Send to a friend

Use this form to send a link to, or the full text of the article shown below, to a friend.

If you wish to send to more than one person, you can enter multiple email addresses provided they are separated from each other with a comma.

Hotel News In Brief

Jun 13, 05 | 7:47 am

Vail Resorts Announces Plans for New Ritz-Carlton Residences(R) to be Developed at Base of Vail Ski Resort; - Vail Resorts Development Company to develop and sell 108 wholly-owned Residences Vail Resorts (NYSE:MTN) announced today that it has approved a plan for its wholly-owned real estate subsidiary, Vail Resorts Development Company ("VRDC"), to pursue an agreement with The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L.L.C. for development of The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Vail(R), approximately 108 luxury residential condominiums to be located at the base of Vail Mountain in LionsHead Village. The Residences will be wholly owned condominiums of two, three or four bedrooms and will offer an array of luxury services and amenities in the grand tradition of Ritz-Carlton hotel properties throughout the world.In conjunction with The Residences, Vail Resorts also proposes adding a high-speed, four-passenger chairlift in the new Vail Square area currently known as LionsHead, from a new base facility on the western edge of The Residences project. This lift would become the fifth base village portal access to Vail Mountain, and would run to the bottom of the existing Pride Express Lift (Chair 26) at mid-mountain. The new lift would serve as an additional public portal to the mountain, helping to improve both pedestrian circulation in the redeveloped Vail Square and giving superb access to the westernmost portion of Vail's expansive ski terrain. These plans also call for a ticket sales office, public restrooms and public bus stop to be located near the base of the new lift for guest convenience. "We are excited about The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Vail(R) and the new public portal to Vail Mountain. The residential project looks as if it should be a lucrative real estate development effort, and this new fifth base village portal to Vail Mountain with Vail's 16th high-speed lift will benefit Vail skiers and snowboarders," said Adam Aron, chairman and chief executive officer of Vail Resorts. Aron continued, "The creation of The Residences marks yet another step in the transformation that is taking place within Vail, especially in the area known today as LionsHead. As a result of the Company's recent success with Vail real estate developments, as well as the recent new exterior facade created for the Vail Marriott, visitors in just a few years will enjoy an enhanced base village experience in Vail, featuring handsome new architecture, luxury lodging, an array of high-end boutiques and restaurants, an outdoor ice rink and improved skier services."The Residences will be developed immediately adjacent to the Vail Marriott Mountain Resort on a 2.5-acre lot in LionsHead that has previously served primarily as hotel guest parking and employee parking. The Company as part of its 2001 acquisition of the Vail Marriott Mountain Resort acquired a significant portion of the land for The Residences. The Residences will range in size from approximately 1,600 square feet for a two-bedroom unit to approximately 2,200 square feet for a three-bedroom unit. Each Residence will include balconies, fireplaces, high-end finishes, underground parking and generous views toward Vail Mountain. The top floor of the building will feature three- and four-bedroom penthouse residences with vaulted ceilings. In total, in the neighborhood of 195,000 square feet of residences are expected to be developed.

Construction started on Trump Hotel Fort Lauderdale   Bayrock Group, an international resort and hotel development company, is proud to announce that construction has begun on the Trump International Hotel & Tower Fort Lauderdale, a 301-unit condominium/hotel overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. Completion of the project is scheduled for the Spring of 2007. More than 80 percent of the units at Trump International Hotel & Tower Fort Lauderdale have already been reserved, with release of the remaining fully furnished and outfitted deluxe studios, one- and two-bedroom suites scheduled for June 2005. Pre-construction prices for the remaining units range from $500,000 to over $3 million. Donald J. Trump is developing Trump International Hotel & Tower Fort Lauderdale in partnership with Bayrock Group, along with New York-based developer Roy Stillman. The 24-story development at 551 North Fort Lauderdale Beach Boulevard - designed by the renowned firm of Michael Graves & Associates - will feature a distinctive curved shape resembling a 1920s luxury cruise liner. "We are thrilled to begin construction on this magnificent oceanfront development, which will offer the most luxurious five-star living experience anywhere," states Donald J. Trump.  "Bayrock Group is proud to partner with Donald J. Trump on this exciting project, which is destined to become the most exclusive building of its kind in the Fort Lauderdale area," adds Bayrock Group LLC Chairman Tevfik Arif. The signature Trump level of luxury will be fully evident at Trump International Hotel & Tower Fort Lauderdale. The building features elegant interior finishes including Italian marble flooring and top-of-the-line appliances, unparalleled amenities and white-glove service, a 5,000 square-foot health club and spa, fitness center with state-of-the-art equipment and personal trainers, a world-class restaurant, concierge, valet, room service, and 24-hour security. Other outstanding elements include oversized windows offering expansive views of both the Atlantic Ocean and the Intracoastal Waterway, a mosaic tile grand pool and deck with lush foliage, and a flexible design layout that will allow for larger, customized suites. For more information on the Trump International Hotel & Tower Fort Lauderdale, visit www.TrumpFortLauderdale.com 

U.S. hotel ADR, revenue up last week     Total U.S. hotel average daily rate and revenue per available room each increased 4.9 percent last week compared to the same week in 2004, according to Smith Travel Research. Occupancy was flat at 61.1 percent. ADR increased to $87.58 and RevPAR was up to $53.51 compared to 2004.

