Prosser expected to head hotels group in Six Continents demerger

Independent.co.uk  -  Sir Ian Prosser, the chairman of Six Continents, looks set to become chairman of the company's hotels operation if the widely-expected demerger of the group's pubs business is given the go-ahead.

The 59-year-old industry veteran, whose contract is up for renewal next July, is thought to have agreed to delay his retirement and stay on to oversee the breakup and head up the hotel business.

Richard North, the company's finance director, is expected to become chief executive of the hotels operation, which includes the Inter-Continental, Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn hotel chains.

While Six Continents has insisted that a final decision has yet to be taken on whether to split the business in two, it is thought demerger plans are at an advanced stage. The company admitted last week that it had been "actively considering" a demerger alongside plans to return cash to shareholders. The news pushed the shares up 7.5 per cent.

A formal plan to demerge the pubs business, which owns brands including All Bar One, O'Neills and Browns, could be unveiled as soon as 1 October when the group is due to release a trading update.

Tim Clarke, Six Continents' chief executive, is expected to run the pubs operation while Karim Naffah, the company's strategic director, is being lined up as finance director.

Analysts predict Six Continents could also announce plans to return between £500m and £750m to shareholders, in addition to the pubs demerger, alongside the 1 October trading update.

The company, which sold its Bass brewing operation two years ago, has so far failed to find a suitable hotel acquisition despite months of looking. It said in May it would consider returning up to £1bn to investors if it failed to find a hotel deal by the end of this year.

Gresham Hotel Group H1 loss narrows; sees improved H2 vs last year

ananova.com -  Gresham Hotel Group PLC posted a narrowing in interim losses and said although it continues to operate in a challenging environment with limited visibility due to a shortening in booking patterns, it expects that the performance in the second half of the year will be ahead of the same period last year.

It added the difficult trading conditions have been compounded by increases in operating costs.

The Group has experienced an increase in its insurance premiums of 87% on the previous year and labour costs during the same period have increased by 5%.

As a result it has decided to suspend the interim dividend at this time.

It said it is to defer the decision on the level of dividend until such time as the profits for the full year are known with certainty.

The comments came as it posted a pretax loss fo 958,000 euro against loss 6.02 million, on sales of 26.80 million against 27.45 million.

Earnings per share before exceptionals were 0.0013 against 0.0169

World Travel Market 2002 update

eTurbo.com  -  Exhibition space at World Travel Market 2002 (11-14 November) has increased by just over 10% with more than 5,000 exhibitors and 82 new destinations or companies exhibiting for the first time. The rise to an unparalleled 36,210 square metres of exhibition space at World Travel Market, means this is the largest ever held. A total of 180 countries will be participating worldwide.

The record size coincides with the event's move to the more spacious new riverside location of ExCeL at London Docklands. Virtually all regions have shown growth compared with last year. For example, Africa has taken 21% extra space, Europe 20% and the Americas and Caribbean 9%. The number of sharing companies has also gone up by 5%. "This is a very important indication of international support for World Travel Market at its new home", said Group Exhibition Director, Fiona Jeffery.

 " We are delighted that for the first time for some years, we have been able to meet exhibitor requests for further space. "Many companies are planning an unprecedented amount of activity during the four days by taking advantage of the 55 event, meetings and function rooms. "In addition to planning to conduct business on their stands, exhibitors are holding additional corporate hospitality events, press conferences, briefings, presentations, training initiatives and meetings of every description.

" This will run in tandem with the extensive World Travel Market official programme of free seminars, conferences, debates and major promotions. This includes a free London Eye ticket for everyone who has registered as well as giving away two brand new cars on the Wednesday and Thursday." Among the 16 new countries exhibiting for the first time are Azerbaijan, Algeria, Yemen, Aruba, St. Maarten, Monaco, Serbia, Canouan Island and Senegal. Ms. Jeffery explained that it was not possible at this early stage to estimate visitor numbers. "We have staged the largest and most ambitious marketing and communications campaign in the history of World Travel Market to ensure that we attract a quality audience", she said. 

World Travel Market 2002 represents the culmination of two years work for organisers on the move to ExCeL. In particular, they have focused on detailed planning of on-site logistics and transportation for the event. For example, the Docklands Light Railway (DLR), which links with the London Underground and serves ExCeL, will operate up to a two-minute peak service, following the successful introduction of 24 new trains, due to be fully operational in time for World Travel Market. Each train has a capacity for 400 passengers and will loop between Canning Town and Custom House for ExCeL. 

