Hotels & Serviced Apartments from Accommotel

Oakwoods debuts in India with its first Residence launch in Pune

2007-07-11T05:49:00.000-07:00

Oakwoods debuts in India with its first Residence launch in Pune

Accommotel - working with Oakwood in India

Published by Newsroom July 7th, 2007 in City Scape and Newsbytes.
Oakwood Worldwide, which manages 20,000 serviced apartments across the globe, has debuted in India, with the soft launch of its first product, a residence, in Pune.
Oakwood operates four brands, a premier, Residence, apartments and corporate housing, positioned respectively as full service five star, full service four star, limited service four star and fully furnished flats.
Regarded as the world’s largest provider of serviced apartments, Oakwood has plans to open in other Indian cities. “We will open an Oakwood Premier in Mumbai followed by one in Bangalore later this year.
In January ‘08, a Residence in Hyderabad, and in ‘09, a premier in Pune and a residence each in Bangalore, Gurgaon and Chennai. We have signed contracts for eight properties across the country and are looking at more properties in the country including Kolkata, Goa and more in Delhi,” Veronique Sirault, general manager, Oakwood Residence Naylor Road, told reporters.
Both the Pune properties are owned by Panchshil Realty. The opening of the 84-room service apartment property is adding to the pool of rooms in a city which is very short of hotel rooms, with five star hotels hiking their room rates every six months. The city already had three other service apartments with the two Seasons service apartment properties being run on a management contract by Vithal Kamat for Naiknavare Associates, a firm of builder-developers.
The third, BelAir, is owned by a local builder, Subhash Sanas. The rates at the Oakwood Residence in Pune range from Rs 10,000 per day to Rs 14,000 per day. Ms Sirault added that they usually have guests staying for a minimum of a week going all the way to six months. “We have tied up some companies for long stays and we provide short stays only to fill the gaps between long occupancies,” she explained.
Industry observers said that the Oakwood model allows discounts for up to 80% for long stays. “The longer the stay, the higher the discount for Oak-wood, which is a global trend. Moreover, they get their bookings, internationally, they are not dependent on domestic Indian companies.
Indian players in this segment of service apartment give discounts up to 30% and do not usually have such long stays; their average is 10-15 days with the longest stay being eight months,” an industry insider said. Source: The Economic Times

