Global Hospitality News: eHotelier Newsletter

Lodging Industry Demand Is Reset at a Lower Base - PricewaterhouseCoopers Predicts Permanent Structural Resetting Of Demand That Has Not Occurred Since The Great Depression

Beginning in the Fall of 2001, ongoing security alerts, travel concerns involving safety and convenience, and lower consumer confidence and personal wealth due to stock market declines and volatility have caused lodging demand to trail the long-run trend line by approximately five percent, or 130,000 occupied room nights per night in 2002.

PricewaterhouseCoopers believes that the combination of the many factors, some of which will continue well into the future, will result in a permanent structural resetting of demand that has not occurred since the Great Depression.

Although all of the factors are important and the economy is the largest factor, traveler concerns about safety and inconvenience are the primary long-term negative influences on lodging demand. With the escalation of security alerts in the second half of 2002 and the potential of an Iraq War, the average daily loss in occupied room nights due to traveller concerns increased from the first quarter of 2002. Average daily loss in room nights due to traveller concerns was approximately 79,000 in the last three quarters, compared to 52,000 in the first quarter of 2002.

PricewaterhouseCoopers' analysis of occupancies reported by Smith Travel Research against the timeline of security alerts reveals that U.S. hotel occupancies declined an average of 3.5 percent in the week following each of seven federal alerts that occurred between October 2001 and November 2002. With the creation of the Department of Homeland Security and a more systematic procedure for determining and disseminating federal alerts it is likely there will be an even greater effect on lodging occupancy in 2003.

Lodging demand has been re-set at a lower base from which it will expand in the future. Lodging demand only improved by 0.7 percent in 2002, when real GDP increased by 2.4 percent. The weakness in lodging demand is greater than what would be consistent with observed levels of U.S. economic activity.

The following factors have been particularly depressing for lodging demand:

1. Traveller concerns about the safety and convenience of air travel and a general reluctance to be away from home have deterred leisure travellers from responding more positively to prevalent rate discounting.

2. Federal security alerts have had immediate short-term demand effects. There were seven such alerts between October 2001 and November 2002, and four of those have had a statistically significant negative effect on lodging demand.

3. The negative wealth effect from declines in investments and the volatility of the stock market have affected consumer spending.

4. Uncertainties about an Iraq War have impeded a rebound in consumer and investor confidence and spending.

5. The downturn in corporate profits, investments, and transactions has led to aggressive business travel reductions. The reductions reflect the longest sustained environment for both stricter policies and more rigorous enforcement, which is likely to continue or has become institutionalised.

6. Both international and domestic travel demand have slowed down during the first synchronous global recession in 18 years.

Chart: Historical and Forecast Lodging Demand Compared to the Long-Run Trend

Sources: PricewaterhouseCoopers (forecasts from 2002 Q4 to 2004 Q4; long-run demand trend line), Smith Travel Research (historical demand data).

Given the expected steady acceleration in economic growth from 2.6 percent in the first quarter of 2003 to 3.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2003, PricewaterhouseCoopers forecasts a 2.5 percent increase in lodging demand in 2003. Room nights sold will not approach its previous peak level of 2,629,000 until the fourth quarter of 2003.

Even at that point, however, the deficit from the long-run trend line will be 4.5 percent even as the economy continues to recover and traveller concerns become an even more significant drag on lodging demand. In 2003, the average daily loss in room nights due to traveller concerns is forecast to be approximately two occupancy points, up from the average 1.5 occupancy-point loss in 2002 due to traveller concerns.

About PricewaterhouseCoopers:

PricewaterhouseCoopers (www.pwcglobal.com) is the world's largest professional services organization. Drawing on the knowledge and skills of more than 150,000 people in 150 countries, we help our clients solve complex business problems and measurably enhance their ability to build value, manage risk and improve performance in an Internet-enabled world.

PricewaterhouseCoopers refers to the member firms of the worldwide PricewaterhouseCoopers organization.

Six Continents Rejects Osmond Offer

AP - Six Continents PLC, the parent of the Holiday Inn chain, Wednesday said it rejected an offer to be acquired by entrepreneur Hugh Osmond, effectively kicking off a hostile takeover campaign for the company, which has attracted attention from U.S. hotel and buyout firms.