Customer service staff will be on hand at Custom House and Canning Town to direct passengers. In addition, announcements will be made on DLR trains and platforms. Additional signage is also planned at all key DLR stations World Travel Market has negotiated two reduced-rate Visitor Travelcards to save money and eradicate queuing. The tickets are valid for either three or seven days and offer unlimited travel on the London Underground network, DLR, and London Buses.

The specially negotiated tickets are priced at £16 for the three-day and £27 for seven days, a saving of £12 on a standard Visitor Travelcard. Visitors can receive their Travelcard in advance with their badges by applying via the WTM website before 10 October. Applications after this date can be collected on arrival at World Travel Market. The deadline for exhibitors to apply for their Travelcard in advance is 30 September - www.reedtravelexhibitions.com and click on the WTM logo. Tickets will also be available at ExCeL but not at London underground stations. Recognising that at peak periods, demand for DLR services will be high, a fleet of 50 seater coaches will also be used to provide alternative transport through to Canning Town from ExCeL. 

A taxi manager will operate at the taxi rank to ensure that visitors and exhibitors do not have to wait too long. For speedy and efficient movement of the taxi queue, sharing will be encouraged. For all further information on the event, pre registration and booking of flights, hotels and the World Travel Market Travel Card, log on to the WTM website- link provided below. 

OTC buys All Hotels, announces £2m placement to secure ATOL

e-Tid.com  -   Aim-listed Online Travel Corp (OTC) has bought All-Hotels Ltd while announcing a share placement which will raise £2m. The cash will help OTC meet ATOL requirements for a licence for the year to end-March 04.
In the year to end-Dec 01, Edinburgh-based All-Hotels earned gross commissions of £950,000 on total transaction value of £11.44m, compared with commission of £580,000 on TTV of £8.35m in 2000. The 2001 EBITDA of £1.62m compares with £1.65m the previous year.

Mark Jones, CEO of OTC, said that All Hotels met OTC’s stringent acquisition procedure’ and talked of cross-selling opportunities. AHL’s web site, www.allhotels.com, attracts 600K visitors a month and has a customer database of 175,000. OTC is looking at selling other travel products to AHL customers while ‘increasing the throughput of the hotel sections of the current OTC group sites.’

AHL also has a proprietary bookings platform which OTC syas enhacnces its competitive position.

The placement, announced at the same time, will ensure OTC meets the anticipated ‘net free asset requirements’ of the CAA. ‘Until the company generates profits, external funding is required is required to provide the balance sheet strength to meet these licensing requirements,’ OTC said.
OTC will use current cash reserves, plus the £2m raised from the placement, to cover AHL integration costs as well as its ATOL requirements.

Four Seasons sweeps rankings by readers of Institutional Investor and Andrew Harper's Hideaway Report

/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Four Seasons continues to dominate surveys completed by sophisticated travelers and the latest proof is in the results of the two most recent, prestigious surveys.

Four Seasons Hotel Seattle claimed the number one position in Institutional Investor's 22nd Annual World's Best Hotels Survey, rising to the top from 12th place last year. Eleven additional Four Seasons properties were also listed in the ranking - more than any other luxury hotel company.

Fifteen Four Seasons properties were also cited in the Andrew Harper's Hideaway Report, 21st Annual Survey of Sophisticated Travelers, including Four Seasons Hotel George V Paris, which won first place in the Top 20 International City Hotels category. Four Seasons Hotel San Francisco and Four Seasons Hotel Prague both received special mention as "Rising Stars," having been open for less than two years and ranking 19th and 29th respectively in their categories.

"Our readers have always recognized the consistency and quality of the Four Seasons experience," said Andrew Harper. "Four Seasons always resonates with our sophisticated readers and its properties once again dominate our listings of the world's best hotels."

The results of the Institutional Investor survey were compiled from the votes of more than 100 senior financial executives from 31 countries who averaged 61 nights a year at hotels last year. Similarly, Andrew Harper's survey is based on feedback from senior business people who have traveled outside the U.S. for business and leisure in the past 12 months.

