| Tenders closed for the 10-hotel InterContinental
hotel portfolio, expected to fetch between US$270million to $310 million.
GE Real Estate, Eureka Capital Partners, a consortium between Thakral Holdings
and the Singapore Government's GIC Real Estate and a consortium comprising
Mirvac Group and private investor Robert Magid were among the four bidders
short-listed in the sales process. InterContinental is expected to retain
management rights to the hotels. The process is set to take longer than
usual because the winning bidder will not be chosen only on bid size but
also on management-agreement proposals. The 10 hotels in the portfolio include
the Crowne Plaza Coogee Beach, the Holiday Inn Potts Point and the Holiday
Inn Melbourne. |
| Far East Consortium International may sell one
of its four hotels and some of its serviced apartments in Macau next year.
With more than 21,000 rooms in Macau either planned or already under construction,
competition in the hospitality industry is expected to become more intense
over the next three years. Far East is developing 3,190 rooms in four hotels
in Macau, as well as a casino and a commercial and serviced apartment complex,
as part of Macau's Cotai Strip development. The whole development is due
to be completed between 2007 and 2008. The US$ 3.5 billion Cotai Strip development
comprises more than 10,000 rooms, and will be built by Las Vegas Sands,
Far East Consortium, Regal Hotels International, Four Seasons and other
hotel chains, with the first phase to be opened in 2007. |
| The Marco Polo Hotel Group will plant its second
flag in the Philippines next year when it reopens the former Cebu Plaza
Hotel in the first quarter of 2006. The 335-room property, which was foreclosed
by Metrobank in 2003, will be renamed the Marco Polo Plaza Cebu and positioned
as an urban resort. It will have a spa, tennis facilities, and over 2,400m²
of meeting space in a ballroom that can accommodate 800 persons and 14 function
rooms. Talks are ongoing with the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation
on having a casino at the hotel. |
| Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. continues
its expansion momentum in China with the signing of two new 340-room hotels
that will operate under the Four Points by Sheraton flag. The Four Points
Shanghai, Pudong will be located adjacent to the Sheraton Shanghai Hotel
& Residences (currently under development and expected to open by mid-2008)
in the Pudong district of Shanghai. The Four Points by Sheraton Changshu
will be located within a mixed-use development comprising one hotel tower,
and retail and residential apartments other two towers. Starwood currently
operates 19 hotels in China, with another 17 under construction. |
| Conrad Hotels reached an agreement with the Indonesian
company PT. Majumakmur Arthasentosa to manage the new Conrad Jakarta. The
320-room and suite hotel, including 50 fully-serviced Conrad Residences,
will be built as part of the city's Sudirman Plaza, a multi-use complex
located in the heart of Jakarta's commercial and business district on Jalan
Jenderal Sudirman in Jakarta's Golden Triangle. Scheduled to open in 2008,
the new hotel will be the second Conrad hotel in Indonesia, after the Conrad
Bali Beach Resort & Spa that opened in March 2004. |
| Weekly Mansion Tokyo (WMT) continues its expansion
with the opening of a new hotel, located in Maihama, Urayasu City, Chiba
Prefecture, Tokyo. The 90-room hotel will be operated under the “Hotel
Mystays” resort brand and is within walking distance of the popular
Tokyo Disneyland amusement park. The hotel is scheduled to commence operations
on 27 August 2005. This is the latest addition to WMT’s growing portfolio
of managed hotels. Established in 1999, WMT currently manages 56 hotels
with 4,651 rooms primarily located in central Tokyo. WMT plans to continue
expanding in key areas in Japan and abroad, with additional openings scheduled
for early 2006. |
