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Newsletter -August 30, 2002

Gambling helps offset Hilton hotel downturn

e-Tid.com - Hilton Group, owner of Ladbrokes bookmaker and Hilton hotels outside the US, today reported overall pre-tax profits of £130m for the first six months of 2002, down from £144.3m last year.

The group said a slower-than-expected recovery in the global economy was holding back the return of key business travellers to its hotels post-11 September.

Operating profit at Hilton International, which runs 385 hotels in 65 countries, fell 21% during the first half-year to £105.8m, while revenue per available room (revPAR) dropped 5.4% to £44.05. However, July revPAR rose 1% year-on-year. Hilton’s finance director, Brian Wallace, told Reuters: ‘While it’s too early to say that’s a trend, it is certainly encouraging.’

But he added: ‘When you’ve got the prospect of a war with Iraq in the news, it’s hard to make any meaningful predictions [about a recovery].’

Ladbrokes’ profits jumped 22%, helped by the abolition of UK betting tax last September, while the online eGaming operation, set up 2 years ago, generated £200m revenue and £5.1m operating profit. As a result, the group’s overall turnover increased from £1.9bn to £2.6bn.

Chief executive David Michels said: ‘I believe the group as a whole has performed relatively well despite widely divergent performances from our two divisions, operating as they have in totally different environments.’

Hilton’s shares, which had outperformed the UK hotel market by 8% since the beginning of the year, dropped 7.8% this morning to 189.5p, making them the biggest fallers in the FTSE-100.

Six Continents board divided over pubs spin-off plan

Evening News - A boardroom power struggle has erupted over plans by Six Continents, formerly known as Bass, to split off its pubs from the Holiday Inn hotels business.

Sources said the group is working flat out to separate the 2000 pubs from the huge international hotels division.

Chairman Sir Ian Prosser is believed to want a deal sealed before he retires in the middle of next year.

He favours a large hotels acquisition, with US group Starwood in the frame, but has said that if he cannot find a deal he will begin returning cash to investors - something that shareholders, including fund manager Hermes, have called for.

But the four-strong executive board is divided between those who favour a big hotels acquisition and those who want to split the group into two and return some of its GBP 3 billion cash pile to shareholders.

Investor concerns over a lack of focus at the helm of the GBP 5.6bn company saw its share price plunge to a seven-month low of 547p earlier this month. Six Continents chief executive Tim Clarke is believed to want to go with the pubs operation, including All Bar One and O'Neill's brands, which he headed before taking on his current role two years ago.

Finance director Richard North, who lost out as chief executive to Mr Clarke, could head the hotels arm, which has 3200 Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza and Inter -Continental hotels in 100 countries.

Analysts believe that the group has missed out on a hotels deal as prices have rocketed since last September. The directors wanting to spin off the pubs arm are winning the argument.

Earlier this year talks between Six Continents and Scottish & Newcastle about merging their pub estates collapsed, but these negotiations could be revised.

An industry source said: "They are under pressure to split and I think it will happen. Prosser retires next year and he will not want to leave unfinished business."

Le Meridien appoints second ex-Thomson finance expert

e-Tid.com - Independent luxury hotel operator Le Meridien has named Thomson’s former corporate finance director Iain Ferguson as vice president of finance.

Ferguson will report to Le Meridien’s CFO, David Maloney, another former Thomson man who lost his role as chief finance officer in October’s jobs cull. Maloney took up his role at the start of the year.

The pair have worked together at Thomson. Ferguson left the tour operator in July and took up his new role at the start of the month.

Le Meridien is owned by Japanese bank Nomura, which paid Compass £1.9bn for the chain in May 2001. The bank struck an immediate £1.25bn sale-and-leaseback deal with RBoS on twelve of the properties, including London properties the Waldorf and Grosvenor House.

It also added its Principal Hotels into the chain. Currently it has over 140 properties providing 38,000 rooms in 55 countries. CEO is Juergen Bartels.

First Major Exhibition to Explore the Hotel as Design Laboratory and Fantasy Experience "New Hotels for Global Nomads”

"New Hotels for Global Nomads," a new exhibition at the Smithsonian's Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, demonstrates that hotels today advance how people live in cities, travel around the world, conduct business, commune with nature and even construct their fantasy lives.