Osmond's terms were not disclosed.

Analysts, however, have suggested Osmond is prepared to bid as much as $ 9.5 billion for Britain's Six Continents, which also owns the Inter-Continental hotel chain and a several large pub chains.

Six Continents said last week it will separate its hotel and pubs businesses and return $ 1.1 billion to shareholders.

The company said Osmond wasn't prepared to make a firm offer, other than to suggest any bid would include shares of Osmond's Capital Management Investment vehicle, and might include a "significant" amount of cash.

A person familiar with Tuesday's talks said Six Continents was also unwilling to disclose any significant information in the meeting. The person said Osmond still expects to make a formal bid by the end of this week.

Press reports say a number of buyout groups, including Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Blackstone Group, and hotel chains Hilton Group and Starwood Hotels & Resorts are interested in acquiring all or parts of the company. All groups have repeatedly declined to comment.

Six Continents, formerly the beer brewer Bass, said that, with the exception of a bid for its pubs business made last October by Osmond, it hasn't received any offer for its hotels, pubs or Britvic drinks business since it unveiled its plans to split its businesses.

Six Continents sold its Bass Brewers unit to rival Interbrew in order to concentrate on pubs and hotels.

Six Continents shareholders will vote on the separation proposal at a meeting March 12.

(Reuters) - Host Marriott Corp. HMT.N , the largest U.S. hotel owner, on Wednesday reported a narrower fourth-quarter loss but warned that its 2003 results would fall sharply as the lodging industry struggles with the combined effects of a weak economy and war anxieties.

Shares of the company fell to a 52-week low of $6.67 in morning trade on the New York Stock Exchange before recovering to close down 1 cent at $6.97.

"Things got worse over the last couple of weeks, just since Feb. 7, when the United States went to increased alert," said analyst J. Cogan of Banc of America Securities, referring to the government's heightened terrorism warning. "Things have gotten weaker and estimates have to come down."

The real estate investment trust expects 2003 funds from operations, a common measure of REIT operating performance, to drop by as much as 28 percent in 2003, within a range of 80 cents to 90 cents per share. The company posted FFO of $1.11 per share in 2002.

Analysts are expecting FFO of 98 cents a share for 2003, in a range of 78 cents to $1.18, according to Thomson First Call.

The Bethesda, Maryland-based company, which owns hotels managed by other companies under such names as Marriott and Ritz-Carlton, also said FFO in the first quarter will likely be 15 cents to 17 cents, missing analysts' average forecast of 21 cents. Host Marriott said cancellation rates are on the increase because of war fears.

Chief Financial Officer Ed Walter in a conference call with investors and analysts said revenue per available room (RevPAR), a key industry measure that combines occupancy with room rates, will likely be down 4 percent to 6 percent in the first quarter and down 2 percent to 4 percent in the second.

But he expressed optimism about the second half of the year, saying he anticipates RevPAR up 1 percent to 3 percent in the third quarter and up 3 percent to 5 percent in the fourth. In total, RevPAR will be flat to down modestly for the year.

Lehman Brothers analyst Joyce Minor was not as upbeat. "I think some investors will be skeptical you get that magnitude of a turnaround in the second half of the year," she said. "I am not suggesting that is unique to Host. My guess is that most are waiting for that second-half rebound, but we have all been hoping for a second-half rebound about three years in a row. Maybe this will be the year."

Host Marriott said it has $361 million in cash on hand, far more than the $100 million it typically holds, and said the extra reserves will help it weather the impact of any conflict in the Middle East.

The company, which sold its Ontario Airport Marriott last month, said it expects to sell about $100 million to $250 million worth of assets in 2003 and will use the proceeds to pay down its debt or reinvest in its portfolio of hotels.

The company expects its margins to fall 1 percent to 2 percent during the year, in part because of higher wage and benefit costs. It sees 2003 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of $770 million to $800 million.

The company expects to spend about $240 million on capital expenditures, mostly toward the end of the year.

Host Marriott also said it was unlikely it would pay a "meaningful" dividend on common shares during 2003.

"We do not expect to pay more than a minimal, if any, common dividend in 2003," Walter said. Host Marriott suspended its common stock dividend in December 2001 but in May said it hoped to reinstate it if operations improved.

