http://www.hotelchatter.com/ Hotel Reviews, Hotel Ratings, Hotel Openings en-us Copyright 2008 - SFO Media 2012-02-14T12:26:16Z HotelChatter HotelChatter http://www.hotelchatter.com/images/hcwhite.jpg http://www.hotelchatter.com/tag/Industry%20News http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2009/10/7/145747/419 <![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/1425/nodenizen.jpg" class="top"><p> <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125487422757969391.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_MIDDLTopStories&loc=interstitialskip">The Wall Street Journal</a> reported this morning that <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/tag/hilton hotels">Hilton Hotels</a> and its executives accused of stealing proprietary <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/tag/w hotels">W Hotel</a> information to create their now dead-in-the-water hotel brand <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/tag/denizen">Denizen Hotels</a>, could face criminal charges. <blockquote><p>The grand jury is part of a six-month-old Justice Department probe into allegations that Hilton, which is owned by private-equity firm Blackstone Group, used trade secrets taken by former Starwood executives, who defected to Hilton last year, to develop its own luxury brand to compete with Starwood's successful W chain.</blockquote></p><p>About 30 Hilton employees and executives have either been fired or placed on leave. <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/tag/ross klein">Ross Klein</a>, the former president of Starwood Hotels who defected to Hilton and juliana 2009-10-07T15:18:26-05:00 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2009/8/3/101212/2563 <![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/6929/greenbrierext.jpg" class="top"> <p>This year's drama at the <b><A href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/hotel-reviews/Greenbrier/ian/119687">Greenbrier</a></b> in West Virginia unfolded a bit like this: the resort was having some issues, so it shed about <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2009/1/12/182731/134/hotels/Greenbrier_Saves_Some_Green_by_Shedding_Employees">half of its staff</a>. Then the rumor goin' around town was something about <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2009/3/19/162450/557/hotels/Will_Marriott_Save_The_Greenbrier_Resort_">Marriott coming in to purchase and save </a>the resort (um, and by "rumor" we mean there was a contract involved) &#151; but then another buyer stepped in and <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2009/5/8/85029/70228/hotels/Someone_Steps_In_Front_of_Marriott_to_Save_the_Greenbrier">snapped it up</a>, and furloughed employees were <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2009/5/13/12133/5144/hotels/The_Greenbrier_Asks_For_Its_Employees_Back">called back</a>. <p>But then the new buyer <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2009/5/18/14030/6323/hotels/Marriott_Involvement_Adds_Another_Layer_to_The_Greenbrier_Saga">reached a tentative <i>marketing</i> agreement</a> with Marriott, where the chain would receive "a special fee for every Greenbrier guest booked through the hotel chain's marketing network" &#151; and if it didn't work Jenna 2009-08-03T10:16:09-05:00 40.2098770 -81.268581 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2009/7/20/154155/321 <![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/6929/stregisdanapnt1.jpg" class="top"> <p>As we reported in <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2009/6/10/12339/0966/hotels/What_Will_Happen_to_the_Troubled_St_Regis_Monarch_Beach_">June</a>, the <b><A href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/hotel-reviews/St.+Regis+Monarch+Beach/local/773">St. Regis Monarch Beach</a></b> &#151; also known as that hotel where <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2008/10/7/175757/204/hotels/AIG_Execs_Show_Us_How_to_Blow_500K_at_The_St_Regis">AIG execs blew 500K</a> on a corporate retreat just after the group got a federal bailout &#151; was facing foreclosure &#151; and now its owners have turned it over to its mezzanine lender, Citigroup. <p>According to the <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124811297285165893.html"> WSJ</a>, the resort missed payments in April on a $70 million mezzanine loan from Citigroup. Naturally, the Starwood talking heads had this to say about the transition between its current owner and Citigroup: <blockquote><p>"The acquisition (through foreclosure) will have no impact on the hotel, golf club or beach club," Citigroup spokeswoman Danielle Romero-Apsilos said. The resort will "continue Jenna 2009-07-20T15:43:46-05:00 33.4823190 -117.71544 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2009/7/16/12856/9829 <![CDATA[<p><Img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/6929/dreamnylobby.jpg" class="top"> <p>So, we knew <b><A href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/hotel-reviews/Dream+New+York/local/560">Dream NYC </a></b>was having some major <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2009/5/11/142659/087/hotels/Financial_Woes_For_Dream_New_York_">financial issues</a>. A $100 million loan secured by the hotel "was put on a special servicer status" a few months ago &#151; which usually does not necessarily mean that the loan is going to default. But in this case, it did: National Real Estate Investor reports today that the hotel actually <a href="http://nreionline.com/news/hotel-performance-declines-0714/">defaulted on that $100 million loan</a>. Alright then. So now what? <p>An excellent <a href="http://current.newsweek.com/budgettravel/2009/07/what_happens_when_your_hotel_i.html">article over at Budget Travel </a>outlined exactly what it means for the guest when the hotel you've booked is in major financial trouble. Quick summary: in almost all situations &#151; whether a hotel has defaulted on a loan or is Jenna 2009-07-16T12:13:02-05:00 40.7645808 -73.981861 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2009/7/10/102942/257 <![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/6929/nyplhoteldonnell3.jpg" class="top"> <p>Back in '07, we reported that <b><a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/tag/Orient-Express%20Hotels">Orient-Express Hotels'</a></b> was planning <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2007/11/11/202131/12/hotels/Use_Your_Indoor_Voice_A_New_Library_Hotel_for_NYC">to grab</a> a little piece of The New York Public Library (specifically, the Donnell Branch) to convert it into a hotel. <P>What is currently a five-story libe building on West 53rd Street was going to become an 11-story hotel, but the first floor and underground would have still been owned and occupied by the library. The rest of the floors would have been dedicated hotel space, and five of those floors were going to have direct access to the 21 Club on 52nd street (also owned by Orient-Express). <p>But then the deal kinda fell apart (that it, progress was halted indefinitely) <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2009/3/3/979/34991/hotels/Orient_Express_Checks_Out_of_NYC_Library_Hotel_Deal">in March</a>, another Jenna 2009-07-10T10:34:20-05:00 40.7641750 -73.984738 Search HotelChatter string http://www.hotelchatter.com/search/