"Each year, Four Seasons properties are singled out by readers of these esteemed publications," said Wolf Hengst, president, worldwide hotel operations, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts. "It's rewarding that sophisticated travelers recognize our efforts to provide unparalleled service at our hotels and resorts."

In addition to these accolades, Travel and Leisure magazine also recognized 14 Four Seasons hotels in its feature on the World's Best Business Hotels.

  Highlights of the surveys include the following:

  Andrew Harper's Hideaway Report:

  Top 20 U.S. City Hotels:                  Top 20 International City Hotels:

  Four Seasons Hotel Chicago (3)       Four Seasons Hotel George V Paris (1)

  Four Seasons Hotel New York (4)     Four Seasons Hotel Milan (7)

  The Ritz Carlton Chicago                  Four Seasons Hotel Istanbul (23)

   (A Four Seasons Hotel) (7)

  Four Seasons Hotel Boston (16)

  Four Seasons Hotel Washington (18)

  Four Seasons Hotel San Francisco (19)

  Top 20 U.S. Resort Hotels:              Top 20 International Resort Hotels

  Four Seasons Resort Hualalai (7)      Four Seasons Resort Bali (14)

  Four Seasons Resort Maui (10)        Four Seasons Resort Nevis (16)

                                                       The Regent Chiang Mai (17)

                                                       Four Seasons Resort Punta Mita (19)

  Institutional Investor:

  Four Seasons Hotel Seattle (1)

  Four Seasons Hotel Chicago (3)

  Four Seasons Hotel Singapore (8)

  Four Seasons Hotel New York (17)

  The Ritz-Carlton Chicago (A Four Seasons Hotel)  (24)

  Four Seasons Hotel The Ritz Lisbon (33)

  Four Seasons Hotel Boston (39)

  Four Seasons Hotel Mexico City (40)

  Four Seasons Hotel Washington (44)

  Four Seasons Hotel George V Paris (46)

  The Pierre, New York (46)

  Four Seasons Hotel London (54)

Source: Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts

CORRECTED: Hilton Sets Date for 3rd Quarter Earnings, Conference Call  

(BUSINESS WIRE) -- Hilton Hotels Corporation (NYSE:HLT) said today that it has scheduled Wednesday, October 23, 2002 for the release of the company's third quarter financial results and conference call.

The results will be issued prior to the opening of the market on October 23, with a conference call to follow that day at 12 p.m. Eastern time (9 a.m. Pacific). The dial in numbers are 888-482-0024 (domestic)/617-801-9702 (international), passcode #275972.

Forward-looking statements and other material information concerning anticipated future events and expectations may be discussed on this conference call.

The conference call will also be webcast simultaneously via Hilton's investor relations website. Investors wishing to access the call on the web should log on to www.hiltonworldwide.com, click the investor relations tab and click on the quarterly conference call link.

A replay of the call will be available by telephone until October 25 at 8 p.m. Eastern (5 p.m. Pacific). To access, dial 888-286-8010 (domestic)/617-801-6888 (international), passcode #275972. Additionally, a replay will be available indefinitely on Hiltonworldwide.com.

CONTACT:
Hilton Hotels Corporation
Marc Grossman, 310/205-4030 (Corporate Affairs)
marc_grossman@hilton.com
http://www.hiltonworldwide.com

Optimistic Survey on Travel Expectations

New York Times  -  Business travel is poised for an increase over the next six months, according to a survey of more than 950 domestic business travelers by Accenture, the consulting company.

More than a third of those surveyed said that they expected to travel more for business during the next half-year than they did in the previous half. Another 40 percent said their business travel would remain at the same level; 25 percent said it would drop.

The majority of respondents reported that their companies had placed few restrictions on travel. For instance, 79 percent said their companies had not restricted reservation option changes like business- and first-class travel.

"We're seeing many positive indicators that business travel is rebounding," said Julian Sparkes, a partner in Accenture's transportation and travel services group. Not that the major airlines will have a lot of reason to rejoice. With low-fare carriers already having taken a big chunk of the market in recent years, 13 percent of respondents said they had increased their use of low-fare carriers over the last six months, while 17 percent said their use of low-cost air carriers would increase in the next six months.

China Is Seen as Target for Growth

Long term, where's the biggest air-travel growth? According to a forecast last week by the International Air Transport Association's chief economist, Peter Morris, it's in China, where passenger traffic is expected to rise 9.5 percent by 2006. The lowest growth? Argentina, minus 1.6 percent, and Israel, zero.