Walter said the company would make distributions on its preferred stock at least for the first three quarters of 2003.

The company posted a fourth-quarter net loss, after preferred dividend payments, of $11 million, or 4 cents a share, compared with $32 million, or 12 cents, a year ago.

FFO more than doubled to $92 million, or 34 cents a share, from $42 million, or 16 cents a share, a year earlier. Analysts, on average, estimated funds from operations of 30 cents a share, according to Thomson First Call.

The company benefited from higher occupancy rates and easier comparisons with last year, when travel plummeted following the Sept. 11 attacks,

Total revenue rose to $1.18 billion from $1.05 billion. Comparable room revenue rising 10.6 percent. Occupancy was up 6.4 percentage points and room prices rose modestly, it said. (Additional reporting by Peter Henderson)

Startup.co.uk - Businesses relying on tourism are experiencing severe difficulties and face a potentially bleak future, according to new figures out today.

The double whammy of a possible war with Iraq and the increasingly gloomy economic outlook are being blamed for a drop in holiday sales and suffering UK hotels.

Accountancy firm PKF revealed that London hotels have slashed their average room rates in order to combat the problem of a dwindling number of tourists.

According to their research, the average room rate fell by nearly five per cent to £90.02 in January. While hotel occupancy grew, the actual yield hotels gained from rooms remained static.

Hotels outside the capital also had a rough time in January, with both room rates and occupancy falling for the first time since July last year.

Another blow to small businesses that rely on tourism was the revelation by the Sunday Times newspaper that the sales of the large holiday operators were down by 14 per cent on last year’s levels.

This represented an alarming slump in potential revenue for small businesses, such as restaurants and gift shops, with many industry executives predicting that prices would be slashed if the trend continues into the summer.

For small firms with tight margins, a tough summer is the last thing needed as they struggle to recover from the nightmare of 2001, when they were hit by the terrorist attacks on the USA, the economic slump and foot and mouth disease forcing many tourist-related businesses to fail.

Melvin Gold, managing director of hotel consultancy at PKF, said that the worsening state of the hotel industry could be blamed on global political uncertainty and poor domestic economic conditions.

“The ongoing uncertainty regarding a war with Iraq is damaging for the hotel market because it relies so heavily on overseas markets and international trade, making it impossible to predict when we will see things pick up,” he said.

AFP - The first purpose-built hotel for blind and partially-sighted people — and their seeing eye dogs — is up and running.

It is located at a leading seaside resort on England's south coast.

The Russell Hotel in Bognor Regis, West Sussex, has been specially designed to be as userfriendly as possible to those with sight difficulties, its managers say.

Guests have talking clocks in their rooms.

It also boasts of beds for their guide dogs and rails along the extra-wide corridors.

The 41-room hotel also features a textured carpet in the lobby to guide people to the reception area as well as dog-grooming areas.

The hotel is managed by the Action for Blind People charity.

It is funded by the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association.

"We have been very busy and everyone seems to be enjoying their stay here," said the hotel's head housekeeper Sue Clark.

"We have a lot of repeat business and if we have room we can occasionally cater for sighted people." Action for Blind People says there are two million people who are blind or partially sighted. — AFP

Marriott is Most Admired Company in the Lodging Industry According to Fortune

/PRNewswire/ -- Fortune magazine named Marriott International, Inc. the most admired company in the lodging industry. Marriott's No. 1 ranking, which the company has held since 2000, is the result of a poll of 10,000 executives, analysts and directors who judged companies based on "innovativeness, employee talent, use of assets, social responsibility, quality of management, financial soundness, long-term value and quality of products/services."

Fortune's rankings also show that Marriott ranked in the top 40 of the 587 companies included in the survey.

Marriott currently operates and franchises nearly 2,600 hotels under the Marriott, JW Marriott, The Ritz-Carlton, Renaissance, Residence Inn, Courtyard, TownePlace Suites, Fairfield Inn, SpringHill Suites and Ramada International brand names. Marriott also develops and operates vacation ownership resorts under the Marriott Vacation Club, Horizons, The Ritz-Carlton Club and Marriott Grand Residence Club brands; operates Marriott Executive Apartments; and provides furnished corporate housing through its Marriott ExecuStay division. Marriott International employs approximately 144,000 employees.

