February 28, 2000

Hotel Online Special Report Matamoras, Pennsylvania’s Inn At Hunt’s Landing  Sold for 7.5 million San Antonio Comfort Inn Also Sold New York, NY - May 11, 2000 - Insignia/ESG Hotel Partners has completed the sale of the 108-room Best Western Inn at Hunt’s Landing, located in Matamoras, Pennsylvania.     The Inn at Hunt’s Landing was acquired by a private investor for $7,510,000, or approximately $70,000 per room.  Paul Fitzpatrick, senior managing director in the New York office of Insignia/ESG Hotel Partners, represented the seller, Hunt & Hunt, in this transaction. The Best Western Inn at Hunt’s Landing ...

Industry Real Estate Advisory Council of the AH&MA Names Stephen Rushmore Recipient of the C. Everett Johnson Award / May 2000

February 28, 2000

Hotel Online Special Report  Industry Real Estate Advisory Council of the AH&MA Names Stephen Rushmore Recipient of the  C. Everett Johnson Award April 27, 2000 - Stephen Rushmore, president and founder of HVS International, has been named recipient of the Industry Real Estate Advisory Council of the American Hotel & Motel Association’s (IREFAC) C. Everett Johnson Award.  IREFAC, which provides a forum for major hotel lenders, developers, owners, and operators to interact and stay current on the opportunities and challenges within the hotel industry, presents this award annually to “an individual who has been an ...

Daniel Rothfeld Named SVP, E-Commerce and Emerging Business Opportunities at Choice Hotels / May 2000

February 28, 2000

Hotel Online Special Report  Daniel Rothfeld Named SVP, E-Commerce and  Emerging Business Opportunities at Choice Hotels SILVER SPRING, Md., May 3, 2000 - Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE: CHH) today announced the promotion of Daniel Rothfeld to the newly-created post of senior vice president, e-commerce and emerging business opportunities. Rothfeld had been vice president, partner services group, a position he assumed in 1998. In this role, he was responsible for a number of innovations at Choice, including the development and rollout of www.ChoiceBuys.com, the company’s online procurement system; the expl...

Roosevelt Hotel Sold for for $36 million Based on 1979 Irrevocable Option to Purchase the 1,040 Room Hotel / May 2000

February 28, 2000

Hotel Online Special Report  Roosevelt Hotel Sold for for $36 million Based on 1979 Irrevocable Option to Purchase the 1,040 Room Hotel  Roosevelt Hotel Corporation Prevails Over Milstein Family  NEW YORK, May 31, 2000 - The Roosevelt Hotel Corporation, NV, a company owned by Pakistan International Airlines and Prince Faisal of Saudia Arabia, represented by Chadbourne & Parke LLP, won a major battle against Letoh Associates, a Milstein family partnership, in a lawsuit over the purchase of the Roosevelt Hotel.  Supreme Court Justice Ira Gammerman ruled that the purchase contract clearly stated that the Roosevelt H...

RoomsNet Providing Web-based System Enabling Hotels to Sell Inventory With Their Own Reservation System / May 2000

February 28, 2000

Hotel Online Special Report RoomsNet Providing Web-based System  Enabling Hotels to Sell Inventory With  Their Own Reservation System May 3, 2000 - Introducing an on-line web based reservation system for your hotel rooms - operational in less than a  week! Get rid of those e-mail and form based reservation requests immediately!! You can now provide on-line hotel reservations for your hotel rooms 24 hours a day on your web site with RoomsNet TM.  RoomsNet (www.roomsnet.com)  is a state-of-the art web-based on-line room reservation system enabling on-line travel agencies, hotel reservation call-centers, hotel mar...

Thayer Lodging Group Opens the IACC Certified Executive Meeting Center at the The DoubleTree Hotel, Rockville, Maryland / May 2000

February 28, 2000

Hotel Online Special Report Thayer Lodging Group Opens the IACC  Certified Executive Meeting Center at the  The DoubleTree Hotel, Rockville, Maryland Rockville, MD - May 5, 2000 -  The DoubleTree Hotel and Executive Meeting Center, Rockville’s newly constructed 10,000 square foot Executive Meeting Center, celebrated its grand opening Tuesday, May 2. Local figures that spoke at the ribbon cutting ceremony include the Honorable Rose Krasnow, Mayor, City of Rockville; David Edgerley, Director of the Montgomery County Department of Economic Development and Lawrence E. Cunnick, President, BIOCON, Inc., a Rockville-base...

