Europe
NH Hoteles sells Barcelona's Sant' Angelo
Spanish hotel group NH Hoteles has sold its 50-bedroom Sant' Angelo hotel in Barcelona to businessman César Orenga for €8.5m (£6m), with a capital gain for the group of €3.5m (£2.5m). The company will continue to operate the hotel for Orenga. NH Hoteles has more than 240 hotels in 16 countries around Europe, Latin America and Africa.
Mövenpick to convert Hamburg Water Tower
Mövenpick Hotels and Resorts and Patrizia Immobilien have teamed up to convert the Hamburg Water Tower into a Mövenpick hotel. The water tower will be turned into a four-star, 226-bedroom property and is scheduled to open at the beginning of 2006. The 16-storey, 60m-high hotel will also feature a 150-seat restaurant, business centre, 450sq m of conference space and a fitness centre.
Disneyland Paris to get Radisson SAS hotel
Rezidor SAS Hospitality and property investment company Orion have signed a joint agreement with Euro Disney to open a new Radisson SAS hotel at Disneyland Paris. The hotel will be developed by a subsidiary of Orion and managed by Radisson SAS Hotels & Resorts. Construction of the four-star, 250-bedroom hotel is expected to begin in January next year and is scheduled for completion in summer 2005.
Louis Hotels takes on new name in Cyprus
Greek hotel group Louis Hotels has signed an agreement with Spanish tourism group Iberostar to use its name in Cyprus, Corfu and Zante. From 1 January 2004 the Louis Ledra Beach hotel in Paphos, Louis Kerkyra Gold hotel in Corfu and Louis Plagos beach hotel in Zante will lose their Louis name and be rebranded under the Iberostar name. The properties will continue to be managed by Louis Hotels but will be included in Iberostar's sales network, which the group hopes will increase its occupancy rates.
France to relaunch itself as a holiday destination
The French government has announced a series of measures to aid its tourism industry, including an overall market relaunch highlighting France as a holiday destination. The government has predicted that the number of US visitors to the country will fall by between 9% and 13% by the end of 2003, and as a result has voted for a 40% increase in its budget to promote France worldwide.
Ramada opens under franchise in Berlin
Ramada International, a division of US-based hotel company Marriott International, has opened its 52nd hotel in Germany. German hotel company Treff operates the 184-bedroom Ramada Plaza Hotel & Suites Berlin under a franchise agreement with Ramada. The hotel features two restaurants, a fitness studio with an Olympic-size swimming pool and six conference rooms with seating for up to 120 people.
Middle East
Jumeirah opens hotel at new Arabian resort
Jumeirah International has opened Mina A'Salam, a 292-bedroom property that forms part of a new Arabian resort Madinat Jumeirah. Mina A'Salam will have three restaurants, and will be linked to the Burj al Arab and Jumeirah Beach hotels. It is the first of two hotels to open within Madinat Jumeirah, which is scheduled for completion in September 2004.
Asia
Malaysia introduces tax breaks for hotels
Hoteliers in Malaysia are celebrating after the government proposed extra tax breaks for hotel projects in its 2004 budget. The Malaysian Association of Hotels has branded the budget as "tourism-friendly" and a big boost to the local hotel industry following the outbreak of the Sars virus.