J.W. Marriott, Jr., Marriott International's chairman and chief executive officer, said, "We are honored and gratified that the nation's business leaders have ranked Marriott as the most admired lodging company, and have also placed us among the forty most admired companies in America. We believe that our success stems from the soundness of our business model, which is built around service, our propensity for growth, our strong brand portfolio that provides outstanding value, and a culture that celebrates change and values responsiveness."

MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL, INC. (NYSE:MAR) is a leading worldwide hospitality company with nearly 2,600 lodging properties in the United States and 66 other countries and territories. Marriott International operates and franchises hotels under the Marriott, JW Marriott, The Ritz-Carlton, Renaissance, Residence Inn, Courtyard, TownePlace Suites, Fairfield Inn, SpringHill Suites and Ramada International brand names; develops and operates vacation ownership resorts under the Marriott Vacation Club International, Horizons, The Ritz-Carlton Club and Marriott Grand Residence Club brands; operates Marriott Executive Apartments; provides furnished corporate housing through its Marriott ExecuStay division; and operates conference centers. The company is headquartered in Washington, D.C., and has approximately 144,000 employees. In fiscal year 2002, Marriott International reported systemwide sales of $19 billion. For more information or reservations, please visit the web site at http://www.marriott.com/.

Mandarin Oriental says 2 new US hotels to hit 2003 results, especially H2

AFX - Mandarin Oriental International Ltd said the pre-opening expenses at its two new hotels in the US will negatively affect its results in the current year, particularly the second half.

It is building a 251-room hotel in New York, at the southwest corner of Central Park, which is due to open in late 2003.

Construction is also well under way on its 400-room hotel in Washington DC with completion anticipated in spring 2004.

Planning for a 171-room hotel in Tokyo, which the group will operate under a long-term lease, is proceeding well. Completion is scheduled for 2006.

Because of world uncertainty and the current investment programme, the group is not recommending a dividend for 2002.

It added that its investment programme, combined with the effect of an upturn in the economy, will benefit Mandarin Oriental over the longer-term.

It said the luxury hotel industry still faces "considerable challenges", and no early recovery in room rates can be expected "as long as global uncertainty persists".

In 2002, the consolidated profit before interest and tax was 55 mln usd, an increase of 15 mln from 2001. This result included a 5 mln usd write-back of development costs for Mandarin Oriental, Washington DC following the decision to proceed with the project in February 2002.

Consolidated profit after tax and minority interests was 19 mln usd, compared with 4 mln in the previous year. Earnings per share were 2.27 usd, compared with 50 cents in 2001.

The Four Seasons Riyadh will open its doors on February 28. The 249-room hotel is the fourth property in the Middle East to be opened by the Canadian owned hospitality chain. It is the Group’s first move into the Kingdom as well as the Gulf region.

Four Seasons at The First Residence, Cairo opened in 2000 and the Four Seasons Resort Sharm El Sheikh opened in 2002. Four Seasons Amman opened this past December, the group’s first forray into the Jordanian market.

Additional properties in the Middle East include a second hotel in Cairo, one in Alexandria, and another in Doha, with a further three in the planning stage. — (menareport.com)

John A. Griswold Trading President's Title at Tishman Hotel Corp. to Become President of CNL Hospitality Corp.

The Orlando Sentinel - Since 1997, hotel industry executive John A. Griswold has spent hundreds of hours flying from his home in Windermere to New York, where Tishman Hotel Corp. is based.

As president of Tishman, he divided his schedule between his New York office and his Orlando offices on the second floor of the Tishman-owned Walt Disney World Swan Hotel.

That will change in a few weeks: Griswold is trading his president's title at Tishman to become president of CNL Hospitality Corp., the fast-growing hotel company based at the CNL Center in downtown Orlando.

"My commute will be a lot shorter," said Griswold, 54, a veteran hospitality industry leader who has lived in the Orlando area for 25 years.

While Griswold's frequent-flier miles may be curbed, his challenges are expanding.

Taking on the role of president of CNL Hospitality and its real estate investment trust, Griswold will help oversee one of the country's fastest-growing hotel companies.

Since it bought its first hotel in 1998, CNL has grown to 60 properties in 23 states, including 18 through joint ventures.

