HVS EMEA Hospitality Newsletter - Week Ending 23 April 2010

Splendid Seven For Sale In London

UK-based Splendid Hotel Group has put a portfolio of seven of its 11 London properties on the market. Splendid is hoping to complete the sale of the five Express by Holiday Inns and two Holiday Inns sometime this summer. According to The Independent, the group, which is moving into more up-market hotels with a five-star Hilton hotel already planned for Westminster, in London, could make up to a reported £200 million from the transaction.

US Investors Come Courting

According to The Times, rumours abound that the NH Jolly St Ermin's in Westminster, London, has attracted the attention of a US investment fund which intends to lure the hotel away from its current owner, NH Hoteles, for an estimated £68 million. The Grade II-listed property currently has 275 rooms but there is an opportunity for its new owner to extend the hotel by another 70 to 80 rooms.

Rezidor Revals In Ten New Properties

Rezidor Hotel Group is to take on the running of ten Reval properties in the Baltics and Russia in a management agreement with Reval Hotels’ owner Norwegian real estate developer Linstow. The agreement encompasses three hotels in Riga, Latvia, which will be rebranded as Radisson Blu properties; two hotels in Tallinn, Estonia, which will become a Radisson Blu and a Park Inn; two hotels in Vilnius, Lithuania, which will both be rebranded as Park Inns; a hotel each in Kaunas and Klaipeda, Lithuania, which will also become Park Inns; and one hotel in St Petersburg, Russia, which will become Rezidor’s second Radisson Blu in the city. The agreement is to come into effect on 1 June 2010 and will add a total of 2,367 new rooms to Rezidor’s portfolio.

A New Radisson Blu Opens In Italy

Rezidor Hotel Group opened its first hotel in the northern Italian city of Milan this week: the 250-room Radisson Blu Hotel, Milan, which previously operated as the Chedi Milan. This is Rezidor’s second Radisson Blu, and indeed its second property overall, in Italy; hotel number one being the 232-room Radisson Blu Es. Hotel in Rome.

A Tale Of Two Countries

The governments of Qatar and Cyprus have formed a joint venture to construct a five-star hotel and mixed-use complex in the city of Nicosia on the eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus. Work on the hotel component is expected to start by the end of the year and will take 30 months to complete. Investment in the hotel is estimated to be US$150 million. Qatar and Cyprus will both hold a 50% stake in the complex.

A Second St. Regis For Abu Dhabi

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide has got together with Abu Dhabi-based private investment firm International Capital Trading (ICT) and announced a second St. Regis hotel for Abu Dhabi, UAE. The 281-room St. Regis Abu Dhabi is to be developed as part of ICT’s Nation Towers mixed-use development. Construction on Nation Towers started in June 2007 and is scheduled to be completed this year. Work is still under way on St. Regis number one for Abu Dhabi: the five-star St. Regis Hotel & Residences Saadiyat Island, which will have 380 guest rooms and 280 apartments.

Landmark Launches Its Hotel Business

Middle Eastern retail conglomerate the Landmark Group is to enter the hotel industry next month with the launch of its mid-market hotel brand Citymax Hotels. The group plans to open three hotels in the UAE by the end of the year. The 378-room Citymax Al Barsha is to open in Dubai on 3 May 2010. Later in the year Dubai will also gain the 693-room Citymax Bur Dubai, and the 260-room Citymax Sharjah is expected open in the emirate of Sharjah. Landmark aims to develop 20 Citymax properties across the Gulf region.

Banyan Tree Makes Its Debut In The UAE

This week, Banyan Tree Hotels & Resorts extended its presence in the Middle East as it officially opened its first property in the UAE: the 101-villa Banyan Tree Al Wadi, which nestles at the foot of the Al Hajjar Mountains in the emirate of Ras el Khaimah.

