March 30, 1999

Hotel Online Special Report “Last of Vegas’ Big Four Projects” Paris Hotel and Casino Likely to Yield Highest Returns Paris Should Bring Profits for Park Place Entertainment NEW YORK - --Sept. 1, 1999-- Las Vegas’ new 2,916-room Paris Hotel and Casino by Park Place Entertainment (NYSE: PPE) is a rare construction project for the desert city, as the property will open on time and within budget, says Bear Stearns senior managing director Jason Ader. At $785 million in development costs, Paris was the lowest-cost—and the last—of Vegas’ “Big Four” hotel-casinos, Mr. Ader reports. Further, he indicates ...

Accor Adds 563 New Hotels, 61,000 rooms, During First 8 Months of 1999 / Sept 1999

March 30, 1999

Hotel Online Special Report Accor Adds 563 New Hotels, 61,000 rooms,  During First 8 Months of 1999 Paris, September 29, 1999   1999 first half results Accelerated business development Total income from operations up 12.5% Net current income, Group share, up 26.7% Development Accor stepped up the pace of its business development in the first half of 1999. In the first eight months of the year, a total of 563 new hotels – representing 61,000 rooms – were added to the Accor network. As a result, Accor strengthened its position as the world’s leading hotel operator. The Group ...

Choice Hotels International Awards ATT $233 Million Telecommunications Contract / Sept 1999

March 30, 1999

Hotel Online Special Report Choice Hotels International Awards ATT $233 Million Telecommunications Contract BASKING RIDGE, N.J., Sept. 2, 1999 - ATT (NYSE: T) announced today that it has been awarded a twelve-year agreement by Choice Hotels International, (NYSE: CHH) valued at $233 million, to provide a full range of services including domestic and international long distance and toll free services, digital access and network remote access for calling cards. ATT will provide these services to Choice and its franchisees through ATT OneNet® Service, an integrated offer portfolio that simplifies managing compl...

Steve Wynn, the Chairman of Mirage Resorts, Personally Joines as Design and Development Partner for Park Towers At Hughes Center, a $100 million Las

March 30, 1999

Hotel Online Special Report  Steve Wynn, Chairman of Mirage Resorts, Personally Joins as  Design and Development Partner for Park Towers At Hughes Center, a $100 million Las Vegas Residential Property LAS VEGAS - July 19, 1999--Best known for creating world-class resorts, Steve Wynn is making his foray into residential development.  The chairman of Mirage Resorts has personally joined as design and development partner for Park Towers At Hughes Center, a $100 million luxury high-rise development currently under construction in Las Vegas.  “Steve brings to us the same imagination and exquisite devotion to detail that...

Quality Assurance at Promus Call Centers Monitored by Witness Systems Technology / July 1999

March 30, 1999

Hotel Online Special Report  Quality Assurance at Promus Call Centers Monitored by Witness Systems Technology Enhances agent performance, quality of service and customer satisfaction ATLANTA July 13, 1999 -- Witness Systems, Inc., the premier developer of customer interaction recording and analysis solutions for contact centers, today announced that Promus Hotel Corporation (NYSE:PRH) has successfully deployed its patented, synchronized voice and data recording application throughout the hospitality leader’s call center organization.  Promus recognizes that today customer service can be the number one differentiator b...

Larry Gross GM at Just Opened Wingate Inn in Charlotte, NC / July 1999

March 30, 1999

Hotel Online Special Report  Larry Gross GM at Just Opened  Wingate Inn in Charlotte, NC CHARLOTTE, N.C. (July 14, 1999) – Business and leisure travelers to the Charlotte, North Carolina, area who are looking for a hotel with advanced in-room telecommunications, thoughtful amenities and a 100% satisfaction guarantee policy will find all that and more at the 122-room Wingate Inn hotel at 6057 Nations Ford Road (I-77 at Tyvola Road) in Charlotte. “Our hotel should be great for both business and leisure travelers as we’re located only five miles from Charlotte International Airport, two miles from the Charlotte Colise...

