Mr. Pepe Fanjul, the billionaire sugar baron, was robbed at the Four Season Hotel in Los Angels during his visit for the Oscars. The thief run away with a total of $45,000 in jewelery.

It was like a movie, Mr. Fanjul was in his suite at the Beverly Hills Four Season Hotel when he was robbed by the thief known as “Ricco Suave”

Mr. Fanjul commented: “We were victims of a robbery at the hotel. He took my wife’s jewelry that was both valuable and sentimental. We are OK and have reported the incident to the police.”

According to a recent report by Accor Hotel, they believe they won’t be able to recover from the global crisis any time soon. They believe it will take them at least 5 years to recover revenues.

Peter Verhoeven, chief of the company’s German operations said: “We have lost about 15 percent of revenue, and we won’t be able to increase prices by more than 3 percent per year in Germany.”

The situation is critical and Accor Hotel is Europe’s largest hotelier, which means that small hotels might be able to take advantage of this situation, by lowering their prices.

The former Best Western Hotel in Puerto Rico has expanded its location to open a new Convention Center and Casino.

Mark Williams, vice president, North American development for Best Western International said: “We’re very pleased to open the brand-new Best Western Pichi’s Hotel Convention Center & Casino in Guayanilla.”

He also commented:“Not only is it a popular leisure destination, but Puerto Rico is also a highly traveled corporate market, and our amenities will appeal to guests whether they’re in the area for work or play.”

The Embassy Suites Hotel has recently announced its opening at the Savannah Head International Airport in Georgia.

Jim Holthouser, global head of Embassy Suites Hotels commented:“We are excited to expand our presence in Georgia as we open the first Embassy Suites in the Savannah area and the first Flying Spoons restaurant in the state.”

He also added: “With close to 75 percent of our development pipeline featuring the Design Option III build, developers are recognizing the outstanding product and tremendous value offered in the new option.”

Choice Hotel International has announced the opening of 36 hotels in the month of January. Choice Hotel International decided to go big and opened the hotels in a total of 14 different states around the U.S. and in nine countries.

The hotels will feature LCD televisions, business centers, refrigerators, microwave and everything that will make your stay amazing

There will be more than 3,500 rooms around the U.S. and the countries such as Poland, Australia, France, Norway, Germany, Canada, and Mexico.

Apparently, the giant chain hotel Marriott has been suffering from last year’s global crisis and it hasn’t been easy to recover since that.

Marriott President Arne Sorenson told the Reuters Travel and Leisure Summit: “The most over-the-top excesses will probably be a long time — if ever– coming back”

He also commented that the Marriotts in the U.S. were the hotels that showed 9% less revenue compared to other Marriotts around the world.

The Wall Street Journal has recently announced in one of their articles that Taliban militants have attacked a hotel in Kabul, killing at least 17 people at the Safi Landmark Hotel.

“A spokesman for the Afghan Ministry of Health said that nine bodies and at least 25 injured people have been brought to local hospitals.”

“Foreigners were among the dead and wounded, he said. A Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, claimed responsibility and said five Taliban suicide bombers took part in the operation.”

The Wall Street Journal published the following article about LaSalle Hotel 4Q Loss:

“LaSalle Hotel Properties (LHO) posted a wider fourth-quarter loss as the upscale hotel real estate investment trust posted lower revenue. But occupancy grew.

Shares fell 1% to $19.75 in after-hours trading as the company projected per-room revenue to fall another 4% to 6% this year.

LaSalle, which owns 31 hotels in 11 states and the District of Columbia, reported lower room rates and revenue per available room throughout 2009.LaSalle reported a loss of $4.9 million, compared with a year-earlier loss of $2 million.”

As every year the company Spa Star completed its annual data about spas in luxuries hotels around the U.S.

According to their data, there has been a decrease of Average Treatment Rate(ATR) of 4.5% in 2009 compared to 2008.

Jan Freitag, STR’s vice president of global development commented: “When comparing luxury hotel spas’ 2009 ATR (US$135.40) and the ASR (US$59) to the luxury hotel industry’s ADR (US$243), it might bring up the question as to whether the spa segment will receive increasing attention from general managers going forward.”

The famous chain of hotels Starwoods & Resorts Worldwide, Inc., has announced its plan to expand around the world starting in 2010 until 2012.

The chain is planning to open 50 new hotels and over 20,000 rooms in 15 countries, including the U.S., Russia, Colombia, China, etc.

Simon Turner, President of Global Development for Starwood commented:”Looking ahead, we continue to grow the Sheraton brand’s already robust presence globally by working with our proven development partners to ensure we have best-in-class properties wherever our guests want to travel.”