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!

March 1st: Re-opening of The Plaza, a Fairmont managed hotel
After a two-year, $400 million restoration, the world’s most renowned landmark made its return in majestic style. The Plaza is a must see while in New York. If you are thinking about going to the Big Apple this winter, you can get a third night free until April 1st when booking 2 nights at the regular rate of $595 US  (or more).

June 26th: Demolition Party at The Royal Monceau in Paris
The Hotel first auctioned off all of its furnishings and then held a VIP destruction event where guests were encouraged to smash anything leftover. Stars were invited to this unique party with the best DJs! The Royal Monceau is now under the creative eye of owner Alexandre Allard and renowned French designer Philippe Starck for a 16-month refurbishment. The French Masterpiece will be transformed into an ‘’art deco revisited’’ hotel with the main goal to attract a younger clientele under the Raffles banner.

September 20th : Bomb attack at The Marriott Islamabad, Pakistan
This was a very sad event that claimed the lives of too many people. The hotel reopened on December 28th. Let’s hope this won’t happen again.

November 27th : Taj Mahal Hotel and Oberoi complex’s Trident hotel attacks
Unfortunately and once again, India was the target of terrorism. This time, two major hotels and guests were involved with many casualties. The hotels recently reopened but it will take many months to bring every back to the way it was.

Dec 22nd: Steve Wynn’s Encore Hotel opens in Vegas
Despite the recession, 2.3 billion Encore Hotel opened with 2,034 suites. Encore is a casino-resort that was designed to grab up the wealthiest, most sophisticated visitors in town and charge them top dollar. Through the end of October, tourism for the year was down 3.2%, room rates were down 9.7%, and gaming revenue was down 8.5%. And even though some rival projects around town have been stalled or killed, other competitors are still rising. Only the future will tell us if Las Vegas is overbuilt or not…

My wishes for 2009
Obviously I hope for fewer acts of terrorism in 2009 and for a better economy so our colleagues in hotels won’t loose their jobs. I am confident hoteliers will continue to be creative and bring the hotel business to a different level. Happy New Year to all and continue to book hotel stays!

This is quite impressive considering the current financial crisis affecting hotel occupancy rates all around the world and also in Vegas.  Occupancy was down with 88.3 % of rooms filled in August, down 2.9 % compared with August 2007. The privately held Harrah’s reported losses of $285.4 million for the first six months of 2008, compared with profits of $422.8 million in the first half of 2007.

Gary Selesner, president of Caesars Palace, said “This is all about the future,” “We’re building our capacity for the turnaround that will come, whether it’s one, two or three years down the road.”

Also coming in late 2009 between Bellagio and Monte Carlo resorts is Las Vegas Citycenter developed by MGM Mirage & Dubai World valued at more than 9 billion dollars. More on this mega project later.

Will The Caesars Palace need to hire back Celine Dion to fill up the hotel?  Are there too many hotels in Vegas? Will the occupancy rate grow after the recession? I think it will!  Otherwise the world’s top resort developers would not have bet on it!  Like I said before… Viva Las Vegas!

Las Vegas is a fascinating destination showing an incredible success. 15 of the 20 biggest hotels in the world are in Las Vegas who welcomes over 38.9 + million visitors each year, has an annual occupancy rate of 93.2% and offers 133,000 + guestrooms (motels and hotels).

The “latest kid” on the strip since The Wynn 3 years ago is The Palazzo (3,066 suites), sister hotel of iconic 9-year-old 5 diamond Venetian Resort (4,034 suites) both owned by Las Vegas Sands Corp. Together, they boast 7,100 suites is now is now the world’s largest hotel by room count (same central reservation and operations). A Venetian spokesman says occupancy averaged nearly 100% in 2007 and rates averaged about $260.

This is not over, more extravaganza projects are under construction: Trump International Hotel & Towers, Palms Place, Encore at Wynn Las Vegas, Fontainebleau Las Vegas, etc.

Is Vegas reaching luxury saturation? I don’t’ think so! Will I ever go back? Definitly!

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.