“Lodging tax could come to Russell County (WTVM 9 Columbus)” plus 3 more

Lodging tax could come to Russell County (WTVM 9 Columbus)
Host Hotels & Resorts Offers 2010 Outlook (ABC News)
Host Hotels posts 4th-quarter loss, revenue slips (San Francisco Chronicle)
Host Hotels plans to reinstate quarterly dividend (San Francisco Chronicle)

Lodging tax could come to Russell County (WTVM 9 Columbus)

Posted: 17 Feb 2010 01:19 PM PST

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By Taylor Barnhill - bio | email | Twitter

PHENIX CITY, AL (WTVM) - Visitors in Russell County could be paying a little extra to stay in area hotels, all because of a proposed one cent lodging tax.

Last week the Russell County Commission got on board with the idea and in Phenix City Council Wednesday morning, they agreed.

The money collected will go towards the maintenance of the Fort Mitchell historic project, and Phenix City Mayor Sonny Coulter says it's a worthwhile cause, "A lodging tax is the way to go when you really have a need, especially in the tourism area, which the Fort Mitchell project is, that needs funding."

The mayor adds this tax will help keep citizens from having to foot the bill.

The next step is to ask State Representatives to present the one cent lodging tax to the legislature.

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Host Hotels & Resorts Offers 2010 Outlook (ABC News)

Posted: 17 Feb 2010 08:55 AM PST

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Host Hotels & Resorts Inc. said Wednesday that it expects a key performance figure to continue to decline in 2010, however the falloff won't be nearly as steep as it has been.

The real estate investment trust said revenue per available room will likely break even, or fall as much as 5 percent. That compares with a decline of almost 20 percent in the important measure during 2009.

Meanwhile, the hotel company said it also expects an annual loss between $207 million and $315 million, or 32 cents to 49 cents per share.

Funds from operations for the year is pegged at 41 cents to 57 cents per share. FFO, which adds items such as amortization and depreciation back to net income, is considered a key measure of REIT strength.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect an annual loss of 34 cents per share and FFO of 57 cents per share.

Also Wednesday Host Hotels said its 2009 net loss was $261 million, or 45 cents per share.

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Host Hotels posts 4th-quarter loss, revenue slips (San Francisco Chronicle)

Posted: 17 Feb 2010 08:25 AM PST

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For the three months that ended Dec. 31, the real estate investment trust's loss amounted to 12 cents per share. That compares to a year-earlier profit of $107 million, or 18 cents per share.

Revenue for the quarter slid nearly 17 percent to $1.33 billion, down from $1.60 billion in the 2008 quarter.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters had expected the Bethesda, Md., company to lose 10 cents per share with revenue of $1.35 billion.

Meanwhile, revenue per available room in locations open at least a year fell 14.6 percent. That figure is an important hotel industry performance measure.

And the real estate investment trust said funds from operations, or FFO, equated to $113 million, or 18 cents per share, for the quarter, down from $289 million, or 52 cents per share, during the same period the prior year.

Analysts expected FFO of 19 cents per share, on average.

FFO, which adds items such as amortization and depreciation back to net income, is considered a key measure of REIT strength.

For the full year, Host lost $261 million, or 45 cents per share. That compares to a full-year profit of $386 million, or 72 cents per share, in 2008. Full-year revenue slid 19 percent to $4.16 billion, down from $5.14 billion. Meanwhile, revenue per available year fell 19.9 percent and FFO was 51 cents per share for the year, down from $1.71 cents per share in 2008.

Host Hotels owns 110 upscale properties. Its shares climbed 7 cents to $11.69 in morning trading Wednesday.

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Host Hotels plans to reinstate quarterly dividend (San Francisco Chronicle)

Posted: 17 Feb 2010 08:40 AM PST

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Wednesday, February 17, 2010

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