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DECEMBER 2009 NEWSLETTER
Accounting for Hospitality Managers is an advanced hospitality managerial accounting and financial management providing coverage for hotels, restaurants and casinos. Click the button at top of this page labeled AHM TEXT DESCRIBED.
Contact the Author: profcote@otowhomes.com
YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS CONFIDENTIALITY GUARANTEE: Your email address and name are given 100% privacy and confidentiality in my files. Your information is never given, sold, or in any other manner made available to any company, organization, or person. When you visit my web site, no information is gathered; your visit is not monitored, and cookies are never used. However, your visit to any outside links noted in the various news sections is subject to that organization’s practice, which is not under our control.
FOR YOUR COMPUTER'S PROTECTION: The author subscribes with SiteLock SECURE (see symbol at top of page) to disable any attempt by outsiders to create any viruses or other malware.
GENERAL INTEREST
· Tips to avoid contamination of gluten-free foods:
http://www.fastcasual.com/blog/5183/More-steps-to-gluten-free
· How small business can be financially successful:
http://www.openforum.com/idea-hub/topics/money/article/how-small-business-can-increase-financial-success-shira-levine
· Franchisors are making it more difficult to get a franchise:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704361504575552803956439716.html?mod=WSJ_Franchising_LEFTTopHeadLines
· Top tips for a cleaner restaurant:
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/cintas-announces-top-tips-for-keeping-restaurants-clean-to-drive-repeat-business-2010-11-05
UNITED STATES NEWS
RESTAURANT NEWS
· IHOP is expanding its college campuses operations by way of a partnership with the Aramark foodservices company. IHOP's primary expansion will continue to be by traditional restaurant locations 60 to 70 openings this year are planned.
· Landry’s Restaurant purchased the 42-unit Irvine, California-based Claim Jumper Restaurants in October. The restaurant is a casual dining chain featuring a California gold rush theme; it operates mainly in the western United States.
· Landry's Restaurants has acquired Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., a 32-unit casual dining seafood chain. A number of Bubba Gumps are in tourist spots such as Times Square, the French Quarter and Universal
· CityWalk in Hollywood. The seafood chain also has restaurants in Bali, Hong Kong and Tokyo. Bubba Gump was inspired by the movie Forrest Gump. The chain features fish, salads, ribs and other items.
· McDonald’s is testing, in Orlando, a new full-size chicken wrap called Fresh Garden Wrapspriced at $3.49 or varieties at $5.59 in a combo meal Each of the three varieties include choice of crispy or grilled chicken, mixed greens and Cheddar-Jack cheese.
· McDonald’s has added the snack-size Angus Snack Wrap nationally. It is also testing full-size tortilla wraps, a Chicken Flatbreads line, and new variations of its McChicken sandwich.
· McDonald’s Happy Meals present content of food has been banned in San Francisco; its board of supervisors has voted, by a veto-proof margin, to ban most of McDonald's Happy Meals as they are now served in the restaurants. The ordinance also requires restaurants to provide fruits and vegetables with all meals for children that come with toys. San Francisco is the first major city in the country to prohibit restaurants from including a free toy with meals that contain more than established levels of calories, sugar and fat.
· McDonald's Happy Meals are less than 10% of McDonald's U.S. business of about $30.9 billion in U.S. sales in 2009 (source: Ad Age's DataCenter. "If Happy Meals account for less than 10% of McDonald's total sales ...that still] represents a significant portion of their business," said Darren Tristano, exec VP at Technomic. "To put it in perspective, that would be more than Panera Bread, IHOP or Dairy Queen chains sold individually in the U.S. in 2009."
· Ruby Tuesday‘s 674 company-owned restaurants are now smoke-free.
· Starbucks plans to be a coffee grower. See China news.
· Subway’s weight loss champion, Jared Fogle, has admitted to a 40-pound weight gain. He recently ran in the ING New York City Marathon finishing it in more than five hours. Jared has been a as Subway spokesman for more than 10 years. Subway's future plans for Jared include different options, but nothing has yet been decided.
International Updates for U.S. Companies
o McDonald’s: See China
o Golden Chick: See China
o Starbucks: See China
o Yum! Brands (noted for its KFC and Pizza Hut chains) has 3,500 outlets in 650 Chinese cities.
o Golden Chick, operating in Texas and Oklahoma, has a menu includes fried and roasted chicken, catfish, green beans, gourmet chicken salad, and other items. About 70 percent of its business is drive thru. It will open its first unit in China next year.
Other U.S.News of Interest
· Advaya Hospitality a new global company plans to develop, acquire, franchise and operate full-service and select-service hotels. The brands will launch simultaneously in the U.S. and India, starting in the second quarter of 2011 and then debut in cities around the globe.
· Credit Card Swipe Fees ---- Legislation: http://www.usatoday.com/money/perfi/credit/2010-10-30-consumers-credit-card-swipe-fees_N.htm
· Many restaurants have added dishes free of gluten, a protein found in wheat, rye and barley to their menu. Food items containing gluten may give some people cramps and problems nutrients absorption. National chains such as P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, Uno and Chipotle Mexican Grill offer gluten free meals on their menu.
· Adam Richman, of “Man v. Food,” fame comments on Gourmet high-end burgers: “These $40 burgers with foie gras and truffles and all of that flies in the face of one of the most proletarian foods around. It’s overpriced, overdone and just not worth it. Also, the whole molecular gastronomy thing that places ... in Chicago and [chefs like WD-50’s Wylie Dufresne are doing. It’s pretty, and it’s deeply clever, but I just don’t know that it’s filling. I’m not going to pay $200 for some foam; if I’m going to spend that much, I want to know I’ve eaten well.”