Blackstone's Billions To Fuel Hilton Growth

2007-07-11T05:38:00.000-07:00

Blackstone's Billions To Fuel Hilton Growth

By Michael B. Baker JULY 09, 2007 --

Accommotel - booking Hilton, Marriott, Wyndham, Extended Stay Hotels

The Blackstone Group is set to acquire Hilton Hotels Corp. after the hotel's board of directors last week approved a $26 billion offer from the equity giant. Industry analysts said the deal likely foreshadows further ownership changes in the hotel industry and presents the already considerable portfolio of Hilton brands the opportunity for accelerated expansion.Pending shareholder and regulatory approval, the acquisition will be completed in the fourth quarter, according to the companies. Blackstone, which already owns more than 100,000 hotel rooms in the United States and Europe following a string of acquisitions in recent years, including Wyndham International, MeriStar Hospitality, La Quinta Corp. and several extended stay brands, in a release said Hilton is an "important strategic investment" and that "no significant divestitures are envisaged as a result of this transaction.""This transaction is about building the premier global hospitality business," Blackstone senior managing director Jonathan Gray said in a prepared statement. "We are committed to investing in the company and working with Hilton's outstanding owners and franchisees to continue to grow and enhance the business."Speculation of a Hilton buyout had intensified since the 2,800-property chain acquired its international namesake in a $5.5 billion deal completed last year (BTN, Jan. 23, 2006). That merger catapulted Hilton's revenues to third-highest in the industry, behind only InterContinental Hotels Group and Marriott International."Obviously, it's hard to think of a bigger deal than this one," said Sean Hennessey, president of New York-based Lodging Investment Advisors. "It's a continuing example of the strength of the private equity flow going into the sector."Hilton, like all major hotel chains, has posted consistently strong financial results since 2004, riding a wave of demand and keeping corporate room rates on the rise. Yet, even as revenue growth has rebounded, overall industry profitability has not shown as dramatic a recovery, Hennessey said, and Blackstone has shown itself to be effective in improving the bottom line."Our priority has always been to maximize shareholder value," said Hilton CEO Stephen Bollenbach in a release. "Our board of directors concluded that this transaction provides compelling value for our shareholders with a significant premium. We are delighted that a company with the resources and reputation of Blackstone fully appreciates the value inherent in our global presence, strong brands, industry-leading marketing and technology programs and unique portfolio of hotel properties."International growth has been a recent focus for Hilton, particularly in bringing its midprice brands to Europe. The company recently launched deals to bring more Hampton, Doubletree, Hilton Garden Inn and Hilton properties to the United Kingdom, for example (BTNonline, June 12). Ownership by Blackstone could accelerate that plan."It gives them the opportunity to make more strategic investments without having to worry about the quarter-to-quarter earnings calls," Lodging Investment Advisors' Hennessey said. "It certainly will help them grow overseas."Hilton in May said president and COO Matthew Hart would succeed Bollenbach, who plans to retire at year-end, as CEO at the beginning of next year (BTNonline, May 24). The deal's announcement did not address any aspects of management.Meanwhile, the deal puts Blackstone in a renewed position of strength within the hotel industry, Hennessey said. "While Blackstone had a sizable number of assets, it was still very young in terms of being a hotel company" he said. "It has a number of luxury hotels, but even the LXR brand—while it's received some recognition—doesn't have the image or stability of Hilton."Hennessey said to expect some realignment within the various Blackstone properties once the Hilton collection joins the fold. Blackstone also has made some sizable sales of its properties, most recently when it reached an agreement to sell Extended Stay Hotels—which operates five brands, comprising 683 properties and 76,000 rooms—to private real estate company The Lightstone Group for $8 billion. Analysts said not to expect any immediate sale of any of Hilton's brands, although some said future changes were not out of the question."That's today. Of course, they're going to make sure everything keeps stable right now," said Maria Chevalier, vice president of global business intelligence for BCD Travel's Advito Consulting division. "The question is: What are their intentions as a whole, looking forward?"With corporate travel buyers' requests for proposals process to begin prior to the deal's expected close, it should have no effect on corporate hotel negotiations this year, Chevalier said. Beyond that, it would depend on how Blackstone leverages the Hilton brands with its other properties, she said.Bjorn Hanson, principal of PricewaterhouseCoopers' hospitality and leisure group, said the acquisition would not mean a price increase for travel buyers. "This is either slightly good news or very good news," Hanson said. "Blackstone shares best practices and systems across brands, so this will make Hilton bigger and stronger. This isn't a case of concentration resulting in higher prices and other unfavorable trends for travelers."The Hilton purchase also is not the first acquisition in recent years of a major hotel company by equity management firms. In April, Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts shareholders approved a deal to sell the company to a group of investors including Kingdom Hotels International, Microsoft founder Bill Gates' Cascade Investments and the hotel's own founder, Isadore Sharp. Kingdom Hotels also joined with Colony Capital to acquire Fairmont Hotels & Resorts in summer 2006, merging it with the Raffles and Swissotel brands. Analysts, however, said this latest merger could prompt more equity deals."You might see some moves on the part of other hotel companies, whether this creates additional opportunities for them or just increases the pressure for them to perform," Hennessey said. "It's hard to underestimate how sizable this deal is."

