Brian Williams to head Scotsman group ?

The London Times  -  The Scotsman Hotel Group will today seek to draw a line under recent woes by announcing the appointment of Brian Williams, former general manager of the Ritz and Hyde Park hotels, London, as chief executive.

Mr Williams, who has spent the past 17 years with the Hong Kong-based Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group in various parts of the world, is due to take the helm in January, reporting to the Scotsman group's non-executive chairman Robert Breare, the pub and leisure entrepreneur.

Mr Breare was brought in as chairman by the group's backers, Botts & Company and Bank of Scotland, after the original management led by Charles Vere Nicoll, the former Regal Hotel Group chairman, was ousted last year in the wake of poor trading.

There have been suggestions that Mr Breare was brought in to steer the group to an eventual sale, and that the appointment of a chief executive was part of that process. However, Mr Williams insisted last night: "That's not the plan. There is no selling strategy in the short term."

The company's flagship, the 68-room Scotsman Hotel, is in the former Scotsman newspaper building in Edinburgh. Its other hotels are 42 The Calls, a 41-room hotel in Leeds, and the luxury Hotel de la Tremoille in Paris, which reopened last week after a revamp, including the addition of a Conran restaurant. 

6C investors demand break-up rather than demerger

e-Tid.com  -  The Observer reports that ‘several of Six Continents’ major shareholders’ are prepared to argue that the company’s pubs and hotels should be sold rather than demerged into two separately listed entities.

6C issued its FYs last week, in which it gave a bleak outlook for the next year. The shareholders are concerned that, under a demerger, neither the pubs nor the hotels would achieve a stock market listing reflecting their true worth.
However, 6C has received offers of around £3bn for its poubs division according to the paper, with VCs Candover and CVC named. But 6C is reported to want at least £4bn.

The paper suggests that Marriott would be interested in 6C’s Inter-Continental,, Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn brands.

Raffles puts two wonders together for a good cause

By Yeoh Siew Hoon, TravelWeeklyEast.com

In putting together “An Evening at Angkor with Jose Carreras”, Raffles International wanted to bring together two wonders – the Angkor Temples and the world famous tenor – for a good cause, said chairman and CEO Richard Helfer.

He said that while every business has a responsibility to deliver on its bottomline, Raffles also believed in being a good corporate citizen and enriching local communities wherever it has hotels.

In Cambodia, it operates the REACH programme for underprivileged children and preservation of the environment. Its Raffles training centre in Phnom Penh provides formal training for young Cambodians eager to make a career in hospitality.

“One-and-a-half years and a lot of hard work have gone into making this event happen,” he said. “A lot of people have put heads, hands and hearts to achieve tonight’s crescendo.

“The logistics have been overwhelming. More than 1,000 people have been involved – from setting up the stage to feeding 1,000 covers to lighting the more than 1,000 traditional torches in the West Entrance – lit manually by 100 staff of the Grand Hotel d’Angkor.”

Last but not least, Helfer thanked Gilbert Madhavan, Raffles’ area general manager for Cambodia, for “being the inspiration and driving force behind this concert”.

Encore, Angkor

It was an event that would probably have woken the dead.

More than 1,000 people tramping through the ruins of the Angkor temples in their tuxedos and ballgowns by moonlight and the flickering of lamp oil lights.

Men perspiring profusely in their suits, women tottering on their high heels, occasionally stepping on their long dresses, all making their way through the temples, along the stone pathways, across to the East Entrance.

A good 30-minute walk – but well worth the sweat. A fitting dramatic entry for an event of a lifetime, “An Evening at Angkor with Jose Carreras”.

A charity concert planned by Raffles International, with the full blessing of the Cambodian government – an event aimed at raising the awareness of the Cambodia as a tourist destination and as a country rich in culture away from the usual images of war, bloodbaths and conflicts.

On top of all that, to raise S$300,000 for four charities – the Cambodian Red Cross, Veterans International for Victims of Landmines, Wild Aid and the SOS Children’s Villages.

