HVS EMEA Hospitality Newsletter - Week Ending 26 March 2010

Commerz Real Picks Up A Hotel In Progress

Commerz Real, a fully owned subsidiary of Commerz Bank, liked the look of the Motel One in Spittelmarkt, Berlin, Germany, so much that it has purchased it before it is even finished. Commerz Real has acquired the 303-room property for its open-ended real estate fund Hausinvest europa from Berlin-based property developer GBI AG for an undisclosed sum. Investment in the hotel, which has a 25-year lease in place with Motel One, is reported to be €23 million and the property is expected to be completed in December 2010.

Wyndham Wings Into Wales

Wyndham Hotel Group has signed a 25-year management agreement with Cardiff-based development company Bayscape Ltd for a £60 million hotel in the city of Cardiff, south Wales. The 200-room Wyndham Cardiff is expected to open in spring 2013 and will be part of the Bayscape waterfront mixed-use complex. Once open, the 32-storey hotel will be the tallest building in Wales. Wyndham’s joint-venture management partner in the EMEA region Malta-based CHI Hotels & Resorts will be providing technical assistance during the planning and design stage of the project and will take on the full management of the hotel once it is completed. This will be hotel number three for Wyndham in Europe as the company already has one hotel each in London and Amsterdam.

Anantara Lodges In Abu Dhabi

Thai-based hospitality group Anantara Hotels, Resorts & Spas is set to increase its presence on Sir Bani Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, UAE, to three properties with the announcement that it is to manage two new luxury lodges on the island: the 30-unit Al Barai Lodge and the 30-unit Al Yamm Lodge, which are both expected to open at the end of 2010. These openings will bring Anantara’s portfolio in the emirate up to four.

An Express Opening In Dubai

Thirty-five years after it opened its first hotel in the UAE, the InterContinental Dubai, InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) has announced its latest opening in the country. Together with Ishraq Gulf Real Estate Holding Company (which will operate and manage the new hotel), IHG has officially opened the Holiday Inn Express Dubai Airport, in the emirate of Dubai. The 381-room hotel is the group’s fourth Holiday Inn Express property in Dubai and it has the honour of being the largest hotel of its brand in the EMEA region in terms of room count.

A Kempinski For Qatar

Kempinski Hotels is to make its debut in Qatar next month with the opening of the Kempinski Residences & Suites, Doha. Kempinski is to manage and operate the 370-unit property which is owned by Qatar-based Alfardan Hospitality, part of the Alfardan Group.

Millennium To Expand In The Middle East

Millennium & Copthorne plans to expand its Middle Eastern portfolio by another six properties in the next year. The company plans to add another 2,000 rooms to the region with two hotels planned for Abu Dhabi and one hotel each planned for Dubai, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Yemen.

Taj Debuts In South Africa

Indian hotel group Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces has made its first foray into South Africa with the recent opening of the Taj Cape Town, in Cape Town. The 177-room hotel, a joint venture between Indian Hotels Company and South African property development and investment company Eurocape, was developed at a cost of more than R500 million (US$68 million).

Hotel Companies Signing Up To Switch Off

Three major hotel companies have announced that they have signed up for the World Wildlife Foundation’s (WWF) Earth Hour 2010. Now in its third year, the aim of the campaign is to encourage millions of people across the globe to come together and fight climate change by switching off their lights for one hour on Saturday 27 March at 8.30pm. NH Hoteles, Starwood Hotels & Resorts and Hilton Worldwide will all be dimming the lights in their hotels across the world. Paul Brown Hilton’s President of Global Brands & Commercial Services commented that “Earth Hour is a powerful reminder of our collective responsibility to take every step we can to make every hour Earth Hour”. For more information on or to sign up to Earth Hour click here.

Gladen’s Tidings

The news from Spain by Esther Gladen, HvS Madrid. NH Hoteles plans to open 16 new hotels during the next year, three of which will be in Spain. The four-star, 123-room NH Laguna in Tenerife is expected to open by the end of this year; NH Hoteles will manage the hotel but the ownership of the property will remain with the building company Herreña Fronpeca.

Absolute Share Price Performance Over the Past Week 18-25 March 2010

Marriott International - JP Morgan Securities upgraded Marriott to "overweight" from "neutral".

Sol Meliá - Shares rose despite USB downgrading Sol Meliá to "neutral" from "buy".

Whitbread - Société Générale upgraded Whitbread to "buy" from "sell".

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