The latest market information from The Bench, the sole provider of daily performance data to the hotel sector, shows that Brussels hotels have enjoyed an impressive 2007 so far, but that weekends remain the city’s Achilles heel.
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The Notting Hill Carnival will see over 2 million people take to the West London streets to soak up the lively atmosphere of the two day festival to celebrate all things Caribbean. Whilst it is a regular yearly outing for many Londoners, it also attracts many thousands of visitors to the capital.
As expected nearby hotel accommodation is quickly booking out and prices are expected to shoot up around the event dates. Leading London hotel reservation specialist BHRC Online (www.bhrc.co.uk) recommends booking a hotel in Bayswater or Paddington early so as to avoid last minute disappointment. BHRC Online has tied-up with hotels around the events and there are still some good discounts up to 60% available for Internet bookings. Read more
Amid evidence that British tourists would rather their hotel be sustainably run than have five-stars, the UK tourist board VisitBritain is aiming to establish a green marque which will establish which have genuinely green credentials.
Only 4 per cent of holiday-makers would choose to book a five-star hotel over a four-star establishment, which is sustainably run, according to recent research from the Travel Foundation.
The clamour to know that a hotel’s green claims are valid has led to VisitBritain’s project, which is expected to come to fruition in the New Year. Read more
TVC Holdings PLC said it has led a consortium of investors to buy 11 Comfort Inn and Quality Hotels in Ireland for 41.5 mln eur from Kasterlee Ltd to strengthen this hotel business in Ireland and the UK.
The investment holding company said the deal represents a total investment of 46.5 mln eur, including 3 mln eur of development capital.
The acquisition will be funded with a combination of equity from TVC Holdings, Pat McCann and Davy Private Clients and a loan from the Ulster Bank, it added. TVC said it has invested 10 mln eur for a 29 pct stake in the hotels. Read more
Hotels in Bucharest registered the fastest growth in their occupancy rates in the first six months of this year, leaving behind cities such as London, Moscow and Istanbul.
Overall, Bucharest is above the European average and also ranks fourth in terms of the occupancy rates registered among the most important cities in Europe.
The hotels in the Capital reached an occupancy rate of 74.6% in the first half, an increase of 13.1% against the same time last year, thus exceeding the European average of 67.1%. Read more
Golden Tulip Hospitality is proud to announce three additions to its Benelux portfolio; two in the Netherlands and one in Belgium
Golden Tulip Hospitality Group has contracted a new Golden Tulip hotel in the Dutch city Gouda – the property will feature a minimum of 98 rooms and is scheduled to open by the end of 2008/ early 2009. Golden Tulip Hospitality, the Municipality of Gouda, Bontebal Vastgoed and Park King signed on Saturday June 23rd the agreements pertaining to the whole project named “Bolwerk”, this included the lease agreement for the Golden Tulip Gouda. Read more
The business traveller’s search for cheaper hotel accommodation has helped to fuel a near doubling of the UK budget hotel market since 2000, pushing its turn-over beyond £1bn.
Whitbread’s Premier Travel Inn and Dubai International Capital’s Travelodge have provided much of the supply growth, the number of extra rooms increasing by about 8,000 rooms a year on average so far this decade.
Last year, the top two each added 2,000 rooms, compared with French-based Accor’s 449 rooms and Express by Holiday Inn with 356, according to research by TRI Hospitality Consulting. Read more
Irish property investor Quinlan Private has emerged as an early leading contender to buy Marylebone Warwick Balfour’s chain of boutique hotels, Malmaison and Hotel du Vin.
MWB, run by Richard Balfour-Lynn, hired Bank of America to sell the businesses following his failed attempt to float Vector Hospitality, a real estate investment trust potentially worth £2.6bn. Vector included Hotel du Vin, Malmaison and other assets owned by Royal Bank of Scotland and HBOS. The flotation failed due to lack of interest from investors.
MWB originally wanted a £450m sale and leaseback of the hotels but this week directors confirmed that the group intends to sell the hotel operations along with the real estate. Read more
The siesta is making a comeback, recycled for the modern world as “Iberian yoga”. Far from the afternoon snooze that consumes valuable working time, Spain’s siesta is being rebranded as essential for spiritual wellbeing and a balanced life.
Long hailed as the country’s greatest contribution to civilisation, the siesta - “Spain’s secret weapon”, according to this weekend’s ABC newspaper - is being relaunched in Seville.
Hoteliers in the southern hotspot are trying to lure visitors back from the beach by offering rooms between 3pm and 7pm at 30 per cent of the normal rate, to slumber through the hottest hours. The idea is that you emerge refreshed to enjoy the late afternoon, sunset and after dark, which Spaniards savour as the best time of the day. Read more