The logistics were overwhelming. An event of this scale had never been organised before in a country more used to war than opera – feeding more than 1,000 guests in the open air grounds facing the East Entrance of the temples and installing a sound and lighting system that would showcase the voice of Carreras and the temples of Angkor.

Even the chairs had to be brought in from Phnom Penh. Equipment had to be shipped and flown in from Singapore and Bangkok. Musical instruments of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra had to find their way to the temples, not to mention the 90 musicians from Singapore who would accompany Carreras.

Here are the other numbers – 150 dancers, 32,000 flowers, 20 life-size ice carvings, four elephants, 170 chefs, 1,000 bottles of wine and oh, not to mention the approximate 500 police who had to be deployed for security.

Attending were Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen and the country’s entire political community, which possibly outnumbered paying guests.

In total, 1,050 guests attended – paying up to US$1,500 a seat. The cheapest seats were US$500 a pop.

When it comes to charity concerts, organisers are always shy to talk about numbers – but it was clear the costs must have been staggering. Some of it was defrayed through sponsorships and contra deals – the main sponsors were Caltex and Mastercard while co-sponsors were Cathay Pacific, Bangkok Airways and Robert Mondavi Winery.

Jose Carreras’ fee was the event’s worst-kept secret. Although he had reportedly agreed to a hugely discounted fee, rumours were that each tune he sang was easily worth about S$20,000 – which led many in the travel business to jest that they were obviously in the wrong business.

Then there were the fees to the SSO which was led by Carreras’ nephew, Daniel Gimenez. The stage had to be built up from scratch and the sound and lighting, which many said stole the show and was put on by Singapore-based company, Showtec, reportedly cost upwards of S$50,000.

The biggest worry was the weather. When lightning lit up the sky in the early evening, the blood pressure of Raffles International’s area general manager for Cambodia, Gilbert Madhavan, the driving force behind the event, must have shot up.

And when raindrops started falling an hour after, he must have popped a blood vessel. As a contingency measure, raincoats had been placed at the bottom of every chair and those were whipped up and donned by guests whose spirits refused to be daunted by the rain.

Mutterings were heard from some that probably the spirits were not happy that the sacred temples of Angkor were being used for such an ostentatious event in a country which reportedly still has 500,000 landmines buried in its countryside and whose people are among the poorest in the region.

But Madhavan obviously had good spiritual advice. Prayers in the early evening when lightning lit up the sky followed by another round of prayers after the rain started falling – this time with a bottle of wine to appease the spirits – obviously worked because the rain miraculously stopped.

And then there were the insects and crickets to worry about. After all, no one wanted a cricket to fly into the mouth of Carreras just as he was delivering an aria.

So the entire area had to be fogged for about a week prior to the event.

The planning and preparations, which took more than a year, were well-rewarded. The event went off without a hitch. Transfers from respective hotels to the temple grounds went smoothly, the food quality was admirable, given the circumstances and the most hardened opera fans could not have fault the sound system. But most magical was the lighting which showed the temples in the backdrops to perfection.

Indeed, to me, it was the temples that stole the show and Carreras was the sideshow. It was as though the tenor, who did not say one word to the audience, not even a thank you when they sang “Happy Birthday” to him (his birthday was the day before), was there just to do his job – never mind the historic occasion he was part of.

Granted, he did four encores – but he could hardly not have done anything less considering the whole-hearted enthusiasm of an audience whose spirits were soaring high in what they knew was an experience of a lifetime.

Truly, a surreal event in a spiritual setting.

Encore Angkor, and Raffles for pulling it off. 

Source:  TravelWeeklyEast.com

Whitbread puts Swallows back on the market

e-Tid.com  - Whitbread has put 13 Swallow hotels back on the market for around £65m, according to The Business. Whitbread picked up the Swallow chain for around £570m three years ago. It converted 25 of the 38 properties to Marriott, arguing that the balance of the portfolio wasn’t suitable for conversion.

