as unions and hotel bosses fail to resolve a two-week old industrial dispute. The row erupted on 29 September when workers declared a two-week strike at four hotels over the details of a new contract.
Marriott International Q3 profits soar by 42%
Marriott International has posted profits of $132m (£74m) for the three months ended 10 September 2004. The figure is a 42% improvement on the same period in 2003, since which time it has added 177 managed and franchised hotels (28,000 bedrooms). In the same period revenue per available room across the group's 1,869 comparable North American properties rose by 7.7%, propelled by a 3.9% increase in average daily rate and a 2.6 percentage point rise in occupancy to about 75%.
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