Sunday, February 27, 2011
Villa Primavera : fully-furnished apartments in Brussels
Villa Primavera : fully-furnished apartments in Brussels
On you arrival day we will meet you directly at the apartment to hand over the keys. Please let us know your approximate arrival time as soon as possible. Check-in is from 3:00 pm to 10:00 pm. Check-in can be arranged as early as 10:00 am if there is no departure on the same day.
All the apartments are non-smoking, except outside if the apartment has a balcony, terrace or garden.
Pets are not allowed.
Villa Primavera is not a hotel. Breakfast and daily maid service are never included. Cleaning during your stay can be arranged with an outside cleaning company and is charged separately. However cleaning equipment as well as a washing machine and dryer are at your disposal for free.
There is no private parking space at the Royal Park residence, but it is possible to park easily in the street (parking metre from 9 am to 6 pm, except Sundays).
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Japan Sees a Chance to Promote Its Energy-Frugal Ways
KUMAGAYA, Japan — With its towering furnaces and clanging conveyer belts carrying crushed rock, Taiheiyo Cement’s factory looks like an Industrial Revolution relic. But it is actually a model of modern energy efficiency, harnessing its waste heat to generate much of its own electricity.
Engineers from China and elsewhere in Asia come to study its design, which has allowed the company to slash the amount of power it buys from the grid.
The plant is just one example of Japan’s single-minded dedication to reducing energy use, a commitment that dates back to the oil shocks of the 1970s that shook this resource-poor nation.
Now, with oil prices hitting dizzying levels and the world struggling with global warming, the country is hoping to use its conservation record to take a rare leadership role on a pressing global issue. It will showcase its efforts to export its conservation ethic — and its expensive power-saving technology — at next week’s meeting in Japan of the Group of 8 industrial leaders.
“Superior technology and a national spirit of avoiding waste give Japan the world’s most energy-efficient structure,” Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda said in a speech outlining his agenda for the meeting. Japan “wants to contribute to the world,” he said.
Mr. Fukuda has already urged the leaders of the Group of 8 nations to adopt numerical targets as they discuss new ways to curb carbon dioxide emissions, a focus of treaty talks aimed at a new global agreement by the end of 2009. The existing pacts, the original climate treaty from 1992 and the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012, have been called failures by energy and climate experts.
The rising cost of energy is expected to dominate the meeting, on Hokkaido, the northern island of Japan. President Bush and other leaders are facing calls to expand offshore drilling and to rein in hedge funds and other investors blamed for speculating on world energy markets.
Japan is by many measures the world’s most energy-frugal developed nation. After the energy crises of the 1970s, the country forced itself to conserve with government-mandated energy-efficiency targets and steep taxes on petroleum. Energy experts also credit a national consensus on the need to consume less.
It is also the only industrial country that sustained government investment in energy research even when energy became cheap again.
“Japan taught itself decade s ago how to compete with gasoline at $4 per gallon,” said Hisakazu Tsujimoto of the Energy Conservation Center, a government research institute that promotes energy efficiency. “It will fare better than other countries in the new era of high energy costs.”
According to the International Energy Agency, based in Paris, Japan consumed half as much energy per dollar worth of economic activity as the European Union or the United States, and one-eighth as much as China and India in 2005. While the country is known for green products like hybrid cars, most of its efficiency gains have been in less eye-catching areas, for example, in manufacturing.
Corporate Japan has managed to keep its overall annual energy consumption unchanged at the equivalent of a little more than a billion barrels of oil since the early 1970s, according to Economy Ministry data. It was able to maintain that level even as the economy doubled in size during the country’s boom years of the 1970s and ’80s.
Japan’s strides in efficiency are clearest in heavy industries like steel, which are the nation’s biggest consumers of power. From 1972 to 2006, the Japanese steel industry invested about $45 billion in developing energy-saving technologies, according to the Japan Iron and Steel Federation.
The results are visible at the Keihin mill on Tokyo Bay, run by Japan’s No. 2 steelmaker, JFE Steel. Massive steel ducts snake from the blast furnaces and surrounding buildings. These capture heat and gases that had previously been released into the air or burned off as waste. Now, they are used to power generators that produce 90 percent of the plant’s electricity. (The plant’s main fuel remains the coal used to heat its huge blast furnaces.)
Such innovations allow the mill to produce a ton of steel using 35 percent less energy than it did three decades ago, said Yoshitsugu Iino, group leader of JFE Steel’s climate change policy group. Mr. Iino calculates that if the global steel industry adopted Japanese conservation measures, it could reduce carbon emissions by some 300 million tons a year.
But even with corporate efficiency gains, Japan’s emissions of carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse-gas emission from human activities, have grown, largely because of rising living standards and continued reliance on coal, according to climate scientists. James E. Hansen, NASA’s leading climatologist, sent an open letter to Mr. Fukuda on Thursday seeking a greater commitment to emissions cuts.
At next week’s summit meeting, Japan plans to back an initiative that could make its frugal energy levels the new standards for global industries.
