EUROPE
Hungarian tourist figures remain static
Six million people booked into tourist accommodation in Hungary during 2002, 1% down on 2001, says the country's central statistics office. Revenues were US$374.8m (£231.4), almost unchanged from 2001, and the average hotel occupancy rate was 45%.
Athens Hilton reopens with new rooms
The Athens Hilton hotel officially reopened last week after closing nearly 15 months ago for a €90m (£60m) refurbishment and extension. The revamp, in readiness for the 2004 Olympics, has added 74 new bedrooms, bringing the total to 517, an executive floor and a Hilton meeting centre. Work on some of the new bedrooms will be completed by May or June.
USA
Marriott grows turnover and roomstock
Marriott, the USA-based hotel group, has announced improved figures for 2002. Turnover increased to $8.44b (£5.21b) from $7.79b (£4.8b) in 2001. Profits hit $277m (£171m) in 2002, against $236m (£146m) the previous year. In the past 12 months Marriott has added 188 hotels and timeshare resorts with a total of 31,605 bedrooms.
Wyndham International records $500m loss
Wyndham International, the USA-based hotel group, has announced a net loss of $500m (£309m) for 2002. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation were $301.3m (£186m) in 2002, down from $398.5m (£246.3m) in 2001 when adjusted to exclude the effects of disposals. The hotel group expects revenue per available room to be down by 1-2% during the first three months of 2003 but "flat to slightly positive" for the full year.
Yum! profits exceed expectations
Yum! Brands, which operates Kentucky Fried Chicken, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut restaurants, has revealed full-year profits up by 3% in 2002. Revenue rose to $776b (£479b) in 2002, against $695b (£429b) in 2001. The group took over restaurant chains Long John Silver's and A&W in the second quarter of the year, and these contributed significantly to the growth.
REST OF THE WORLD
Le Méridien to manage Mauritius resort
Le Méridien Hotels & Resorts is to manage the four-star, 198-bedroom Le Plaza Beach Resort at Porte aux Piments Bay in the north-west of Mauritius. The resort will be renamed Le Méridien Ile Maurice at the end of the year after an extensive renovation. The group currently has two hotels and a cruise ship in the Indian Ocean, all based in the Seychelles.
Electronic hotel bookings on the rise in Asia-Pacific
The number of hotel roomnights booked electronically through global distribution systems in the Asia-Pacific region increased by 30% during the last three months of 2002 when compared with the same period last year, according to hotel booking software group Travelclick.
Park Plaza to open Nakha Island resort in Thailand
Park Plaza Hotels will make its first incursion into Thailand early next year when it opens the Park Plaza Resort Nakha Island, off the east coast of Phuket. The village-style resort will offer 99 newly built guest rooms housed in Thai-style villas.
Call for truce in Abu Dhabi's five-star price war
Abu Dhabi's six five-star hotels need to stop selling on price and agree on a minimum room rate of Dh500 (£84.22) or more if they want to maintain service standards, claims Francesco Borrello, general manager of the Abu Dhabi Grand hotel, soon to become Le Royal Méridien Abu Dhabi. Average five-star room rates for the last quarter of 2002 in the United Arab Emirates were just Dh340 (£57.27).