Developer Ken Walli Opens 82 Room Wingate Inn in Grand Blanc, Michigan / July 1999

March 30, 1999

Hotel Online Special Report  Developer Ken Walli Opens 82 Room Wingate Inn  in Grand Blanc, Michigan GRAND BLANC, MI (July 28, 1999) – Business and leisure travelers to the Grand Blanc, Michigan, area will find thoughtful amenities, advanced in-room telecommunications and a 100% satisfaction guarantee policy at the new three-story, 82-room franchised Wingate Inn hotel at 1359 Grand Pointe Court in Grand Blanc.  “The hotel is next door to the General Motors Service Parts Organization (SPO) Headquarters, near the General Motors Bus and Truck Assembly and just minutes away from the Warwick Hills Country Club, which h...

Westbrook and Management Agree to Buy Sunstone for $10.35/Share / July 1999

March 30, 1999

Hotel Online Special Report  Westbrook and Management Agree to Buy  Sunstone for $10.35/Share SAN CLEMENTE, Calif., July 13, 1999 -  The Special Committee of the Board of Directors of Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc. (“Sunstone”) (NYSE: SSI) today announced that Sunstone has entered into a merger agreement to be acquired by SHP Acquisition, LLC (“SHP”), an affiliate of Westbrook Partners and certain members of Sunstone’s senior management, for $10.35 per share in cash. Limited partners in Sunstone Hotel Investors LP can elect to receive the same consideration per OP unit or an equity interest in the acquiring entity...

Marriott and Four Seasons Really Stand Out as Hotel Sector Stocks in 1999 / The Wall Street Transcript / July 1999

March 30, 1999

Hotel Online Special Report Marriott and Four Seasons Really Stand Out  as Hotel Sector Stocks in 1999 /  The Wall Street Transcript NEW YORK, July 8, 1999 - Leading analysts examine the hotel, time-share and vacation resort sectors in the latest issue of The Wall Street Transcript. In a vital review of this sector for investors and industry professionals, it features: 1) In an in-depth roundtable forum on the lodging sector (18,000+ words), five prominent analysts: Michael Happel of Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, Robert McConnaughey of Prudential, Joyce Minor of Lehman Brothers, Mark Mutkoski of Deutsche Banc Alex. ...

Federal GOP Tax Bill Has Provisions that Would Benefit Restaurants / Washington Restaurant Association / July 1999

March 30, 1999

Hotel Online Special Report  Federal GOP Tax Bill Has Provisions that Would Benefit Restaurants /  Washington Restaurant Association OLYMPIA, Wash. - July 20, 1999 -- The Washington Restaurant Association today urged its members of Congress to support the U.S. House Republican tax proposal unveiled last week in Washington, DC, saying that it would greatly benefit the State’s 9,900 restaurateurs and their employees. “When you look at the Republican tax proposal, you can see that a lot of good news came out of Washington last week,” said Gene Vosberg, President and CEO of the Washington Restaurant Association.  “T...

Starwood Targeting Excess Land at Owned Resorts for Interval Ownership / Plans to Merge with Vistana / July 1999

March 30, 1999

Hotel Online Special Report  Starwood Targeting Excess Land at Owned Resorts for Interval Ownership /  Plans to Merge with Vistana WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. and ORLANDO, Fla., July 19, 1999 -  Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: HOT), one of the world’s largest hotel and leisure companies, and Vistana, Inc. (Nasdaq: VSTN), one of the premier developers and operators of high quality vacation ownership resorts, jointly announced today they have entered into a definitive merger agreement pursuant to which Vistana will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Starwood. The transaction is structured to provide Vistana’...

New Bill Prohibiting U.S. Internet Gambling Would Not Affect Virtual Gaming Technologies, Inc. / July 1999

March 30, 1999

Hotel Online Special Report  New Bill Prohibiting U.S. Internet Gambling Would Not Affect Virtual Gaming Technologies, Inc. SAN DIEGO - July 20, 1999--Virtual Gaming Technologies, Inc., (OTC:BB:VGTI), stated today that passage of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee bill to ban sports and casino gambling over the Internet in the United States would not effect the operations of its subsidiary, Virtual Gaming Technologies Antigua, Ltd.  (VGTA), an Internet gaming and sports betting provider for non U.S. residents. Joseph R. Paravia, President and Chief Executive Officer, VGTI, said, “ Our proprietary gaming system is rest...