Now, its government is pushing an initiative that could set Japan’s levels of energy conservation as targets for global industries. Mr. Fukuda has proposed what is called a sector-based approach to new targets for reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. This means is setting the same numerical goals for all companies in an industry, regardless of location. The Kyoto Protocol set mandatory national limits for industrialized countries.
The sector approach has been embraced by Japanese industry groups, which say their high levels of efficiency should become the global standards. This would also give Japanese companies more opportunities to sell their energy-saving technologies and skills around the world.
The Bush administration has focused on developing sector-by-sector partnerships with Japan and other countries to find ways to curb emissions, but remains opposed to mandatory limits.
Kawasaki Heavy Industries, which makes the waste heat generator at the cement factory in Kumagaya, started developing the technology in 1979. But the generators were too expensive to sell outside Japan while energy prices were low. But overseas orders took off three years ago, after energy prices began rising.
Since then, the company has sold 64 units, mainly through a joint venture in China.
“Japan rushed to embrace these technologies back in the 1980s,” said Katsushi Sorida, head of the waste heat plant department at Kawasaki Plant Systems, a subsidiary that markets and installs the units. “Now the rest of the world is finally catching up.”
Engineers from China and elsewhere in Asia come to study its design, which has allowed the company to slash the amount of power it buys from the grid.
The plant is just one example of Japan’s single-minded dedication to reducing energy use, a commitment that dates back to the oil shocks of the 1970s that shook this resource-poor nation.
Now, with oil prices hitting dizzying levels and the world struggling with global warming, the country is hoping to use its conservation record to take a rare leadership role on a pressing global issue. It will showcase its efforts to export its conservation ethic — and its expensive power-saving technology — at next week’s meeting in Japan of the Group of 8 industrial leaders.
“Superior technology and a national spirit of avoiding waste give Japan the world’s most energy-efficient structure,” Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda said in a speech outlining his agenda for the meeting. Japan “wants to contribute to the world,” he said.
Mr. Fukuda has already urged the leaders of the Group of 8 nations to adopt numerical targets as they discuss new ways to curb carbon dioxide emissions, a focus of treaty talks aimed at a new global agreement by the end of 2009. The existing pacts, the original climate treaty from 1992 and the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012, have been called failures by energy and climate experts.
The rising cost of energy is expected to dominate the meeting, on Hokkaido, the northern island of Japan. President Bush and other leaders are facing calls to expand offshore drilling and to rein in hedge funds and other investors blamed for speculating on world energy markets.
Japan is by many measures the world’s most energy-frugal developed nation. After the energy crises of the 1970s, the country forced itself to conserve with government-mandated energy-efficiency targets and steep taxes on petroleum. Energy experts also credit a national consensus on the need to consume less.
It is also the only industrial country that sustained government investment in energy research even when energy became cheap again.
“Japan taught itself decade s ago how to compete with gasoline at $4 per gallon,” said Hisakazu Tsujimoto of the Energy Conservation Center, a government research institute that promotes energy efficiency. “It will fare better than other countries in the new era of high energy costs.”
According to the International Energy Agency, based in Paris, Japan consumed half as much energy per dollar worth of economic activity as the European Union or the United States, and one-eighth as much as China and India in 2005. While the country is known for green products like hybrid cars, most of its efficiency gains have been in less eye-catching areas, for example, in manufacturing.
Corporate Japan has managed to keep its overall annual energy consumption unchanged at the equivalent of a little more than a billion barrels of oil since the early 1970s, according to Economy Ministry data. It was able to maintain that level even as the economy doubled in size during the country’s boom years of the 1970s and ’80s.
Japan’s strides in efficiency are clearest in heavy industries like steel, which are the nation’s biggest consumers of power. From 1972 to 2006, the Japanese steel industry invested about $45 billion in developing energy-saving technologies, according to the Japan Iron and Steel Federation.
The results are visible at the Keihin mill on Tokyo Bay, run by Japan’s No. 2 steelmaker, JFE Steel. Massive steel ducts snake from the blast furnaces and surrounding buildings. These capture heat and gases that had previously been released into the air or burned off as waste. Now, they are used to power generators that produce 90 percent of the plant’s electricity. (The plant’s main fuel remains the coal used to heat its huge blast furnaces.)
Such innovations allow the mill to produce a ton of steel using 35 percent less energy than it did three decades ago, said Yoshitsugu Iino, group leader of JFE Steel’s climate change policy group. Mr. Iino calculates that if the global steel industry adopted Japanese conservation measures, it could reduce carbon emissions by some 300 million tons a year.
But even with corporate efficiency gains, Japan’s emissions of carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse-gas emission from human activities, have grown, largely because of rising living standards and continued reliance on coal, according to climate scientists. James E. Hansen, NASA’s leading climatologist, sent an open letter to Mr. Fukuda on Thursday seeking a greater commitment to emissions cuts.
At next week’s summit meeting, Japan plans to back an initiative that could make its frugal energy levels the new standards for global industries.
