Essential news from around the world…
Starwood sells Sardinia hotels to Colony Capital for £196m
US-based Starwood Hotels & Resorts has signed an agreement to sell four hotels and a 51% stake in its undeveloped land assets in Sardinia, Italy, to Los Angeles-based investment firm Colony Capital for €290m (£196m). The hotels come from Starwood’s portfolio of Ciga hotels. Starwood will continue to manage the properties.
Business tough for Australian restaurateurs
Despite ending 2002 with the highest monthly turnover on record at Aus$964m (£365m), Australian restaurateurs are making little profit. According to a report from trade association Restaurant & Catering Australia, increasing operating costs and static menu pricing driven by fierce competition have left Australian restaurateurs with profit margins below 1%.
Cricket World Cup boosts business at South African hotels
The Cricket World Cup has boosted business across the South African hotel industry, according to the latest figures from consultants Deloitte & Touche’s HotelBenchmark Survey. Revenue per available room (revpar) results for February show an increase of 19% in Johannesburg, when compared with the same period in 2002. Cape Town recorded a 24% increase in revpar and Durban saw revpar rise by 27%. Deloitte said that although the positive trend for hoteliers in South Africa was likely to continue, the war in Iraq would hit business.
Le Méridien to operate first hotel in mainland China
Le Méridien Hotels & Resorts has announced an agreement to manage the five-star, 722-bedroom Le Royal Méridien Shanghai hotel in China. The hotel is scheduled to open in spring 2005.
Ramada to spread over Sweden
Ramada Interational, a division of hotel company Marriott International, has signed a franchise agreement with Stockholm-based Sweden Hotels that will result in the conversion of almost 60 of Sweden Hotels’s properties to Ramada-Sweden hotels. The conversion is expected to be complete by the end of the year. The agreement also includes the development of six hotels a year over the next five years.
Table and chair positions key in boosting revenues, says US study
A study from the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration in Ithaca, New York, says that mid-size restaurants, those with about 200-seats, should have tables that are built for a variety of specific party sizes rather than using traditional two-seater tables to form larger tables. The group said using the specific size tables would help increase revenues.