CNL Hospitality is part of the CNL Financial Group Inc. family in Orlando, one of the nation's largest, privately held real estate investment and finance companies, which got its start in the 1970s.

The parent CNL Financial and its entities together hold more than $5.3 billion in assets, representing more than 2,850 properties in 49 states. The hospitality financing and development arm has raised more than $1.5 billion for growth and acquisitions through stock offerings and debt raised by its real estate investment trust, organized in June 1996.

People who know Griswold say he has the right mix of experience and skills to help lead CNL Hospitality as it builds its portfolio.

"He's a good leader, fair-minded and has a lot of common sense," said Ed Moriarty, a former Disney executive and Griswold's boss at Disney in the 1970s.

Griswold came to Orlando to work for Disney fresh out of college at Cornell University, where he earned a bachelor of science degree in hospitality management. An Arlington, Va., native, Griswold was eager to strike out on his own and was recruited by Disney while still in college.

"I packed up the car and moved here" in 1971, just before Walt Disney World opened.

For seven years at Disney, he held various food and beverage jobs, including food operations manager at the former Lake Buena Vista Villages, the shopping and entertainment zone that later expanded to become Downtown Disney. He did everything from catering cocktail parties to box lunches for 1,000.

Moriarty, who was vice president of Lake Buena Vista Communities, recalls Griswold as a "fearless, bright young executive. He was my No. 1 guy. I thought a lot of him."

When Griswold told Moriarty he was going to move to Michigan to run resorts there, Moriarty tried to talk him out of it and went so far as to call Griswold's parents in Cleveland to plead with them.

"His father sided with me. It didn't do any good," Moriarty said. "Being a Cornell graduate, his entrepreneurial side was too strong."

But Griswold tired of the cold in Michigan after a few years, and Moriarty played a role in luring him back to Orlando. The Buena Vista Palace (now the Wyndham Palace) was being built, and Moriarty arranged for Griswold to interview for the general manager's job. He landed it and stayed five years, before Tishman hired him in 1985.

Moriarty, who came out of retirement six years ago to become president of Ron Jon's Surf Shop, has remained close to Griswold, golfing occasionally at Isleworth where Griswold lives.

"It was fun, and they gave us a lot of responsibility at a young age." Moreover, he said, he met his wife, Debra, who also worked at Disney. They have been married 25 years now, and have two grown daughters.

Griswold has spent the past 17 years refining his hospitality-industry skills with Tishman Hotel Corp., which is an operating unit of the more than 100-year-old Tishman Realty & Construction Co., based in New York.

Tishman, in addition to owning the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin hotels, currently has more than a dozen upscale properties in its portfolio, primarily in New York, Chicago and California. They range from the business-oriented Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers to the lush Westin Rio Mar Beach, a 500-acre resort in Puerto Rico. The company is a developer, owner and operator of hotels.

While CNL Hospitality is structured differently, primarily as a real estate investment trust, and holds stakes in hotels managed by third parties, Griswold said he sees his job at CNL as similar to that at Tishman.

"I'll be focusing a lot on marketing and finance," Griswold said. "CNL is growing and will be growing rapidly, and there's a lot of work to do."

When he concludes his work at Tishman in about two weeks, Griswold will report to CNL Hospitality co-CEO Thomas J. Hutchison III, who shares the chief executive role with CNL founder and chairman James Seneff. Reporting to Griswold is Charles Muller, chief operating officer.

Muller worked for Griswold at Tishman for about four years before joining CNL and helped develop the Westin Rio Mar, a 694-room Caribbean beachfront hotel.

Aside from working with Muller, Griswold has another connection with CNL that helped convince him that the company has a solid future: he spent the past four years on CNL Hospitality's board of directors.

Hutchison, co-CEO of CNL Hospitality, said Griswold adds "a wealth of experience and leadership" to the executive boardroom. "He's a true visionary in the hospitality sector," Hutchison said.

In addition to his new role at CNL, Griswold also is chairman-elect of the Orlando/Orange County Convention & Visitors Bureau. He will assume the leadership position in January for at least a one-year term, overseeing the 26-member board that sets policy for the area's largest tourism promotion agency.

