Most Clicked AH&LA SmartBrief Stories
1. AAA awards Five Diamond status to 113 hotels
AH&LA SmartBrief | Nov 06, 2009
AAA's list of Five Diamond hotels grew by 10 properties this year to 113. "To achieve and maintain the highest level of hospitality during these difficult economic times is a significant accomplishment," said Michael Petrone, tourism information development director at AAA. Sixteen hotels were added to the list, and six were dropped from it. USA TODAY/Hotel Check-in blog (11/05)
2. CityCenter opening creates concerns about room rates
AH&LA SmartBrief | Nov 04, 2009
MGM Mirage CityCenter will open in December, but some observers are raising concerns about how the project will affect hotel room rates. Rates have already declined during the economic downturn, and the project will add nearly 6,000 rooms to the market. Meanwhile, the recession has forced developers of other Las Vegas projects to postpone or halt their plans. MSNBC (11/03) Reuters (11/03)
3. Despite lodging chill, flurry of luxury hotels opening at winter resorts
AH&LA SmartBrief | Nov 02, 2009
Despite the lodging downturn, no fewer than eight luxury hotels are opening at winter resorts throughout the West this season, and another five will be completed in the 2010-2011 season. In Park City, Utah, the St. Regis Deer Crest Resort is to open this week, and the plush Dakota Mountain Lodge will be open this season. Other hotels are planned in California, Utah, Colorado and western Canada. Dallas Morning News, The (11/01)
4. Architects: Space hotel on track to open by 2012
AH&LA SmartBrief | Nov 02, 2009
Despite skepticism from critics, architects building the first hotel in space say the hotel should begin to accept its first guests in 2012. A three-night stay at The Galactic Suite Space Resort will run about $4.4 million, which will include eight weeks of training on a tropical island. During the three-day stay, guests will see the sun rise 15 times a day as they travel around the world every 80 minutes. Reuters (11/01)
5. Questions arise about whether negotiated hotel, airline rates will stick
AH&LA SmartBrief | Nov 03, 2009
Each year at about this time, travel-management companies negotiate hotel and airline rates for the following year for the corporate clients. Last year, economic chaos surrounded the annual ritual, prompting rates to be renegotiated several times. Now, as the travel managers are negotiating rates, many industry insiders are wondering whether the rates will stick or continually be renegotiated as they were last year. New York Times, The (11/02)
6. Investors hover as South Florida distressed assets hit market
AH&LA SmartBrief | Nov 03, 2009
South Florida could see a massive shakeup in hotel ownership in the near future as investors swoop in to buy up the area's many distressed hotels at deep discounts. Just as hotels have had to roll room rates back in what has become a buyer's market for travelers, hotel owners are having to slash prices to attract investors, and new owners who take over a property with lower loan payments may be in a better position to fund needed maintenance and repairs. Miami Herald, The (11/02)
7. Jury awards $20M to Texas cities for online hotel booking taxes
AH&LA SmartBrief | Nov 02, 2009
A federal jury in San Antonio, Texas, has awarded $20 million to Texas cities after finding that online booking services such as Travelocity, Expedia and Priceline.com failed to pay proper occupancy taxes over several years. The award will be divided according to the number of hotel rooms the Web sites sold in each of the state's 170 cities, with San Antonio and Dallas expected to be the largest recipients of the award. Dallas Morning News, The (11/01)
8. Hyatt goes public this week, becomes ticker symbol "H"
AH&LA SmartBrief | Nov 03, 2009
Hyatt Hotels Corp. will launch its initial public offering on Friday, taking on the ticker symbol of simply "H." A total of 38 million stockholder shares will be sold as the company strives to raise up to $988 million through the IPO, and following the IPO, more than 38 million common class A shares will remain, in addition to 130 million common class B shares. GlobeSt.com (11/02)
9. Nightclub owner hits obstacles in hotel market
AH&LA SmartBrief | Nov 04, 2009
Though Sam Nazarian has found fame and success as the owner of some of Los Angeles' hottest nightclubs, his efforts to find the same success with high-end hotels have hit plenty of obstacles. Nazarian's SLS chain has purchased three properties -- the former Le Meridien in Beverly Hills, the Sahara casino-hotel in Las Vegas and the 119-room former Ritz Plaza hotel in Miami's South Beach -- and the lodging slump has caused big delays in renovations and plans for the properties. Wall Street Journal, The (11/04)
10. Downturn said to put New York W Hotel loan at risk of default
AH&LA SmartBrief | Nov 02, 2009
A $115 million loan backed by the W New York Union Square hotel in Manhattan is said to be at a moderate risk of default because of a weak financial performance amid the lodging downturn, according to credit rating firm Realpoint LLC. The borrowers of the loan are said to be up to date with their payments, however, and the value of the property remains higher than the debt. Bloomberg (10/30)
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Companies in the news
- Ameristar Casinos Inc
- Best Western International
- Express Hotels Ltd.
- Fairmont Raffles Hotels International
- Felcor Lodging Trust Inc
- Hyatt Hotels Corp.
- Intercontinental Hotel Group
- Interstate Hotels & Resorts
- Marriott
- Mgm Mirage
- Millennium & Copthorne Hotels PLC
- Penn National Gaming
- Radisson Hotel
- Starwood Hotels & Resorts
- Starwood Vacation Ownership, Inc.