The modern hotel not only offers a place to sleep, but also provides its guests with an escapist experience, through its design, sense of spectacle and amenities. The modern hotel also furnishes many of its guests with a fully functional "office-away-from-the- office," vital in today's fast-moving business climate. "New Hotels for Global Nomads" combines architecture, interior design, photography, film and works of art to show just how varied and dynamic hotels can be today. Among the new generation of hotels explored in the show areThe Hotel in Lucerne, which re-creates movie scenes on its guestroom ceilings to express the hotel as cinematic experience; The Venetian in Las Vegas, an outstanding example of the gambling capital's new generation of scenographic hotels; the luxurious, sail- shaped Burj al-Arab in Dubai, the tallest hotel in the world, with many of its interior surfaces sheathed in gilt. Encompassing two full floors of Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, the exhibition highlights more than 35 real and conceptual examples of modern hotels and their services, as well as materials on legendary historic hotels.

The exhibition is organized into five themes - Urban Hotels, Hotels as Global Business, Hotels on the Move, Natural Hotels, and Fantasy Hotels - taken from the historic evolution of hotels. The contemporary projects in the exhibition reinterpret and reinvent these historic themes to forecast directions for the development of hotels in the 21st century. Six installations or projects have been specially commissioned by Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum for this exhibition. Many have been designed for particular spaces within the Museum's home, the former Andrew Carnegie Mansion.

Artist Tom Sachs is creating a room-sized work, entitled "Compact Full Feature Hotel Room," to be installed in one of the museum's second-floor galleries. Architect Joel Sanders has designed the "24/7 Hotel Room" as a new model for accommodating today's style of business travel, which merges private, social and business activities. Maureen Connor's "Roles People Play," an installation in a Carnegie family bedroom, explores the sexual dynamics of hotel rooms. In addition to the special commissions, the exhibition will present the premiere of a new work, "Private Dancer," by artist Toland Grinnell, and a new project, Lobbi_Ports, by the architectural group Servo.

URBAN HOTELS Urban hotels were the products of epochal changes throughout the Western world in the early 19th century. The opening of a new hotel signified a city's economic and cultural coming-of-age. Hotels also met the new middle class's growing mobility and provided public arenas where the grand - and not-so-grand - could see and be seen. The hotel projects highlighted in the exhibition show how the city hotel has re-emerged as design palace, social mecca and urban jewel. Featured projects in the exhibition include hotels in NewYork, London and Philadelphia by such leading designers as Jean Nouvel, Philippe Starck and Antonio Citterio.

HOTELS AS GLOBAL BUSINESS As early as the 1830s the public rooms of hotels had become modern agoras where men conducted business. "Here you meet everybody and everybody meets you," English novelist Frederick Marryat noted at the time when he visited America. While the hotel has long been a place to do business, hotels are also big business in themselves. The projects in this section of the exhibition represent key components of today's global economy, functioning not only as work and home environments for business travelers but also as depots on a vast network of digitally connected sites. Design and architecture also continue to play an important role in the development of new hotel brands. In this section, projects range from Japanese capsule hotels and André Balazs' Standard Hotels to the music video "Weapon of Choice," which is set in a Los Angeles business hotel.

HOTELS ON THE MOVE No invention transformed modern life, and hotel culture with it, like railroads. Beginning around 1840, urban hotels were constructed in close proximity - and even physically connected - to grand railroad terminals. Railroad cars themselves served as traveling hotels for tourists and businesspeople alike, who enjoyed comfortable sleeping compartments and elegant dining cars. Today other modes of transportation from airplanes to automobiles inspire hotels on the move. Examples in the exhibition include the Habitation Module for the International Space Station, which serves as a prototype for space tourism in the future, and a conceptual hotel based on the module of the tourbus.

NATURAL HOTELS Hotels in natural settings emerged in the 19th century to provide respites from city life and industrialization. Resorts in nature launched new forms of hotel architecture. With an alchemist's intent, designers turned nature into a tourist spectacle. Even previously unpopulated areas were converted into edens of leisure. And, by showcasing a region's natural scenery and marketing hotels and scenery together, resort hotels helped reinforce national identity, linking Switzerland with the Alps and Canada with the Rockies. Today's "natural" hotels continue this tradition. The exhibition examines some spectacular examples, from an eco-tourist African spa in a pristine wildlife habitat to simple, artful tents by Dutch sculptor Dre Wapenaar.