However, the thirteen hotels were withdrawn from sale as hotel values dropped post-11. But property prices have recovered of late, tempting Whitbread to put them back up for sale.

The thirteen hotels are described in the business as ‘medium-sized mid-market hotels mainly in Scotland and the north east of England.’
The paper suggest Cendant and Accor as having an interest, as well as venture capitalists

Hotel Companies May Be Subject to Shareholder Approval on Option Re-Pricing

Written By:  Keith Kefgen & Doug Rosen  HVS Executive Search

In light of recent corporate scandals, several public agencies have championed new regulations in an effort to regain public trust in corporate America.  Recently, the New York Stock Exchange made several proposals to the Securities and Exchange Commission to both modify existing, and add new corporate governance listing standards.  This article will focus on the NYSE’s recommendation that shareholders must be given the opportunity to vote on all equity compensation plans, specifically option re-pricing.

Currently, if a company’s board wishes to re-price existing options, it can do so at its discretion.  The re-pricing of options typically occurs when the strike price of outstanding options falls significantly below what the stock is currently trading at, thereby putting the options “underwater”.   Subjecting the re-pricing of options to a proxy vote will have varying effects on the parties involved. 

Historically, the investment community has always frowned upon option re-pricing. They believe that management should suffer with shareholders when the company under performs. Unfortunately, share price can decline for a multitude of reasons other than poor performance. Shareholders may feel that management does not deserve such a bailout, but denying a re-pricing may increase the loss of top talent or drive the company to grant significantly more new options. Shareholders might then be forced to vote on a new option plan because the old plan has been depleted.

With shareholders voting on a re-pricing, the board is effectively taken out of the decision making process. It might also affect the size and frequency of stock option grants moving forward. Furthermore, compensation committees may be forced to make executive pay more cash laden.  Coupled with another proposal by the NYSE that would require the expensing of stock options, stock incentives may lose their appeal as a compensation incentive tool.

Contact:
Keith Kefgen
President 
Doug Rosen
Vice President

HVS Executive Search

Brazil’s Atlantica Hotels Finishes 2002  with 30 Hotels Open and Operating;

Achieves Systemwide RevPar Growth of  8.7 Percent 

Brazil’s Atlantica Hotels International has maintained its aggressive stance and will finish 2002 with more 20 hotels added to its existing inventory in 12 months and 30 hotels open and operating. A total of 85 hotels are now open or under construction in the Atlantica portfolio.  Total assets under management now represent more than US $875 million.

“We have so many projects under way right now that our technical services managers are finding themselves constantly traveling from site to site throughout Brazil,” said Paul J. Sistare, founder, president & CEO of Atlantica Hotels International. “Plus, we expect 2003 will be much like this year, with a flurry of travel from groundbreakings to grand openings.” 

Most of the new hotels are located in the northern and western part of Brazil, areas the São Paulo-based company targeted at this time last year. According to Sistare, Atlantica added 20 new projects to its inventory, making 2002 the second best year in terms of development.  The previous best year occurred in 1999 when the Brazilian currency was devalued by 25 percent as investors sought additional financial refuge in income-producing alternatives. 

Atlantica has opened a new property approximately every 20 days through 2002. Sistare said he expected the expansion to continue with 17 hotels scheduled to open in 2003 and another 38 hotels slated to open in 2004 and 2005. 

Even as the global economic uncertainty continues, Sistare predicted Atlantica will continue its high-growth pace. In addition to the properties already under construction, Atlantica will break ground on at least 15 more new hotels in 2003, says Sistare. “Added to those operating hotels and those under construction, Atlantica’s inventory will exceed 100 hotels sometime next year.” Sistare adds that these hotels will continue to be in the solid mid-market products but hints at a few upscale projects to be announced in major Brazilian secondary cities. 