A Standards Gap for Notary Laws

"It just blew me away, the holes we found in the laws," said Keith Jajko, the author of a study to be released today by the National Notary Association. Statutes in almost three-quarters of the nation's states and territories lack basic identification standards for notaries — important for travel security linked to accurate identification. Also, about 31 percent of the states have not updated their notary statutes in 15 years.

Rezidor SAS Hospitality signs master franchise agreement with Carlson Hotels Worldwide

The hotel operator Rezidor SAS Hospitality, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Scandinavian airline group SAS, said today (24 September) that it had entered into a master franchise agreement with the US hotel chain Carlson Hotels Worldwide.

The agreement gives Rezidor the exclusive rights to license or operate the brands Regent, Country Inn and Park Inn in Europe, the Middle East and Africa for a period of 30 years. The agreement also includes the takeover of existing franchise contracts.

Rezidor's investment in the transaction amounted to some SEK 40m primarily as a result of the takeover of current Country Inn operations.

Oman targets Russian tourists

Charter flights bringing well-heeled tourists from Russia and other CIS countries will soon be part of the tourism landscape of Oman. Come November, the first of several charters is due to arrive in Muscat, according to a report in the Oman Daily Observer.

M K K Mohammed, general manager of Mark Tours, which recently organised a 'familiarisation visit' for representatives of several influential Russian travel agencies, said that promoting the Sultanate to a new market would boost tourist traffic into Oman at a time when arrivals from Europe and other traditional source markets have been low in the wake of the 11 September events.

Mark Tours has teamed up with the Dubai-based Euro Travel & Tours (ETT) to promote the Sultanate in Russia, Kazakhstan and other promising CIS markets. Mohammed said upmarket Russian travellers have been showing a growing interest in Oman, fascinated by its unique heritage, distinctive culture, historical monuments, unspoilt beaches and diverse natural wealth. These fit perfectly into Oman's vision of developing selective tourism, Mohammed added.

A 20-member group of senior Russian executives, representing leading travel agencies in Moscow, Kazakhstan and the Siberian region, concluded a four- day visit to the Sultanate at the weekend.

Dallas in Battle for Conventions

It's been a tough few years for Dallas' meetings business. Many large groups stayed away during the two years of construction at the Dallas Convention Center. City officials and hoteliers hope the expansion's opening on Thursday means the city's meetings business cycle can get back to normal. But industry upheavals -- increased competition among cities and changes in the way meetings are booked -- could be obstacles to Dallas keeping its reputation as a top-tier convention city.

"Dallas is a great city, but it has to compete with New York, Chicago, Las Vegas, Orlando and San Francisco," said David Audrain, chairman of the International Association for Exhibition Management. "All of those places have just as big of facilities, but they also have more to do." The main change is that conventions don't return as often as they used to. Groups used to make it to Dallas every four years. "Now it can be eight years before a group returns," said Dave Whitney, president and chief executive of the Dallas Convention & Visitors Bureau. As the re-booking time lengthens, Dallas is more vulnerable to years when major conventions add a city to their rotation. The next such year for Dallas is 2004. Bookings are off for the year, although they're up for 2003, the first full year since 1999 without any convention center construction.

The economic impact of such a dip can be huge. The average convention delegate spends $1,200 during his or her stay, mostly at hotels and in restaurants, according to Tradeshow Week. Dallas also is feeling pressure from Orlando, Fla., and Las Vegas. Both cities have added enough convention space in the last 10 years to compete with the traditional leaders, including Dallas. With the convention center expansion, Dallas now has more than 1 million square feet of space to offer. The Orange County Convention Center in Orlando has 1.1 million square feet of exhibit space and is on track to expand to 2 million square feet by May.

Las Vegas has even more space. In January, the city's third convention center will open, bringing the city's total meeting space capacity to more than 3 million square feet. As a result, Dallas' share of the nation's 200 largest trade shows has remained stagnant at about 4 percent since 1994, Tradeshow Week says. During the same eight-year period, Orlando has gone from a zero share of the largest shows to 7.5 percent. And Las Vegas' share jumped from 12.5 percent to 20 percent. "Vegas is basically going for all the markets," said Michael Hughes, director of research for Tradeshow Week. "It's a challenging environment for cities like Dallas."