The Sixth Dean’s Leadership Series

The Cornell University hotel school’s sixth Dean’s Leadership Series is to take place at Le Méridien Etoile in Paris on Thursday 6 May 2010. This title of this year’s panel discussion is Recovery Ahead: Hospitality and Real Estate Investment in the EMEA Marketplace. The series provides a platform for academic and industry leaders to debate the pressing hospitality industry issues of the day. Panellists include Puneet Chhatwal, senior vice president and chief development officer, Rezidor Hotel Group; Marty Kandrac, managing director, Blackstone Group; Kirk Kinsell, president, EMEA, InterContinental Hotels Group; Grace Leo, president and owner, GLA Hotels; Nick Turner, vice president, business development, RCI; and HVS London’s managing director, Russell Kett. Click here for more information and to register for this event.

Accor Reports Its First-Quarter Revenue For 2010

Accor reported a like-for-like increase in total revenue for its hotel business of 1.6% for the first quarter of 2010, to €1.2 billion. RevPAR for upscale and midscale hotels in Europe decreased by 0.1% like for like to €52, and RevPAR for economy hotels in Europe decreased by 1.4% like for like to €34. However, revenue from upscale and midscale hotels increased by 2.8% like for like in the first quarter; the most dramatic increase was seen in the UK where revenue from hotels increased by 3.9% like for like and RevPAR grew by 10.2%.

Marriott International’s First-Quarter Earnings

Marriott International has reported a net income for the first quarter of 2010 of US$83 million, a 5% decrease on the same period in 2009. However, international comparable company-operated RevPAR increased by 5.8% for the first three months of 2010. Marriott’s EBITDA in the first quarter of the year totalled US$221 million. “While first quarter room rates were generally lower than last year, as occupancy levels continue to improve, we see higher room rates on the horizon”, said Marriott’s chairman and chief executive J W Marriott, Jr.

Gladen’s Tidings

The news from Spain by Esther Gladen, Business and Market Intelligence Analyst, HVS Madrid. A total of €20 million is to be invested in a refurbishment of the Majestic Barcelona, which will reduce the hotel’s room count from 303 to 284. The refurbishment will be divided into three phases and should be completed in two years. Accor continues its expansion with another Mercure property in Madrid; the Hotel Santo Domingo, in the centre of Madrid, will be operated under the Mercure flag from next June. Accor’s first hotel in Madrid under the All Seasons franchise is due to open in 2014; a residential building in the heart of Madrid will be renovated to the brand’s standards in co-operation with the owner of the majority of the building, Antonio Gil Pérez. Sol Meliá has announced new projects for 2013 in Lisbon and Frankfurt. The 168-room Tryp Lisboa Airport, to be operated on a franchise basis, will be located in the Arrivals Terminal of Lisbon Airport. Three more hotels have been announced for the Portuguese capital and Sol Meliá has also announced the opening of the Meliá Braga & Spa next summer. In Germany, the 162-room Innside Frankfurt is to be developed opposite the offices of the Central European Bank in Germany´s financial capital. The hotel’s building will be rented by Sol Meliá and its opening will increase the company’s portfolio in Germany to nine.

£100 Discount For Enews Readers At The Henry Stewart 2010 Briefing

Have you booked your place yet for The Henry Stewart 2010 Briefing? The conference, entitled “How Much Is My (That) Hotel (Or Interest In A Hotel) Worth?”, is to take place at the Le Méridien Piccadilly, London, on 25 May. Russell Kett, the managing director of HVS London, will be moderating a panel on hotel lending, and Sophie Perret, associate director at HVS London, will be speaking about aspects of valuation. To save £100 on your ticket, don’t forget to mention when you book that you are a reader of HVS EMEA Enews. For further details and to book your ticket click here.

Absolute Share Price Performance Over the Past Week 15-22 April 2010

Marriott International - Shares rose to the highest price in more than two years after Marriott raised its forecast for RevPAR.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts - Standard & Poor's rating services raised Starwood's rating to "positive" from "stable".

Accor - UBS reiterated its "sell" recommendation but raised Accor's share price target to €37 from €36.

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