Throughout the exhibition, projects are represented through models, digital imagery, furnishings, music videos or full- scale installations. The show highlights the work of such notable international figures as architects Jean Nouvel and Diller+Scofidio, artists Tom Sachs and Sophie Calle, film director Spike Jonze, among many others. There are also investigations into the meaning and functionality of the modern hotel experience through advertising, and its transference of design principles to other industries, including aircraft seating and new media technologies. Visitors will be able to interact with actual Japanese capsule hotels, try on Eye-Trek movie goggles used on airplanes, and experience a giant heart- shaped bathtub. In addition to featuring contemporary projects, the exhibition will include furniture, advertisements and photographs of such celebrated historic hotels as Frank Lloyd Wright's Imperial Hotel inTokyo; the Savoy in London; the Waldorf-Astoria in New York; and the Americana in Bal Harbor, Florida. These important precedents reveal the hotel's tradition as a trendsetter in design, technology and social customs.

The Annunciator, a precursor of the telephone or intercom, was introduced at Boston's Tremont Hotel in 1829 and increased guest privacy, a budding social concern at the time. The exhibition is organized by Donald Albrecht, exhibitions curator at Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum since 1996. "This exhibition is where design meets fantasy," says Albrecht. "It's timely, too. Opening just over a year after the terrorist attacks, the exhibition shows that our world is still committed to travel and tourism, and that hotels remain key components of that world." The installation of "New Hotels for Global Nomads " is designed by Architecture Research Office, a NewYork-based firm headed by Stephen Cassell and Adam Yarinsky. A specially commissioned project by Architecture Research Office, "NewYork Nature Hotel," will also be featured in the exhibition.

Exhibition Walkthrough New Hotels for Global Nomads is the first major exhibition to explore the hotel as architecture, interior design and cultural phenomenon. Visitors to the exhibition take a multifaceted tour of the modern hotel's public and private spaces as related to five thematic areas.

URBAN HOTELS Urban hotels were the products of epochal changes throughout the Western world in the early 19th century. The opening of a new hotel signified a city's economic and cultural coming-of-age. Hotels also met the new middle class's growing mobility and provided public arenas where the grand - and not-so-grand - could see and be seen. The hotel projects in the exhibition show how the city hotel has reemerged as design palace, social mecca and urban jewel. Highlights of this section include illuminated lounge furniture from the Lobbi_Ports system as well as a three-dimensional installation of the Hotel Pro Forma. Also on view will be historic furniture and dinnerware from the Museum's collection that was custom-designed by Frank Lloyd Wright for his 1920s Imperial Hotel inTokyo. Clift ( 2001) San Francisco Sanderson (2000) London St. Martins Lane ( 2000) London Philippe Starck and Anda Andrei

The newest hotels by developer Ian Schrager and the team who created the Royalton, Paramount, and Hudson (NewYork), the Delano (Miami), and the Mondrian (Los Angeles). Hotel Broadway ( 2001) NewYork A teliers Jean Nouvel (architecture) and Antonio Citterio & Partners (interiors) A modern "grand hotel" under development by André Balazs, hotelier of the Standard (Los Angeles), the Mercer (NewYork), and Chateau Marmont (Los Angeles). Loews Philadelphia Hotel ( 2000 ) in the former PSFS Building, Philadelphia Bower Lewis Thrower and Daroff Design The Metropolitan Hotel (2002) NewYork Loews Hotels Represent the current trend of converting distinctive high-style office buildings into hotels, as well as the hip value placed on modern design. Hotel Pro Forma ( 1999) Ørestad City, Denmark; conceptual project ARCHITECTS and field OFFICE Conceives every space within the hotel as a potential stage.

Lobbi_Ports ( 2002 ) conceptual project premiering in New Hotels for Global Nomads Servo Acknowledging the importance of hotel lobbies as social spaces, Lobbi_Ports is a system of capsules or pods that hotel developers and architects can attach to the structure of existing buildings as additional sky lobbies or observation decks. "The New LasVegas" ( 2001) specially commissioned for New Hotels for Global Nomads Photographs by Richard Barnes No city is so clearly identified with hotels as Las Vegas. Richard Barnes's photographs take visitors behind the scenes of the city's newest generation of fantastic hotels.

HOTELS AS GLOBAL BUSINESS As early as the 1830s the public rooms of hotels had become modern agoras where men conducted business. "Here you meet everybody and everybody meets you," English novelist Frederick Marryat noted at the time when he visited America. While the hotel has long been a place to do business, hotels are also big business in themselves. The projects in this section of the exhibition represent key components of today's global economy, functioning not only as work and home environments for business travelers but also as depots on a vast network of digitally connected sites. Design and architecture also continue to play an important roles in the development of new hotel brands. This section features such artifacts as full-scale Japanese capsule hotels, a full-scale component of the 24/7 Hotel Room, and the music video "Weapon of Choice." 24 / 7 Hotel Room ( 2003 ) conceptual project commissioned for New Hotels for Global Nomads Joel Sanders Architect A new solution for business hotels that serve as offices and temporary homes.