Prime Group Acquires an Interest in Extended Stay

2007-07-11T03:12:00.000-07:00

Prime Group Acquires an Interest in Extended Stay

Accommotel - Extended Stay Hotels and Serviced Apartment News and Information

JULY 9, 2007. Prime Group Realty Trust (NYSE: PGEPRB) (the “Company”) announced today that on June 29, 2007 the Company, through its wholly-owned qualified REIT subsidiary PGRT ESH, Inc. (“PGRT ESH”), purchased a $120 million membership interest in BHAC Capital IV, L.L.C., an entity which owns 100% of Extended Stay Hotels, Inc. (“ESH”), from Lightstone Holdings LLC (“Lightstone Holdings”), an affiliate of The Lightstone Group, LLC (“Lightstone LLC”). ESH and its affiliates own mid-price extended-stay properties in the United States and Canada. The Company, and its operating partnership Prime Group Realty, L.P., are owned by affiliates of Lightstone LLC and the acquisition of the membership interest was approved unanimously by the Company’s independent Trustees. The $120 million membership interest has a liquidation preference of $120 million, a 12% preferred dividend rate per annum payable monthly, and is entitled to receive a 15.14% residual profits interest. The purchase price was financed by a $120 million non-recourse loan to PGRT ESH from Citicorp USA, Inc., which loan is secured by a pledge of the membership interest and any proceeds from such interest. The loan has a maturity date of June 10, 2008, and an interest rate of 4% above LIBOR or 1.50% above Citicorp’s base interest rate, as selected by PGRT ESH from time to time. The loan is guaranteed by Lightstone Holdings and David Lichtenstein. Additional information regarding the foregoing transaction can be found in the Company’s current Report on Form 8-K filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission on or about the date of this press release. A copy of the Form 8-K can be found at the Company’s web site at www.pgrt.com.

Country Inn & Suites Opens in Fredericksburg

2007-07-11T03:07:00.000-07:00

Country Inn & Suites Opens in Fredericksburg

Accommotel - Extended-Stay Hotels and Serviced Apartments in the USA

JULY 9, 2007. A new 119-room Country Inn & Suites By Carlson has opened its doors for business at 5327 Jefferson Davis Highway in Fredericksburg, Va. "We're very excited to bring the Country Inns & Suites By Carlson concept to this region," said Steve Mogck, executive vice president and brand leader, Country Inns & Suites By Carlson. "All employees will participate in the Country Hospitality 'Be Our Guest' service training program to ensure consistent delivery of quality customer service at Country Inns & Suites all over the world." "This new Country Inn & Suites By Carlson is a wonderful addition to our community. We look to this recognized brand and lodging concept to help us grow and prosper in the future," said Evelyn Endler, general manager of the Country Inn & Suites By Carlson in Fredericksburg. The hotel features an outdoor swimming pool, fitness center and guest laundry facility. Other amenities include a complimentary hot and cold breakfast and a 100-person capacity meeting room with fax and copy service. The hotel offers a variety of guest rooms including standard rooms, executive king rooms and suites, and all rooms feature complimentary high-speed Internet access. This Country Inn & Suites property is located near three golf courses and is within three miles of shopping malls and several restaurants. Both Byrd International Airport and Washington Dulles International Airport are approximately 50 miles from the hotel. Celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2007, Country Inns & Suites offers locations that feature traditional architecture and sophisticated residential interior design with hardwood flooring and decorative ceiling borders. Each hotel welcomes guests with traditional furnishings that blend rich woods and elegant floral-patterned fabrics. The rooms offer many amenities often found at higher-priced hotels such as complimentary hot breakfast, in-room coffee maker, in-room iron and ironing board, and weekday morning newspaper. Country Inns & Suites provides a Read It & Return Lending Library at its hotels in the U.S. and Canada which lends free books to guests based on the assurance they will return the book on their next visit. As guests continue to read and return books, Country Inns & Suites makes donations to support literacy.

Staybridge Suites Tallahassee Success Story

2007-06-30T03:57:00.000-07:00

Hotels and Serviced Apartments - Accommotel

Staybridge Suites Tallahassee Success Story

Staybridge Suites wanted to provide its guests with in-room desktop computing, but a traditional desktop PC solution would have been difficult to manage. Instead, the hotel created a virtual client environment with SUSE® Linux Enterprise Desktop that is easy to manage and provides guests with easy access to the Internet and other applications.

