NORTH AMERICA
Starwood puts Sheraton brand on Houston hotel
US group Starwood Hotels & Resorts has taken over the franchise of the Ramada Plaza hotel in Houston, Texas, and renamed the property the Four Points by Sheraton Houston Southwest. The 216-bedroom hotel is owned by California-based Khanna Enterprises. Starwood has six other properties in the Houston area, including three more Sheraton properties, two Westin hotels and a luxury St Regis property.
McDonald's reports September sales surge
Fast-food giant McDonald's has reported an 11% increase in sales for the month of September, compared with the same period a year earlier. In the USA sales increased by 10%, while in Europe and Asia, the Middle East and Africa they remained depressed, falling by 0.9% and 4.2% respectively.
Supreme Court says Sodexho race case can proceed
The US Supreme Court has said it will allow a lawsuit against French contract caterer Sodexho to proceed. The claim, filed in 2001 by 10 current and former employees of Marriott Management Services, which later became Sodexho Inc, alleges that they and other African-American staff were discriminated against on the basis of race. Sodexho has firmly denied the allegations and said it considered the case entirely without merit.
Felcor sells four Holiday Inns in Canada
Felcor Lodging, the US hotel real estate investment trust, has sold four hotels in Ontario, Canada, for US$32m (£19.2m). The hotels are Holiday Inn-branded properties in Sarnia, Kitchener-Waterloo, Cambridge and Peterborough, with a total of 630 bedrooms. Fortis Properties has taken over both the ownership and management. Felcor will use the proceeds to invest in urban hotels in Canada.
EUROPE
Warsaw revpar hit by falling occupancy
Hoteliers in Warsaw continue to struggle, with revenue per available room falling by 24% to €50 (£35) in the eight months to the end of August, making it the second-worst performing city in Europe after Geneva. Although room rates at hotels in the city are typically higher than in other key European cities such as Berlin, Brussels and Prague, occupancy currently stands at less than 50%. The global economic slowdown and an influx of new hotels to the city over recent years was blamed for the poor results.
Cendant in tie-up with Sol Meli
Spanish hotel group Sol Meliá has signed an agreement with US-based Cendant Corporation. The deal will allow Sol Meli to increase its timeshare business and extend the distribution of its hotels. For Cendant it will mean a greater presence in Europe.
ASIA PACIFIC
ANA Shinagawa is Japanese group's first boutique hotel
All Nippon Airways (ANA), which operates luxury hotels in Japan, has opened its first boutique property in Tokyo. The 200-bedroom ANA Shinagawa hotel is located on the 26th to 32nd floor of a new tower built alongside the city's second bullet train terminal. The hotel, which has two restaurants, is considerably larger than its European boutique counterparts but has concentrated its efforts on interior design, aimed at attracting a younger clientele.
Accor's occupancy soars on Sydney Olympic site
Accor's Novotel and Ibis hotels at Sydney Olympic Park in Australia have recorded their highest occupancy rates since the Sydney Olympic Games three years ago. The 267-bedroom Novotel and Ibis hotel complex recorded an average occupancy of 82.4% in September. Accor put the good figures down to the strength of the conference and incentives market.