W Hotels ( 1998 - present) Rockwell Group, architectural developer of brand identity A Starwood chain of "boutique hotels" that uses unique design cues to identify its brand, as visually defined by the architecture firm responsible for Mohegan Sun Casino and the Chambers Hotel. "Weapon of Choice" ( 2001 ) Spike Jonze, director, and Fat boy Slim, musical artist Starring Christopher Walken, this music video depicts a weary businessman's flight into theater and fantasy within the confines of a corporate hotel lobby. InterClone Hotel ( 1997 ) conceptual project Diller + Scofidio From the designers of NewYork's Brasserie restaurant, an advertising campaign for a fictional international hotel chain that proposes ways to create the illusion of diversity via design while maintaining a reassuring sameness wherever one travels in the world. "#1289, Seekonk, MA" ( 2002 ) specially commissioned for New Hotels for Global Nomads Dike Blair Artwork made from the generic materials of low-budget chain hotels. Capsule Hotel Unit ( 2002 ) Kotobuki Company "Capsule Hotel" ( 2001 ) Jeff Gompertz, Fakeshop Actual Japanese capsule hotel units - originally developed in the 1970s as extremely small communal bunkbeds - will be on display, as well as an American artist's video interpretation of them. Standard, Hollywood ( 1999 ) Shawn Hausman Standard, Downtown L.A. ( 2002 ) Koning Eizenberg and Shawn Hausman Standard, NewYork ( 2001, unbuilt) Gluckman Mayner Architects Three versions of a new kind of business hotel created by André Balazs and designed to meet the needs of a young, fashion-conscious business traveler on a limited expense account.

HOTELS ON THE MOVE No invention transformed modern life, and hotel culture with it, like railroads. Beginning around 1840, urban hotels would be constructed in close proximity-and even physically connected-to grand railroad terminals. Railroad cars themselves served as traveling hotels for t ourists and business people alike, who enjoyed comfort- able sleeping compartments and elegant dining cars. Today other modes of transportation from airplanes to automobiles and tourbuses inspire hotels on the move. On view in this section are models of Living Units in Motion, Tourbus Hotel, and the Habitation Module. Historic artifacts include suitcases and travel trunks by Hermès and Louis Vuitton that convert into furniture. Living Units in Motion ( 1998 ) conceptual project Carl de Smet / Uncontrollable Architectural Products A light, temporary, mobile and reusable system of collapsible hotels on truck beds able to accommodate large numbers of people for short periods of time during such events as international trade shows, Olympic games and even natural disasters. Japanese Car Hotel ( 1995 ) conceptual project Acconci Studio Converts an otherwise ordinary car into a mobile hotel that sleeps four.

Tourbus Hotel Rome, Italy ( 1999 ) conceptual project Lewis.Tsurumaki Lewis A proposed hotel for Rome and other cities that houses tourists by the "tourbus" - a new marketing strategy that packages communities of like-minded sightseers, from archaeologists to gourmets. Habitation Module/International Space Station ( 2001 ) Habitability Design Center, Johnson Space Center Designed as the residential unit of the International Space Station, this design is also a sophisticated template for a comfortable hotel that could serve the nascent space tourism market. Lunatic Hotel ( 2 0 0 0 ) conceptual project Hans - Jurgen Rombaut An advanced and technically feasible proposed hotel on the moon. NATURAL HOTELS Hotels in natural settings emerged in the 19th century to provide respites from city life and industrialization. Resorts in nature launched new forms of hotel architecture. With an alchemist's intent, designers turned nature into tourist spectacle. Even previously unpopulated areas were converted into edens of leisure.

