Computer hackers continue to steal hotel guests' credit-card data more than any other industry - and there's little consumers can do to protect themselves, Nicholas Percoco, an Internet expert who investigates corporate data breaches, tells Hotel Check-In. Percoco runs SpiderLabs at Trustwave, the security team that performs cyber forensic investigations for companies that suspect their systems have been breached.
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Thursday, July 29, 2010
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Buffalo Wild Wings, Inc. Announces Second Quarter 2010 Results
Buffalo Wild Wings, Inc. (NASDAQ: BWLD), announced today financial results for the second quarter ended June 27, 2010. Highlights for the second quarter versus the same period a year ago were:
Total revenue increased 12.4% to $145.7 million
Company-owned restaurant sales grew 11.7% to $131.5 million
Same-store sales decreased 0.1% at company-owned restaurants and 0.7% at franchised restaurants
Net earnings increased 31.4% to $9.2 million from $7.0 million, and earnings per diluted share increased 28.2% to $0.50 from $0.39
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Total revenue increased 12.4% to $145.7 million
Company-owned restaurant sales grew 11.7% to $131.5 million
Same-store sales decreased 0.1% at company-owned restaurants and 0.7% at franchised restaurants
Net earnings increased 31.4% to $9.2 million from $7.0 million, and earnings per diluted share increased 28.2% to $0.50 from $0.39
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Chinese Government approves Cable Beach (Bahamas) project
THE Government of the People’s Republic of China yesterday formally approved the $2.6 billion investment in the Baha Mar project on Cable Beach, bringing an end to speculation on the viability of the resort development.
In a statement from the Cabinet office yesterday, Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham confirmed that His Excellency Dingxian Hu, the Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China, had advised that his government has given formal approval for “various agencies of the Chinese government to enter into a joint venture with Baha Mar Ltd for the redevelopment of Cable Beach.”
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In a statement from the Cabinet office yesterday, Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham confirmed that His Excellency Dingxian Hu, the Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China, had advised that his government has given formal approval for “various agencies of the Chinese government to enter into a joint venture with Baha Mar Ltd for the redevelopment of Cable Beach.”
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Eurazeo Gets At Least Three Final Bids For B&B Hotels
LONDON (Dow Jones)--French private equity firm Eurazeo SA (RF.FR) has received at least three final bids for its B&B budget hotel chain, people familiar with the situation told Dow Jones Newswires Wednesday.
Buyout companies PAI Partners, Carlyle Group and Bridgepoint submitted bids by Monday's deadline, the people said. It is unclear whether LBO France and U.S. hotel and real estate company Starwood Capital, which were previously interested, participated in the final round.
Eurazeo has hired Rothschild to run the sale which includes 181 hotels in France, 32 in Germany and three in Italy. The company had EUR202 million in revenue last year and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization are estimated at around EUR46 million for 2010.
The business was put on the market for EUR450 million but bids could come in at up to EUR500 million, one person said
Buyout companies PAI Partners, Carlyle Group and Bridgepoint submitted bids by Monday's deadline, the people said. It is unclear whether LBO France and U.S. hotel and real estate company Starwood Capital, which were previously interested, participated in the final round.
Eurazeo has hired Rothschild to run the sale which includes 181 hotels in France, 32 in Germany and three in Italy. The company had EUR202 million in revenue last year and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization are estimated at around EUR46 million for 2010.
The business was put on the market for EUR450 million but bids could come in at up to EUR500 million, one person said
Wyndham Worldwide Reports Second Quarter 2010 Earnings Results
HIGHLIGHTS:
Second quarter 2010 diluted earnings per share (EPS) was $0.51, compared with Company-issued guidance of $0.38 – $0.42 and $0.39 in the second quarter of 2009.
Free cash flow, which the Company defines as net cash from operations less capital expenditures, equity investments and development advances, increased 32% to $486 million in the first half of 2010, compared with $368 million during the same period in 2009.
The Company's Board of Directors authorized an increase to the current share repurchase program by $300 million. For the quarter, the Company repurchased approximately 2.2 million shares of its common stock at an average price of $24.33.
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Second quarter 2010 diluted earnings per share (EPS) was $0.51, compared with Company-issued guidance of $0.38 – $0.42 and $0.39 in the second quarter of 2009.
Free cash flow, which the Company defines as net cash from operations less capital expenditures, equity investments and development advances, increased 32% to $486 million in the first half of 2010, compared with $368 million during the same period in 2009.
The Company's Board of Directors authorized an increase to the current share repurchase program by $300 million. For the quarter, the Company repurchased approximately 2.2 million shares of its common stock at an average price of $24.33.
