Essential news from around the world…
Unprecedented low levels of occupancy at Mandarin Oriental
Hotel group Mandarin Oriental said this week that the Sars virus and war in Iraq had resulted in “unprecedented low levels” of occupancy in its Hong Kong hotels. Occupancy had also fallen in Asia, particularly in Singapore and Bangkok. Hotels in Europe and the USA were also affected, said Mandarin Oriental.
Orient-Express records loss
Sars and the war in Iraq also hit trading at Orient-Express Hotels. In the first three months of 2003, the group recorded a net loss of $2.6m (£1.6m), compared with a profit of $440,000 (£273,292) a year earlier. Orient-Express said the shift of Easter to the second quarter and its acquisition of two properties halfway through the first quarter of 2002 had affected comparisons.
Profits fall at Aramark
US-based contract caterer Aramark has reported an 8% fall in net profit to $106.5m (£66m) in the six months to 28 March, compared with the same period a year earlier. The group said that profits in 2002 were boosted by the sale of its interest in the Boston Red Sox baseball team. Turnover increased by 12% to $4.5b (£2.8b).
Radisson SAS to manage luxury serviced apartments
Radisson SAS has won a contract to manage a new 15-storey extension of the 246-bedroom Diplomat Radisson SAS hotel in Manama, Bahrain. The new five-star property features 121 one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments.
Four Seasons Prague reopens
The 162-bedroom Four Seasons Prague hotel in the Czech Republic will reopen on 20 June following a ten-month closure. The hotel’s three below ground floors were completely reconstructed following the floods that swamped Prague in August last year.
South African tourism continues to bloom
Tourism in South Africa is set to show another year of growth after a strong 2002. According to the latest figures from consultants Deloitte & Touche, all but one of the 24 markets it tracked across South Africa recorded revenue per available room (revpar) increases in double figures during the first three months of 2003, when compared with the same period last year. Occupancy increased by almost two percentage points to 72%, average room rate increased by 18.6% to R519 (£44.20), and revpar increased by 21.5% to R374 (£31.85).
Tourist numbers and hotel occupancy fall in Hungary
The number of tourists visiting Hungary fell by 5% to 841,000 people in the first three months of 2003, according to statistics from the Hungarian Central Statistics Office.