· Harrah’s canceled its planned initial public stock offering. Apollo Management Group and Texas Pacific Group had paid $17.1 billion and took on $12.4 billion in debt in a leveraged buyout. If the stock offering had gone through, it would have valued the company at about $6 billion, about one third what these two private equity firms paid three years ago. Harrah’s properties include the Flamingo, Caesars Palace and Bally’s. Based in Las Vegas, Harrah’s reported a loss of $634 million for the nine months ended Sep 30.
Accounting, Finance, Tax News
· IRS Section 179 and First Year Bonus Depreciation: The recently enacted Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 provides significant income tax benefits for small businesses especially with incentives to promote capital spending. The major provisions include an increased section 179 expensing and extension of the 50% bonus depreciation provision. The maximum amount a business may expense under Section 179 has increased to $500,000, and the phase-out threshold amount has increased to $2 million for tax years beginning in 2010 and 2011. A Section 179 deduction cannot create a taxable loss. The first-year 50 percent bonus depreciation rules are extended by one year for new business property acquired and placed in service during 2010. The bonus depreciation rules are allowed in addition to the Section 179 expense and regular tax depreciation deductions.
· IRS Tip Reporting for Employees and Employers: Employees must report tip income on Form 4070, Employee’s Report of Tips to Employee or similar form; due on the 10th of the month after the month the tips are received. This statement must show the tips received for the period, employee’s name, address, and SSN. The form must be signed by the employee. No employee report is required for months when tips are less than $20. Publication 1244 contains Forms 4070 and 4070-A, Employee’s Daily Record of Tips. Employers must collect income tax, social security tax and Medicare tax on tips reported by employees. The total tip income reported during any pay period is, at a minimum, equal to 8% of total receipts for that period. The 8% is not calculated on carry out sales or when there is a service charge of 10% or more. If employee tips are less than 8%, special procedures are required. More information is available in Chapter 5, ACCOUNTING FOR HOSPITALITY MANAGER by Raymond Cote.
· The new IRS rules allow for increased flexibility in retirement accounts. Some of the new provisions:
o Allow beneficiary rollovers from employer-sponsored retirement plans
o Eliminate the $100,000 income restriction required for a Roth Conversion
o Allow for a one-time Qualified Health Savings Account (HSA) funding distribution from your retirement account
o Permit withdrawals without penalty to cover damage due to Hurricanes Katrina, Rita or Wilma.
· Computer Vocabulary:
o Kilobyte (KB): 1,000 bytes
o Megabyte (MB): 1 million bytes
o Gigabyte (GB) 1 billion bytes
o Terabyte (TB): 1 trillion bytes
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Belgium
· Ariane Systems, s self-service check-in/out technology for the hospitality industry, has installed their interactive kiosks to facilitate guest self-service check-in and check-out at Belgium-based 3 Stars Hotels’ first MaxHotel concept property in Brussels. The kiosks provide room keys and deliver incoming messages to hotel guests.
Canada
· The Canadian Dairy Commission issued a price increase of 1.5% on milk used to make cheese, yogurt and ice cream, effective Feb.1, 2011.
· Tipping is an issue that is getting attention. CRFA has organized a tipping task regarding the new governmental tipping rules prohibiting employers from taking a share of employee tips. Earlier this year, a bill was introduced disallowing restaurants from applying an automatic service charge, regardless of whether advance notice is given to customers. Newfoundland, PEI, New Brunswick and Quebec presently regulate tipping practices
· Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) premiums will be frozen for Ontario restaurant operators in 2011. Other locations are scheduled for increases up to 18 per cent.
· Visa Debit cards are now viable in Canada.
China
· Starbucks plans to be a coffee grower. It has signed with the government in China’s Yunnan province to create a coffee-bean farm that will recruit and train local growers. Starbucks will plant trees and grow coffee in the Yunnan Province.
· Starbucks has 400 shops in China and owns about 70% of the market. It expects China to become its second-largest market, surpassing Canada, Japan and the U.K.
· Golden Chick, operating in Texas and Oklahoma, will open its first unit in China next year.
· McDonald’s CEO of China operations stated that China was the fastest market outside the US to reach 1,000 restaurants. We can get to the next 1,000 restaurants within three years. By 2013, we will be the third-largest market within the McDonald’s system.
· Yum! Brands (noted for its KFC chains and Pizza Hut) has 3,500 outlets in 650 Chinese cities.
· McDonald’s has raised menu prices in mainland China by 0.5 yuan to 1 yuan per menu item because of rising materials costs.
· Crowne Plaza Yichang opened a 283-room five-star hotel; the first five-star international hotel in this town. . For meetings and events the hotel has 11 multi-function rooms. The hotel restaurants include Coffee No.1, a western restaurant; Nippon the first Japanese Restaurant in Yichang; and Tianxia Yipin, a Chinese restaurant.
· InterContinental Hotels Group has announced the opening of the new 302 Room Crowne Plaza Xiangfan, its first Crowne Plaza Hotel in Xiangfan city, Hubei. Crowne Plaza Club has three floors of guestrooms, (20th to the 22nd) the Crowne Plaza Club Lounge is located on the 21st floor where guests can enjoy daily buffet breakfast; afternoon cocktails; complimentary drinks and coffee or tea; wireless Internet access; and free use of a meeting room. Hotel dining facilities include a Chinese restaurant; a Japanese restaurant; and a cafe offing all-day dining.
· Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide opens the St. Regis Lhasa Resort, its first St. Regis resort in China. It features 150 oversized rooms and villas and 12 suites including the Presidential Suite, as well as restaurants, bars, the Iridium Spa, ballroom and meeting space. The St. Regis Lhasa Resort is the first international luxury hotel in Tibet. Following in the tradition of the St. Regis Hotel New York, it will feature the St. Regis Butler Service, bespoke guest experiences and luxury accommodations tailored to meet global travelers' needs. Trained in the English tradition, the butlers provide an unobtrusive round the clock service aimed at anticipating guest needs and customizing each guest's stay according to his or her specific tastes and preferences.
Cyprus
· Construction work on Cyprus’ Larnaca Golf Resort and Country Club at Tersefanou will start in January; it will include the Island’s first PGA Golf Academy. The course’s landscaping includes special water features, bunkers and fairways; it will cover an area of 615,000m2 with a total length of 6,157 yards. The resort will also feature the Professional Golfers Association (PGA) National Golf Academy of Cyprus.
Dubai
· The StayWell Hospitality Group (SWHG), an Australian based hotel management group, recently opened its first hotel in Dubai.
France
· Marriott International, Inc announced a new addition to its luxury JW Marriott Hotels & Resorts portfolio, the261-roomJW Marriott Hotel Canneswill be re-branded a JW Marriott Hotel under a management agreement with Jesta Group. Cannes is home to the annual star-studded Cannes Film Festival.
· This month, Rezidor Hotel Group, will open the Radisson Blu 1835 Hotel & Thalasso, Cannes in France. The 134-room property, formerly known as 1835 White Palm Hotel, will be re-branded.
· Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts opens Shangri-La Hotel, Paris in the French capital's on 17 December 2010. The hotel is the group's first property in Europe, The restored landmark retains its heritage and offers 81 rooms including 27 suites. 40 per cent of the rooms and 60 per cent of the suites feature unobstructed views of the Eiffel Tower and the River Seine below. Nearly half of all rooms offer balconies and terraces.
Guam
· Ruby Tuesday‘s company-owned restaurants are now smoke-free.
Holland
· The new government has revoked a smoking ban that had included small bars and cafes. Family-run bars and cafes smaller than 750 square feet will now be exempt from the ban that had been in effect since July 2008.
India
· MRS Hospitality group opens Jaisalmer’s first boutique hotel, the Suryagarh, Jaisalmer, a member of Preferred Boutique, under the Preferred Hotel Group, 62 luxuriously appointed Rooms and Royal Suites; guestrooms are elegantly designed with plush kilims, dark polished wooden flooring and use of local craftsmanship serving as an epitome of luxury.
· Best Western India in association with the Indore based developers will open the Best Western Hotel Horizon in October 2011. The 103 room, four-star deluxe hotel is currently under construction in South Tukoganj. It will be Best Western India’s first hotel in Madhya Pradesh.
· Peppermint Hotels, a boutique budget hospitality brand plans hotels in Mumbai, Bangalore, Jaipur, and Pune.
· Advaya Hospitality a new global company plans to develop, acquire, franchise and operate full-service and select-service hotels. The brands will launch simultaneously in the U.S. and India, starting in the second quarter of 2011 and then debut in cities around the globe.
· Swiss-based international hospitality company, the Swissotel Hotels & Resort has entered India with a five-star deluxe hotel in Kolkata. Now its plans 2 more hotels in Whitefield-Bangalore and Gurgaon in the next two years.
· Marriott International, the largest US hotel chain, plans to expand its India portfolio to 100 hotels over five years from the current 11. Marriott will continue its management contract operational strategy in India; it presently has about 30 hotels under various stages of construction. Hyatt Regency opens its Pune hotel, 222 guestrooms and suites, located within the Weikfield IT Park in Pune’s IT corridor, a few minutes’ drive from Lohegaon International Airport and 10 minutes from the upmarket entertainment areas of Koregaon Park and Kalyani Nagar.
· Roots Corporation, a subsidiary of Indian Hotels Company, opened Ginger hotel, its first budget-hotel in Chennai. Presently, the company has budget hotels in 24 locations. The company plans another 60 to 70 budget hotels in 23 locations across the country. Construction is presently ongoing in Bangalore, Tirupur, Amritsar, Jaipur, Mumbai and Hyderabad. All these hotels put together would have 700 rooms.
· Best Western India opened “Best Western Jubilee Ridge” at Hyderabad; its fourteenth Operational property in the country. This new 40 room hotel is close to the International Airport, Railways Station.
· Sri Lanka firm Aitken Spence Hotels acquired its fifth Hotel in India, the Hill Resort Grand Palace Hotel and Spa in Yercaud. The investment was previously owned by MSV Hotels.
Malaysia
· InterContinental Hotels Group will open the InterContinental Kuala Lumpur in the city of Kuala Lumpur on February 1, 2011. Tthe hotel was formerly the luxury Nikko Hotel Kuala Lumpur, which was known as one of the most expensive and reputable in Malaysia. It will be the rebuilt in accordance with requirements of the brand. The hotel will retain its former 5 stars status. The new hotel has 473 rooms, fine restaurants, spa, and fitness center.
· InterContinental Hotels Group will be making its entry into Malaysia on 1 February 201when the current Nikko Hotel is replaced by the InterContinental Kuala Lumpur. The 473-room hotel is located at Jalan Ampang, a ten minute drive to the Putra World Trade Centre and about an hour drive from Kuala Lumpur International Airport. In Malaysia, IHG also operates Crowne Plaza Mutiara Kuala Lumpur, Holiday Inn Kuala Lumpur Glenmarie, Holiday Inn Resort Penang and Holiday Inn Malacca.