Overview
Staybridge Suites, the extended-stay brand of the InterContinental Hotels Group, offers spacious suites, full kitchens and numerous upscale amenities including recreational and fitness facilities, business services, and other in-room accommodations. Located adjacent to the Mainline Information Systems headquarters, Staybridge Suites Hotel of Tallahassee is one of the first hotels to offer thin-client workstations in all of its 104 rooms.
Challenge
With an increasing number of business travelers, hotels often serve as remote offices for many guests. Hotels are responding to increasing technology requirements such as wireless Internet access, as well as business centers with on-site computers and printers. As an extended-stay luxury hotel, Staybridge Suites wanted to provide Internet access and other technology services to its guests.
Staybridge Suites selected virtual desktops delivered with thin clients as a means of providing its guests with a desktop in every room, ensuring each guest's privacy and security. The hotel evaluated traditional PCs, but found the solution more costly, as well as time-consuming to manage. However, by leveraging thin clients, it could provide guests with a "clean-slate" desktop at every check-in without the need to sanitize the system for the guest upon check-out.
Novell solution
"Once we made the decision to move to Linux, I immediately knew that SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop was the answer. My experience with service and support from Novell has been nothing but positive compared to others. Novell will bend over backwards to resolve any support issues and the quality of the products is unmatched."Donn BullockProgram Director of Virtual Client SolutionsMainline Information Systems, Inc.
To manage the hotel-wide deployment, Staybridge Suites engaged Mainline Information Systems, a Novell Platinum partnerSM and number-one Premiere Business Partner for IBM. The hotel and Mainline evaluated Microsoft* Windows* desktops, but found that SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop was a fraction of the cost, would provide a feature-rich desktop experience for guests, was a solid platform for supporting open-standards applications such as OpenOffice and Mozilla Firefox*, and was an excellent fit for the hotel's thin client strategy.
"Once we made the decision to move to Linux, I immediately knew that SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop was the answer," said Donn Bullock, Program Director of Virtual Client Solutions at Mainline Information Systems, Inc. "My experience with service and support from Novell® has been nothing but positive compared to others. Novell will bend over backwards to resolve any support issues and the quality of the products is unmatched."
To build the virtual client environment, Mainline installed a Devon IT 6020B thin client in each of the hotel's 104 guest rooms to offer a virtual session of SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop to guests on demand. In addition, guests are also provided with server-based access to the Firefox browser for Internet access, as well as the OpenOffice.org productivity suite which offers complete compatibility with Microsoft Office applications.
The thin-client terminal in each room uses the industry-standard Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) to connect to a virtual machine within one of currently three IBM* BladeCenter* blade servers connected to an IBM fiber channel SAN. With VMware* VI3 as the virtualization foundation, each blade can run up to 25 concurrent virtual desktops.
"Although many of our guests bring their own laptops, we wanted to give them an easy and quick option to other activities, such as reading news or checking stocks on the Internet, accessing their Web-based e-mail, making travel arrangements or even reviewing documents without having to open their computers," said George Banks, Operations Manager for Summit Group Commercial Properties, management firm of the Staybridge Suites hotel construction. "Such flexibility and access to technology is a clear advantage for our extended-stay guests."
A thin-client computing environment is easy to manage, requiring just one or two IT personnel who can manage everything remotely. Because each virtual desktop is automatically destroyed when a user logs off, the hotel can ensure that every new guest is offered a completely new desktop at check-in. This ensures guest privacy, while eliminating the need for administrative staff to manually refresh each desktop.

Hotels and Serviced Apartments - Accommotel

2007-06-30T03:35:00.000-07:00

Hotels and Serviced Apartments - Accommotel

Aboda expands housing services to more cities
Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle)

Aboda is expanding its national footprint in the corporate housing industry through agreements that will triple the number of rental units it can offer its customers in cities outside the Puget Sound area.
The Redmond-based firm helps such companies as Microsoft, Nordstrom, Washington Mutual and Boeing find temporary lodging for relocating interns and executives. The firm also provides housekeeping services and can help individuals purchase a home or condominium when they are ready.

