Phuket's hotels real estate market

Along with the booming tourism industry, Phuket's real estate market continues to draw substantial interest from foreign investors. However, evidence from the number of business registrations and land office show that actual number of transactions in the market has dropped due to the current political situation in Thailand. This is not reflective of demand for high-end villas and condominiums. CB Richard Ellis has seen a greater number of well qualified buyers and enquiries in 2007, but buyers are proceeding to purchase with greater caution.

Australia - Iconic heritage listed hotel in Greenough for sale

Hampton Arms includes a pub, bookshop, hotel accommodation, beer garden and a function centre with 4.8ha of riverside land. 3L Real Estate agent Hadley Shearn said the establishment was built in 1863. "For more than 70 years it has been the hub of society in Greenough, with local sporting events and horse races organised around the Hampton Arms, he said. The owner has run the establishment since 1984.

Inland buying hotel group

Cash-rich Inland American Real Estate Trust Inc. of Oak Brook has agreed to pay about $920 million for an affiliate of the largest African-American-owned hotel investment company in the nation, RLJ Development LLC.
RLJ Urban Fund is among the lodging investment vehicles founded by Thomas J. Baltimore Jr. and Robert L. Johnson, who started the Black Entertainment Network.

Indian Hotels acquires 10 pct stake in Orient Express

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Indian Hotels Co Ltd said on Monday it had paid $211.3 million for a strategic 10 percent stake in Orient-Express Hotels Ltd, and said the two companies were in talks to form an alliance. India's largest hotels operator, which owns the Taj group of luxury hotels and resorts, struck the deal through a wholly owned subsidiary, Samsara Properties, with a view to expand its brand internationally, the company said in a statement. "As part of this strategy, we have been pursuing alliances and relationships with leading hotel groups that have not yet up a presence in India, but have secured leadership positions in various geographies," R.K. Krishna Kumar, vice chairman of Indian Hotels said.

New Orleans Hotel Picked Up for $93M

The Astor Crowne Plaza Hotel on the corner of the famous Bourbon and Canal streets has just come under new ownership. RREEF Real Estate and joint venture partner Loeb Partners Realty have closed on the acquisition of the 707-room property from New Orleans Fine Hotels for $93 million. Located at the entrée to the French Quarter, the Astor was developed at a cost of $40 million in 2002 as a 515-room property. Today, in addition to a wealth of guestrooms, the hotel features 27,500 square feet of meeting space and 22,500 square feet of street level retail space. While the property suffered only minimal damage as a result of Hurricane Katrina, the new owners plan to renovate the hotel through a substantial capital investment.

Prem spends €130m on European hotels

The Prem Group, the hotel management business of property developer Paddy Kelly, has spent €65m buying nine hotels in Belgium and France, in a joint venture with Goodbody stockbrokers. The hotels, which are branded Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express and Crowne Plaza, are based in Hasselt, Mechelen, Antwerp, Ghent, Ostend and Calais.

Puravankara plans to partner Accor for hospitality foray

REAL estate company Puravankara Projects is close to signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with France-based hospitality group Accor for the former’s first hotel project in Bangalore, an official involved with the deal told ET. This is part of Puravankara’s strategy to diversify into the hospitality segment. The Bangalore-based real estate developer will construct hotels on land owned by it and hand over the day-to-day management to a professional group on a profit-sharing basis. Puravankara has plans to build two hotels in Bangalore — one super luxury and one budget.

Carlson signs three properties in Pakistan

NEW DELHI: The $28-billion US hospitality major Carlson Hotels Worldwide has signed up for developing three properties in Pakistan. One of the hotels will come up in Lahore, having the Park Plaza hotel brand name, while the two others will be in Islamabad and will be known as Radisson Hotels. All these properties will be up and running by mid-2009. The group also has major plans for South Asia where it plans to develop 75 properties in the next three years. It has 34 operating properties in South Asia, of which 20 hotels are under development at present.

The Investor 's Guide to Condo Hotel Real Estate Released

The manual covers such topics as an Overview of the industry, top questions to ask before purchasing a unit, and rental management agreements. "Understanding the Condo Hotel Rental management agreement is a major focus of the manual." says Franchini. "For example, the average investor will not understand terms such as FF&E, RePar, or Average Room Rate, but these terms are essential towards fully understanding the rental management statements". Franchini also points out, "Questions to ask before purchase are also detrimental towards getting a good investment. Although location of the property is always an important consideration, the location of the unit is also extremely important. For example, you want to avoid purchasing a unit near the elevator, ice machines, or with a poor view".