Shares of Strategic Hotels & Resorts — a real estate investment trust active in the U.S., Mexico and Europe — rose on Monday, after an analyst said the company is poised for growth and upgraded the stock.
Filed under: Hotels
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Aug. 5, 2010 at 10:26 a.m.
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Filed under: Airlines, Earnings, Hotels, Internet, Travel, Updated Orbitz profit tops Street on bookings; shares soar
Online travel agency Orbitz Worldwide recorded a better-than-expected quarterly profit on gains in bookings, sending its shares up nearly 13 percent.
The company, which owns travel sites Orbitz.com and Cheaptickets.com, said the total value of its travel bookings increased by 17 percent from a year ago, when the industry was hammered by a recession that drained travel demand. Get the full story »
Hyatt Hotels returns to 2Q profit
Hyatt Hotels Corp. said Thursday that it returned to a second-quarter profit as demand for its rooms increased, especially abroad.
The hotel owner said it earned $25 million, or 14 cents per share, during the quarter that ended in late June. That’s far better than last year’s loss of $50 million, or 34 cents per share. Last year’s results were hurt by hefty one-time costs that cut net income by 43 cents per share. Get the full story »
Chicago Hyatt workers authorize strike
In the wake of still-unsettled labor disputes, union workers from Chicago-area Hyatt hotels voted Thursday to authorize a strike.
The vote does not mean workers will strike. It authorizes the union’s negotiating committee to call a strike if it is deemed necessary. This was the second such vote since negotiations began. In October, Chicago hotel workers voted to authorize a strike at five downtown Starwood hotels. So far, they have not called for a strike.
Union contracts covering 6,000 workers at 31 hotels in downtown Chicago expired Aug. 31, and the two sides have been unable to reach a settlement, according to Unite Here Local 1.
On Thursday, members of Unite Here Local 1 at the Hyatt Regency Chicago, Park Hyatt, Hyatt McCormick Place and Hyatt O’Hare voted by a 92 percent majority to authorize a strike if necessary.
While the contracts affect workers at several hotel chains, Unite Here has focused its efforts on Chicago-based Hyatt and the Pritzker family, which controls the chain, holding them up as an example of management that it claims is using the economy as an excuse to take advantage of workers.
Hyatt has said that negotiations are best left for the negotiating table.
Hyatt workers to take strike vote Thursday
Union workers from-area Hyatt hotels will vote Thursday on whether to authorize a strike in the wake of contract negotiations that have stretched out for nearly a year.
Union contracts covering 6,000 workers at 31 hotels in downtown Chicago expired Aug. 31, 2009, and the two sides have been unable to reach a settlement. Get the full story »
Dozens arrested at Hyatt protests
Hyatt workers at the May 26, 2010 protest outside the Hyatt Regency in downtown Chicago. (José M. Osorio/Chicago Tribune)
About 30 people, including a priest, protesting working conditions in front of the Hyatt Regency were arrested by police Thursday in a staged act of civil disobedience.
Annemarie Strassel, a spokeswoman for Unite Here Local 1, said 200 workers had been prepared to be arrested, but out of respect for slain Police Officer Michael Bailey’s wake Thursday evening, the union agreed to lower the number of demonstrators so that officers will have time to attend the wake. Get the full story »
West Chicago River North to be sold
From Crain’s Chicago Business | The Westin Chicago River North, at 320 N. Dearborn St., is slated to be sold for $165 million under a deal struck with Bethesda, Md.-based Host Hotels & Resorts Inc.
Nicholas Pritzker puts Mich. mansion on market
Nicholas Pritzker in 2005. (File, Tribune)
ELITE STREET | By Bob Goldsborough | Nicholas Pritzker, the chief executive and chairman of the Hyatt Development Corp. and a member of the Pritzker family, has placed his 7,325-square-foot contemporary-style mansion on 45 acres on Lake Michigan in Covert, Mich. on the market for $4.95 million.
Pritzker and his wife Susan, who also live on the Gold Coast, have been dividing their time between Chicago and California lately, which is why they listed their estate in southwest Michigan, said listing agent Karen Strohl of Prudential Rubloff. Get the full story »
Hotel room rates head up in June
Chicago’s downtown hotels commanded significantly higher room rates in June, a signal that the recession may be easing a bit for the beleaguered industry.
The average daily rate was $204.58 last month, up 14.3 percent over June of 2009, according to data from Smith Travel Research Inc.
Occupancy rates have been edging up this year, said Ted Mandigo, an Elmhurst-based hotel consultant, and hotels began to feel more confident about pricing. Get the full story »
Hyatt Regency to reopen New Orleans hotel
Hyatt Hotels Corp. said it is revamping and reopening its Hyatt Regency New Orleans in fall of 2011. The operator said it will launch a multimillion redevelopment of the 1,193-room hotel located adjacent to the Louisiana Superdome.
Judge rules Blackstone Hotel violated labor laws
The owners of the historic Blackstone Hotel violated federal labor laws by unilaterally laying off 14 room-service employees and cutting health care benefits, an administrative law judge for the National Labor Relations Board has ruled.
The ruling by Judge Mark Carissimi also found the owners, including Denver-based Sage Hospitality Resources LLC, broke laws protecting union activity by asking employees to sign a petition to decertify the union.
The owners were ordered to offer reinstatement to the 14 workers laid off last year and to return to its previous health-care plan. They also were ordered to reimburse employees for lost wages and benefits—a sum the employees’ union estimates to be at least $250,000. Get the full story »
June 30, 2010 at 2:39 p.m.
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Filed under: Development, Government, Hotels, Housing, Real estate, Retail Hotel, retail development near Wrigley approved
A plan for an eight-story hotel, large chain stores and apartments across the street from Wrigley Field passed the Chicago City Council without dissent today.
Some neighborhood residents and business owners earlier had argued that the Addison Park on Clark development would “suburbanize” the neighborhood around the iconic ballpark, but the plan passed the full council without discussion.
A plan for an eight-story hotel, large chain stores and apartments across the street from Wrigley Field passed the Chicago City Council without dissent today.
Some neighborhood residents and business owners earlier had argued that the Addison Park on Clark development would “suburbanize” the neighborhood around the iconic ballpark, but the plan passed the full council without discussion.
AAA: 17% more Fourth of July travelers expected
The roads and airports will be more crowded during the July 4 weekend, but travelers will be spending less money.
AAA Chicago projects that the number of Americans traveling the July 4 weekend will rise 17.1 percent from 2009, with 34.9 million travelers taking a trip at least 50 miles away from home.In Illinois, nearly 2 million people will travel for the holiday weekend, defined as July 1 to July 5. That’s a 19.7 percent increase over 2009. Get the full story »
Overseas visitors heading back after weak year
Chicago suffered a particularly steep decline in visitors from overseas in 2009, but merchants, restaurateurs and hoteliers should start to feel a modest rebound this year.
That forecast will be delivered to the Greater North Michigan Avenue Association this week by Helen Marano, director of the U.S. Commerce Department’s Office of Travel and Tourism Industries. Get the full story »
200-room hotel proposed for Chinatown area
From the Chicago Sun-Times | An investment group has filed for a zoning change to allow it to convert a 101-year-old abandoned factory on the 400 block of W. Cermak into a development that includes a 200-room hotel, stores and restaurants.
Get the full story: suntimes.com