Hotels and Serviced Apartments - Accommotel

2007-06-29T01:19:00.000-07:00

Hotels and Serviced Apartment Reservations - Accommotel

New extended-stay hotel one of several developments announced in Norfolk

Living spaces, shopping places, and new hotels are going up in Norfolk with yet ANOTHER new building. This computerized artists rendering shows the planned Residence Inn by Marriott - a nine-story, 160-all suites extended stay hotel.
Ground-breaking is set for this fall in this area bordered by Brambleton Avenue, Duke, York, and Boush Streets. Mayor Paul Fraim says the project will compliment the city's skyline and bottom line - with a starting profit for Norfolk of more than 835-thousand dollars in taxes. He says that "over 10 years we should collect nearly 10 million dollars as those numbers grow in tax revenue."
As for the downtown project Norfolk subsidized with a 22 million dollar loan - Granby Tower should be on track for building.
With financing finalized construction is about to begin for what's expected to be Norfolk's tallest building. The ceremonial ground-breaking for Granby Tower was more than a month ago. But delays have kept the 180 million dollar spot at Brambleton and Granby... pretty much dead. Mayor Paul Fraim says that too is about to change.
"The notice to proceed which was given to the construction company which is Turner was given yesterday and so from here on out you'll see more activity on that site," Fraim said.
So prime real estate in downtown Norfolk will be even more readily available for those looking to 270-thousand or more for a condominium in downtown Norfolk.
Renters will also get living space. Last night city council members approved a rezoning for an all new high rise - high end apartment building near the YMCA.
And in the Spring of 2008, the Wachovia Center's 250-thousand square foot office tower with 50-thousand square feet of retail space, will also offer living space for rent.
According to Fraim, "It's going to have 176 apartment units and we hope that some of them, we will work with moderately priced for the workforce."
The mayor says the new buildings will "create the anticipation of arrival at someplace special."

Hotels and Serviced Apartment Reservations - Accommotel

2007-06-29T01:13:00.000-07:00

Hotels and Serviced Apartment Reservations - Accommotel

Polar investing $10 million in Extended Stay Hotels
25.6.07 15:48 By Arik Mirovsky
Polar Investments (TASE: PLR) is joining a group of investors buying the American chain Extended Stay Hotels for $8 billion.
Extended Stay Hotels operates via five brand names. Its hotels are located in 44 states and in Canada as well.
It is considered to be the biggest moderately-priced extended-stay lodging hotels chain in the United States.
Polar Investments says that its investment will comprise 4.76% of the total $8 billion investment in the chain. Its portion will be at the lowest-risk level and will total about $10 million, the Israeli company said.
Shareholders of that rank will be entitled to dividends and 26.5% of profits.
The investment group buying Extended Stay Hotels is headed by LightStone Group, one of the biggest private equity property groups in the world. Another major investor is Arbor Commercial Mortgage.
Polar International's general manager, Dubi Weiss, who also represents controlling shareholder Ziel Feldman in Israel, commented that the new owner - Feldman - wants to expand Polar's international business with major investment banks in the U.S.

Hotels and Serviced Apartment Reservations - Accommotel

GrandStay Suites on Accommotel

2007-06-25T02:47:00.000-07:00

Always on the look-out for new product, today we came across GrandStay Suites in the USA. You can view GrandStay and other extended stay properties on the Accommotel Extended-Stay page.

Accommotel Slams Hotel Booking Model

2007-06-23T07:12:00.000-07:00

Corporate accommodation bookers are not being offered a comprehensive enough service by their Hotel Booking Agents (HBAs), Serviced Apartment Bookers or Travel Management Companies (TMCs) claims new accommodation booking company, Accommotel. The company, whose team has 20 years experience in both hotel and serviced apartment sectors, also believes that the specialisation of such agencies restricts the choice of their clients.
“Specialisation is fine”, says Richard Majewski, founder of Accommotel, “but it is depriving clients of objective advice about the best accommodation available. The client should expect to be offered a choice of both hotels and serviced apartments, where available. Currently this isn’t happening and is something that we intend to introduce as the basis of our new business model.”
Accommotel claims to be the first company to provide an offline as well as online booking service for both hotels and serviced apartments, a model they refer to as an accommodation booking company or ABC. “Because that is how easy we will make it for our clients to choose”, says Majewski. “As easy as ABC. We want to make life easier for businesses out there who are not sure which accommodation suits a certain trip. In just one easy phone call, we will advise on locations, facilities and the costs, all completely without bi as .”
The serviced apartment market has expanded over the past 20 years and is maturing at a rapid rate. Over the next five years, as global hotel brands introduce their extended stay product into the European market, it is expected that there will be a gradual fusion of the serviced apartment and hotel markets.
Accommotel offers a worldwide reservations service for hotels and serviced apartments with a strong emphasis on advice. For this reason, whilst the internet will serve as an important marketing tool, the business is still very much telephone-based.
Says Majewski,“I have been heavily involved with the Internet since 1995 and online bookings are fine if you know what you want to book. However, the problem is that you have to be a very experienced accommodation booker to get the most suitable accommodation at the best price, and that is where we can help”.