Atlantica-managed hotels have also continued to outperform the global hotel market as well as the Brazilian market as indicated by the company-wide 8.7 percent increase in year-on-year RevPar. The growth was fueled by especially strong third and fourth quarter results as the Brazilian economy began to stabilize and interregional business strengthened. Atlantica resort properties did especially well as Brazilians “rediscovered” the beauty of their own country and were forced to reality as the local currency traded at almost 4 to 1 to the US dollar, said Sistare

“We believe our continued double digit expansion in hotel growth has come from our strong portfolio of brands in the market, but more from the fact our hotels consistently deliver higher returns to our owners than our competition,” emphasizes Sistare. “Over the years, we have invested a great deal in our infrastructure to include features not normally offered by traditional management companies, such as a centralized reservations center, strong centralized sales and the training of our people to aggressively deliver results.” 

Sistare pointed out that Atlantica alone delivers more than 20 percent of the systemwide revenue through its consolidated sales systems – including a centralized reservations center – outside of its brand partners. He also credited Atlantica’s aggressive recruitment of marketing alliances with airlines, rental cars, credit card companies and banks. “Given our size and distribution, our marketing partners are delighted to participate with us since we all benefit,” said Sistare.  “In the next few months, we will be launching some aggressive and creative programs that we believe will change the way hotels are perceived in South America.” 

By the numbers

Below are some of the key events and benchmarks that marked 2002:

• The company presently operates 30 hotels with a total of 5,043 rooms. These hotels represent US $328 million in assets. The company opened approximately one hotel every 20 days throughout the year.

• The company will open 17 hotels with 2,979 rooms in 2003.

• The total number of properties under contract and either open or under construction with Atlantica represent 13,450 rooms blanketing Brazil from the north to the south and far west. 

• All hotels are debt free as Atlantica and its partners have raised more than US $875 million in equity. 

• Atlantica experienced significant gains of 8.7 percent in RevPar and saw a net gain of 10 occupancy percentage points, while the occupancy and rates in Brazil as a whole are projected to fall below the prior year’s levels.  Some hotels – like the newly opened Quality Suites Vila Olympia and Quality Suites Bela Cintra (Atlantica’s unique extended stay concept) – experienced occupancy of more than 70 percent just 30 days after opening and have sustained those levels.

• One of the company’s most ambitious projects for next year is the opening in June of the 520-room Quality Hotel and Suites Congonhas Airport in São Paulo. The US $34 million hotel and apartment complex is located next to the busiest airport in South America.

Based in São Paulo and South America’s second largest hotel company, Atlantica Hotels International was named the country’s “Most Dynamic Hotel Company” by the Society of Brazilian Journalists.  Formed in 1998, the company has garnered significant attention in international media outlets including The Wall Street Journal and Forbes South America.

Atlantica Hotels International is South America’s first and only traditional hotel-management company and the largest operator of multiple hotel brands in South America today. The company operates selected brands from Choice, Radisson and Starwood hotels. The company’s primary development efforts are focused in Brazil targeted at the mid market business traveler hotel. 

The company is a full-service hospitality entity that provides hotel, residential and office  management, design, site analysis, construction and other services to hotel and resort and multi-use owners and developers. 

http://www.atlantica-hotels.com.br/

Fairmont Hotels & Resorts Inc. Increases Dividend

/PR Newswsire/ - The Board of Directors of Fairmont Hotels & Resorts Inc. ("FHR")(TSX/NYSE: FHR) has increased the semi- annual dividend from two cents (U.S.$ 0.02) per share to three cents (U.S.$ 0.03) per share on the outstanding common shares, payable on January 28, 2003, to holders of record at the close of business on December 27, 2002. The decision to increase the dividend reflects FHR's confidence in the company's fundamentals, financial strength and outlook.

Kerzner announces formation of Indian Ocean Resort Management Company

(BUSINESS WIRE) - Kerzner International Limited (NYSE:KZL) (the Company) today announced that it has entered into an agreement with Sun Resorts Limited (SRL) to form a new management company, One&Only (Indian Ocean) Management Limited, for the purpose of developing and operating resort hotels in the Indian Ocean region. The Company initially will own 80% of One&Only (Indian Ocean) Management Limited and SRL will own 20%, with SRL's ownership increasing annually to 50% by the end of 2009.