Singapore and Hong Kong Lead Asia-Pacific's First Quarter Recovery in Occupancy and RevPAR / Arthur Andersen / May 2000

February 28, 2000

Hotel Online Special Report Singapore and Hong Kong Lead  Asia-Pacific's First Quarter Recovery in Occupancy and RevPAR SINGAPORE - May 15, 2000 -- Singapore led the Asia-Pacific region in terms of RevPAR (Revenue Per Available Room) growth, compared with the same period in 1999, according to the first quarter 2000 results of the Arthur Andersen Asia Pacific Hotel Industry Benchmark Survey.  The Lion City achieved a RevPAR increase of 26% over 1999 levels to S$133.42.  Occupancy rates in Singapore also rebounded 12.8 percentage points from 66.9% to 79.7%. Average room rates climbed a healthy 5.9% to US$97.84, refle...

Milehigh Hotel Venture, LP Reflags the Former Ramada Inn Mile High Stadium to The Red Lion Hotel Downtown Denver / May 2000

February 28, 2000

Hotel Online Special Report  Milehigh Hotel Venture, LP Reflags the  Former Ramada Inn Mile High Stadium  to The Red Lion Hotel Downtown Denver VANCOUVER, Wash - May 9, 2000 -- Red Lion Hotels Inns is proud to announce the opening of the 170-room Red Lion Hotel Downtown Denver. It marks the second “new” Red Lion opening in the Denver area since the relaunching of the brand in 1999.  The Red Lion Hotel Downtown Denver is owned by Milehigh Hotel Venture, LP, managed by Venquest Hotels; and operated under a license agreement with Red Lion Hotels Inns, a franchise subsidiary of Beverly Hills-based Hilton Hotels Co...

Raintree Resorts International Acquires Control of Cimarron Golf Resort, Palm Springs, California; Plan 242 Ownership Units / May 2000

February 28, 2000

Hotel Online Special Report Raintree Resorts International Acquires Control  of Cimarron Golf Resort, Palm Springs, California;  Plan 242 Ownership Units  May 15, 2000 - Palm Springs, CA—Raintree Resorts International, Inc., a leading developer, marketer and operator of luxury vacation ownership resorts in North America, has acquired control of Cimarron Golf Resort, an upscale 36-hole golf facility located in the Palm Springs area.  Cimarron is a 270-acre private resort featuring two championship golf courses. A total of 242 two-bedroom luxury vacation villas with attached garages will be developed adjacent to t...

Radisson SAS Reports Favourable Market Conditions, Excluding Norway, Produces Increase in 1st Qtr Performance / May 2000

February 28, 2000

Hotel Online Special Report  Radisson SAS Reports Favourable Market Conditions, Excluding Norway, Produces Increase in  1st Qtr Performance May 19, 2000 - Radisson SAS has reported first quarter results, which show a healthy improvement from 1999. Revenue totalled MNOK 664, MNOK 18 better than last year, representing a growth of 10%, taking the sale of real estate into consideration. Income before tax reached MNOK 9, compared to MNOK –10 for the similar period in 1999. This excludes the gain from the sale of real estate. Overall, favourable market conditions, coupled with strong growth in the number of hot...

February 28, 2000

Hotel Online Special Report  Robert H. Woods Joining the Faculty in UNLV’s  William F. Harrah College of Hotel Administration,  Will Head Timeshare Curriculum Las Vegas, May 23, 2000 - One of the most prolific authors in the field of hospitality education has been hired by UNLV to develop one of the nation’s first programs in timeshare management education. Robert H. Woods, currently the professor and director for the study of lodging operations at Purdue University, will join the faculty in UNLV’s William F. Harrah College of Hotel Administration this fall. According to a recent survey, Woods is the most cited ...

Ian Schrager Suing Popular Bar Operator Rande Gerber / May 2000

February 28, 2000

Hotel Online Special Report  Ian Schrager Suing Popular Bar  Operator Rande Gerber NEW YORK - May 16, 2000 -- Ian Schrager, chairman of Ian Schrager Hotels, LLC, announced today that his lawsuit against Rande Gerber, who runs popular upscale bars in Schrager Hotels in New York and Hollywood, would go forward while Mr. Gerber is bound by a court order not to operate bars in competing hotels.  “The signing of the stipulation by Mr. Gerber is only the beginning of the prosecution of this lawsuit,” said Stanley S.  Arkin, counsel to Schrager Hotels. “We are now going to go into extensive and probing discovery to d...