Now, its government is pushing an initiative that could set Japan’s levels of energy conservation as targets for global industries. Mr. Fukuda has proposed what is called a sector-based approach to new targets for reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. This means is setting the same numerical goals for all companies in an industry, regardless of location. The Kyoto Protocol set mandatory national limits for industrialized countries.
The sector approach has been embraced by Japanese industry groups, which say their high levels of efficiency should become the global standards. This would also give Japanese companies more opportunities to sell their energy-saving technologies and skills around the world.
The Bush administration has focused on developing sector-by-sector partnerships with Japan and other countries to find ways to curb emissions, but remains opposed to mandatory limits.
Kawasaki Heavy Industries, which makes the waste heat generator at the cement factory in Kumagaya, started developing the technology in 1979. But the generators were too expensive to sell outside Japan while energy prices were low. But overseas orders took off three years ago, after energy prices began rising.
Since then, the company has sold 64 units, mainly through a joint venture in China.
“Japan rushed to embrace these technologies back in the 1980s,” said Katsushi Sorida, head of the waste heat plant department at Kawasaki Plant Systems, a subsidiary that markets and installs the units. “Now the rest of the world is finally catching up.”
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Green Hills Spa at Atago Forest Tower Tokyo
Green Hills Spa at Atago Forest Tower Tokyo
Marriott International, Inc., is a leading lodging company. Its heritage can be traced to a root beer stand opened in Washington, D.C., in 1927 by J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott. Today, Marriott International has more than 3,200 lodging properties located in the United States and 66 other countries and territories.
from - http://www.wahanda.com/place/green-hills-spa-at-atago-forest-tower-tokyo-marriott-executive-apartments/
Marriott International, Inc., is a leading lodging company. Its heritage can be traced to a root beer stand opened in Washington, D.C., in 1927 by J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott. Today, Marriott International has more than 3,200 lodging properties located in the United States and 66 other countries and territories.
from - http://www.wahanda.com/place/green-hills-spa-at-atago-forest-tower-tokyo-marriott-executive-apartments/
Monday, February 21, 2011
Japanese Comic Strips and Cartoons
Japanese Comic Strips and Cartoons
How many Japanese comic strips can you name? You may have heard of Doraemon, Dragon Ball, City Hunter, Dr. Slump, Sailor Moon, Cobra, Akira, or Ranma 1/2. Japanese comic strips (called "manga") are very popular in the United States, Europe, and Southeast Asia. Fans like them for their high-quality art and interesting story lines. In Taiwan, Hong Kong, and other places in Asia, there are several magazines about Japanese comic strips. And in Britain, France, Italy, and other European countries, there are manga shops as well as magazines for manga fans.
Many manga have been made into TV cartoons, which are broadcast in many different countries. These Japanese cartoons are usually dubbed into the language of the country where they are being shown. For example, when a Japanese cartoon is broadcast in the United States, the voices are in English. Because of this, many people don't realize they are watching Japanese cartoons.
Of course, manga are popular in Japan too. They can be found in many places in Japan. They appear in magazines, and there are even whole books devoted to one comic strip. Many comic strips are made into TV cartoons or animated films. Over 2.26 billion manga books and magazines are sold each year in Japan. (That's 2,260,000,000!) This is about 40 percent of the total number of books and magazines sold in Japan each year. Manga are enjoyed by readers of all ages, from elementary school through adult. The number of readers is estimated in the tens of millions. In Japan, reading manga is a national pastime.
from - http://web-japan.org/kidsweb/archives/cool/97-7-9/manga.html
How many Japanese comic strips can you name? You may have heard of Doraemon, Dragon Ball, City Hunter, Dr. Slump, Sailor Moon, Cobra, Akira, or Ranma 1/2. Japanese comic strips (called "manga") are very popular in the United States, Europe, and Southeast Asia. Fans like them for their high-quality art and interesting story lines. In Taiwan, Hong Kong, and other places in Asia, there are several magazines about Japanese comic strips. And in Britain, France, Italy, and other European countries, there are manga shops as well as magazines for manga fans.
Many manga have been made into TV cartoons, which are broadcast in many different countries. These Japanese cartoons are usually dubbed into the language of the country where they are being shown. For example, when a Japanese cartoon is broadcast in the United States, the voices are in English. Because of this, many people don't realize they are watching Japanese cartoons.
from - http://web-japan.org/kidsweb/archives/cool/97-7-9/manga.html
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
About Tokyo Business Hotel
Convenient location in Shinjuku area. FREE BREAKFAST Offered for All Guests. (usually 1050yen)Only 7 min walk from 2 subway stations- Shinjuku Gyoen Sta. and Shinjuku Sanchome Sta. and you can reach it on foot.
Shinjuku is the most popular and the busiest town in Tokyo. Although the hotel is close to downtown district, the building is very safe by 24hr security service.
We are also suitable for business trip and long stay as there are convenience store, restaurants, post office and banks within walking distance.
We have both en-suite and non en-suite rooms. There are public baths available and some rooms, and Twin and Single have extra beds. We are close to all the major towns in Tokyo as you can use 3 train stations nearby. (JR and 2 subways).
