Predicting the impact of calendar shifts on US hotels: An analysis of 19 years of U.S. hotel performance data revealed trends in how calendar shifts affect revenue per available room, write STR’s Jan Freitag and Tingting Duan. STR is the parent company of HNN.
“The question we get often is if the impact of the calendar shift is measureable, and then—more importantly—predictable going forward?” Freitag and Duan write. “Looking back at the last 19 years of data, we feel that we can estimate the calendar-shift impact with some precision and estimate the demand and RevPAR impact on monthly performance results.”
Hotel chain Unizo continues talks with Blackstone: Japan’s Unizo Holdings said the company will continue its talks with Blackstone Group after it submitted a tender offer of 5,000 Japanese yen ($46.09) per share, Reuters reports. Hotel chain Unizo had previously rejected a bid from Blackstone.
Along with its offer, Blackstone said it “might take more aggressive measures” if Unizo would not agree to the offer, the article states.
“We have carefully evaluated and considered Blackstone’s offer. And today all the board members agreed to continue talks with Blackstone as its proposals could help maintain and improve corporate value and secure shareholders benefit,” Unizo said in a statement.
Inspection of collapsed New Orleans Hard Rock underway: Engineers are inspecting the Hard Rock Hotel in New Orleans that collapsed while under construction last week, WDSU reports. The Louisiana National Guard will assist in the search and recovery of the bodies of two people who died in the collapse.
There were 112 people working in the hotel when it collapsed, the article states. The collapse killed three and injured another 30 people.
Crews imploded two construction cranes that were working on the hotel as part of the demolition work, the article states. Once the two bodies are found and recovered, New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell said she will move to have the rest of the hotel demolished.
FBI reports travelers died of natural causes in Dominican Republic: The FBI determined the deaths of two American tourists in the Dominican Republic in May were from natural causes, not poisoned alcohol, The New York Times reports. The FBI assisted the Dominican Republic National Police in conducting toxicology tests for three cases.
The FBI findings supports previous assessments from Dominican authorities, the newspaper reports. Authorities had tried to reason that while tragic, the deaths were not occurring at an unusual rate considering more than 2.7 million Americans visit the country every year. The country’s economy relies heavily on tourists visiting its beach resorts.
The attorney for the family of the dead couple said the case still requires further review because they both died of the same ailment at the same time.
Luxury hotel to open in former Nazi bunker: NH Hotel Group has plans to open a 136-room luxury hotel with a rooftop garden in the Flakturm IV, a former Nazi bunker in the St. Pauli district of Hamburg, Germany, CNN reports. Following World War II, the bunker was taken over for civilian use, becoming post-war housing and later a German TV station, nightclubs, radio stations and other businesses.
Called the Nhow Hamburg, the hotel is scheduled to open in 2021 and have nightly rates starting at €100 ($117.57). The hotel will feature a bar, café and restaurant. The rooftop garden will have a memorial center dedicated to the victims of Nazi Germany.
The Flakturm IV, known as the Hockbunker, was one of the largest built in Germany. There were plans to demolish it after the war, but officials determined the amount of explosives necessary would have destroyed nearby surviving residential areas.
Compiled by Bryan Wroten.