GLOBAL UPDATE : THE GOSTELOW REPORT
Kirk Kinsell , president of the Americas for IHG , says he is excited by interest in the company ’ s recently launched Even Hotels brand , the first to target health-conscious Americans specifically .
But the health-and-fitness craze is not universal . Hotel gyms in Osaka , for instance , do not see many Japanese guests ( though every lane of the indoor pool will be occupied first thing with guests swimming or — a national penchant — in-water walking ). London does not need more luxury hotels , but companies without a presence still want to be there . The latest possibility is a conversion of an office block at One Grosvenor Place , across Grosvenor Crescent from The Lanesborough . The owner , Grosvenor Estates — one of the companies of the Duke of Westminster — has extended the lease on the site to 150 years . The lease is held by giant property company Derwent London , headed by the London-based company ’ s founder and CEO John Burns . A luxury hotel is planned as part of Burns ’ intended £ 200 million ( US $ 317.4 million ) redevelopment of the site . The future building will have views not only northeast to Hyde Park and its signature Quadriga statue but also due east , over the comparatively low boundary wall of the Buckingham Palace gardens .
Is Arlington , Virginia-based Interstate Hotels & Resorts set to announce projects in the Netherlands and expansion in Russia ? Under Hank Ciaffone , Interstate pioneered international management entering what was then the USSR .
Dedeman Hotels and Resorts , based in Istanbul , has good political connections . It will only work where the national carrier , Turkish Airlines , flies . The company , owned by the Dedeman family , therefore already has presence in Bulgaria and Iraq , though for now it is — not surprisingly — dormant in Syria . Turkish Airlines , however , has just started a service to Mogadishu , Somalia ,
MARY GOSTELOW
and it has added a seventh destination in Ukraine — Kharkiv . Will CEO Tamer Yürükoglu start looking at those destinations ?
Africa ’ s West Coast development is helped considerably by having someone on the ground . Trevor Ward , who heads W Hospitality , based in Lagos , Nigeria , has become the pundit for what is going on throughout much of the African continent . At the moment he is in partnership with God ’ swill Akpan trying to find a buyer for the 238-key Kombo Beach Resort Hotel in The Gambia .
Marc Dardenne is now firmly established as CEO of Singapore-based Patina Hotels and Resorts , part of the massive portfolio of the Kwee family ’ s Pontiac Land . The first Patina will be a conversion of the capitol complex , near
People on the move
■ Simon Hirst has been appointed general manager of Raffles Praslin Seychelles .
■ Aloft Hotel Asheville Downtown , set to open in August in Asheville , North Carolina , has named Catherine Harris general manager .
■ Apichart Asa has been appointed general manager of the Outrigger Laguna Phuket Resort and Villas .
■ Hotel Teatro in Denver has selected Mark Plonkey as general manager .
■ Karambir Singh Kang has been named general manager of Taj Boston as well as area director , Taj Hotels – The Americas .
■ Denihan Hospitality Group , New York City , has appointed
Singapore ’ s existing Swissôtel Stamford . In all , Dardenne says he would like Patina to have 30 hotels by 2022 . These will be mainly management contracts but , when necessary , some equity input will be forthcoming . Dardenne adds that he is focused on China and on emerging markets such as Cambodia .
Does Australia need more hotels ? Prime centers for development would be Brisbane , Queensland and Perth . But , according to Robert Dawson , general manager of Park Hyatt Melbourne and regional director for Hyatt Hotels and Resorts , the cost of construction is prohibitive in Australia .
Accor is circumventing development costs by reflagging . Its latest coup was the A $ 257 million ( US $ 274.3 million ) purchase , in December 2011 , of Mirvac ’ s 48-strong portfolio in Australia and New Zealand , plus 21.9 % of the Mirvac Wholesale Hotel Fund investment vehicle , headquartered in Sydney .
Danette Opaczewski executive vice president , operations .
■ Lars Backhaus has joined Louvre Hotels Group , Paris , as chief operating officer , subsidiaries , France .
■ David Anderson has been appointed managing director , Europe , for Dolce Hotels and Resorts , Rockleigh , New Jersey .
■ Dusit Thani Dubai has named Antonello Manca executive chef .
■ Peppers Beach Club & Spa in Palm Cove , Queensland , Australia , has named Vanessa Grace executive chef .
■ Monastero Santa Rosa , set to open on Italy ’ s Amalfi Coast in May , has named Christoph Bob executive chef .
Harris
Backhaus
Manca
20 HOTELS April 2012 www . hotelsmag . com