Amenities & Facilities
Amenities include, TV, free satellite TV, telephone, yukata (light Japanese robe), slippers, fridge (in some rooms) and air-conditioning. Our facilities include restaurant, bar, large public bath, vending machine, self laundry, laundry service, fax, as well as Wake-Up call.
Check-in is from 4PM and check-out is until 10AM.
Entrance is closed from 0:30AM to 6AM.
Public bath is 5PM - 0:30AM and 7AM - 9AM.
Restaurant for breakfast is 7AM - 9:30AM.
--For guests staying 2 nigths or more:
Lock-out is 10AM - 4PM for daily facility cleaning and bed making. Please let us know if you wish to stay in your room during the above cleaning time. We may be able to arrange a room on a floor that does not require facility cleaning. Subject to availability.
We are only 7 min walk from both Shinjuku Gyoen Station and Shinjuku Sanchome Station.
From Shinjuku Gyoen Station
Use Exit #1 and look for Wendy's (a hamburger fast food shop).
Pass by the shop on your right and go straight on the street toward North. See the building of TEPCO (Tokyo Denryoku) on your right and go one more block to reach the corner of TOSHIN building. Across the intersection and take right. We are next to the building and before the Tokyo Medical University.
From Shinjuku Sanchome Station
Use Exit C7. Walk toward Yasukuni Dori Street (means walk North from the exit.) Take right at the street and walk straight until you see the building of TEPCO (Tokyo Denryoku) on the direction of diagonal corner from you. Take left at the corner of TEPCO and go one more block to reach the corner of TOSHIN building. Across the intersection and take right. We are next to the building and before the Tokyo Medical University.
From JR Shinjuku Station
If you have large luggage, we would not recommend that you walk from JR Shinjuku Station. We suggest that you take a taxi if you are a group of 3 or more
from - http://www.hostelworld.com/hosteldetails.php/Tokyo-Business-Hotel-Shinjuku/Tokyo/12813
Shinjuku is the most popular and the busiest town in Tokyo. Although the hotel is close to downtown district, the building is very safe by 24hr security service.
We are also suitable for business trip and long stay as there are convenience store, restaurants, post office and banks within walking distance.
We have both en-suite and non en-suite rooms. There are public baths available and some rooms, and Twin and Single have extra beds. We are close to all the major towns in Tokyo as you can use 3 train stations nearby. (JR and 2 subways).
Amenities & Facilities
Amenities include, TV, free satellite TV, telephone, yukata (light Japanese robe), slippers, fridge (in some rooms) and air-conditioning. Our facilities include restaurant, bar, large public bath, vending machine, self laundry, laundry service, fax, as well as Wake-Up call.
Check-in is from 4PM and check-out is until 10AM.
Entrance is closed from 0:30AM to 6AM.
Public bath is 5PM - 0:30AM and 7AM - 9AM.
Restaurant for breakfast is 7AM - 9:30AM.
--For guests staying 2 nigths or more:
Lock-out is 10AM - 4PM for daily facility cleaning and bed making. Please let us know if you wish to stay in your room during the above cleaning time. We may be able to arrange a room on a floor that does not require facility cleaning. Subject to availability.
We are only 7 min walk from both Shinjuku Gyoen Station and Shinjuku Sanchome Station.
From Shinjuku Gyoen Station
Use Exit #1 and look for Wendy's (a hamburger fast food shop).
Pass by the shop on your right and go straight on the street toward North. See the building of TEPCO (Tokyo Denryoku) on your right and go one more block to reach the corner of TOSHIN building. Across the intersection and take right. We are next to the building and before the Tokyo Medical University.
From Shinjuku Sanchome Station
Use Exit C7. Walk toward Yasukuni Dori Street (means walk North from the exit.) Take right at the street and walk straight until you see the building of TEPCO (Tokyo Denryoku) on the direction of diagonal corner from you. Take left at the corner of TEPCO and go one more block to reach the corner of TOSHIN building. Across the intersection and take right. We are next to the building and before the Tokyo Medical University.
From JR Shinjuku Station
If you have large luggage, we would not recommend that you walk from JR Shinjuku Station. We suggest that you take a taxi if you are a group of 3 or more
from - http://www.hostelworld.com/hosteldetails.php/Tokyo-Business-Hotel-Shinjuku/Tokyo/12813
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Demand for apartment in Tokyo: A Discrete Choice Analysis
Seriously affected by the global financial crisis, falls in Japan’s residential property prices accelerated during the first half of 2009.
The urban land price in Japan’s six largest cities dropped by 7.8% (9.2% in real terms) in H1 2009 from the previous year, according to the Japan Real Estate Institute (JREI), ending the long-anticipated recovery of Japanese property prices.
In Japan, land prices serve as a proxy for home prices. Land prices in the six largest cities rose by 2.8% (2.8% in real terms) in 2006, 8.1% (8.1% in real terms) in 2007, and 1.1% (a fall of 0.2% in real terms) in 2008.
On a national level the price of land has been falling since H2 1991. Since the second half of 2007, land price decreases in Japan have accelerated. Land prices slid 3.4% (4.9% in real terms) in H1 2009 from the previous year.