Unique Hotels & Resorts Completes $11 Million in Renovations at Shoreham and Mansfield Hotels in NYC / July 1999

March 30, 1999

Hotel Online Special Report  Unique Hotels & Resorts Completes $11 Million in Renovations at Shoreham and Mansfield Hotels in NYC NEW YORK, June 15 -- Unique Hotels & Resorts will unveil $11 million in expansions and enhancements at two of its five Manhattan-based luxury boutique hotels late this summer. The Shoreham and The Mansfield, two popular West Side hotels, will introduce brand-new bars, business and fitness centers. The Shoreham will also open 88 new guest rooms and four penthouse suites with terraces, bringing its room count to 178, and it is introducing a new restaurant. The Shoreham's expanded facilities, rea...

Unique Hotels & Resorts New York City Hotel Cluster is Prototype for Future Expansion / July 1999

March 30, 1999

Hotel Online Special Report  Unique Hotels & Resorts New York City Hotel Cluster is Prototype for Future Expansion Corporate Profile New York, N.Y. July 1999 - New York bound, Unique Hotels & Resorts Inc., a premier operator of small luxury hotels in resorts destinations and clustered in urban centers, consider its New York City cluster a prototype for future expansion. These small properties are unlike each other physically, but each is uniquely stylish and of the moment, consistent in personalized service and unusual amenities, and intimate and welcoming. The Hotel Wales, once a seemingly blighted structure, contai...

Fifth Annual Conference on Graduate Education and Graduate Student Research in Hospitality and Tourism / U. of Houston / Jan 2000

March 30, 1999

Hotel Online Special Report Fifth Annual  Graduate Education and Graduate Student Research Conference in Hospitality and Tourism  January 6-8, 2000 Conference Registration Form . Conference Sponsors Bournemouth University  Georgia State University Hong Kong Polytechnic University  Iowa State University  Johnson & WalesUniversity  Kansas State University  New York University  Oklahoma State University  Pennsylvania State University Purdue University  Rochester Institute of Technology  Texas Tech University University of Guelp...

Trump Hotels Casino Resorts Second Quarter EBITDA Increased to $73.2 Million vs. $64.6 Million in 1998 / July 1999

March 30, 1999

Hotel Online Special Report  Trump Hotels Casino Resorts Second Quarter EBITDA Increased to $73.2 Million vs. $64.6 Million in 1998 NEW YORK - July 12, 1999--Trump Hotels Casino Resorts, Inc. (NYSE: DJT) announced today that for the second quarter ended June 30, 1999, consolidated net revenues were $361.5 million, compared to $344.3 million reported for the same period in 1998 (+5%). THCR’s EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization and corporate expenses) for the quarter was $73.2 million versus $64.6 million reported in the prior year’s second quarter (+13.4%). The net loss was reduced to $6.5 ...

TransAct Formed to Handle Unprecedented Buyer Demand for Hotels, Motels and Pubs in Australia / July 1999

March 30, 1999

Hotel Online Special Report  TransAct Formed to Handle Unprecedented Buyer Demand  for Hotels, Motels and Pubs in Australia July 5, 1999 - Australia's motel, hotel and pub markets are currently experiencing a strong resurgence as increased  returns are generating unprecedented buyer demand and escalating property values. Nowhere is this more evident than in the Pub market which has reached record levels over  the past two years, largely due to the enormous profits generated from poker machines and gaming facilities. In  response to market demand, Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels has established a dedicated national mot...

Ted Darnall Named President of North American Hotel Operations at Starwood / July 1999

March 30, 1999

Hotel Online Special Report  Ted Darnall Named President of North American Hotel Operations at Starwood WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., July 12, 1999 -  Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: HOT) confirmed today that Fred Kleisner, President of Starwood’s hotel operations for the Americas, has resigned from the company to become the President of Wyndham Hotels. Ted Darnall, Executive Vice President, Operations, North America for Starwood’s hotel group will assume Mr. Kleisner’s position. Osvaldo Librizzi, President of South American hotel operations will report directly to Juergen Bartels, Chief Executive Officer of S...

