HVS EMEA Hospitality Newsletter - Week Ending 25 June 2010
Posted
Friday June 25, 2010
The latest hospitality news from Europe, the Middle East and Africa
Hilton Worldwide’s duet of hotels in Poland is set to become a quartet after the announcement this week that the company has signed two new franchise agreements for Doubletree by Hilton properties in the country, marking the brand’s arrival to the Polish market. The Doubletree by Hilton Warsaw Conference Centre and Spa, which will be operated by Polish hospitality company Polaris Hospitality Enterprises, is expected to open in the second quarter of 2012 in Poland’s capital. Once open, this 347-room property will become Warsaw’s largest conference hotel. The 200-room Doubletree by Hilton Łódź, to be operated by Polish media company Film Hotel, is planned to open in the fourth quarter of 2012 in the city of Łódź, in the centre of the country. Hilton’s plans for Poland don’t stop there though; with two Hilton properties and three Garden Inn hotels in the pipeline (the Hilton Garden Inn Krakow is opening on 1 December 2010) there is surely an orchestra in the making.
Continuing its expansion into Eastern Europe, Swissôtel Hotels & Resorts has announced that it is to open its first property in Ukraine in the city of Kiev, on the Dnieper River. Swissôtel recently signed a management contract with Ukraine-based real estate and development company KDD Group (a subsidiary of Netherlands-based KDD Group NV) for the Swissôtel Kyiv (Kiev). The hotel is currently being constructed as part of KDD Group’s mixed-use Sky Towers development, and it is expected to open in time for the 2012 UEFA European Championships with 513 rooms and 14 serviced residences.
Regarding last week’s item on the acquisition of the Regent hotel brand by Formosa International Hotels Corporation, the €9.5 million reported related to the proceeds received by Rezidor Hotel Group from the deal. The overall transaction was reportedly for US$56 million.
The tenth Annual European Hotel Finance & Investment Summit is to take place from the 7-8 of September 2010 at the Hyatt Regency London – The Churchill, in London, UK. Two of the essential questions which will form the core focus of this year’s event are ‘Is 2010 the year in which owners and operators can start to look again to the future after a turbulent couple of years?’ and ‘How are lenders and investors viewing the growing market confidence?’ HVS London’s managing director Russell Kett will be moderating a panel at the conference. For more information or to register for the event visit www.euromoneyseminars.com.
Whitbread has recorded an increase of 14.1% in Premier Inn sales for the 13 weeks to 3 June 2010. Like-for-like sales for the Premier Inn brand increased by 10.5%. Like-for-like RevPAR increased by 9.1% and the brand achieved an overall occupancy of 75.7%. Commenting on these results, Whitbread’s chief executive Alan Parker said: “In these times of austerity, our strategy of value for money hospitality brands in growing segments of the market has put us in a position of relative strength”.
The latest news from Spain by Esther Gladen, Business and Market Intelligence Analyst, HVS Madrid. Santos Hoteles has opened the Hotel Porta Fira in Barcelona. The lotus flower-shaped tower with its 24 floors was designed by Japanese architect Ito. Santos Hoteles spent more than €84 million on the project. The Tais Collection, a new luxury hotel chain, created with Canary Islands capital, has opened the 75-room, five-star Castadiva resort on the shore of Lake Como in northern Italy. Lookotels plans to invest more than €60 million in developing ten new hotels, over the next five years, in central locations in major European cities. Lookotels' purpose is to fill a market niche in the low-budget segment, building properties which are simple but exclusive and offer their clients a better quality for a low price. Iberostar has reopened two resorts in Majorca. The four-star Iberostar Club Cala Brava reopened after an €18 million refurbishment. The resort is still the group's biggest property on the island, even though its room count has now dropped from 779 to 651. The second resort to reopen was the Iberostar Royal Cúpido; this is the first hotel to be redesigned according to the new remodelling plan for Palma Beach.
Whitbread - Shares fell despite the company reporting a good performance from its Premier Inn chain.
Rezidor Hotel Group - Decreased 1.4% on low volume.
Accor - Mcap fell by US$225.3 million.
For the latest in the hospitality industry, please visit: http://www.hvs.com. You are also welcome to contact the following personnel.