And, by showcas-ing a region's natural scenery and marketing hotels and scenery together, resort hotels helped reinforce national identity, linking Switzerland with the Alps and Canada with the Rockies. Today's "natural" hotels continue this tradition. Eco-tourist spas are set within and among pristine wildlife habitats, and extreme-tourist sites entertain guests in hotels made entirely of ice or provide jumping-off points for high-risk sports. This section of the exhibition includes Nestbivouac designed by Dre Wapenaar that illustrates the artistry he applies to such projects asTree Tent and Artcamp. A model and computer animation of ROY's Wind River Lodge will also be presented. New Hotel for Mainstream Eco-Tourism (1997) Costa Rica F T L A proposal for a new eco-resort that combines remote and pristine nature, environmental awareness, soft adventure, personal fitness and a high level of luxury and attention. Okavango Delta Spa ( 1997 ) Okavango Delta, Botswana Wind River Lodge (2001) outside Valdez, Alaska Cancer Alley ( 2000 ) conceptual project, Louisiana ROY Three resorts that offer guests an experience of nature that is both dangerous and pleasurable, awesome yet safe. TreeTent ( 1998) Garderen, The Netherlands Artcamp ( 2001) Garderen, The Netherlands Dre Wapenaar Brightly colored canvas and steel designs, rentable at Dutch campsites, called "functional art" by the artist. NewYork Nature Hotel ( 2002 ) specially commissioned for New Hotels for Global Nomads Architecture Research Office A seasonal hotel tower made of construction scaffolding and camoflage netting that can be erected within city parks. Art'otel (in design, 2002 ) London Rockwell Group Uses a vocabulary of organic materials and nearly imperceptible transitions between inside and out, to bring the natural hotel to the city.

FANTASY HOTELS Hotels are communities of strangers who gather outside their normal environments for brief periods of time. As homes away from home, hotels also encourage people to f antasize and, in the hands of designers, they achieve an otherworldly, Alice-in-Wonderland qualit y via artful manipulations of imagery, illusion and perception. The projects featured in the exhibition prove that eroticism and escapism continue to c harge the design fantasies of architects and artists today. Highlights of this section include artist Toland Grinnell's full-scale travel trunk-cum-hotel furniture installation entitled "Private Dancer" and the full-scale "Compact Full Feature Hotel Room" by artist Tom Sachs. Burj al-Arab (1 999) Dubai, United Arab Emirates W. S. Atkins Teflon meets gold leaf in this stunning, high-tech Arabian fantasy, the tallest hotel in the world. "The Hotel" (1983 ) Sophie Calle A group of photographs and texts that explore the hotel as a site of spectacle and surveillance by documenting the artist's experience as a chambermaid.

"Love Hotel, Japan" (2000 ) Photographs by Peter Marlow In Japan, where homes are small, walls are thin and many generations live together, "love hotels" sell privacy, and Peter Marlow's photographs capture the guest's experience. "Compact Full Feature Hotel Room" (2002 ) specially commissioned for New Hotels for Global Nomads Tom Sachs A cramped but functional room - complete with bed, toilet, sink, shower, surveillance system, television, and phone - built in fantastic detail with everyday materials. "Sanitary Furniture" (1996 - 98 ) M. K. Kähne A mobile shower unit that opens out of a small wooden trunk made of mahogany and chrome. "Private Dancer" (2002 ) premiering in New Hotels for Global Nomads Tol and Grinnell A travel trunk that opens into a personal discotheque suitable for a hotel room. "Roles People Play" (2002 ) specially commissioned for New Hotels for Global Nomads Maureen Connor Combines real furniture and film clips to explore the social and sexual dynamics of hotel suites. The Hotel (2000) Lucerne, Switzerland Architectures Jean Nouvel Re-creates movie images on the guest room ceilings to express the hotel as a cinematic environment. Stacked Hotel Room #9 (2002 ) Adam Dade and Sonya Hanney A video and postcard that document the covert operations of two artists who secretly dismantle their hotel room, stack its contents into a compact sculpture, document the result and return everything to its original position before checking out.

New Hotels for Global Nomads " is made possible by Loews Hotels. Generous support is also provided by Maharam, with additional funding from Travel + Leisure Magazine, Kimpton Boutique Hotels, The Mondriaan Foundation, Waterworks, andThe Ministry of Flemish Community. Programs organized to complement the exhibition will highlight the Museum's fall program semester and include "Making the Scene: Hotels in Film," a panel discussion with artists and architects on November 14; the lecture "Grand Hotel: The Golden Age of Hospitality," a lecture by David Watkin, professor of architectural history at the University of Cambridge, on December 5; and a lecture and reception about the Grossingers and other Catskills resorts on December 12.

In conjunction with "New Hotels for Global Nomads," a 160-page book with 200 color illustrations is being published by Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum in association with Merrell Publishers (distributed by St. Martin's Press). The book includes an essay by Albrecht exploring the history of hotels and how they serve as precedents for the contemporary hotels on view in the exhibition and book. This introduction is followed by illustrated descriptions of the highlighted projects written by Albrecht and museum editor Elizabeth Johnson. Designed by Alicia Cheng, New Hotels for Global Nomads is $39.95, and will be available in bookstores throughout the United States and Europe beginning in October.

