Hotel News in Brief

Feb 07, 08 | 8:46 am

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The Sultan Hotel, Jakarta and The Carlton Hotel, Singapore both announce partnership with WORLDHOTELS, the leading global marketing and distribution partner for independent hotels, in 2008. Joining WORLDHOTELS in 2008 is The Sultan Hotel, Jakarta as a member of the Deluxe Collection from 1st January. The Sultan Hotel is ideally located at the junction of the ‘Golden Triangle' business district in Jakarta.  The Carlton Hotel, Singapore is a multi-award winning business hotel strategically located at the crossroads of Singapore's busiest financial district and convention and exhibition centres.  Within walking distance of the hotel are many popular tourist attractions including Singapore Art Museum, Singapore History Museum, Little India, Chinatown, Boat Quay, Clarke Quay and Orchard Road.

Wotif.com Holdings Limited (Wotif.com) announced it had entered into an agreement to acquire all the issued shares in Asia Web Direct (HK) Limited. Completion of the acquisition is conditional upon satisfactory due diligence investigations and is expected to occur before the end of March 2008.

Rawcliffe Resorts Inc. adds four Myrtle Beach, S.C. resort properties to its holdings with its purchase of Sands Resorts Holdings L.L.C. The oceanfront destinations account for a total of over 1,600 guest rooms and suites. The assets involved in the deal include the 400-room Ocean Dunes Resort & Villas, the 400-room Sand Dunes Resort Hotel, the 157-room Ocean Forest Villas and the 127-room Ocean Forest Plaza. Together, the properties feature a total of 25,000 square feet of meeting and convention space. All four will undergo substantial renovations in an effort to compete with the onslaught of new resorts that have sprung up in recent years, and existing properties that are being reinvented. One such highly anticipated project is Strand Capital Group L.L.C.'s $800 million redevelopment of Sea Mist Resort. Source: CPN

Abu Dhabi-based conglomerate Al Farida Investments LLC on Tuesday signed a contract with Rocco Forte Hotel Group, under which Europe's major luxury hotel brand will manage Bridgeway, Al Farida's Dh600 million mixed-use development in Abu Dhabi, which includes a high-end luxury hotel. "The project will get completed by September 2009. We have already started the construction," Shaikh Hamed Bin Ahmed Al Hamed, managing director and chief executive officer of Al Farida told a news conference here. Source: Gulf News

Billionaire Chicago investor Sam Zell has taken a 7.7 percent stake, valued at $737 million, in Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc., with brands that include Sheraton, W, Westin and other hospitality staples. "The acquisition of common stock ... has been effected solely for the purpose of investment," said a regulatory filing. It said there was no intention of participating in Starwood's business decisions. Source: Chicago Tribune

Malaysia has been voted as the best international tourism destination by readers of the US-based Global Traveler Magazine. The poll of more than 15,000 travellers put the South East Asian nation ahead of Italy, Spain, Thailand and the UK. Readers of the luxury travel magazine voted Singapore Airlines as the Best Airline in the World. Emirates was the readers' choice as Best Airline for International First Class for the third year in a row. Source: Yahoo!7news

Mitt Romney, the hotel big spender. Which candidate spent what for lodging? Just in time for today's Tsunami Tuesday of primaries, Holiday Inn Express has set out to tell you. Using required filings from the presidential campaign committeees, HIX has set up a website estimating who paid what for lodging. Based on its estimates for the third quarter of 2007 (the latest info HIX has on all candidates), Mitt Romney is the big hotel spender. His campaign splashed out $376,616, according to HIX estimates. No. 2 most hotel-friendly was the Hillary Clinton campaign ($309,351), leaving Barack Obama ($101,261), John McCain ($88,157) in the dust. But leave the light on for Mike Huckabee, whose hotel bill is estimated at just $25,928 in the third quarter. The aim is to point out that candidates could have saved a bundle hopping over to a Holiday Inn Express, which charges lower rates than many hotels hosting the big names. Source: USA TODAY


Morgans Hotel Group Co. (NASDAQ: MHGC) ("MHG") today announced that Michael D. Malone has been appointed to its Board of Directors, effective immediately. Mr. Malone recently retired from Bank of America as Senior Executive Banker and Managing Director. For nearly 24 years at Bank of America, Mr. Malone worked in investment banking across a number of sectors including real estate, lodging, leisure and gaming. "We are pleased to welcome Michael to our Board of Directors," said David T. Hamamoto, Chairman of MHG. "His financial expertise and relevant background, particularly in lodging and leisure, will make him a great addition to the Board and a real asset to MHG. We also look forward to benefiting from Michael's gaming experience as we prepare to assume management of casino operations at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas." Source: Stockhouse