December 2007
Tokyo is most Michelin-starred city
Tokyo has become the most Michelin-starred city in the world after the launch of the first Michelin restaurant guide for the Japanese capital.
The guide, which marks the first edition outside the west, awarded a record 191 stars to the 150 restaurants it lists, nearly twice as many as Paris’s 97 stars and more than triple the 49 issued for London.
Michelin director Jean-Luc Naret said: " It is thanks to the incomparable quality of the products and cooking techniques used, and to the heritage and culinary traditions handed down from generation to generation and which continue to develop thanks to the talent of its chefs, that the Tokyo Michelin Guide has given stars to all restaurants."
Eight restaurants were honoured with the highest accolade of three Michelin stars, with 25 restaurants gaining two stars and 117 receiving a single star.
French chef Joël Robuchon was awarded a total of six stars in Tokyo with his eponymous restaurant Joël Robuchon being awarded three stars, L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon receiving two stars and La Table de Joël Robuchon gaining one.
The six extra stars make Robuchon the highest ranked chef in terms of Michelin stars at 17, ahead of Alain Ducasse at 15 and Gordon Ramsay at 12.
Two thirds of the restaurants given stars are Japanese, with the majority of the remainder serving French cuisine. These include Alain Ducasse's Benoit and Beige restaurants, which each received one star.
The restaurants awarded three Michelin stars are:
- Hamadaya
- Joël Robuchon
- Kanda
- Koju
- L'Osier
- Quintessence
- Sushi Mizutani
- Sukiyabashi Jiro
Business travel to Russia on the rise - Hyatt Hotels and Resorts expands
Over the next three years, Hyatt Hotels & Resorts plans to open four new hotels in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), including one Park Hyatt hotel, one Grand Hyatt, and two Hyatt Regency properties to accommodate a growing number of affluent business travelers.
Hyatt is already the market leader in the most of Russia and the CIS, where the group has been very active since its first property opened in Baku, Azerbaijan in 1995.
"Russia is an emerging market economy, which is set to offer substantial growth and great future potential. With the new properties setting up in this country, Hyatt will be able to accommodate the increasing number of Middle East business travelers looking to exploit this above-average growth," said Thierry Bertin,
With five hotels already in place, including Park Hyatt Moscow and Hyatt Regency Kiev, the future openings in Yekaterinburg, Tbilissi, Moscow, and Dushanbe are part of Hyatt's regional development strategy for Russia and the CIS region.
These properties represent a further step in Hyatt's development in Russia, and will strengthen the group's network and brand portfolio in this region.
The Park Hyatt brand is renowned internationally for intimate, residential accommodation, providing exceptional interior design and gracious personalized service. Hyatt currently has one Park Hyatt property in Azerbaijan, Park Hyatt Baku, and one in Russia, Park Hyatt Moscow, with the addition of the up and coming Park Hyatt Tbilisi in Georgia.
The Grand Hyatt brand, known for its luxurious accommodations, dramatic architecture and state-of-the-art technology for the sophisticated global traveler, will expand in Russia with a Grand Hyatt hotel in Moscow, scheduled to open in late 2008. Integrated within Federation Towers, the centerpiece of the Moscow-City Project, Grand Hyatt Moscow will form an integral part of this mixed-use complex, which also houses serviced apartments and office space.
In addition to the recently opened Hyatt Regency Kiev, new Hyatt Regency hotels are also part of Hyatt International's expansion plans including Hyatt Regency Dushanbe and Hyatt Regency Yekaterinburg to open between 2008 and 2009.
Alain Ducasse regains crown as most-starred chef
Alain Ducasse has regained his crown as the most Michelin-starred chef in the world after his Mix restaurant in Las Vegas gained one star in the city's first Michelin guide.
The French chef, who opened his eagerly anticipated restaurant at London's Dorchester hotel earlier this week, now has 13 stars, putting him ahead of Gordon Ramsay.
Ramsay was briefly tied with Ducasse on 12 stars last month when his eponymous restaurant at the London NYC hotel in midtown Manhattan debuted with two stars in Michelin's New York 2008 guide.
Russian Hotels top choice for investors, despite shortage of stock
Increasing visitor numbers, a growing economy and rising average room rates are fuelling investor interest in Russian hotels.
Moscow is the most expensive European city in which to stay with average room rates at $352 per night; a 20% increase on last year's figure. Average room yields are also rising at $254 per room; a 25% increase on last year and ahead of Paris and London - said Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels at yesterday's Russia and CIS Hotel Investment Forum, held in Moscow.
