Global report

EUROPE

Encore for Ramada in Switzerland
Ramada International Hotels & Resorts, part of Marriott International, has opened its second Encore hotel, in Switzerland. The 130-bedroom Ramada Encore Hotel La Praille is in Geneva. The first opened in York last year.

Two more from Hoteles Playa
Spanish hotel group Hoteles Playa is to open a 90-bedroom hotel at the end of this year. Hoteles Player in Cadiz aims to be four-star standard. It will be followed by the opening of a hotel in Vicar, Andalusia, early next year. The 123-bedroom Senator Golf America hotel is aiming for five-star accreditation.

British visitors boost Swiss hotels
The number of overnight stays in Swiss hotels fell by 3.8% in February to 2.9 million, according to the Swiss Federal Statistics Office. The number of overnight stays by foreign tourists fell by 6.7%, compared with February 2002, although stays by British visitors increased by 14%.

AFRICA

Corinthia Towers opens in Tripoli
Corinthia Hotels International has opened its first five-star hotel in Tripoli, Libya. The 299-bedroom hotel cost more than $100m (£63.2m) and has taken three-and-a-half years to build. The Corinthia Towers hotel in Tripoli also features a conference centre with banqueting facilities for up to 550 people.

ASIA PACIFIC

First boutique hotel for InterContinental
InterContinental Hotels is to open its first boutique hotel in Mumbai, India, in April. The group, part of Six Continents, has rebranded the 59-bedroom hotel as a management contract with Ravi Ghai, owner of the property which was formerly called the Natraj hotel. InterContinental said the group had no intention of opening more boutique-style hotels. "It was just a perfect opportunity to site an InterContinental hotel," said a spokeswoman. Rooms are to be equipped with 42in plasma TVs, DVD players and high-speed internet connections. The hotel has three restaurants and a roof-top pool.

Wren in Seychelles management contract deal

The Wren Hotel Group has acquired Cerf Island Marine Park Resort, its second resort in the Seychelles. The group has signed a management contract with the owners, a consortium of local entrepreneurs, to run the resort, which has 12 apartments.

Raffles to operate Swissôtel in Osaka
Raffles International has signed a management deal to operate the Nankai South Tower hotel in Osaka, Japan's second-largest commercial city after Tokyo. The 548-bedroom hotel is to be rebranded under the Swissôtel name in September. The agreement is with the Nankai South Tower Hotel Company, a subsidiary of Nankai Electric Railway.

NORTH AMERICA

Hilton warns of drop in revpar
US-based Hilton Hotels Corporation expects revenue per available room (revpar) to fall by about 4% in the first three months of 2003, and by 1-2% in the full year. It cited declines in business and the war in Iraq as reasons.

MIDDLE EAST

Starbucks ends Israeli joint venture
Coffee shop giant Starbucks has cancelled its joint venture with the Israel-based Delek Group. The Shalom Coffee Company, the joint venture between the two, will close its six Starbucks stores in Tel Aviv.