Diminished RevPAR Growth Forecasted by PricewaterhouseCoopers / May 2000

February 28, 2000

Hotel Online Special Report Diminished RevPAR Growth Forecasted  by PricewaterhouseCoopers The U.S. Lodging Industry Faces Slowdown in 2001;  RevPAR Will Decrease Over One Full Percentage Point NEW YORK - May 8, 2000 -- PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Hospitality Leisure Practice predicts the lodging industry will experience RevPAR (revenue per available room) growth of 2.8 percent in 2001, a 1.1 percent drop from the 3.9 percent RevPAR increase expected this year and the lowest RevPAR growth since 1992.  Two key factors will diminish RevPAR growth: A slowing in the U.S. economy’s GDP growth, forecast by Marcroeconomic ...

R. D. Olson Construction Completes Renovation of the Hyatt West Hollywood, Recreating the Hotel's Original 1960's Flavor / May 2000

February 28, 2000

Hotel Online Special Report  R. D. Olson Construction Completes Renovation  of the Hyatt West Hollywood, Recreating  the Hotel's Original 1960's Flavor LOS ANGELES, Calif. --R. D. Olson Construction has completed renovation of the Hyatt West Hollywood, recreating the hotel's original 1960's flavor. The Irvine-based construction company, which specializes in building hotels and restaurants, has brought back to life the days when the facility was owned by Gene Autry and known as the Continental Hotel. It is located at 8401 Sunset Blvd., West Los Angeles, across the street from the House of Blues. In renovat...

February 28, 2000

Hotel Online Special Report    NetSoft Installing Internet Access and Portal, QuickSilver™, at the Villas at Grand Cypress Resort  ORLANDO, Fla. (May 8, 2000) - - Orlando-based NetSoft (a division of InnHanse™ Corp.), has been selected by the Villas at Grand Cypress Resort for exclusive installation of their high-speed internet access and portal, QuickSilver™, to the146 villas on the property at One N. Jacaranda Blvd.  The installation is scheduled for completion by the second week of May. The QuickSilver network offers high-speed connectivity and Internet access for hotel rooms via the QuickSilver portal.  T...

Robert Prohaska Named Director of Sales & Marketing for Four-diamond Rated Sutton Place Hotel, Chicago / May 2000

February 28, 2000

Hotel Online Special Report  Robert Prohaska Named Director of Sales & Marketing  for Four-diamond Rated Sutton Place Hotel, Chicago CHICAGO -- David Sowell, general manager for the four-diamond rated Sutton Place Hotel has announced the promotion of Robert Prohaska, 33, to director of sales & marketing for the 246-room property located at 21 E. Bellevue Place.  In Prohaska’s new role, he oversees sales for the rooms, catering and reservations departments as well as handling all marketing duties. Prohaska helped open Hotel 21 East (as the property was then known) in 1988 prior to relocating to Michigan where he ...

Size of the U.S. Hotel Procurement Market in 1999 Reached $15.85 billion / The Hospitality Research Group / May 2000

February 28, 2000

Hotel Online Special Report  Size of the U.S. Hotel Procurement Market  in 1999 Reached $15.85 billion /  The Hospitality Research Group First Authoritative Study of this Emerging Market Atlanta, GA,  May 2, 2000 – In a whitepaper published today, The Hospitality Research Group (HRG), the research affiliate of PKF Consulting, finds the size of the U.S. hotel procurement market in 1999 reached $15.85 billion.  The results are based on a comprehensive study of the U.S. hotel procurement market performed by HRG during the first quarter of 2000.  The objective of the study was to determine the size of the market ...

Planet Hollywood Out from Chapter 11; Planning New Restaurant Locations / May 2000

February 28, 2000

Hotel Online Special Report    Planet Hollywood Out from Chapter 11;  Planning New Restaurant Locations ORLANDO, Fla., May 9, 2000 - Planet Hollywood announced that it has successfully reorganized and is now positioned to move forward with plans to revitalize the brand. The Company’s plan of reorganization under Chapter 11 of the US Bankruptcy Code became effective today when all documents and actions contemplated by the plan were finalized. The Company recently sold its Times Square retail unit for $30 million cash, eliminating the need for bridge loan financing; however, the timing of the sale caused the Compan...