The urban land price in Japan’s six largest cities dropped by 7.8% (9.2% in real terms) in H1 2009 from the previous year, according to the Japan Real Estate Institute (JREI), ending the long-anticipated recovery of Japanese property prices.
In Japan, land prices serve as a proxy for home prices. Land prices in the six largest cities rose by 2.8% (2.8% in real terms) in 2006, 8.1% (8.1% in real terms) in 2007, and 1.1% (a fall of 0.2% in real terms) in 2008.
On a national level the price of land has been falling since H2 1991. Since the second half of 2007, land price decreases in Japan have accelerated. Land prices slid 3.4% (4.9% in real terms) in H1 2009 from the previous year.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
New analysis casts doubt on GSO luxury apartments
GREENSBORO — A consultant’s report ordered last week by the city of Greensboro leaves little room for doubt: “It is clear that the proposed hotel will not be able to compete economically at a viable level.”
The hotel in question is the now $52.5 million, 200-room hotel and conference center proposed for the middle of downtown Greensboro. The 53-page consultant’s report, ordered by Andy Scott, the city’s assistant city manager for economic development, was completed over the weekend by HVS, one of the nation’s leading experts in assessing hospitality markets. The report evaluated the latest feasibility study filed a week ago by the hotel proponents.
Scott received the report Tuesday, but did not share it with council members that day because of confusion surrounding whether council had recommended three projects for bond financing — including the hotel — on Dec. 15 without knowing it. That appears to have been the case.
Yet Scott, who says he would distribute the report to council members this week, adds that the conclusions still could play a role in determining whether an underwriter or bond-rating agency will take the project seriously. Final decisions regarding bond worthiness won’t be made until May, he says.
The Business Journal, which obtained a copy of the report, shared it on Wednesday with
Randall Kaplan, one of the lead partners in the hotel project and co-owner of Elm Street Center, which would become the luxury hotel’s conference center. His response upon reviewing HVS’s conclusions?
“It causes me concern because they (HVS) are the experts in evaluating the marketplace,” says Kaplan, whose partners hired HVS to do their own downtown hotel feasibility study in early 2008. “We’re not idiots. We do not want to do this deal unless it is financially viable.”
Kaplan says he remains very excited about the project’s potential, its location and what it can do for downtown Greensboro. But he stressed that many hurdles must be cleared before the project qualifies for low-interest bond funds made possible through the federal stimulus act (see related story, page 2). The new HVS study, he concedes, represents yet another hurdle.
“At the moment,” he says, “the big unknowns are: Where do we settle in on reasonable occupancy rates and what will be the actual costs of new construction of the hotel.”
Kaplan told City Council on Tuesday that the entire project represents a $52.5 million investment, with $12.5 million of that representing the estimated value of Elm Street Center and all the land it sits on between Elm and Davie Streets. New construction is loosely estimated at $40 million. Of that, $26 million would come from the low-interest, stimulus-related bonds. Kaplan cannot say yet where the remaining $14 million would come from (if they need that much), but some portion could come from New Market Tax Credits, bank financing and/or cash put in by the development partnership.
Kaplan confirms that Bridget Chisholm, who heads the Urban Hotel Group, would claim a developer’s fee of about 5 percent, or roughly $2 million, but he says that she has agreed to take only a “small portion of that amount out at closing” and leave the rest in the project as equity.
He also says that his investors’ group, made up of about 10 Greensboro businesspeople, may take out about $1 million in cash at closing in compensation for selling the office building attached to Elm Street Center so that it can become part of the project.
But whether the project ever gets to that level of financial detail will likely come down to whether the hotel proponents can produce evidence to credibly offset the conclusions of the new HVS report.
Kaplan confirmed that HVS was making its judgments against a $25,000 feasibility study he ordered in February 2008 — long before the real estate market meltdown. The 2008 report, he says, was altered slightly to reflect current market conditions when it was given to Andy Scott last week.
To that end, the hotel developers projected average nightly room rates of $155 in 2012, rising to $180 in 2016. Comparing the proposed hotel to the new Doubletree on High Point Road, the downtown Marriott, the O. Henry and the Proximity, HVS found that the projected room rates were slightly high, but only by about $12 per night.
However, HVS said it was highly unlikely the hotel developers would achieve the projected annual occupancy rates of 64 percent in 2012 rising to 67 percent in 2016. HVS said the new hotel could expect occupancy of just 38 percent in 2012, rising to 48 percent in 2016 — far less than it would need to cover bond payments, to say nothing of providing a return to project investors.
“It is typical for a new luxury hotel operating in a depressed market to take four to five years to reach a stabilized level of operation,” HVS writes.
The consultant offered a variety of reasons for its much lower occupancy projections:
• The economy has caused group and meeting business to fall sharply, especially for luxury and upscale hotels; full recovery is seen as years off.
• Between 2003 and 2009, only in April and October (furniture market time) has hotel occupancy in Greensboro topped 70 percent. In the last three years, HVS notes, Greensboro has added hundreds of hotel rooms while demand has increased only incrementally.