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Construction progresses on Pittsburgh Hilton Hotel
The long-stalled Pittsburgh Hilton Hotel expansion, including installation of a third-floor swimming pool will celebrate its grand opening in less than a year, the new construction manager predicted Tuesday.
Frank Amedia, head of TC Solutions of Miami, walked the ground floor of the project yesterday with Comm Steel of Cleveland and its owner Robert Ciofani, giving the new construction timetable. Comm Steel is fabricating the project's steel and will be erecting the girders when delivered.
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Frank Amedia, head of TC Solutions of Miami, walked the ground floor of the project yesterday with Comm Steel of Cleveland and its owner Robert Ciofani, giving the new construction timetable. Comm Steel is fabricating the project's steel and will be erecting the girders when delivered.
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Business Travel Bolsters Wyndham
Wyndham Worldwide reported better-than-expected results Wednesday with net income of $95 million, or 51 cents per share, versus $71 million, or 39 cents per share a year ago. The results, which exclude a one-time charge of $1 million from an acquisition of the Tryp hotel brand, exceeded the company's anticipated EPS of 38 cents to 42 cents for the second quarter. Revenues totaled $963, up from $920 last year.
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Tuesday, July 27, 2010
S. Fla.-based group gambles on Bimini Big Game Club
ALICE TOWN, Bimini -- There is no casino here at the Bimini Big Game Club, but the people behind the rebirth of the historic hotel and marina are doing plenty of gambling.
The South Florida-based group reopened the 74-year-old Bahamas resort as a Guy Harvey Outpost Resort & Marina as hurricane season loomed, oil gushed in the Gulf and a recession hangover persisted throughout the Caribbean. At the Alice Town hotel, a mere 50 miles from Miami, foreclosure proceedings are still awaiting a final resolution. So Mark Ellert, president of Guy Harvey Outpost and a South Florida real estate veteran, uses terms like ``hold our breath,'' ``knock on wood'' and ``calculated risk.''
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The South Florida-based group reopened the 74-year-old Bahamas resort as a Guy Harvey Outpost Resort & Marina as hurricane season loomed, oil gushed in the Gulf and a recession hangover persisted throughout the Caribbean. At the Alice Town hotel, a mere 50 miles from Miami, foreclosure proceedings are still awaiting a final resolution. So Mark Ellert, president of Guy Harvey Outpost and a South Florida real estate veteran, uses terms like ``hold our breath,'' ``knock on wood'' and ``calculated risk.''
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Ritz-Carlton in Rancho Mirage bought out of foreclosure
Construction of The Ritz-Carlton Rancho Mirage, stalled since September 2008 when its main lender Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy, is expected to restart now that the property has been sold in foreclosure.
Rancho California Investments LLC, an affiliate of the hotel's original owner and developer Miami-based Gencom Group and private investment firm Magna RE, bought the hotel's loan in foreclosure in early July. Terms of the agreement were not revealed.
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Rancho California Investments LLC, an affiliate of the hotel's original owner and developer Miami-based Gencom Group and private investment firm Magna RE, bought the hotel's loan in foreclosure in early July. Terms of the agreement were not revealed.
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Denver Ritz-Carlton lawsuit settled
A 2009 state court lawsuit involving whether a Chicago lender could foreclose on downtown Denver’s luxury Ritz-Carlton hotel ended Monday in light of undisclosed pre-trial settlements, according to Denver District Court records.
The case was scheduled to go to trial Monday, but because of a recent settlement agreement between the parties, Judge Morris B. Hoffman ordered the trial date annulled on July 23. He granted a motion to close the case on Monday.
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The case was scheduled to go to trial Monday, but because of a recent settlement agreement between the parties, Judge Morris B. Hoffman ordered the trial date annulled on July 23. He granted a motion to close the case on Monday.
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China's hotel star ranking system under increased scrutiny
BEIJING, July 27 (Xinhuanet) -- China is planning to accelerate a mechanism with which to strip poorly run hotels of their star rankings in order to protect the image of all the 15,000 star-rated hotels across the country, a top tourism official said on Monday.
Anonymous customers' opinions will be considered for the first time along with those of industry experts when evaluating a star-rated hotel's qualification, said Du Jiang, deputy head of the National Tourism Administration of China.
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Anonymous customers' opinions will be considered for the first time along with those of industry experts when evaluating a star-rated hotel's qualification, said Du Jiang, deputy head of the National Tourism Administration of China.
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Man jailed for £250m plot to 'sell' London Ritz Hotel
A jobless lorry driver who pulled off an "elaborate and outrageous scam" to sell London's Ritz Hotel for £250m has been jailed for five years.
Anthony Lee, 49, of Beal, North Yorkshire, found victims who were interested in the hotel in Piccadilly and duped them into handing over £1m.