Source: eTurbo.com

London hotels ready in recovery position

London will lead the way when the European hotels market finally recovers, hotel investment group Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels has predicted. The capital, as the gateway to Europe from the USA, was the first to decline when American tourist and business traffic tailed off sharply after 11 September.

But in terms of room yield, London hotels remained significantly ahead of their European counterparts and were expected to lead any Europe-wide recovery, it said.

In June, Jones Lang La Salle Hotels surveyed 1,800 hotel investors as part of a biannual survey and found the vast majority were optimistic about the future, with expectations in Europe particularly high.

Since then, evidence from investors has led the group to downgrade its predictions. Investors, it said, were adopting a "wait and see" attitude because the recovery had not been as strong as expected.

Mark Wynne-Smith, executive vice-president Europe, said: "The short-term prospects for the hotel investment markets is probably more difficult to predict now than it has been over the past five years."

Source: Caterer & Hotelkeeper magazine, 22-28 August 2002

Cendant halves CEO's pay to $15M

(AP) — Cendant, the travel and real estate conglomerate, said compensation of its chairman and chief executive, Henry Silverman, would be more than halved after the company eliminated his right to an annual stock option grant and more closely linked his pay to the company's earnings.

By overhauling Silverman's employment package, Cendant estimated Wednesday that his compensation in 2002 would drop to about $15 million, down 58% from $36 million the previous year.

The amended agreement, under which Silverman will receive an incentive bonus based on pre-tax earnings, is good through 2012. It stipulates that Silverman will not receive restricted stock, which has limitations on when it can be sold.

The company said Silverman, who owns 8 million shares of Cendant and has options to buy 36.4 million more, voluntarily forfeited his annual stock option grant in 2002.

Silverman's existing options were granted between 1993 and 2001 at an average exercise price of about $13 a share, the company said.

The company also said Wednesday it would begin expensing stock option grants Jan. 1 at a cost of 3 cents to 4 cents a share in 2003.

Cendant said it will reduce the number of stock options granted to employees and instead give them restricted stock.

Restaurant Industry Rated the Most Highly Regarded Business Sector in America, Gallup Survey Says

/U.S. Newswire/ - An independent Gallup poll released this week shows that Americans rate the restaurant industry as the most highly regarded business sector in the country when compared to 23 other business sectors. The restaurant industry moved to the top position in 2002 from the number two position in an identical poll conducted in 2001. The restaurant industry is joined by the computer industry in the top spot in 2002.

"The Gallup results clearly and overwhelmingly demonstrate the high regard the American people have towards the nation's restaurant industry," said Steven C. Anderson, president and chief executive officer of the National Restaurant Association. "Each and every day, restaurants serve great food, provide extraordinary service and demonstrate good value to millions of Americans. This year alone, 54 billion meals will be eaten in restaurant and foodservice outlets in the United States."

"However, restaurants serve more than meals. Nine out of ten restaurants are involved in charitable and philanthropic activities in their local communities. In 2002, restaurants will post approximately $ 408 billion in sales, with its overall economic impact exceeding $ 1 trillion. The restaurant industry employs 11.6 million people, making it the largest private-sector employer in the nation. Restaurants truly are the cornerstones of the local community, the nation's economy and fabulous careers," Anderson said.

The Gallup results are from a national telephone survey of 1,007 adults who were asked to rate 24 business sectors with an overall view of "very positive, somewhat positive, neutral, somewhat negative or very negative." The restaurant and computer industries net positive 53 percent was 11 percentage points ahead of the next business sector group.

The results follow:

Business and Industry Ratings Summary (percent of adults with a net positive view of the respective industry)

Restaurant.........53 percent

Computer...........53

Grocery............42

Retail.............41

Agriculture........35

Real estate........30

Automobile.........27

Travel.............25

Banking............22

Internet...........22

Publishing.........18

Education..........11

TV/Radio...........10

Sports.............2

Electric/Gas.......1

Airline............1

Accounting.........0

Movie..............-1

Advertising........-1

Telephone..........-3

Pharmaceutical.....-10

Legal..............-17

Health car.........-19

Oil/Gas............-19

Source: Gallup national telephone survey

The National Restaurant Association, founded in 1919, is the leading business association for the restaurant industry, which is comprised of 858,000 restaurant and foodservice outlets and a work force of 11.6 million employees -- making it the cornerstone of the economy, career opportunities and community involvement. Along with the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation, the Association works to represent, educate and promote the rapidly growing industry. For more information, visit our Web site at http://www.restaurant.org

Shangri-La forecast given lift

South China Morning Post.- Daiwa Securities has increased its full-year profit projection for Shangri-La Asia by 14 per cent to HK$ 804 million following its better-than-expected interim result.

