“Host Hotels Stays Neutral” plus 2 more |
- Host Hotels Stays Neutral
- Six cool ice hotels for the brave at heart
- San Diego County hotels looking at a healthier new year
| Posted: 03 Jan 2011 08:45 AM PST , On Monday January 3, 2011, 11:45 am EST We maintain our 'Neutral' rating on Host Hotels & Resorts Inc. (NYSE: HST - News), the largest lodging real estate investment trust (REIT) in the U.S. Host Hotels is one of the largest owners of luxury and upper-upscale hotels, primarily operated under premium brands, such as Marriott, Westin, Sheraton, Ritz-Carlton, Hyatt, W, Four Seasons, and St. Regi. Based in Bethesda, Maryland, Host Hotels owns properties and conducts operations through Host Hotels & Resorts. L.P., which is a limited partnership, where Host Hotels & Resorts Inc. is the sole general partner, and holds approximately 98.0% of the partnership interests. Host Hotels owns high quality lodging assets in geographically diverse locations. The company currently has 104 properties in the U.S. and 9 international properties totaling approximately 62,000 rooms, and also holds a non-controlling interest in a joint venture that owns 11 hotels in Europe with approximately 3,500 rooms and another joint venture in Asia that is developing 7 properties in India with approximately 1,750 rooms. Most of the properties of the company are located in difficult to duplicate downtown and resort locations. Over the years, the company has executed a focused and disciplined long-term strategic plan to acquire high quality lodging assets in hard-to-replicate areas which have the potential for significant capital appreciation. Host Hotels maximizes the value of its existing portfolio through aggressive asset management, and works diligently with the managers of its hotels to reduce operating costs and increase revenues, and conducts selective capital improvements and expansions designed to improve operations. In addition, the bulk of its properties is operated under some of the most recognized brand names in the hospitality industry. This improves the profitability of the company and strengthens its leading position in the market. However, the continuous acquisition spree of Host Hotels involves significant upfront operating expenses with limited near-term profitability. New hotels usually take time to generate revenues, and will continue to drag down margins till they get established. The hotel industry is also cyclical in nature, and is heavily dependent on the overall health of the U.S. economy, as well as room supply and demand. Unfavorable macroeconomic conditions has compelled customers to cut back on discretionary spending and prefer lower priced brands over premium ones. Consequently, demand for Host Hotels has reduced comparatively, and the company is under severe stress to maintain profitability. We presently have a Zacks #3 Rank for Host Hotels, which translates into a short-term 'Hold' rating and indicates that the stock is expected to perform in line with the overall U.S. equity market for the next 1–3 months. However, we have a Zacks #1 Rank ('Strong Buy') for MPG Office Trust, Inc. (NYSE: MPG - News), one of the peers of Host Hotels. HOST HOTELS & RESORTS INC (HST): Read the Full Research Report Follow Yahoo! Finance on ; become a fan on Facebook. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
| Six cool ice hotels for the brave at heart Posted: 03 Jan 2011 04:36 PM PST Yngve Bergqvist's Icehotel located in Jukkasjärvi, a village about 125 miles above the Arctic Circle in Swedish Lapland, may have the chill-inducing bragging rights of being the oldest (it received its first overnight guests in 1992), most referenced (it's been featured in countless documentaries), and most high-profile hotel constructed from blocks of snow and ice. It may also be the only ice hotel that has enacted an ambitious goal to become CO2 negative by 2015 and spawned a franchise of vodka-centric Icebars located in cities well below the Arctic Circle like Tokyo, Copenhagen, and London. And it's certainly the only ice hotel out there that has embraced its inner geek and created an eye-popping guest suite inspired by the sci-fi film "Tron: Legacy." However, Sweden's Icehotel isn't the world's only lodging where you can find chunks of frozen water being used in a capacity that goes well beyond a rattling machine at the end of the hall. There are several other ice hotels across the world catering to adventurous, layer-wearing travelers looking to hunker down for the night in a frozen fortress. Although they may have been inspired by the subzero Swedish trendsetter, each of these ice hotels is unique in its own right. Grab your mittens … let's take a look, shall we?
 (Photo: Hotel de Glace, ©Xdachez.com) Located just outside Quebec City — a decidedly more accessible locale than Lapland — the Hôtel de Glace is North America's only ice hotel (Chena Hot Springs Resort in frigid Fairbanks, Alaska, erected one in 2009 but this year the resort opted for an ice museum). Offering "an unforgettable experience between nature and urbanity," 2011's 32,000-square-foot Hôtel de Glace boasts 36 guest rooms and suites with ambient temperature between minus 3 degrees and minus 5 degrees Celsius (23 degrees to 27 degrees Fahrenheit). Brrr. For those who aren't keen on the idea of spending the evening in a frigid room huddled in an arctic sleeping bag, day and night tours of the Hôtel de Glace are available with access to the hotel's North Face Grand Ice Slide, Ice Chapel and, of course, the Ice Bar for a post-tour hot toddy (or three).