One&Only (Indian Ocean) initially will manage five properties currently owned by SRL and operated by the Company in Mauritius, including One&Only Le Saint Geran and One&Only Le Touessrok, pursuant to management agreements that will now run through 2023. In addition, One&Only (Indian Ocean) will operate One&Only Kanuhura and develop and manage a second One&Only property on the island of Reethi Rah, also located in the Maldives.

The Company will continue to own 20.4% of SRL, which is listed on the Mauritian Stock Exchange.

UK: October visitor stats show 2002 still down on 2000

The ONS tourism findings for October show that the UK received 26% more visitors this October than last, with the numbers for the year so far also up on 2001.

However, comparisons with 2000, widely held as the last ‘normal’ year for inbound tourism, show that 2002 is 5% down in visitor numbers.

Year-on-year figures for Oct 2002 show that North American visitors increased 25% over last month, although visitors from the US last year would have been affected by post-11 concerns. The number of visitors from western Europe rocketed by 25% while ‘the rest of the world’ brought 30% more visitors to the UK.

In spending terms, 26% more visitors this month spent 20% more money – for the year so far the extra 4% visitors have spent an extra 1%. Tom Wright, BTA chief executive, said the findings put Britain in a strong position for its 2003 initiatives. ‘Next year, for example, BTA will roll out a new private sector partnership initiative, focusing on cities; explore exciting opportunities presented by emerging markets such as China, Russia and within Asia; increase opportunities in the fast-growing business tourism segment; and further develop internet activities in all our markets”. 

Howard Johnson International Announces Strategic Plan

Howard Johnson International today unveiled its 2003 strategic plan and key objectives, which include driving more business to franchisees, strengthening its position as a leisure market leader, improving hotel quality and consistency, focusing on strategic growth and increasing its value proposition to its franchisees.

Howard Johnson President Mary Mahoney, addressing franchisees at their biannual brand conference here, introduced a new marketing strategy designed to drive more business to franchisees and strengthen the brand's position as a leisure market leader by advancing the chain's family-oriented reputation.

At a time when most hotels are trying to be all things to all people, the Howard Johnson brand is doing just the opposite by renewing its focus on family values and family priorities, she said. Providing a home away from home for the family traveler is a tradition at Howard Johnson, and we're going to remind consumers through every marketing program that Howard Johnson is still the fun, safe, clean and friendly family hotel they remember.

Describing efforts to improve hotel quality and consistency, Mahoney detailed progress made to date under Project Restore, an initiative of Cendant Corporation's Hotel Group to purge hotels that do not meet system quality standards. Project Restore is expected to eliminate approximately 10 percent of the Howard Johnson system, she said.

The Howard Johnson brand has always represented solid value, and quality is at the very heart of its value proposition, she said. At Howard Johnson, we are the custodians of a remarkable heritage that was built on a tradition of quality.

After one of the toughest years our industry has faced, Howard Johnson persevered and maintained its quality initiatives. But now, more than ever, we must keep our quality focus and continue to fine-tune our business practices. The competitive environment is about to turn into a tough fight to win over consumers - and we've got to be ready!

Cendant's Franchise Sales team will pursue strategic growth of the Howard Johnson brand by targeting the top 175 sales markets, she said. Factors such as supply and demand, growth trends and market compatibility will be strategically reviewed in these locations to ensure the brand is positioned to compete aggressively in major growth markets.

Our efforts are designed to ensure that the Howard Johnson brand is in a position to compete aggressively in all major growth markets, she said.

Addressing the fourth key objective, Mahoney said the Howard Johnson brand will work to increase the brand's value proposition to franchisees through improved technologies and valuable programs through Cendant's Preferred Alliance team, which develops deals with vendors to offer exclusive discounts to hotel franchisees. The brand also will continue to increase its value proposition by focusing on providing increased regional support and training for its franchisees.

