In Dubai, Nakheel announced they were halting construction of the Nakheel Harbour & Tower, a 38.12 billion project that will take 10 years to complete. Nakheel also stopped work on the $790 million Trump Tower last month.

MGM Mirage and Infinity World Development are downsizing the scope of their 9.2 billion CityCenter project on the Las Vegas Strip as the gaming sector faces a weak hand. They will postpone the opening of the 400-room Harmon Hotel & Spa to late 2011 representing savings of $200 million and cancel the residential condominium component (savings of $600 million).

The recession is also hitting closer to home in Vancouver where work stopped, last October, on Holborn Group’s Ritz-Carlton hotel and condo tower. The cost of the project was estimated at $500 million and the hotel is no longer showing on the Ritz Carlton website under new opening. The Jameson House condo project is also on hold since November. Key lenders backed out of the 180-million architectural icon by Foster.

Let’s monitor the market and hopefully 2010 will bring better news.  There are still many hotel openings coming up and I will make sure to keep you updated!

I can’t keep up with all of the new mega projects under construction. I lived in Dubai for 2 years from 2002-2004 and would not recognize the city as it has changed so much and so fast.

In 2006, 6.5 million people visited Dubai and the projection for 2015 is 15 million. Bed units will reach 62,000 by the end of 2008. Just to compare, Las Vegas welcomed 38,9 million visitors last year and has 133,000 hotel rooms while Hong Kong had 25 million guests and Macau 22 million.

After Burj Al Arab, Burj Dubai, The Palm, The World, Dubai is once again home of the world’s most ambitious tourism, leisure and entertainment project: The Bawadi Project in Dubailand. This Middle East very own Orlando will take 8 years to be completed and will offer 31 hotels and 29,200 rooms. The ”city within a city” will be 10 km long and will offer amusement centres, shopping malls, theatres, restaurants and convention centre.

I can’t wait to go back to the UAE, to see my friends and discover again this unbelievable fast growing destination.

My Hotel Geek is a blog about premium hotels development and acquisition, historic restorations and the next generation of hotels in key city and resort destinations. I’ll also introduce you to current and past hotel gurus, tell you their stories, their legacies, talk about new hotel trends and share recipes from our world-class renowned Executives Chefs.

Take a trip around the world and participate in this interesting journey with me. I look forward to reading your comments and feedback.