Marc Resorts Assuming Management of the 720 unit Island Colony Hotel in Waikiki / July 1999

March 30, 1999

Hotel Online Special Report  Marc Resorts Assuming Management of the 720 unit Island Colony Hotel in Waikiki ORLANDO, Fla., July 12, 1999 -  Sunterra Corporation (NYSE: OWN) announced today that its Marc Resorts subsidiary has entered into an exclusive management agreement with The Island Colony Partnership to serve as property manager and marketing agent for the Island Colony Hotel, a 720-unit property located along the tranquil Ala Wai Canal, near the center of Waikiki, Oahu, Hawaii. Beginning January 2000, Marc Resorts will manage units at the property succeeding the current property manager (Aston Hotels Resorts) for ...

Allegis Realty Investors, LLC Acquires the Chicago Marriott in Oak Brook, Illinois / July 1999

March 30, 1999

Hotel Online Special Report  Allegis Realty Investors, LLC Acquires the  Chicago Marriott in Oak Brook, Illinois New York, NY - July 26, 1999 - Sonnenblick-Goldman Company, acting as the exclusive advisor to The Travelers Insurance Company, a member of Citygroup, has arranged the sale of the Chicago Marriott in Oak Brook, Illinois to Allegis Realty Investors, LLC. Located in one of Chicago's most affluent suburbs, the 347-room Marriott Oak Brook is within 20 minutes of O'Hare Airport and is proximate to downtown Chicago, the Rosemont Convention Center, and over 24 million square feet of Class A office space. The prope...

Seven Circle Resorts Opens the Regent Grand Spa At The Resort At Summerlin / July 1999

March 30, 1999

Hotel Online Special Report  Seven Circle Resorts Opens the Regent Grand Spa At The Resort At Summerlin MINNEAPOLIS - July 15, 1999--Regent International Hotels today announced the opening of The Regent Grand Spa At The Resort At Summerlin in northwest Las Vegas, the first luxury golf and spa resort off The Strip. This elegant new hotel, offering 286 rooms and suites, is the first of two Regent hotels to open at The Resort At Summerlin. The second hotel, The Regent Grand Palms (255 rooms), is scheduled to open late September.  “We are pleased to introduce the distinctive Regent hospitality experience, which is acclaime...

Splendor in the Hotel Bathroom – Bathrooms are becoming sexier and more spacious / Barbara A. Worcester / July 1999

March 30, 1999

Hotel Online Special Report  Splendor in the Hotel Bathroom Bathrooms are becoming sexier and more spacious  to accommodate couples and cultivate romance By Barbara A. Worcester, H&MM Senior Editor July 1999 - Sex Sells. Perhaps that's why hospitality designers are adding sex appeal to guest bathrooms by specifying oversized showers, tubs for two and private toilets. "Bathrooms are getting bigger and sexier to meet guest expectations, " said Tony Trim, a designer with Looney Ricks Kiss in Memphis. "A big selling point for resorts and upscale properties is offering the ability for two-person bathing. It's an amenity t...

Sol Melia Developing New Projects in Tenerife Including Expansion of the Gran Meliá Bahía del Duque / July 1999

March 30, 1999

Hotel Online Special Report  Sol Melia Developing New Projects in Tenerife Including Expansion of the  Gran Meliá Bahía del Duque The projects, which will cost 43,000 million pesetas include  the development of a new golf resort in Isora Singapore, 20 July 1999 - The Chairman of Sol Meliá, Gabriel Escarrer, and Enrique Hernándis, representative of Inversiones Hoteleras Playa del Duque, have announced the formation of a new  company to jointly develop several tourism projects on Tenerife, one of the Spanish Canary Islands.  The proposed projects, to be developed over a six year period, will involve an es...

March 30, 1999

Hotel Online Special Report Sol Melia Converts the Company’s  Share Capital to Euros /  Takes Over Its Tenth Hotel in Germany July, 1999 - The Extraordinary General Shareholders’ Meeting approves a share split and possible bond issue  The Sol Meliá Extraordinary General Shareholders’ Meeting held in Palma de Majorca has approved the nine points contained on its agenda, amongst which was the conversion of the company’s share capital to Euros as stipulated in Spanish law.  After the acquisition of MIA (Meliá Inversiones Americanas) and the later merger with Inmotel, Sol Meliá stock capital in pesetas had ...