Marcus Acquires Phillips House Hotel, Kansas City; Will Completely Renovate Historic Hotel / May 2000

February 28, 2000

Hotel Online Special Report  Marcus Acquires Phillips House Hotel, Kansas City;  Will Completely Renovate Historic Hotel MILWAUKEE - May 22, 2000 -- Marcus Hotels and Resorts, a division of The Marcus Corporation (NYSE:MCS), has purchased The Phillips House Hotel, a Kansas City, Mo. landmark property, with plans to undertake a complete restoration of the hotel. “The acquisition of The Phillips House Hotel represents an outstanding opportunity for our full-service hotels and resorts division,” said Lee A. Berthelsen, president of Marcus Hotels and Resorts. “Our team is well-versed in restoring the splendor, and p...

Year-to-date Occupancy at The Peninsula Group Reflects a Steadier Course for 2000 / May 2000

February 28, 2000

Hotel Online Special Report   Year-to-date Occupancy at The Peninsula Group  Reflects a Steadier Course for 2000 Hong Kong, May 8, 2000 - Year-to-date occupancy, average room rate and yield for the first quarter of 2000 for hotels within The Peninsula Group confirm improved sentiment and reflect a sustained period of growth within the tourism industry.  The most dramatic increases in occupancy were recorded by The Peninsula New York and The Peninsula Bangkok, up 80% and 367% respectively over the first three months of 1999. Positive if less spectacular momentum was experienced by The Peninsula Hong Kong (+12%), Th...

Pegasus Solutions Adds More Than 1,800 Hotel Properties to its Travel Agent Commission Processing Service / May 2000

February 28, 2000

Hotel Online Special Report  Pegasus Solutions Adds More Than 1,800 Hotel Properties to its Travel Agent Commission  Processing Service DALLAS, May 1, 2000 - Dallas-based Pegasus Solutions, Inc. (Nasdaq: PEGS) today announced its Pegasus Commission Processing service experienced a banner first quarter, marked by the addition of 1,800 hotels to its consolidated commission service.  “We are committed to broadening our mix of hotel participants worldwide, and our latest additions to our hotel roster reflect accommodations from well-known brands to quaint independent properties,” said Jeff Bzdawka, senior vice presi...

The Peabody Orlando Planning Addition of 1,700 Guest Rooms / May 2000

February 28, 2000

Hotel Online Special Report   The Peabody Orlando Planning Addition  of 1,700 Guest Rooms ORLANDO, Fla - May 2, 2000 -- Plans are rapidly developing for the commencement of a three-year expansion program for the 891-room, 57,000 sq. ft. , of flexible meeting space, luxury, convention/resort hotel, The Peabody Orlando, the only hotel on International Drive located directly opposite the main entrance to the 1.5-million sq. ft., soon-to-be 3.5-million sq. ft., Orlando/Orange County Convention Center. The two-phase expansion program includes the addition of 1,700 luxurious guest rooms for a total capacity of 2,600 rooms...

Little Rock's Excelsior Receiving $20 million Rehab and a Re-flagging to The Peabody Little Rock / May 2000

February 28, 2000

Hotel Online Special Report  Little Rock's Excelsior Receiving $20 million Rehab and a Re-flagging to The Peabody Little Rock LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas  - May 23, 2000 - Legal formalities were finalized May 23, 2000 in Little Rock, AR. with approval of official documents and contracts for the re-flagging of The Excelsior Hotel, after its renovation as The Peabody Little Rock. “We are thrilled that we can now move quickly forward in launching our partnership with Marty Belz and the Peabody Hotel Group,” said Masa Kasuga, President of New York-based Green Stamp America, Inc. representing the owners of The Excelsior Hote...

February 28, 2000

Hotel Online Special Report  Park Place Entertainment Corp. Agrees to Acquire  Kutsher’s Resort Hotel and Country Club, Will Jointly Develop  Destination Resort Complex Along with St. Regis Mohawk Tribal Council  LAS VEGAS - May 1, 2000-- Park Place Entertainment Corporation (NYSE:PPE - news) today announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Kutsher’s Resort Hotel and Country Club.  Specifically, Park Place has acquired an option to purchase the 1,400-acre Kutsher’s property. In addition, Park Place has entered into a definitive agreement to purchase 50 acres of Kutsher’s land that will be tr...