Last week, the luxury hotel operator reported net profit had jumped 103.6 per cent year on year to US$ 62.07 million for the six months to June 30.

The result beat Daiwa's expectation of US$ 45.5 million and Bloomberg's market consensus of US$ 44.7 million.

Daiwa Securities said the group would benefit from anticipated strong growth in tourism in China next year.

The group could capitalise on the limited supply of five-star hotels, particularly in smaller cities, it said.

Shangri-La has 16 hotels in China out of 38 in its portfolio.

"We expect the counter to be a recovery play next year," Daiwa said.

The firm also revised up its forecast for Shangri-La's recurring earnings by 18.9 per cent next year.

Daiwa said the hotel group's impressive interim result was due mainly to a US$ 3.8 million unrealised gain on "other investments" and a higher-than-expected reduction in finance costs.

In the first half, Shangri-La Asia's finance costs fell 44.8 per cent to US$ 21.08 million against US$ 38.16 million previously.

"Excluding these factors, the group's operating results were broadly in line with our expectations, with a 13 per cent fall in earnings before interest, tax and amortisation ebita ," Daiwa said.

Although there had been an improvement in room yield, the growth was slower than expected, it said.

Shangri-La Asia's room yield rose one percentage point in the second quarter this year against a 9 per cent decline in the previous quarter, it said.

Meanwhile, some of its hotels would undergo major renovations in the second half which would affect performance in terms of both occupancy and room yields.

The renovation programme includes the Kowloon Shangri-La, the China World Hotel in Beijing, Shangri-La Mactan Island Resort, Shangri-La Hotel Kuala Lumpur and Shangri-La Hotel Bangkok.

Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts Tops Ranking for Meetings in J.D. Power and Associates Study

Meeting Planner Satisfaction Highest with Four Seasons

TORONTO, Aug. 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Four Seasons ranked highest in the annual J.D. Power and Associates, 2002 Meeting Planner Satisfaction Index Study, ahead of several other luxury and upscale hotel chains. The study, which was released last week, measures how well upscale and luxury hotels serve independent and corporate meeting planners.

"Our objective is to treat our clients with the same warm and personalized service with which we treat our guests," said Wolf Hengst, president, worldwide hotel operations, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts. "This recognition by meeting planners is a tribute to the employees who work so hard to make every meeting an enjoyable event."

The study was based on feedback from more than 1,400 professional meeting planners from across the United States. The rankings are based on their personal experience with hotel staff at every phase of the meeting planning process, from sales through to the post-event phase.

"I thoroughly enjoy holding meetings at a Four Seasons property. From the top down, I expect and receive excellence in all phases," said Barbara L. Miner, Senior Manager, Corporate Events for Sara Lee Corporation. "At Four Seasons, there is a consistency of talent and product, and I have come to expect and receive a willing positive attitude, attention to detail, marvelous accommodations, superior food and presentation and exceptional service from every department."

Four Seasons has claimed first position on many prestigious lists; recent honours include top ranking in the 2001 J.D. Power and Associates Domestic Guest Satisfaction Study; AAA Five Diamond awards (receiving more than other any hotel company for the 21st consecutive year), and the Zagat Survey 2001 (ranked as "Top Hotel Chain in the U.S." and "Top Hotel Chain" internationally).

With a history spanning four decades and a portfolio that now extends around the world, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts is the world's leading operator of luxury hotels, currently managing 55 properties in 25 countries. In February 2002, the company opened its first Four Seasons branded property in China - Four Seasons Hotel Shanghai; and a resort in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt in May. Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts continues to expand, with more than 20 projects in development stages in choice locations around the world. Information on the company and its 41 years of achievement in the hospitality industry can be accessed through the Four Seasons Web site at http://www.fourseasons.com/

Source: Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts

IH&RA 39th Annual Congress - New York, USA

The IH&RA 39th Annual Congress will be held alongside the International Hotel/Motel & Restaurant Show whose 2002 theme - Global Marketplace - highlights the presence of honoured IH&RA Congress delegates. Don't miss the exceptional Educational Programme with over 40 Seminars and elegant high-profile social events which offer power-packed networking!