· Import of palm oil from Malaysia is over $2 billion per annum. The Malaysian Palm Oil Board will provide technical co-operation to Pakistan's growers of palm plants in coastal areas of Sindh and Punjab. Pakistan was the third largest importer of Malaysian palm oil in 2009 with over 1.76 million tonnes. The European Union is the second largest importer of palm oil with 1.89 million tonnes. China remains the biggest importer of palm oil with an annual import of 4.03 million tonnes. Malaysia is earning RM49.66 billion through export of 15.88 million tonnes of palm oil, he added.
Puerto Rico
· St. Regis Hotels & Resorts launched its twenty-first hotel with The St. Regis Bahia Beach Resort in Puerto Rico. It is the first St. Regis resort in the Caribbean.
Saudi Arabia
· Shamel Food, a franchisee of Subway in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, has opened nine new outlets this year, and two more are scheduled bringing the total number of outlets in the Kingdom to 43.
· StayWell Hospitality Group opened its newest property in Dubai, the Park Regis Kris Kin Hotel.
South Africa
· Rezidor announces two new South African hotels: the Park Inn Cape Town Foreshore and the Radisson Blu Safari Resort Kruger Park. The 120-room Park Inn Cape Town Foreshore, the conversion of an existing office building, is scheduled to open in the last quarter of 2011. The Radisson Blu Safari Resort Kruger Park is scheduled to open in Q2 2013; it will have 104 rooms and 16 suites with private terraces .
HOLIDAY GREETINGS FROM RAY COTE
Argentine: Feliz Navidad y Feliz Año Nuevo
Bohemian: Vesele Vanoce
Brazilian: Boas Festas e Feliz Ano Novo
Bulgarian: Vesela Koleda i chestita nova godina!
Chinese (Cantonese): Sing Dan Fae Lok. Gung Hai Fat Choi
Chinese (Mandarin): Shen Dan Kuai Le Xin Nian Yu Kuai
Croatian: Sretan Bozic
Czech: Stastne a vesele vanoce a stastny novy rok!
Danish: Glaedelig Jul og godt nyter
Dutch: Vrolijk Kerstfeest en een Gelukkig Nieuw Jaar
English: Merry Christmas
Finnish: Hyvaa joulua
French: Joyeux Noel
Gaelic: Nollaig chridheil agus Bliadhna mhath ùr!
German: Fröhliche Weihnachten
Greek: Kala Christouyenna!
Haiti: (Creole) Jwaye Nowel or to Jesus Edo Bri'cho o Rish D'Shato Brichto
Hawaiian: Mele Kalikimaka
Hebrew: Mo'adim Lesimkha. Chena tova
Hindi: Shub Naya Baras (good New Year not Merry Christmas)
Hungarian: Kellemes Karacsonyi unnepeket
Icelandic: Gledileg Jol
Indonesian: Selamat Hari Natal
Irish: Nollaig Shona Dhuit, or Nodlaig mhaith chugnat
Italian: Buone Feste Natalizie
Japanese: Shinnen omedeto. Kurisumasu Omedeto
Korean: Sung Tan Chuk Ha
Latin: Natale hilare et Annum Faustum!
Latvian: Prieci'gus Ziemsve'tkus un Laimi'gu Jauno Gadu!
Lettish: Priecigus Ziemassvetkus
Lithuanian: Linksmu Kaledu
Norwegian: God Jul, or Gledelig Jul
Peru: Feliz Navidad y un Venturoso Año Nuevo
Philippines: Maligayan Pasko!
Polish: Wesolych Swiat Bozego Narodzenia or Boze Narodzenie
Portuguese:Feliz Natal
Rumanian: Sarbatori vesele or Craciun fericit
Russian: Pozdrevlyayu s prazdnikom Rozhdestva is Novim Godom
Serbian: Hristos se rodi
Slovakian: Sretan Bozic or Vesele vianoce
Samoan: La Maunia Le Kilisimasi Ma Le Tausaga Fou
Scots Gaelic: Nollaig chridheil huibh
Serbian: Hristos se rodi.
Slovak: Vesele Vianoce. A stastlivy Novy Rok
Spanish: Feliz Navidad
Swedish: God Jul and (Och) Ett Gott Nytt År
Thai: Sawadee Pee Mai or souksan wan Christmas
Turkish: Noeliniz Ve Yeni Yiliniz Kutlu Olsun
Ukrainian: Srozhdestvom Kristovym or Z RIZDVOM HRYSTOVYM
Vietnamese: Chuc Mung Giang Sinh
Welsh: Nadolig Llawen
Sources of Information: Some of the information for this newsletter may be assembled, summarized, and re-tailored from many sources. For example, the National Restaurant Association, the American Hotel and Lodging Association, the Wall Street Journal, The Canadian Restaurant and Foodservice Association, Internal Revenue Service, QSR Magazine, Chain Leader, Hotel News Resource, Google, and numerous other professional sites.
Links to third-party websites:Links to third party websites are provided solely as a convenience to you. If you decide to access any of the third-party websites linked in the newsletter, you do this entirely at your own risk. The author of this newsletter is not obligated to review third-party websites, does not control such third-party websites, and is not responsible for any such third-party websites. Ray Cote does not endorse or make any presentations about such third-party websites, their content, products or services.
Procedure for making claims of infringement: Ray Cote respects the intellectual property rights of others. Accordingly, Ray Cote has a policy of removing any content that violate copyright law. Pursuant to Title 17 of the United States Code, Section 512, if you believe your copyright or other intellectual property right is being infringed please provide written notice to:
Raymond Cote, |Author
PO Box 771383
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(f) Any incomplete or fictitious claims will be deleted upon receipt
DECEMBER 2009 NEWSLETTER
- WELCOME TO MY NEW WEBSITE: It was necessary to switch from my previous web provider due to technical reasons from the purchase of my new computer system.
