DLF Hotel Holdings Limited, an affiliate of DLF Limited, has sold its entire stake in India’s Adone Hotels and Hospitality Limited for 5.67 billion Indian rupees ($101.66 million).
The sale is in line with DLF’s plan to exit non-strategic assets, the company said.
Adone’s land parcels in Chennai, Mysore, Kolkata and Thiruvananthapuram, which it held for hotel developments, was sold to Avani Projects and Square Four Housing & Infrastructure Private Limited.
The total active U.S. hotel development pipeline comprises 2,711 projects totaling 290,392 rooms, according to the May 2012 STR/McGraw Hill Construction Dodge Pipeline Report.
This represents a 6.4% decrease in the number of rooms in the total active pipeline compared to May 2011. Among the chain-scale segments, the luxury segment experienced the largest increase in rooms in the active pipeline, rising 60.1% with 6,592 rooms. The segment was the only one to report an increase in rooms in the active pipeline.
U.K. hoteliers are worried a high value-added tax could deter visitors, according to a report from HotelNewsNow.com correspondent Lisa Francesca Nand.
The British Hospitality Association and industry leaders continue to lobby to reduce the U.K. tourism sector’s 20% VAT to 5%, a plea ignored by Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne in his annual budget released in March.
“Firstly, it’s reducing the capital spend operators might wish to invest in properties—so the extra tax effectively is siphoning off extra investment. And secondly, it’s costing jobs,” said Rhys Roberts, chairman of Best Western GB. “A reduction would encourage capital investment and help create more jobs. It’s a win-win here for the government if they believe enough to make this decision.”
Business travel spend will be choppy in Europe this year, though the outlook for 2012 is positive, according to the Global Business Travel Association’s inaugural Business Travel Index—Western Europe report.
Forecast levels of domestic business travel spend will grow in a range of 0.7% to 2.7% during 2012, but international spend will fall between 1.4% to 2.8% this year for the United Kingdom, Germany and France. The outlook for the countries is much brighter for 2013, however, with spend forecast to increase by 4% to 5.4%.
“We found that economic growth across Europe will be constrained in 2012 with weakness in the first half giving way to improving prospects later in the year,” Michael McCormick, executive director and COO of the GBTA, said in a news release. “Increasing economic growth in Germany, France and the UK will be offset by declines in many Southern European economies. Business travel is a leading indicator of the economy, so we’re expecting a challenging scenario over the next year.”
Morgans Hotel Group Company is taking its Hudson brand global with the opening of a 200-room London property that will carry the Hudson flag.
The Hudson London is scheduled for an early 2015 opening. Morgans entered into a 20-year management agreement for the property. The company said it intends to introduce the brand to gateway markets in other parts of the world as well.
Compiled by Shawn A. Turner.