• “The addition to downtown Greensboro of a proposed 200-room luxury hotel is not considered significant enough to induce additional demand into the market,” the report reads, adding that the city has an ample supply of luxury rooms. “It is more likely that the proposed hotel will cannibalize existing demand away from the other hotels in the market, which will make it far more difficult for these hotels to recover from the current recession.”
For example, he says, the Elm Street project will have restaurant and retail space, which will contribute to the revenue stream and has not yet been figured in. He says the potential impact of the International Civil Rights Center & Museum across the street has not been considered. He says low-interest financing and low construction costs should lower overall project costs, thus providing a financial boost.
And despite what critics and other studies say, Kaplan believes the new hotel will grab market share from the downtown Marriott, the O. Henry, the Proximity and even hotels in the airport area.
But even with those firm beliefs, he says: “If after we go through another round of studies, the projections for occupancy are still at around 40 percent, it won’t get done. We won’t build it because it won’t get funded.”
There are other variables as well, he says. Parking is crucial; the project could be undermined if the city does not agree build an $8 million parking deck adjacent to the hotel on Davie Street. Also, a national chain — like a Wyndham or a Westin — must also agree to back the hotel. Without an upscale national brand and all the resources it would bring, Kaplan says his partners aren’t interested in going forward.
Yet even with all those hurdles, the proposed luxury hotel project remains in the race at the end of this long and confusing week. The finish line, though, appears much farther off.
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The hotel in question is the now $52.5 million, 200-room hotel and conference center proposed for the middle of downtown Greensboro. The 53-page consultant’s report, ordered by Andy Scott, the city’s assistant city manager for economic development, was completed over the weekend by HVS, one of the nation’s leading experts in assessing hospitality markets. The report evaluated the latest feasibility study filed a week ago by the hotel proponents.
Scott received the report Tuesday, but did not share it with council members that day because of confusion surrounding whether council had recommended three projects for bond financing — including the hotel — on Dec. 15 without knowing it. That appears to have been the case.
Yet Scott, who says he would distribute the report to council members this week, adds that the conclusions still could play a role in determining whether an underwriter or bond-rating agency will take the project seriously. Final decisions regarding bond worthiness won’t be made until May, he says.
The Business Journal, which obtained a copy of the report, shared it on Wednesday with
Randall Kaplan, one of the lead partners in the hotel project and co-owner of Elm Street Center, which would become the luxury hotel’s conference center. His response upon reviewing HVS’s conclusions?
“It causes me concern because they (HVS) are the experts in evaluating the marketplace,” says Kaplan, whose partners hired HVS to do their own downtown hotel feasibility study in early 2008. “We’re not idiots. We do not want to do this deal unless it is financially viable.”
Kaplan says he remains very excited about the project’s potential, its location and what it can do for downtown Greensboro. But he stressed that many hurdles must be cleared before the project qualifies for low-interest bond funds made possible through the federal stimulus act (see related story, page 2). The new HVS study, he concedes, represents yet another hurdle.
“At the moment,” he says, “the big unknowns are: Where do we settle in on reasonable occupancy rates and what will be the actual costs of new construction of the hotel.”
The numbers
The answers to both questions are a bit of a moving target. But before we discuss the findings in the HVS study (which confirm and go beyond the conclusions reached in this space last week), let’s do some project numbers.Kaplan told City Council on Tuesday that the entire project represents a $52.5 million investment, with $12.5 million of that representing the estimated value of Elm Street Center and all the land it sits on between Elm and Davie Streets. New construction is loosely estimated at $40 million. Of that, $26 million would come from the low-interest, stimulus-related bonds. Kaplan cannot say yet where the remaining $14 million would come from (if they need that much), but some portion could come from New Market Tax Credits, bank financing and/or cash put in by the development partnership.
Kaplan confirms that Bridget Chisholm, who heads the Urban Hotel Group, would claim a developer’s fee of about 5 percent, or roughly $2 million, but he says that she has agreed to take only a “small portion of that amount out at closing” and leave the rest in the project as equity.
He also says that his investors’ group, made up of about 10 Greensboro businesspeople, may take out about $1 million in cash at closing in compensation for selling the office building attached to Elm Street Center so that it can become part of the project.
But whether the project ever gets to that level of financial detail will likely come down to whether the hotel proponents can produce evidence to credibly offset the conclusions of the new HVS report.
Kaplan confirmed that HVS was making its judgments against a $25,000 feasibility study he ordered in February 2008 — long before the real estate market meltdown. The 2008 report, he says, was altered slightly to reflect current market conditions when it was given to Andy Scott last week.
To that end, the hotel developers projected average nightly room rates of $155 in 2012, rising to $180 in 2016. Comparing the proposed hotel to the new Doubletree on High Point Road, the downtown Marriott, the O. Henry and the Proximity, HVS found that the projected room rates were slightly high, but only by about $12 per night.