Raymond Cote, Author of hospitality accounting textbooks provides this news website for educators, students, and professionals in the hospitality fields of management, accounting, and operations.
Cote’s textbook customers make this website possible. These two texts are:
Accounting for Hospitality Managers is an advanced hospitality managerial accounting and financial management providing coverage for hotels, restaurants and casinos. Click the button at top of this page labeled AHM TEXT DESCRIBED.
Contact the Author: profcote@otowhomes.com
YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS CONFIDENTIALITY GUARANTEE: Your email address and name are given 100% privacy and confidentiality in my files. Your information is never given, sold, or in any other manner made available to any company, organization, or person. When you visit my web site, no information is gathered; your visit is not monitored, and cookies are never used. However, your visit to any outside links noted in the various news sections is subject to that organization’s practice, which is not under our control.
FOR YOUR COMPUTER'S PROTECTION: The author subscribes with SiteLock SECURE (see symbol at top of page) to disable any attempt by outsiders to create any viruses or other malware.
GENERAL INTEREST
· Tips to avoid contamination of gluten-free foods:
http://www.fastcasual.com/blog/5183/More-steps-to-gluten-free
· How small business can be financially successful:
http://www.openforum.com/idea-hub/topics/money/article/how-small-business-can-increase-financial-success-shira-levine
· Franchisors are making it more difficult to get a franchise:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704361504575552803956439716.html?mod=WSJ_Franchising_LEFTTopHeadLines
· Top tips for a cleaner restaurant:
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/cintas-announces-top-tips-for-keeping-restaurants-clean-to-drive-repeat-business-2010-11-05
UNITED STATES NEWS
RESTAURANT NEWS
· IHOP is expanding its college campuses operations by way of a partnership with the Aramark foodservices company. IHOP's primary expansion will continue to be by traditional restaurant locations 60 to 70 openings this year are planned.
· Landry’s Restaurant purchased the 42-unit Irvine, California-based Claim Jumper Restaurants in October. The restaurant is a casual dining chain featuring a California gold rush theme; it operates mainly in the western United States.
· Landry's Restaurants has acquired Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., a 32-unit casual dining seafood chain. A number of Bubba Gumps are in tourist spots such as Times Square, the French Quarter and Universal
· CityWalk in Hollywood. The seafood chain also has restaurants in Bali, Hong Kong and Tokyo. Bubba Gump was inspired by the movie Forrest Gump. The chain features fish, salads, ribs and other items.
· McDonald’s is testing, in Orlando, a new full-size chicken wrap called Fresh Garden Wrapspriced at $3.49 or varieties at $5.59 in a combo meal Each of the three varieties include choice of crispy or grilled chicken, mixed greens and Cheddar-Jack cheese.
· McDonald’s has added the snack-size Angus Snack Wrap nationally. It is also testing full-size tortilla wraps, a Chicken Flatbreads line, and new variations of its McChicken sandwich.
· McDonald’s Happy Meals present content of food has been banned in San Francisco; its board of supervisors has voted, by a veto-proof margin, to ban most of McDonald's Happy Meals as they are now served in the restaurants. The ordinance also requires restaurants to provide fruits and vegetables with all meals for children that come with toys. San Francisco is the first major city in the country to prohibit restaurants from including a free toy with meals that contain more than established levels of calories, sugar and fat.
· McDonald's Happy Meals are less than 10% of McDonald's U.S. business of about $30.9 billion in U.S. sales in 2009 (source: Ad Age's DataCenter. "If Happy Meals account for less than 10% of McDonald's total sales ...that still] represents a significant portion of their business," said Darren Tristano, exec VP at Technomic. "To put it in perspective, that would be more than Panera Bread, IHOP or Dairy Queen chains sold individually in the U.S. in 2009."
· Ruby Tuesday‘s 674 company-owned restaurants are now smoke-free.
· Starbucks plans to be a coffee grower. See China news.
· Subway’s weight loss champion, Jared Fogle, has admitted to a 40-pound weight gain. He recently ran in the ING New York City Marathon finishing it in more than five hours. Jared has been a as Subway spokesman for more than 10 years. Subway's future plans for Jared include different options, but nothing has yet been decided.
International Updates for U.S. Companies
o McDonald’s: See China
o Golden Chick: See China
o Starbucks: See China
o Yum! Brands (noted for its KFC and Pizza Hut chains) has 3,500 outlets in 650 Chinese cities.
o Golden Chick, operating in Texas and Oklahoma, has a menu includes fried and roasted chicken, catfish, green beans, gourmet chicken salad, and other items. About 70 percent of its business is drive thru. It will open its first unit in China next year.
Other U.S.News of Interest
· Advaya Hospitality a new global company plans to develop, acquire, franchise and operate full-service and select-service hotels. The brands will launch simultaneously in the U.S. and India, starting in the second quarter of 2011 and then debut in cities around the globe.
· Credit Card Swipe Fees ---- Legislation: http://www.usatoday.com/money/perfi/credit/2010-10-30-consumers-credit-card-swipe-fees_N.htm
· Many restaurants have added dishes free of gluten, a protein found in wheat, rye and barley to their menu. Food items containing gluten may give some people cramps and problems nutrients absorption. National chains such as P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, Uno and Chipotle Mexican Grill offer gluten free meals on their menu.