Mark Wynne-Smith, European CEO, Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels said:
"Record-breaking revenues and the lowest labour costs in Europe make Moscow hotels spectacularly profitable. Moscow is a unique but highly successful market - the demand comes mainly from business travellers. Expensive room rates and a shortage of affordable accommodation are contributing to the stagnation in demand from tourists. This leaves a niche in the market for the development of mid-market and budget accommodation."
He continued: "The lack of modern standard stock is providing developers with a real opportunity. Operators continue to struggle to find suitable projects for their brands in all price segments. The main challenge they face is finding 'real projects' - those that actually progress when faced with the lack of experience and understanding of the hotel sector among local developers, as well as existing competition across real estate sectors, non-hotel usage still being more profitable. However, mixed-use developments are currently popular in Russia creating synergies between different real estate segments; the hottest projects include the Rossiya Hotel, the Moskva Hotel in Moscow, the New Holland in St.Petersbug, etc."
The prime markets of Moscow and St Petersberg remain the preferred locations for investment and development, however secondary locations are emerging as new targets - including Novosibirsk, Rostov-on-Don, Samara, Yekaterinburg, Nizhny Novgorod and Chelyabinsk. Another important trend is the emergence of domestic investors who are looking to create hotel chains across the country.
Transportation Strikes : an estimated loss of 8 million euros for the Parisian hotel industry
While the month of November began with heightened activity in Paris, largely due to the trade show Batimat, the public transportation strikes had a negative impact on results.
During the strikes, occupation rates decreased by 3.2 points in Paris. Given the average price level traditionally reached during this period, the loss estimated for the period is estimated at 8 million euros for Parisian hotels.
Despite the impact, these events do not question the sector's success. The year 2007, as predicted by MKG Hospitality at the beginning of the year, will result in record numbers.
The strikes in Paris have effects on November's results
Although November started off with performance rates of 20-40% above normal at the end of the Batimat trade show, the public transportation strikes which began on Thursday November 15 considerably slowed hotel activity. If the first days of the social movement did not yet reveal a significant decrease in RevPAR, the second week which began on Monday November 19 demonstrated a clear decline in activity.
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Mark Andrew has been named Regional Vice President, Pacific Northwest, for Fairmont and General Manager of the Fairmont Vancouver. He previously spent twenty-five years with Hyatt, including roles as General Manager of the Hyatt Seattle, the Hyatt Charlotte and the Hyatt Regency Vancouver. He also served as General Manager of the Westin Bayshore for six years.
Fred Kleisner, a director of the Morgans Hotel Group, has been named interim President and Chief Executive Officer, taking over for the recently departed W. Edward Scheetz. Kleisner is a former Chief Executive Officer of Wyndham International, President and Chief Operating Officer of the Americas for Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, in addition to President and Chief Operating Officer of Westin Hotels and Resorts
Fontainebleau Resorts has appointed Howard Karawan Chief Operating Officer. Most recently, Karawan was the President of Kerzner International’s destination resorts business. He had joined Kerzner in 1994 as Vice President Sales and Marketing for Atlantis on Paradise Island. In 1999, he was promoted to the position of Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer.
Kerzner International appoints Bonnie Biumi Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Biumi previously served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Norwegian Cruise Lines.
Vincent Mercurio has been named General Manager of the London West Hollywood (previously known as the Bel-Age, a Blackstone LXR hotel). Previously, Mercurio spent thirteen years with Ritz-Carlton, most recently as interim General Manager of the Ritz-Carlton Lake Las Vegas and General Manager at the Ritz-Carlton Beijing, Financial Street.
Caneel Bay, a Rosewood Resort, has appointed Edward Gannon Resort Manager. Most recently, he spent over three years as General Manager and Executive Chef at the Winnetu Oceanside Resort and its famed restaurant Lure, on Martha’s Vineyard. Previously, he served as Executive Chef for the Four Seasons Boston, the Hawthorne Hotel in Salem and the White Barn Inn in Kennebunkport.
Patrick Pollak has been promoted to the position of Hotel Manager at the Four Seasons Mexico City. He joined the company in 1995 in Mexico City as a Management Trainee in Food and Beverage. He most recently served as Assistant Director of Food and Beverage at the Ritz-Carlton Chicago and as Director of Food and Beverage at the Four Seasons Punta Mita.
Patrick Syka has joined the Mardis Gras Casino in Florida as Director of Food and Beverage. He had been the opening General Manager of MIX at THEhotel at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, prior to moving to Southern Florida to open Karu&I and Tottem.