The IH&RA 39th Annual Congress opens the Educational Programme on November 9 with a CEO Panel focusing on the Industry's Recovery and Resiliency:

No one could have predicted the events of September, 2001, or the economic repercussions to the lodging industry. Business is climbing back, but recovery has been slow and tentative. Will future growth ever reach levels it once enjoyed worldwide, or is struggle the name of the game for the long haul? How can the industry build strength and guard against any future events? Jim Burba, Vice President and Worldwide Director of Advisory Services, Wimberly, Allison, Tong & Goo, will moderate a panel of CEO's including: Robert Cotter, Chief Operating Officer, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide; Joseph R. Kane, Jr., CHA, Group President & CEO, Hotel Division, Cendant Corporation; Georges LeMener, President & CEO, Accor Lodging North America; Eric Pfeffer, President, International Hotel & Restaurant Association; and Paul Sistare, President & CEO, Atlantica Hotels International.

IH&RA's International Day on Sunday, November 10 includes sessions such as:

The Health & Heartbeat of the Hospitality Industry: Latest Trends & A Diagnosis
What do the latest trends tell us about economic conditions within the global hospitality industry? An expert panel reads the pulse of the travel business and delivers its prognosis. Experts include: Peter C. Yesawich, Ph.D, president & CEO, Yesawich, Pepperdine & Brown; Doug Carroll, Business Travel Assignment Editor, USA Today; and Hudson Riehle, Senior Vice President of NRA Research & Info Services Division.

The Secrets of Six Star Hotels: The Ultimate in Luxury
In this session, the world's most talented designers will share their work and secrets. Atef Mankarios, St. Regis Hotels & Resorts will moderate a panel including: Sandra Cortner, Hirsch Bedner Associates; Rick Whalley, Chada Siembieda & Associates Australia Pty. Ltd.; and Deborah Lloyd Forrest, Forrest Perkins, LLC.

Global Branding: Maintaining Standards and Finding New Opportunities
Moderated by Jeffrey Weinstein, HOTELS magazine, this discussion offers insight on how to meet the challenge of maintaining brand consistency in a widely varying cultural landscape.

Rising Stars in Hospitality Design: How They Increase the Bottom Line
Today's rising stars in hospitality design will address the increasing importance of creating a design that appeals to the executive guest, while at the same time meets the needs of the owner by adding profit to the bottom line. Panelists include: James Looney, Looney & Associates; Marc Shapiro, McCluskey Design Group: Lia DiLeonardo, DiLeonardo International; Jason Schleich, Culpepper, McAuliffe & Meaders, Inc. and Lisa Roth, Montgomery Roth Architecture.

Balancing Between Profitability and Service
How far can you cut amenities, service and staff before irrevocably damaging guest satisfaction and revenue potential? In the wake of 9/11, this panel moderated by Ruthanne Terrero, Hotel Business, examines the challenges, redefines the formula and offers some promising solutions. Panelists include: John J. Hogan, Best Western International; Gary Schweikert, The Plaza; Glenn E. Tuckman, Starwood Hotels & Resorts and Craig Lambert, Marriott International.

Marketing Your Hotel in a Recovery Economy
Robert A. Gilbert, Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI), heads a panel of general managers and marketing leaders. They share sound strategies and tactics for hotels to use during uncertain times. This session will also summarize the finding of two HSMAI-hosted strategic conferences and present practices and checklists for those responsible for managing the sales and marketing efforts.

The Hacker Hotel - Security Issues as They Relate to Technology
Like most industries, hospitality has seen the value and adopted computer automation. As dependence on our internal systems grow and our connections to the internet, extranets and other client and partner systems multiply - so has our exposure increased from unauthorized access, virus infection, and financial liability. This session, co-presented by Brian Garavuso and Clark Swenson of Interstate Hotels & Resorts, will cover the threats and protective measures, as well as provide resources for additional assessment and remediation assistance.

Generational Chaos in Human Resources: Managing Multi-generational Teams
Jeffrey A. Gerber, American Hotel & Lodging Association, will review characteristics of the different generations in the hospitality workforce. This session will offer helpful ideas on how best to manage these generations, so they work well individually and in multi-generational teams.

On Monday, November 11, Tourism Safety and Security: Welcome to the New World Priority will be highlighted. Top security professionals will discuss the global state of tourism, safety and security. Jimmy Chin, The Peninsula, will host a discussion on changes in procedures and policies in the industry, based on current political conditions. Special emphasis will be placed on tourism trends and how your potential guests examine their travel itineraries before making a reservation at your hotel.

Also included in the Congress: High-Profile Social Events! An opening Cocktail Reception at the elegant Waldorf Astoria Hotel on November 8, plus two black tie-gala events on Saturday, November 9 and Sunday, November 10!