However, HVS said it was highly unlikely the hotel developers would achieve the projected annual occupancy rates of 64 percent in 2012 rising to 67 percent in 2016. HVS said the new hotel could expect occupancy of just 38 percent in 2012, rising to 48 percent in 2016 — far less than it would need to cover bond payments, to say nothing of providing a return to project investors.
“It is typical for a new luxury hotel operating in a depressed market to take four to five years to reach a stabilized level of operation,” HVS writes.
The consultant offered a variety of reasons for its much lower occupancy projections:
• The economy has caused group and meeting business to fall sharply, especially for luxury and upscale hotels; full recovery is seen as years off.
• Between 2003 and 2009, only in April and October (furniture market time) has hotel occupancy in Greensboro topped 70 percent. In the last three years, HVS notes, Greensboro has added hundreds of hotel rooms while demand has increased only incrementally.
• “The addition to downtown Greensboro of a proposed 200-room luxury hotel is not considered significant enough to induce additional demand into the market,” the report reads, adding that the city has an ample supply of luxury rooms. “It is more likely that the proposed hotel will cannibalize existing demand away from the other hotels in the market, which will make it far more difficult for these hotels to recover from the current recession.”
Not giving up
Kaplan knows the HVS evaluation of his group’s feasibility study doesn’t look good. But he’s not giving up. He says his group will likely pay for an updated study that drills down more deeply than the HVS evaluation does. He says that several factors could set the project in a more favorable light.For example, he says, the Elm Street project will have restaurant and retail space, which will contribute to the revenue stream and has not yet been figured in. He says the potential impact of the International Civil Rights Center & Museum across the street has not been considered. He says low-interest financing and low construction costs should lower overall project costs, thus providing a financial boost.
And despite what critics and other studies say, Kaplan believes the new hotel will grab market share from the downtown Marriott, the O. Henry, the Proximity and even hotels in the airport area.
But even with those firm beliefs, he says: “If after we go through another round of studies, the projections for occupancy are still at around 40 percent, it won’t get done. We won’t build it because it won’t get funded.”
There are other variables as well, he says. Parking is crucial; the project could be undermined if the city does not agree build an $8 million parking deck adjacent to the hotel on Davie Street. Also, a national chain — like a Wyndham or a Westin — must also agree to back the hotel. Without an upscale national brand and all the resources it would bring, Kaplan says his partners aren’t interested in going forward.
Yet even with all those hurdles, the proposed luxury hotel project remains in the race at the end of this long and confusing week. The finish line, though, appears much farther off.
link
http://meganfoxstar.blogspot.com/
http://elishasexycool.blogspot.com/
http://junkfoodtoday.blogspot.com/
http://japanesefoodyum.blogspot.com/
Monday, February 7, 2011
How Good Are Tokyo Serviced Apartments?
How Good Are Tokyo Serviced Apartments?
When you are visiting another destination, you would ideally want to get adjusted in a short period of time and quickly move on to getting your work done. If you take too long with the adjusting phase, there might not be as much time left to get on with your job and finish the work that you were sent out to do in the first place. In order to facilitate this, there is what is known as serviced apartments on offer. In fact, people across the world over know that Tokyo serviced apartments are probably the best in the world of serviced apartments.
There is a clear reason for this accolade; it is not without proof. Over time, the concept of service apartments has reached pretty much all corners of the world. But, in Tokyo, the apartments come very close to bringing you a homely feel. In fact, the service provider takes extra care in providing you with possible every amenity and creature comfort that you might ever need. You will not have any reason as such to complain about and might even get too used to the feeling of staying in such a well equipped place. This unique charm of Tokyo serviced apartments has captivated numerous travelers to the region.
In terms of what is on offer, you might be in for a pleasant surprise. Pretty much everything you can dream of is provided in these Tokyo serviced apartments. Everything, right from a fully furnished and loaded kitchen to even a fully equipped living room should keep you entertained and in comfort whenever you are in home. People who like to cook themselves a meal will be absolutely thrilled to make use of the amenities available in the kitchen for them. All these options make this an absolute dream to be in and potentially something that you wouldn't want to let go of quickly!
One has to speak about the location of these apartments as well, without which the description would be rather incomplete. Almost all of the Tokyo serviced apartments are located in very welcoming neighborhoods where you might find the beauty of nature intertwined with the modern concrete structures to create a perfect symmetry. The location is something that draws in people every now and then and in most cases, you might even be surprised that you are actually living in such a place. Many people can only dream of buying houses in such areas and hence, a serviced apartment has got to be the next best option that they can go in for.
Added service to the apartment like a maid, a fully loaded fitness center and even a round the clock security system are all part of the deal. All in all, you won't have much to complain about with these apartments. In fact, this is easily one of the better choices to take up and definitely something that you should consider if you want to enjoy the good life while in Tokyo. Check out some of the Tokyo serviced apartments at a reputed realtor to learn more about them
from - http://www.articlesbase.com/
link
http://meganfoxstar.blogspot.com/
http://elishasexycool.blogspot.com/
http://junkfoodtoday.blogspot.com/
http://japanesefoodyum.blogspot.com/
When you are visiting another destination, you would ideally want to get adjusted in a short period of time and quickly move on to getting your work done. If you take too long with the adjusting phase, there might not be as much time left to get on with your job and finish the work that you were sent out to do in the first place. In order to facilitate this, there is what is known as serviced apartments on offer. In fact, people across the world over know that Tokyo serviced apartments are probably the best in the world of serviced apartments.