 (Photo: Lainio SnowHotel, Snow Village) Part of a sprawling Snow Village located more than 100 miles above the Arctic Circle, Finland's SnowHotel attracts visitors from across the globe wanting to spend the night in the Lap(land) of luxury. Entering its 10th year in existence, the Snow Village is constructed from over 3 million pounds of snow and 660,000 pounds of ice. Amenities and attractions include 15 double igloo rooms, eight ice suites, an Icebar (igloo disco, anyone?), and a traditional log cabin restaurant that serves up Lappish fare and temperatures above the freezing mark. And because this is Finland, there is a sauna on the premises.
 (Photo: Kirkenes Snowhotel, Bernt Nilsen) A new entry in the fabulous and frigid world of ice hotels is the 4-year-old Kirkenes Snowhotel in extreme northeastern Norway near the Russian border. Built by the folks behind Finland's Snow Village, the Kirkenes Snowhotel offers the typical ice hotel amenities: spacious rooms with a whole lot of warm bedding, an ice bar fully stocked with vodka, opportunities for dog sledding, and a nearby eatery where guests can warm up after a long and arduous day of being cold. Added bonuses: The Kirkenes Snowhotel is located within the Gabba Reindeer Park, and the town of Kirkenes itself will be of interest to World War II buffs.
 (Photo: Romanian Ice Hotel) Located high in the Fagaras Mountains and accessible only by cable car, Romania's remote, 14-room Lake Balea Ice Hotel offers subzero lodgings with a Transylvanian twist. Guests can pass the time at the hotel by sleeping in ice beds covered with reindeer fur, eating elaborate meals off ice plates, warming up at an ice bar, partaking in numerous wintertime activities (snowmobiling, ice skating, ice sculpting, and the like), and checking out somewhat foreboding religious iconography carved out of ice. Unlike many other ice hotels, this one is open year-round.
 (Photo: Igloo Hotel ) Claiming to be the world's northernmost ice hotel, the Igloo Hotel outside of Alta, Norway, is a mammoth (nearly 22,000 square-feet), tricked-out igloo with 30 guest rooms and suites. Amenities include an ice chapel, ice bar, and an adjacent, non-frigid service center with bathroom facilities along with a sauna and hot tubs for thawing out. Guests at the Igloo Hotel can dog sled along the frozen Alta River, take in the majestic Northern Lights, venture out on a guided snowmobile safari or enjoy a meal of fried reindeer with glazed vegetables and lukewarm cloudberry soup at the nearby Restaurant Laksestua. The Igloo Hotel recommends that overnight guests pack woolen underwear.
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| San Diego County hotels looking at a healthier new year Posted: 03 Jan 2011 01:31 PM PST Monday, January 3, 2011 at 1:09 p.m.  / Hilton San Diego Bayfront San Diego hotels can expect higher occupancy and room rates in 2011 Little by little, San Diego County's hotels have been eking out gains in revenues and demand for overnight stays, but only after sustaining significant hits to their business in the last couple of years, a new forecast reveals. It's unlikely that the local industry will return to pre-recession levels until well into 2012, but in the meantime, hoteliers can expect healthier occupancy rates and, by extension, more robust revenues per room, the standard barometer for economic health in the lodging world. By the end of 2010, revenues per hotel room rose to $85.08, a 4.2 percent increase over 2009, fueled by a healthy 5.4 percent rise in the average occupancy rate to 67.1 percent, according to PKF Hospitality Research. And by the end of this year, those all important revenues will show continued gains, increasing to $92.06. While that's still below San Diego's pre-recession peak of $106.55 in 2007, the local market's vital statistics are showing renewed economic vigor, said analyst Bruce Baltin of PKF. Slower-growing average room rates, which were discounted heavily during the economic downturn, have been holding back a full recovery. "Things are moving in the right direction but it's still going to be a while to get back to where you were in the peak," said Baltin. "In 2006 and 2007, San Diego was one of the stronger hotel markets in the business, and part of that is because of your convention business. Your leisure business may be coming back faster than your convention business right now." Baltin pointed out that meeting planners were in a strong position to negotiate favorable room rates in 2008 and 2009, and because a lot of meeting business is booked years in advance, it will take time for rates to move up again. "You're starting to see more negotiating strength in the hands of hotels but there's still a time lag," he said. This year, PKF believes the average room rate in the county will grow to $134.14 and by 2012 will escalate to $144.78, not too far off San Diego's peak of $147.86 in 2008. For the last couple of years, travelers who could afford to do so have been able to take advantage of some of the best hotel deals in years as hoteliers did their best to boost occupancy levels, figuring that a discounted room was better than an empty room. "Looking back, you can say 2010 was a transition year," said San Diego hotel consultant Robert Rauch and a hotel owner himself. "On the one hand, we finally saw improvement in (revenues per available room) every month in 2010, and that has resulted in better net income. In 2009 it was all negative. We're also seeing more group and corporate business and some growth, albeit limited, in average rates. "For the consumer, they have one more year of outstanding values. 2009 was the best year for values, and the bargains will be less available in 2011. By 2012, it won't be a sellers market but it won't be a buyers market either." This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
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