HVS EMEA Hospitality Enews - Week Ending 17 July 2009

Going, Going…

Two Park Inn hotels at opposite ends of England are for sale for a combined total of £50 million. The freehold interests in the 214-room Park Inn Russell Square, in London, and the 84-room Park Inn St Helens, in the town of St Helens, northwest England, were put on the market when their holding companies, subsidiaries of Northern Ireland investment company WG Mitchell, went into administration. Also for sale in the UK is the Kensingtonrooms hotel in Knightsbridge, London, which has been put on the market for a guide price of £25 million. This 88-room hotel, which is also an events venue, will bring its buyer the opportunity to expand, as the hotel already has planning permission for an extension of 38 guest rooms.

Gone!

The Comfort Hotel Royal, in the town of Kettering, England, has recently been sold for an undisclosed sum. The long-leasehold interest in the 41-room hotel was bought by Balaji Hotels as part of a plan to create a small hotel portfolio in the UK. This is Balaji Hotels' first acquisition for its UK portfolio. The 18-room Barnsley House hotel, in the village of Barnsley, southwest England, has been sold to the owners of the 35-room Calcot Manor, in the nearby town of Tetbury, for a sum reported to be in the region of £6.6 million. The Barnsley’s new owners should never go thirsty as the sale included the Village Pub, across the road from the hotel.

Turnberry Turns Luxurious

After a US$65 million renovation by its owner Leisurecorp, the 103-year-old Turnberry Golf Resort, on the Ayrshire coast in southwest Scotland, has reopened as part of Starwood Hotels & Resorts’ Luxury Collection. The 210-room Turnberry is Starwood’s second property under this brand in the UK, alongside the 280-room Sheraton Park Tower in London. The resort reopened just in time to host the 2009 Open Championship, which is being held this week. But it is not just royalty from the golfing world that has walked the grounds of Turnberry; Turnberry Castle, the ruins of which lie on the golf course, was the birthplace of Scotland’s king Robert the Bruce.

London’s Third Season

Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts currently has two hotels in London, UK: one on Park Lane, which is currently closed for a major refurbishment, and another at Canary Wharf. However, the Canadian-based company likes the city so much that it has decided to open another one! Four Seasons has teamed up with London-based investment and development company Heron International for a hotel which, subject to planning permission, is to be developed at the Heron Tower mixed-use development in the City of London. Heron Tower, which is planned for completion in the first quarter of 2011, is expected to be one of the tallest towers in the City of London.

Two More Kempinskis – One Old And One New!

Kempinski Hotels is having a busy month. The Swiss-based company has recently reopened the 62-room Le Mirador Kempinski Lake Geneva, on the shores of Lake Geneva near Lausanne, Switzerland, after a ten-month renovation. The €50 million project included transforming the property into an all-suite hotel. Kempinski is now preparing for the opening of the 186-room Kempinski Hotel Adriatic, on the northwest coast of the Istrian peninsula, in Croatia, on 1 August. This is Kempinski’s first hotel in Croatia.

A Courtyard By Marriott For Romania

So far, the Courtyard by Marriott brand has deposited 31 hotels in 13 countries as it continues to blaze a trail through Europe, and its latest destination is Romania. The Courtyard by Marriott Bucharest is scheduled to open in 2011 in the country’s capital Bucharest.

There Ain’t No Mountain High Enough For Interval International

The Domina Home Golf & Ski Tarvisio resort, near the town of Tarvisio, in the Italian Alps, has been affiliated into Interval International’s global timeshare network. The resort is scheduled to open in the summer of 2010 with 35 residential apartments and 73 timeshare units.

Bristol Sees Double

The Cadbury House Hotel Health Club & Spa in the city of Bristol, southwest England, is to receive the gift of a new name. As part of a franchise agreement between the hotel’s owners and Hilton Hotels Corporation, the 72-room hotel is be rebranded to the Doubletree by Hilton Cadbury House Hotel & Spa as of December 2009.

Doubletree To Debut in Africa

The Opulent Hotel Group, a subsidiary of the UK's Splendid Hotel Group, has signed two franchise agreements with Hilton Hotels Corporation, paving the way for Hilton’s Doubletree brand to enter Africa with two hotels in Tanzania. The 158-room Doubletree by Hilton Dar Es Salaam, in the Tanzanian capital, and the 101-room Doubletree by Hilton Resort Zanzibar, Nungwi, on the north coast of the island of Zanzibar, are both scheduled to open in October 2009.

Marriott’s Second-Quarter Results

Marriott International has reported an income from continuing operations of US$37 million for the second quarter of 2009, a decrease of 75.8% on the US$153 million reported for the same period in 2008. Worldwide RevPAR for the US company is reported to be US$100.67 for the three months ending 31 May 2009. Marriott’s chairman and chief executive officer JW Marriott, Jr commented on the company’s results “In the midst of a continued difficult environment for the travel and tourism industry, our company retains its focus on driving revenue, reducing costs and strengthening the balance sheet”.

Accor Reports Its Results For The First Half Of 2009

French hospitality company Accor has also reported decreases for 2009 so far, with a total revenue of €3.4 billion for the first half of the year, a like-for-like decrease of 8.1% on the €3.7 billion recorded during the same period in 2008. Accor has reported RevPAR of €56 for upscale and midscale properties in Europe and €37 for economy hotels.

Kiessling’s Corner

The news from Spain by Gabriele Kiessling, Analyst, HVS Madrid. The Catalan theme park Port Aventura now includes a hotel; the park's recently opened 502-room Gold River hotel was developed at a cost of €67 million and covers an area of 30,000 ft². Derby Hotels has recently opened a new boutique hotel: the Balmes Residences, which opened at the heart of Barcelona with 14 rooms and six luxury apartments. Ibersol has purchased the 145-room Costa del Sol Princess and the 380-room Andalucia Princess, in Estepona, Malaga, from Princess Hotels & Resorts. Ibersol intends to merge the two properties into one single complex under the name of Ibersol Princesa.

Absolute Share Price Performance Over the Past Week 9-16 July 2009

Starwood Hotels & Resorts - FBR Capital Markets increased its rating on Starwood to "market perform".

Marriott International - Shares rose this week despite the announcement that the company's second-quarter profit has fallen by 75.8%.

Accor - CM-CIC Securities reiterated its "buy" recommendation for Accor and cut its share price target to €36 from €38.

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