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Anthony Lee, 49, of Beal, North Yorkshire, found victims who were interested in the hotel in Piccadilly and duped them into handing over £1m.
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Barclay Brothers Sell 10% Stake in InterContinental Hotels
The billionaire Barclay brothers sold their 10 percent stake in the U.K.’s InterContinental Hotels Group Plc for about 335 million pounds ($520 million) after the hotelier’s shares rose 88 percent in a year.
InterContinental fell as much as 8.4 percent in London trading after Barclays Capital sold almost 30 million shares on behalf of Ellerman Corp., a company controlled by David and Frederick Barclay, for 1,120 pence apiece, according to three people familiar with the transaction.
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InterContinental fell as much as 8.4 percent in London trading after Barclays Capital sold almost 30 million shares on behalf of Ellerman Corp., a company controlled by David and Frederick Barclay, for 1,120 pence apiece, according to three people familiar with the transaction.
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Monday, July 26, 2010
SF's Worst Restaurants Needed For TV Show
SF is crazy about our restaurants, catapulting chefs into near celebrity status. But there's always going to be a few restaurants, that well, don't quite make the mark. Whether its a gourmet bistro with cardboard pizza crusts, or an pan-Asian cafe heavy handed with the salt-there is now hope for failing restaurant enterprises.
Here's the latest casting call to floundering owners from the producers of Chef Gordon Ramsay's one time BBC, now FOX show, Kitchen Nightmares. "Are you trying to make some green, but still running in the red? Is your food not the best it should be? Or maybe you have a great location, but it doesn't seem to bring in many customers?" They ask restaurateurs who might need a makeover from Ramsay and company.
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Here's the latest casting call to floundering owners from the producers of Chef Gordon Ramsay's one time BBC, now FOX show, Kitchen Nightmares. "Are you trying to make some green, but still running in the red? Is your food not the best it should be? Or maybe you have a great location, but it doesn't seem to bring in many customers?" They ask restaurateurs who might need a makeover from Ramsay and company.
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Restaurants Uncork More Wines by the Glass
Ordering wine by the glass used to mean scant choices and bland options. And only your tastebuds would tell you how long the wine had languished in an open bottle.
That's changed, with restaurants amping up the volume on what's available by the glass and making sure that the wines poured are at optimal freshness.
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That's changed, with restaurants amping up the volume on what's available by the glass and making sure that the wines poured are at optimal freshness.
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Starwood Adding Seven Hotels in NYC
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. - Unveiling an aggressive expansion plan for this year, Starwood Hotels and Resorts Inc. plans to double its New York City portfolio, adding seven hotels in a strategy that raises its flags on one out of every four new rooms slated to debut in 2010.
Starwood currently operates 12 hotels in the city, including the Brooklyn Sheraton which opened in May. The 2010 plan, totaling 1,712 rooms, includes the debut of the Aloft and Element brands in NYC. The openings will result in more than 500 jobs for Manhattan, Long Island City and Brooklyn. Worldwide, the White Plains, N.Y.-based Starwood will open more than 80 hotels in key markets this year.
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Starwood currently operates 12 hotels in the city, including the Brooklyn Sheraton which opened in May. The 2010 plan, totaling 1,712 rooms, includes the debut of the Aloft and Element brands in NYC. The openings will result in more than 500 jobs for Manhattan, Long Island City and Brooklyn. Worldwide, the White Plains, N.Y.-based Starwood will open more than 80 hotels in key markets this year.
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Revenue agents raid 5 hotels for back taxes
ATLANTA -- Georgia Department of Revenue agents seized five Augusta hotels at 8 a.m. today, citing a failure to pay sales taxes and withholding taxes for their employees’ income taxes.
Two of the five have repaid the more than $400,000 owed, according to Revenue Department spokesman Reg Lansberry. The remaining three haven’t as of 11:30 a.m.
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Two of the five have repaid the more than $400,000 owed, according to Revenue Department spokesman Reg Lansberry. The remaining three haven’t as of 11:30 a.m.
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Business Travel Picks Up, Lifting the Hotel Industry
So far the biggest beneficiary is New York, though other cities on the East Coast are starting to report gains as well. And the upscale, full-service hotels that have long been favored by business travelers have benefited more from the upturn in demand than the midlevel brands, industry analysts say.
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Sunday, July 25, 2010
Mario Batali sued by ex-employees
Mario Batali seems to make headlines as often over accusations of misdeeds as he does over his proficiency in the kitchen. Last January he was sued for failing to pay $45,000 in back rent to to the owners of the building that housed his now-defunct seafood restaurant, The John Dory. Then in April, he was accused of discriminatory hiring practices.
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