Manhattan hotel market is strong   The Manhattan lodging market experienced significant growth in 2004, with a revenue-per-available-room increase of 22 percent compared to 2003, according to the 2005 Manhattan Hotel Market Overview released by HVS International.  From March through December of 2004, the market recorded double-digit growth in RevPAR each month. At 83.2 percent, overall occupancy reached close to the historical peak achieved in 2000 (83.7 percent), while marketwide average rate was less than 10 percent below the 2000 level.  Occupancy and average rate in 2005 should surpass 2000 levels. Due to limited new supply and increased compression resulting from near-maximum-capacity occupancy levels, overall RevPAR will experience double-digit growth for the next few years.

Encore Hospitality secures $85 million in funding  Encore Hospitality LLC, a Mississippi-based company newly formed to own, manage, acquire and develop limited-service hotels, said the existing hospitality businesses of its parent will be consolidated into Encore, and the simultaneous entry by Encore into an agreement with Five Arrows Realty Securities IV L.P. under which Five Arrows has committed to invest $85 million in Encore.  Five Arrows is an investment vehicle managed by New York-based Rothschild Realty, which is a provider of growth capital to public and private real-estate companies. As a result of the consolidation, Encore will hold ownership interests in 21 hotels containing about 1,880 guestrooms. The capital that Five Arrows has agreed to provide will be primarily used to fund future acquisitions.

Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels acquired ThompsonCalhounFair Hotel Brokerage, a hotel real-estate broker and advisory firm for select-service hotels. The firm's three founding principals, H. Keith Thompson, Al Calhoun and Mark Fair will continue to operate the business under the Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels platform as managing directors of the firm's Select Service Division. All employees and agents of ThompsonCalhounFair will stay on under the new structure.

Cendant Hotel Group introduced an automated request-for-proposal system through technology provided by Lanyon to make it easier for the franchisees of its nearly 6,400 hotels worldwide to provide rate quotes and information to prospective clients.

La Quinta Corp . is offering free high speed Internet access at all of its more than 590 La Quinta, Baymont and Woodfield branded hotels in the United States and Canada. The installation process at each hotel is scheduled to be completed by June 30.

Ashford Hospitality Trust, a publicly traded real-estate investment trust, selected the Execuvue Business Intelligence system from Aptech Computer Systems to automate consolidation of property operating data from all its hotels for performance analysis, ownership reporting, and Smith Travel Research benchmarking to enable faster, more accurate decision making. Installation will take place this month.

Omni Hotels implemented an automated revenue management solution based on technology from Manugistics and The Rainmaker Group. Called OmniCHARM, the system is designed to enable revenue managers and sales directors at each Omni property to work together to capitalize on the most profitable and loyal guests among all of their markets.

The Silicon Valley Concierge Assn. awarded The Best Concierge to Anna Mariano-Morris, virtual concierge at The Westin Santa Clara (Calif.).

Loews to build first hotel in Nevada Loews Hotels will build its first hotel in Nevada at Lake Las Vegas Resort, a 3,592-acre residential, golf and resort community near the Las Vegas Strip.   The new hotel, Loews Lake Las Vegas Resort, will join The Ritz-Carlton Lake Las Vegas and the Hyatt Regency Lake Las Vegas Resort, Spa and Casino in the Lake Las Vegas resort area. The Loews Lake Las Vegas Resort will have about 400 rooms with 40 suites and will feature 40,000 square feet of meeting space, two restaurants, a lobby bar, a pool bar, two outdoor pools with whirlpools, pool cabanas, a kids club, and a 20,000-square-foot destination spa. The hotel also will feature a large exhibit center.

Procaccianti Group to acquire five Doubletrees   The Procaccianti Group will acquire a portfolio of three Doubletree Guest Suites and two Doubletree hotels from GE Asset Management for $300 million. The transaction is expected to close July 1. Upon closing, TPG will have completed, or have in progress, nearly $1 billion in acquisitions and development year to date in 2005.   The company intends to undertake a multimillion-dollar upgrading and rebranding of the existing hotels. The Doubletree Guest Suites Chicago will be converted to a Hilton Suites, The Doubletree Guest Suites Atlanta will be converted to a Hilton Suites, The Doubletree Guest Suites Santa Monica, Calif., will be converted to an Embassy Suites, and The Doubletree Resort Paradise Valley, Ariz., will remain a Doubletree.      TPG will take over the management of each property. TPG is in negotiations with Starwood Hotels & Resorts to convert the remaining hotel, in Tyson's Corner, Va., to the Westin brand. TPG is a New England-based, full-service, privately owned hotel ownership, management and construction company.

Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide entered into an agreement with HEI Hospitality, a hotel investment and operating company, and Gatehouse Capital, a Dallas-based real-estate investment firm, to develop a W Hotel & Residence in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles. It will be operated by Starwood. The hotel will feature approximately 300 rooms and 150 W Residences.

Bayrock Group, an international resort and hotel development company, began construction on the Trump International Hotel & Tower Fort Lauderdale (Fla.), a 301-unit condominium/hotel overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. Completion of the project is scheduled for the spring of 2007. Donald J. Trump is developing the project in partnership with Bayrock Group and New York-based developer Roy Stillman