Griswold already has begun attending monthly executive committee meetings, adding to his time demands that will only grow at CNL.

"To have somebody in his position and from a company of that stature agree to stay on as chairman is personally and professionally flattering," said Bill Peeper, president of the convention and visitors bureau. Peeper said he has known Griswold for more than 20 years and describes him as "incredibly astute" as well as hard-working.

A tall, former track and field athlete, Griswold does a half hour of aerobic exercises four or five days a week to stay in shape for long workdays. He will need stamina to keep up with his new boss, Seneff, who parlayed a $5,000 loan in 1973 into the $5.3 billion company of today. Seneff sets a brisk pace for others in the office tower, often dining at his desk and working half-days on Saturdays.

While CNL Hospitality has been growing and adding to its portfolio, in part taking advantage of historic low borrowing costs, the entire hotel industry is wending its way through a weak travel market. The coming year could be particularly trying, if war erupts in Iraq.

For motivation on tough days, Griswold reaches back to the memory of his father, a math teacher who went to law school at night to fulfill his dream of becoming an attorney -- despite suffering from polio.

The last 15 years of his life, Griswold said, his dad was in a wheelchair but still practiced law. Even years before, when Griswold was in college running the high hurdles, soaring on strong legs, his father was faltering. But he would hobble across the field to see his son, beaming with pride.

"The sight of that," Griswold said, as the years peel away in his mind, "is true motivation."

AME Info - More major expansion in the Middle East hotel industry will see an estimated USD15 billion invested in up to 220 new hotel projects, according to data compiled by event management and marketing specialists, Streamline Marketing.

The UAE leads the way with as many as 67 new hotels planned within the next few years, followed by Egypt with 39, Saudi Arabia 22, Jordan 16, Lebanon 15, and Oman 11. Another nine new hotels each are expected to be built in Bahrain, Kuwait and Morocco, with eight in Syria, five in Qatar, four in Tunisia and three each in Yemen and Libya.

Using sources including TRI Hospitality, which calculates that the number of luxury hotels planned in Dubai alone could rise to 120, the research carried out by Streamline Marketing includes confirmed and unconfirmed projects and highlights the enormous demand in the Middle East for hotel products and services. A huge range of these will be brought together under one roof during The Hotel Show, the region's leading exhibition for hotel suppliers, taking place at Airport Expo Dubai from May 19-21.

“Hotel development is set to continue at a rapid rate across the Middle East, highlighting the belief that the region has a very bright long-term future as a major tourism destination,” said Joanne Evans, director of Streamline Marketing, organisers of The Hotel Show.

“Suppliers of products and services to the hotel industry are well aware of the lucrative nature of the Middle East market. We expect all records to be broken at this year's exhibition, in terms of the number of exhibitors, the volume of visiting hotel owners and developers, and in the amount of business done, which should be worth many millions of dollars,” she said.

The project expected to have the biggest impact over the tourism industry in the region is Dubai's US$3 billion Palm development, which alone could add up to 98 hotels with 23,200 rooms to the existing supply. To date, 40 of 49 hotel plots at The Palm Jumeirah have been booked, and investment of $US2 billion is confirmed for three of these projects, while marketing of plots on The Palm Jebel Ali is yet to begin.

Six Continents Hotels, the Middle East's largest hotel operator, will add five new properties to its portfolio of 63 hotels this year. These include four hotels in Egypt - the InterContinental Heliopolis Cairo, the InterContinental Resort Taba Heights, the InterContinental Resort Soma Bay and the Holiday Inn Heliopolis – as well as the Holiday Inn Doha.

Held under the patronage of H.H. General Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, UAE Minister of Defence, and Chairman of the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing, The Hotel Show creates a “one-stop-shop” hotel supplies opportunity for hotel owners, operators and developers.

Exhibitors will include a range of manufacturers and suppliers of air conditioning, audio visual, video conferencing and sound systems, bathroom supplies and bed linen, building materials, cutlery and crockery, carpeting and curtains. Also on show will be producers of computer hardware and software, fitness, spa and pool equipment, buses, vans and limousines, landscaping services and dozens of other products and services vital to a hotel's day-to-day running.

