USA
Hotel reopens at Ground Zero
The Millenium Hilton hotel, located only a few metres away from Ground Zero in New York, reopened to an emotional welcome last week. Following the refurbishment of all 55 floors at a cost of $30m (£21.5m), 90% of the hotel's 360 former staff have returned to their old jobs. Many of the hotel's 565 rooms overlook Ground Zero, site of the devastated World Trade Center and now a giant construction site.
MIDDLE EAST
Marriott moves in on Baghdad
Marriott International aims to open hotels in post-war Iraq and will have a sales presence in Baghdad by the end of June. The US hotel group has appointed Capital Development and Marketing Corp (CDMC) as its sales representative in the country's capital. CDMC is setting up a Baghdad office to promote investment and development within post-war Iraq. The sales company will initially be responsible for encouraging Iraqis to use Marriott's portfolio of nearly 2,600 properties worldwide.
Hotel nights in Abu Dhabi
A total of 774,510 visitors spent 1.96 million nights staying in hotels in Abu Dhabi last year, according to the Planning Department of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). UAE nationals accounted for the largest number of visitors, with a total of 253,060, and clocked up 510,560 overnight stays. Citizens of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries came second with 109,100 visits and 167,070 overnight stays. Third in terms of numbers were visitors from other Arab countries, who spent a total of 272,450 nights in hotels.
Serviced apartments for Radisson SAS
Radisson SAS Hotels & Resorts is to manage a 15-storey extension to the 246-bedroom Diplomat Radisson SAS hotel in the Bahrain's capital, Manama.
The five-star extension features a combination of one- and three-bedroom apartments and suites. The hotel is owned by Bahrain's national hotels company, BSC. Rezidor SAS Hospitality has also been awarded contracts to manage two hotels on Dubai's Palm Islands development. The group operates 14 properties across the Middle East and Africa.
EUROPE
Prague reopening for Four Seasons
The Four Seasons hotel in Prague will reopen on 20 June following its closure after floods devastated the city in August last year. While the guest rooms and public areas of the 162-bedroom hotel were unaffected by the flooding, the entire three floors below ground level - a total of 5,000sq m - have been completely reconstructed.
High Tech Hotels and Resorts to expand
Spanish hotel chain High Tech Hotels and Resorts is to invest €28m (£20m) in 40 hotels throughout Spain by 2006. The company will invest €2m (£1.4m) of its own funds, while the remaining €26m (£18.6m) will be provided by the company's financial partners, Spanish venture capital companies Dinamia and Nmas1 Electra. High Tech Hotels and Resorts operates 13 three- and four-star hotels, including seven in Madrid, two in Paris, two in Valencia and one in Bilbao.