· Adam Richman, of “Man v. Food,” fame comments on Gourmet high-end burgers: “These $40 burgers with foie gras and truffles and all of that flies in the face of one of the most proletarian foods around. It’s overpriced, overdone and just not worth it. Also, the whole molecular gastronomy thing that places ... in Chicago and [chefs like WD-50’s Wylie Dufresne are doing. It’s pretty, and it’s deeply clever, but I just don’t know that it’s filling. I’m not going to pay $200 for some foam; if I’m going to spend that much, I want to know I’ve eaten well.”
· Harrah’s canceled its planned initial public stock offering. Apollo Management Group and Texas Pacific Group had paid $17.1 billion and took on $12.4 billion in debt in a leveraged buyout. If the stock offering had gone through, it would have valued the company at about $6 billion, about one third what these two private equity firms paid three years ago. Harrah’s properties include the Flamingo, Caesars Palace and Bally’s. Based in Las Vegas, Harrah’s reported a loss of $634 million for the nine months ended Sep 30.
Accounting, Finance, Tax News
· IRS Section 179 and First Year Bonus Depreciation: The recently enacted Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 provides significant income tax benefits for small businesses especially with incentives to promote capital spending. The major provisions include an increased section 179 expensing and extension of the 50% bonus depreciation provision. The maximum amount a business may expense under Section 179 has increased to $500,000, and the phase-out threshold amount has increased to $2 million for tax years beginning in 2010 and 2011. A Section 179 deduction cannot create a taxable loss. The first-year 50 percent bonus depreciation rules are extended by one year for new business property acquired and placed in service during 2010. The bonus depreciation rules are allowed in addition to the Section 179 expense and regular tax depreciation deductions.
· IRS Tip Reporting for Employees and Employers: Employees must report tip income on Form 4070, Employee’s Report of Tips to Employee or similar form; due on the 10th of the month after the month the tips are received. This statement must show the tips received for the period, employee’s name, address, and SSN. The form must be signed by the employee. No employee report is required for months when tips are less than $20. Publication 1244 contains Forms 4070 and 4070-A, Employee’s Daily Record of Tips. Employers must collect income tax, social security tax and Medicare tax on tips reported by employees. The total tip income reported during any pay period is, at a minimum, equal to 8% of total receipts for that period. The 8% is not calculated on carry out sales or when there is a service charge of 10% or more. If employee tips are less than 8%, special procedures are required. More information is available in Chapter 5, ACCOUNTING FOR HOSPITALITY MANAGER by Raymond Cote.
· The new IRS rules allow for increased flexibility in retirement accounts. Some of the new provisions:
o Allow beneficiary rollovers from employer-sponsored retirement plans
o Eliminate the $100,000 income restriction required for a Roth Conversion
o Allow for a one-time Qualified Health Savings Account (HSA) funding distribution from your retirement account
o Permit withdrawals without penalty to cover damage due to Hurricanes Katrina, Rita or Wilma.
· Computer Vocabulary:
o Kilobyte (KB): 1,000 bytes
o Megabyte (MB): 1 million bytes
o Gigabyte (GB) 1 billion bytes
o Terabyte (TB): 1 trillion bytes
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Belgium
· Ariane Systems, s self-service check-in/out technology for the hospitality industry, has installed their interactive kiosks to facilitate guest self-service check-in and check-out at Belgium-based 3 Stars Hotels’ first MaxHotel concept property in Brussels. The kiosks provide room keys and deliver incoming messages to hotel guests.
Canada
· The Canadian Dairy Commission issued a price increase of 1.5% on milk used to make cheese, yogurt and ice cream, effective Feb.1, 2011.
· Tipping is an issue that is getting attention. CRFA has organized a tipping task regarding the new governmental tipping rules prohibiting employers from taking a share of employee tips. Earlier this year, a bill was introduced disallowing restaurants from applying an automatic service charge, regardless of whether advance notice is given to customers. Newfoundland, PEI, New Brunswick and Quebec presently regulate tipping practices
· Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) premiums will be frozen for Ontario restaurant operators in 2011. Other locations are scheduled for increases up to 18 per cent.
· Visa Debit cards are now viable in Canada.
China
· Starbucks plans to be a coffee grower. It has signed with the government in China’s Yunnan province to create a coffee-bean farm that will recruit and train local growers. Starbucks will plant trees and grow coffee in the Yunnan Province.
· Starbucks has 400 shops in China and owns about 70% of the market. It expects China to become its second-largest market, surpassing Canada, Japan and the U.K.
· Golden Chick, operating in Texas and Oklahoma, will open its first unit in China next year.
· McDonald’s CEO of China operations stated that China was the fastest market outside the US to reach 1,000 restaurants. We can get to the next 1,000 restaurants within three years. By 2013, we will be the third-largest market within the McDonald’s system.
· Yum! Brands (noted for its KFC chains and Pizza Hut) has 3,500 outlets in 650 Chinese cities.
· McDonald’s has raised menu prices in mainland China by 0.5 yuan to 1 yuan per menu item because of rising materials costs.
· Crowne Plaza Yichang opened a 283-room five-star hotel; the first five-star international hotel in this town. . For meetings and events the hotel has 11 multi-function rooms. The hotel restaurants include Coffee No.1, a western restaurant; Nippon the first Japanese Restaurant in Yichang; and Tianxia Yipin, a Chinese restaurant.
· InterContinental Hotels Group has announced the opening of the new 302 Room Crowne Plaza Xiangfan, its first Crowne Plaza Hotel in Xiangfan city, Hubei. Crowne Plaza Club has three floors of guestrooms, (20th to the 22nd) the Crowne Plaza Club Lounge is located on the 21st floor where guests can enjoy daily buffet breakfast; afternoon cocktails; complimentary drinks and coffee or tea; wireless Internet access; and free use of a meeting room. Hotel dining facilities include a Chinese restaurant; a Japanese restaurant; and a cafe offing all-day dining.
· Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide opens the St. Regis Lhasa Resort, its first St. Regis resort in China. It features 150 oversized rooms and villas and 12 suites including the Presidential Suite, as well as restaurants, bars, the Iridium Spa, ballroom and meeting space. The St. Regis Lhasa Resort is the first international luxury hotel in Tibet. Following in the tradition of the St. Regis Hotel New York, it will feature the St. Regis Butler Service, bespoke guest experiences and luxury accommodations tailored to meet global travelers' needs. Trained in the English tradition, the butlers provide an unobtrusive round the clock service aimed at anticipating guest needs and customizing each guest's stay according to his or her specific tastes and preferences.
Cyprus
· Construction work on Cyprus’ Larnaca Golf Resort and Country Club at Tersefanou will start in January; it will include the Island’s first PGA Golf Academy. The course’s landscaping includes special water features, bunkers and fairways; it will cover an area of 615,000m2 with a total length of 6,157 yards. The resort will also feature the Professional Golfers Association (PGA) National Golf Academy of Cyprus.
Dubai
· The StayWell Hospitality Group (SWHG), an Australian based hotel management group, recently opened its first hotel in Dubai.
France
· Marriott International, Inc announced a new addition to its luxury JW Marriott Hotels & Resorts portfolio, the261-roomJW Marriott Hotel Canneswill be re-branded a JW Marriott Hotel under a management agreement with Jesta Group. Cannes is home to the annual star-studded Cannes Film Festival.
· This month, Rezidor Hotel Group, will open the Radisson Blu 1835 Hotel & Thalasso, Cannes in France. The 134-room property, formerly known as 1835 White Palm Hotel, will be re-branded.
· Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts opens Shangri-La Hotel, Paris in the French capital's on 17 December 2010. The hotel is the group's first property in Europe, The restored landmark retains its heritage and offers 81 rooms including 27 suites. 40 per cent of the rooms and 60 per cent of the suites feature unobstructed views of the Eiffel Tower and the River Seine below. Nearly half of all rooms offer balconies and terraces.
Guam
· Ruby Tuesday‘s company-owned restaurants are now smoke-free.
Holland
· The new government has revoked a smoking ban that had included small bars and cafes. Family-run bars and cafes smaller than 750 square feet will now be exempt from the ban that had been in effect since July 2008.
India
· MRS Hospitality group opens Jaisalmer’s first boutique hotel, the Suryagarh, Jaisalmer, a member of Preferred Boutique, under the Preferred Hotel Group, 62 luxuriously appointed Rooms and Royal Suites; guestrooms are elegantly designed with plush kilims, dark polished wooden flooring and use of local craftsmanship serving as an epitome of luxury.
· Best Western India in association with the Indore based developers will open the Best Western Hotel Horizon in October 2011. The 103 room, four-star deluxe hotel is currently under construction in South Tukoganj. It will be Best Western India’s first hotel in Madhya Pradesh.
· Peppermint Hotels, a boutique budget hospitality brand plans hotels in Mumbai, Bangalore, Jaipur, and Pune.
· Advaya Hospitality a new global company plans to develop, acquire, franchise and operate full-service and select-service hotels. The brands will launch simultaneously in the U.S. and India, starting in the second quarter of 2011 and then debut in cities around the globe.
· Swiss-based international hospitality company, the Swissotel Hotels & Resort has entered India with a five-star deluxe hotel in Kolkata. Now its plans 2 more hotels in Whitefield-Bangalore and Gurgaon in the next two years.
· Marriott International, the largest US hotel chain, plans to expand its India portfolio to 100 hotels over five years from the current 11. Marriott will continue its management contract operational strategy in India; it presently has about 30 hotels under various stages of construction. Hyatt Regency opens its Pune hotel, 222 guestrooms and suites, located within the Weikfield IT Park in Pune’s IT corridor, a few minutes’ drive from Lohegaon International Airport and 10 minutes from the upmarket entertainment areas of Koregaon Park and Kalyani Nagar.
· Roots Corporation, a subsidiary of Indian Hotels Company, opened Ginger hotel, its first budget-hotel in Chennai. Presently, the company has budget hotels in 24 locations. The company plans another 60 to 70 budget hotels in 23 locations across the country. Construction is presently ongoing in Bangalore, Tirupur, Amritsar, Jaipur, Mumbai and Hyderabad. All these hotels put together would have 700 rooms.
· Best Western India opened “Best Western Jubilee Ridge” at Hyderabad; its fourteenth Operational property in the country. This new 40 room hotel is close to the International Airport, Railways Station.
· Sri Lanka firm Aitken Spence Hotels acquired its fifth Hotel in India, the Hill Resort Grand Palace Hotel and Spa in Yercaud. The investment was previously owned by MSV Hotels.
Malaysia
· InterContinental Hotels Group will open the InterContinental Kuala Lumpur in the city of Kuala Lumpur on February 1, 2011. Tthe hotel was formerly the luxury Nikko Hotel Kuala Lumpur, which was known as one of the most expensive and reputable in Malaysia. It will be the rebuilt in accordance with requirements of the brand. The hotel will retain its former 5 stars status. The new hotel has 473 rooms, fine restaurants, spa, and fitness center.