Owned by dmg World Media, a subsidiary of FTSE100 company The Daily Mail & General Trust plc, The Hotel Show is for a second year being staged in conjunction with another dmg World Media event, The Office Exhibition, the two events being run simultaneously in adjacent exhibition halls. Fully supported by the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing and the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, The Hotel Show also has the support of the UK's Department of Trade and Industry.

The Omani government has set its sights on milking the adventure travel and eco-tourism market, a senior tourism advisor in the sultanate says.

"Oman has all the attributes of a successful eco-tourism destination," Heba Abdul Aziz, advisor to the commerce and industry ministry, told the Oman Observer newspaper.

"Oman's unique environmental assets far outweigh the strengths of other eco-tourist destinations in the region," she said.

Aziz singled out bird watchers in particular, whom she described as “high-spending, upmarket visitors."

A five-year tourism plan also focuses on niche holidays offering trekking, mountaineering, rock climbing, and dolphin and whale watching, she added.

Oman, which has stunning natural scenery that includes mile after mile of pristine beach, rugged mountain and baking desert, saw its fledgling tourist industry take a hard blow after the September 11 terror attacks on the United States.

A conservative Muslim state that occupies the eastern edge of the Arabian peninsula, Oman has, like other Gulf states, embraced tourism as a way to diversify revenue sources away from the market vagaries of oil or gas prices.

But it has avoided the mass tourism of Dubai, targeting instead middle and high-class tourists to better stimulate the economy and not offend local sensitivi

The PATA Bali RecoveryTask Force is due to present its final report to the Indonesian government in the next two weeks.

The PATA report will follow on the heels of the Gavin Anderson and Company proposal which has been submitted to the central government in Jakarta for review.

PATA’s vice president Peter Semone said, “The purpose of a task force is to provide a host government with access to international professionals at an affordable price. This is a member benefit and something that has been of great use to our government members over the past three decades.

“In the case of the Bali recovery, PATA felt compelled to help Indonesia in its recovery process. PATA also thought it essential to learn from the October 12th tragedy in order to protect the greater PATA population from experiencing the dramatic effects of a disaster – this is evidenced in our current determination to create a crisis reponse manual and programme.”

· Hardening tourism locations in Bali.
“The soft underbelly nature of tourism requires a reconsideration of tourism infrastructure to avoid similar vulnerability in the future. An example is the consideration of a pedestrian only area in Kuta, particularly in the vicinity of the bomb location. This would enhance the aesthetics of tourism in the area and at the same time avoid the risks of vehicle traffic,” said Semone.

· A plan for increased cooperation between the private and public sectors.
“It is vital that there exists a clear channel of communication among all stakeholders of tourism,” he said.

· Diversification of income.
“It is further understood that Bali is over-reliant on tourism as a source of island-wide income. An effort towards industry diversification is vital in order to minimise economic vulnerability as evidenced in the post October 12 period,” said Semone.

· Greater community involvement.
Semone said that great community involvement was required in order to create a system of security vis a vis the residents of Bali and ensure that tourism is engendered into the island culture in a sustainable and beneficial manner.

He said, “We hope that two things will be accomplished through the Bali Recovery Task Force – one, that the Indonesians will consider some of our non-biased recommendations in their recovery process, and two, that we can communicate to our membership that crisis can occur anytime, anywhere and it therefore behooves all of us to be prepared with a plan.”

Orbis to Merge with Hekon

Polish News - Around the end of April Orbis will take over 16 to 17 new hotels from its strategic investor, Accor. The president of Orbis, Maciej Grelowski, said on Monday that the negotiations will soon be finalised.

The take-over of the hotels, now owned by Hekon, will seriously increase Orbis' potential, as it already manages a network of 56 hotels. The president of Orbis did not reveal the value of the transaction. According to analysts, the assets value of Hekon is ZL300m. "Considering the conditions of last year's purchase by Accor of the 12 percent shares package of Hekon, Orbis should pay the French some ZL450m. However, such a high price is unlikely", says DM analyst Jakub Sierka. The value of all Orbis shares on the stock exchange does not exceed ZL800m. Last year, Orbis earned only ZL30.9m, which was far less than in 2001. The company's managing board hopes for better results in 2003.

