Basil's reprieve
The Gleneagles hotel in Torquay, Devon, famed for inspiring cult comedy series Fawlty Towers, has been saved from demolition. Developers Midas Homes had sought to flatten the property and turn it into 25 luxury flats, but Torbay council decided that destroying the hotel would contravene its tourism policy.
Hotel restaurants hit
Sars, the global economic slowdown and foot-and-mouth disease all held back sales in hotel restaurants last year, according to the latest Hotel Catering UK report from market research firm Mintel. Hotel restaurants are also losing out on market share, says the report. At the end of 2002 they held just 16.1% of the eating-out market, compared with 17.5% in 1998.
Peel offers free surfing
Peel Hotels is in the midst of installing computers with free 24-hour internet access in its hotels in a bid to increase repeat custom and boost food and beverage revenue. Last week the group posted a 16.6% increase in turnover to £6.5m and an 8.6% fall in pre-tax profit to £903,956 for the six months to 31 August.
Appeal of privatisation
More hotel firms could be set to follow Macdonald Hotels and go private, according to consultants TRI Hospitality. In its latest quarterly Confidence Monitor report, TRI concluded that most hotel group executives view a stock market listing as an inappropriate funding method for hotel companies. "It's quite likely there are more people out there considering [going private]," said TRI's deputy managing director Mark Dickens. "Whether it's practical, only time will tell."
Euro hotels cut capex
The European hotel industry is set to lag behind the USA in terms of capital expenditure (capex) growth in 2004, according to consultants PricewaterhouseCoopers. It predicts that US capex rates will return to 1998 levels next year, reaching $3b (£1.8b).
PricewaterhouseCoopers research manager Liz Hall said the European situation remains "very uncertain", with companies continuing to cut costs and reduce capex on maintenance.