Howard Johnson International Inc. franchises 497 hotels in the United States, Argentina, Canada, China, Colombia, Curacao, Ecuador, Israel, Jordan, Malta, Mexico, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and Venezuela. For more information or to make a reservation at any Howard Johnson location, call toll-free in the United States (800) I-GO-HOJO or visit the Web site at www.howardjohnson.com. Howard Johnson is a subsidiary of Cendant Corporation (NYSE:CD)

HSMAI Launches Econference Series Of Interactive Educational Seminars

The Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI) is partnering with HSA International to launch an extensive series of educational and interactive eConferences designed to help sales and marketing staff on all levels of expertise to hone their skills in a convenient and easy web-based format.

“We are very excited about this new opportunity to provide yet another educational initiative for our members on all levels in every segment of our diverse industry membership as well as non-members,” said Robert A. Gilbert, CHME, CHA, president and CEO of HSMAI.

The first pilot of the HSMAI eConference series will air on Tuesday, Dec. 17 at 2:00 p.m. (EST). The one-hour program will be a LIVE and interactive event featuring Carol Verret discussing how to sell more effectively, especially during challenging down-market times.
Mike Hampton, Ed.D., CEO of Florida-based HSA International, is overseeing the development of the program and content for HSMAI. HSA International has been providing training and support products and services for the hospitality industry since 1986.

“The mechanism we are using allows us to provide current information on an instantaneous basis including current and updated materials which the participants can take away with them,” said Hampton.
 
“The interactive process provides all participants with the unique opportunity to contribute supplemental material to the discussion, and we will even be doing instant polling of participants’ opinions and tabulating the responses to provide immediate feedback,” Hampton added.
The title of this first in a series of eConferences is “Scorched Earth Sales - How To Expose And Close Every Piece Of Business In Your Market.” This is the first module in a series which is taken from the “Scorched Earth Sales” seminar that Verret has used to assist hotels and industry groups in locating and cultivating new accounts.

The seminar provides key insights and suggestions for new business acquisition through the use of strategic “Client Profiling.” Developing client profiles is an approach that provides a more intelligent and organized method of prospecting for new business.
Recognizing that it is often difficult to locate potential new business that fulfills the hotel’s revenue goals, the Client Profiling system proposed in this session reflects on the importance of deciding which prospects are worth a significant allocation of precious sales time.

Verret will guide seminar participants through the steps to find new “qualified” prospects and to identify the criteria against which to measure their potential profitability for a particular hotel.
Carol Verret is a 20-year veteran of the hotel industry, having begun her career in Montreal, Quebec with Westin and Four Seasons Hotels. In 1990, she joined Sunstone Hotels and assisted the company’s growth from seven to 23 hotels as vice president of marketing.

Verret founded her consulting practice in Australia and returned to the U.S. in early 1999, where she has focused on market analyses, positioning issues associated with over-built markets, and properties that are under-performing in their respective markets. She has also conducted sales and customer service training seminars as well as consulting assignments.

In early 2003, HSMAI will announce a full series of eConference programs like this one, featuring a broad range of industry experts on topics covering Targeted Sales Strategies and Tactics, Sales and Marketing Management, eCommerce, On-Line Marketing and Revenue Management.
To register and participate in the HSMAI eConference seminar, visit the HSMAI web site at www.hsmai.org, click on the Education and Events link and complete the participation form; or, call toll-free 877-432-7301. The registration fee is $69 for HSMAI members and $89 for non-members per log-on site, which allows an unlimited number of participants at one location viewing a single computer with one dial-in audio conference connection.

Once a participant is registered for a particular seminar, detailed step-by-step instructions on how to participate are provided.

HSMAI is an organization of sales and marketing professionals representing all segments of the hospitality industry. With a strong focus on education, HSMAI has become the industry champion in identifying and communicating trends in the hospitality industry, while operating as a leading voice for both hospitality and sales and marketing management disciplines. Founded in 1927, HSMAI is an individual membership organization comprised of nearly 7,000 members from 35 countries and 60 chapters worldwide

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