HVS International Announces Restaurant Management Division - Appoints Famed American Chef Larry Forgione as Managing Director

Stephen Rushmore, President of HVS International, a leading global hospitality services firm, has announced the formation of its HVS Restaurant Management division, and has appointed its co-founder, renowned American Chef Larry Forgione as the Managing Director. HVS Restaurant Management will provide food and beverage management services for the hospitality industry.

In making the announcement, Rushmore said, "This group was created to assist our clients in effectively managing food and beverage operations. Our model will enable potential clients to provide a quality experience for the guest while increasing bottom line results for the client."

Adds Forgione, "HVS Restaurant Management is a complete on-site restaurant and food and beverage management firm, guaranteeing increased profits, as well as clients' and their guests' perceived value. With our ability to attract high performers within the restaurant segment, and our strong understanding of the restaurant business in a hotel setting, our model is a win/win for any hotel client."

Over the past twenty-nine years Larry Forgione has had an accomplished and diverse career in the hospitality industry. As a restaurateur, he has been awarded top accolades including the Ivy Award, election to The Fine Dining Hall of Fame and the Who's Who of American Restaurants, to name a few. As a chef, he has twice been named "Chef of the Year" by both the Culinary Institute of America and the James Beard Foundation. His consulting and professional affiliations over the years have included American Airlines, the Rainforest Café, Red Lobster, Disney, Hilton, and the Morgan Hotel Group.

The other co-founders of HVS Restaurant Management are Steve Rushmore, Keith Kefgen, President of HVS' Executive Search Division, and David Mansbach, Vice President of HVS Executive Search, who heads up the restaurant executive search practice for the organization.

An Icy Reception
Beware sun-worshipers and beach bunnies; those looking for a warm winter getaway, take note that the "Ice Hotel" in Quebec City does not get its name from the ice in your Mai Tai. It IS ice - 250 tons of it (and 4,500 tons of snow).

Jacques Desbois is a Canadian entrepreneur who embraces winter in all its frosty glory. He has built a cousin to Sweden's original Ice Hotel. Desbois and his team of builders combined Swedish technology and age-old igloo-building principles to construct this unique inn, which can receive 22 overnight guests. The hotel is located just east of Quebec City on the St. Lawrence River. But don't get too attached to this holiday getaway because Mother Nature will check in during the springtime months and the Ice Hotel will become but a chilly memory.

More than the roof is green at the Royal York Hotel
The 74-year-old Royal York Hotel, affectionately called "the Grand Old Lady", is one of Toronto's oldest landmarks. For years it's been recognized for its striking architectural style and distinctive green gable-shaped roof. But since the early 90s, its motto of "thinking green" has raised eyebrows as well.

In 1992 the Royal York became the most environmentally conscious hotel in Canada - reducing its landfill waste by more than 50 per cent.

The aggressive 'green' campaign was set up after an employee survey indicated that more than 90 per cent of workers strongly supported developing an environmentally-friendly workplace.

"Without a doubt, Our green action plan's success is entirely due to the commitment of our employees," says vice president and general manager, John Pye.

Today blue boxes appear in every guest room. 55 departments in the hotel collect glass, cans and tins. Reports show that more than 400,000 bottles, 200,000 aluminum cans are collected, sorted and recycled every year.

Use of white paper products has dropped by approximately 40 per cent after workers began reusing old memos, forms and preprinted letters instead of notepads. The hotel has installed five newspaper disposal containers and officials estimate that 320,100 pounds of paper were recycled in 1994. Hotel staff say the program has saved 3,049 trees.

Environmental awareness even extends to the food products. Surplus food is collected and distributed to food banks at 27 different agencies throughout the city. Food waste is saved and picked up daily by a local farmer who uses it as feed for over 600 pigs.

Even the guests have an opportunity to participate. They can indicate whether they want to use a towel more than once by leaving it on the towel rack. Towels placed in the bathtub are replaced by hotel staff. This program which started in 1993 has reduced towel washing by 20 per cent and reduced overall water consumption in the laundry by five per cent, representing annual savings of $2,000.

Royal York's stellar environmental report card has attracted international attention. Japanese journalists have given the institution high marks for its campaign. In 1992, the hotel received the Lieutenant Governor's Conservation Award which pays tribute to achievements in protecting the natural environment

Newsletter - February 27, 2003