· InterContinental Hotels Group will be making its entry into Malaysia on 1 February 201when the current Nikko Hotel is replaced by the InterContinental Kuala Lumpur. The 473-room hotel is located at Jalan Ampang, a ten minute drive to the Putra World Trade Centre and about an hour drive from Kuala Lumpur International Airport. In Malaysia, IHG also operates Crowne Plaza Mutiara Kuala Lumpur, Holiday Inn Kuala Lumpur Glenmarie, Holiday Inn Resort Penang and Holiday Inn Malacca.
· Import of palm oil from Malaysia is over $2 billion per annum. The Malaysian Palm Oil Board will provide technical co-operation to Pakistan's growers of palm plants in coastal areas of Sindh and Punjab. Pakistan was the third largest importer of Malaysian palm oil in 2009 with over 1.76 million tonnes. The European Union is the second largest importer of palm oil with 1.89 million tonnes. China remains the biggest importer of palm oil with an annual import of 4.03 million tonnes. Malaysia is earning RM49.66 billion through export of 15.88 million tonnes of palm oil, he added.
Puerto Rico
· St. Regis Hotels & Resorts launched its twenty-first hotel with The St. Regis Bahia Beach Resort in Puerto Rico. It is the first St. Regis resort in the Caribbean.
Saudi Arabia
· Shamel Food, a franchisee of Subway in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, has opened nine new outlets this year, and two more are scheduled bringing the total number of outlets in the Kingdom to 43.
· StayWell Hospitality Group opened its newest property in Dubai, the Park Regis Kris Kin Hotel.
South Africa
· Rezidor announces two new South African hotels: the Park Inn Cape Town Foreshore and the Radisson Blu Safari Resort Kruger Park. The 120-room Park Inn Cape Town Foreshore, the conversion of an existing office building, is scheduled to open in the last quarter of 2011. The Radisson Blu Safari Resort Kruger Park is scheduled to open in Q2 2013; it will have 104 rooms and 16 suites with private terraces .
HOLIDAY GREETINGS FROM RAY COTE
Argentine: Feliz Navidad y Feliz Año Nuevo
Bohemian: Vesele Vanoce
Brazilian: Boas Festas e Feliz Ano Novo
Bulgarian: Vesela Koleda i chestita nova godina!
Chinese (Cantonese): Sing Dan Fae Lok. Gung Hai Fat Choi
Chinese (Mandarin): Shen Dan Kuai Le Xin Nian Yu Kuai
Croatian: Sretan Bozic
Czech: Stastne a vesele vanoce a stastny novy rok!
Danish: Glaedelig Jul og godt nyter
Dutch: Vrolijk Kerstfeest en een Gelukkig Nieuw Jaar
English: Merry Christmas
Finnish: Hyvaa joulua
French: Joyeux Noel
Gaelic: Nollaig chridheil agus Bliadhna mhath ùr!
German: Fröhliche Weihnachten
Greek: Kala Christouyenna!
Haiti: (Creole) Jwaye Nowel or to Jesus Edo Bri'cho o Rish D'Shato Brichto
Hawaiian: Mele Kalikimaka
Hebrew: Mo'adim Lesimkha. Chena tova
Hindi: Shub Naya Baras (good New Year not Merry Christmas)
Hungarian: Kellemes Karacsonyi unnepeket
Icelandic: Gledileg Jol
Indonesian: Selamat Hari Natal
Irish: Nollaig Shona Dhuit, or Nodlaig mhaith chugnat
Italian: Buone Feste Natalizie
Japanese: Shinnen omedeto. Kurisumasu Omedeto
Korean: Sung Tan Chuk Ha
Latin: Natale hilare et Annum Faustum!
Latvian: Prieci'gus Ziemsve'tkus un Laimi'gu Jauno Gadu!
Lettish: Priecigus Ziemassvetkus
Lithuanian: Linksmu Kaledu
Norwegian: God Jul, or Gledelig Jul
Peru: Feliz Navidad y un Venturoso Año Nuevo
Philippines: Maligayan Pasko!
Polish: Wesolych Swiat Bozego Narodzenia or Boze Narodzenie
Portuguese:Feliz Natal
Rumanian: Sarbatori vesele or Craciun fericit
Russian: Pozdrevlyayu s prazdnikom Rozhdestva is Novim Godom
Serbian: Hristos se rodi
Slovakian: Sretan Bozic or Vesele vianoce
Samoan: La Maunia Le Kilisimasi Ma Le Tausaga Fou
Scots Gaelic: Nollaig chridheil huibh
Serbian: Hristos se rodi.
Slovak: Vesele Vianoce. A stastlivy Novy Rok
Spanish: Feliz Navidad
Swedish: God Jul and (Och) Ett Gott Nytt År
Thai: Sawadee Pee Mai or souksan wan Christmas
Turkish: Noeliniz Ve Yeni Yiliniz Kutlu Olsun
Ukrainian: Srozhdestvom Kristovym or Z RIZDVOM HRYSTOVYM
Vietnamese: Chuc Mung Giang Sinh
Welsh: Nadolig Llawen
Sources of Information: Some of the information for this newsletter may be assembled, summarized, and re-tailored from many sources. For example, the National Restaurant Association, the American Hotel and Lodging Association, the Wall Street Journal, The Canadian Restaurant and Foodservice Association, Internal Revenue Service, QSR Magazine, Chain Leader, Hotel News Resource, Google, and numerous other professional sites.
Links to third-party websites:Links to third party websites are provided solely as a convenience to you. If you decide to access any of the third-party websites linked in the newsletter, you do this entirely at your own risk. The author of this newsletter is not obligated to review third-party websites, does not control such third-party websites, and is not responsible for any such third-party websites. Ray Cote does not endorse or make any presentations about such third-party websites, their content, products or services.
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Raymond Cote, |Author
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