Caneel Bay has appointed Anthony Dawodu Executive Chef. Dawodu comes from Boston, where for the past three years, he served as Executive Chef of two restaurants, Bomboa and 33. Previously, he spent eight years at the Four Seasons Boston.
Emmanuel Robert has been promoted to Executive Chef at the Sofitel San Francisco Bay, where he served since 1996, as Executive Sous Chef and Chef de Partie. He previously served in the kitchens at Le Grand Louvre at the Louvre Museum, Le Jardin at the Hotel Royal Monceau and La Maison du Danemark, all in Paris.
The Sofitel San Francisco Bay has named Emmanuel Billaud Chef de Cuisine for bay 223. He was most recently the Chef de Cuisine at Cafe 15 at the Sofitel Lafayette Square in Washington DC.
Florian Riedel will be returning to the Four Seasons Aviara as Director of Rooms. He joined the company in London and served as Guest Services Manager in Aviara. He was most recently the Assistant Director of Rooms at the Four Seasons Great Exuma.
The Mandarin Oriental Munich has named Lars Wagner General Manager. He was most recently the General Manager of the InterContinental Paris Le Grand Hotel, following eight years with Four Seasons in Chicago, Prague and Provence. Wagner also served as Director of Food and Beverage at the Grand Hyatt Erawan in Bangkok.
Dominique Dmytryszyn transfers to the Hilton Evian Les Bains as General Manager, taking over from Huguette Maison Dardenne, who opened the hotel. Dmytryszyn was most recently the General Manager of the Hilton Strasbourg. He had previously served as Executive Assistant Manager at the Noga Hilton in Cannes and the Hilton Paris Charles De Gaulle, where he handled the opening of the hotel.
At Rocco Forte Hotels,Alexandre Caujolle has joined the Lowry in Manchester as Resident Manager. A Lausanne graduate, he was previously the Food and Beverage Manager of Rocco Forte’s Balmoral.
Armand Noto has been named General Manager of the Casanova Hotel in Barcelona. He was previously the General Manager of the Hotel Eurostars Angli in Barcelona.
Alexandre Faidherbe has joined the legendary Hotel Négresco in Nice as Hotel Manager. For the past five years, he had been the General Manger of the Holiday-Inn La Villette in Paris.
Alberto Cirese transfers as Director of Finance to the pre-opening team of the Four Seasons Florence. He was most recently at the Four Seasons Milano, where, since November 2005, he was the Assistant Director of Finance.
Franz Rattenstetter has been named Manager of the Steigenberger Grandhotel Petersberg near Bonn. He was most recently managing the Crowne Plaza Bucharest.
Sébastien Arnaud moves to Spain as Director of Food and Beverage at the Hyatt Regency La Manga. He was most recently at the One & Only Palmilla, in the same position. Previously, he served as Director of Food and Beverage at Keswick Hall at Monticello for Orient-Express.
Vito Mollica has transferred as Executive Chef to the pre-opening team of the Four Seasons Florence. He joined the company in 1996 at the Four Seasons Milano and, for the past several years, has served as Executive Chef for the Four Seasons Prague.
At Relais & Chateaux International Headquarters, Xavier Schallenbaum has been named Director of Worldwide Communications. His background includes several postings within the French Government, including a stint as advisor to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts have appointed Armando Kraenzlin Regional Vice President, along with his current duties as General Manager of the Four Seasons Mumbai, slated for opening the first quarter of 2008. He first joined the company in 1999 as Executive Assistant Manager for the Regent Jakarta and has served as General Manager at the Four Seasons Maldives at Kuda Huraa. Kraenzlin is also a former General Manager of Baan Taling Ngam in Koh Samui, and a former Director of Food and Beverage at the Oriental in Bangkok.
The Mandarin Oriental Macau has named Michael Ziemer General Manager, replacing Pierre Barthes. Ziemer originally joined the group in 2003 as Resident Manager of the Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong. Since September 2004, he was the General Manager of the Mandarin Oriental Munich, where he is being replaced by Lars Wagner.
Calvin Poon is the Director of Finance at the Four Seasons Macau. He was most recently at the Hilton Adelaide, serving as Director of Finance.
The InterContinental Grand Stanford Hong Kong has appointed Christopher Johnson Executive Chef. During his career, he held Executive or Executive Sous Chef positions for such hotels as the Lalu Sun Moon Lake, the Four Seasons Cairo, the Grand Hyatt Taipei and, most recently, the Leela Palace in Goa
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