There is a clear reason for this accolade; it is not without proof. Over time, the concept of service apartments has reached pretty much all corners of the world. But, in Tokyo, the apartments come very close to bringing you a homely feel. In fact, the service provider takes extra care in providing you with possible every amenity and creature comfort that you might ever need. You will not have any reason as such to complain about and might even get too used to the feeling of staying in such a well equipped place. This unique charm of Tokyo serviced apartments has captivated numerous travelers to the region.
In terms of what is on offer, you might be in for a pleasant surprise. Pretty much everything you can dream of is provided in these Tokyo serviced apartments. Everything, right from a fully furnished and loaded kitchen to even a fully equipped living room should keep you entertained and in comfort whenever you are in home. People who like to cook themselves a meal will be absolutely thrilled to make use of the amenities available in the kitchen for them. All these options make this an absolute dream to be in and potentially something that you wouldn't want to let go of quickly!
One has to speak about the location of these apartments as well, without which the description would be rather incomplete. Almost all of the Tokyo serviced apartments are located in very welcoming neighborhoods where you might find the beauty of nature intertwined with the modern concrete structures to create a perfect symmetry. The location is something that draws in people every now and then and in most cases, you might even be surprised that you are actually living in such a place. Many people can only dream of buying houses in such areas and hence, a serviced apartment has got to be the next best option that they can go in for.
Added service to the apartment like a maid, a fully loaded fitness center and even a round the clock security system are all part of the deal. All in all, you won't have much to complain about with these apartments. In fact, this is easily one of the better choices to take up and definitely something that you should consider if you want to enjoy the good life while in Tokyo. Check out some of the Tokyo serviced apartments at a reputed realtor to learn more about them
from - http://www.articlesbase.com/
link
http://meganfoxstar.blogspot.com/
http://elishasexycool.blogspot.com/
http://junkfoodtoday.blogspot.com/
http://japanesefoodyum.blogspot.com/
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
tokyo apartments price
Expensive Asia-Pacific cities
Four cities in the top ten are in Asia, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Singapore and Mumbai.Residential apartment prices in Hong Kong range from US$10,490 to 14,780 per sq. m., in Tokyo from US$7,600 to US$11,870 per sq. m. and in Singapore from US$11,500 to US$13,340 per sq. m.
Mumbai is a notable exception among the ten most expensive cities; it is located in a poor country, albeit rapidly growing. A mix of high population density, archaic land laws, rapid urbanization and strong
economic growth contributes to the surprisingly expensive property prices in Mumbai.
Property prices in Mumbai are around US$8,600 to US$10,300 per sq. m. This is significantly higher compared to New Delhi (prices at US$1,970 – US$3,260 per sq. m.) or Bangalore. Despite equally rapid economic expansion, property prices in Bangalore are still among the cheapest in the world at US$950 – US$1,900 per sq. m..
Compared to Mumbai, Chinese cities are significantly cheaper. Prices of flats in Shanghai are around US$2,870 to US$3,540 per sq. m. while those in Beijing are priced at US$2,100 to US$2,330 per sq. m.
Properties in Australia are near the top with apartment prices in Sydney at around US$6,290 to US$9,690 per sq. m. New Zealand is significantly cheaper compared to Australia, with apartment prices in Wellington at only US$4,360 – US$4,500 per sq. m.
In South East Asia, the price of a 120 sq. m. condo in Jakarta is around US$1,073 per sq. m., cheaper compared to Kuala Lumpur (1,400 per sq. m.), Manila (US$1,969 per sq. m.) and Bangkok (US$2,819 per sq. m.).
Americas and the Caribbean
In Canada, properties in Toronto are relatively more expensive than to those in Montreal. Apartment prices in Toronto range from US$4,600 to US$6,400 per sq. m. while condos in Montreal are priced at around US$3,660 – US$5,200.In Costa Rica, one of the most favored places of American second-home buyers and baby boomers, flats in San Jose are relatively cheap at US$1,250 – US$2,440 per sq. m. Properties along the Pacific coasts in the provinces of Puntarenas and Guanacaste are relatively more expensive at US$2,120 – US$2,890 per sq. m.
Property prices in the Caribbean are generally at par with Western Europe. Prices of flats in Turks and Caicos Islands are around US$5,670 - 8,230 per sq. m.; in Bahamas at US$3,860 to US$5,680 per sq. m., in Cayman Islands at US$3,660 – US$8,265 per sq. m. and in Trinidad and Tobago at US$3,140 – US$3,170 per sq. m.
Middle East and Africa are inexpensive
Properties in the Middle East are among the cheapest in the world (see article here). For instance, residential apartment prices in Egypt are around US$400 to US$900 in Maadi district of Cairo. Properties in Zamalek are a bit higher than Maadi but are still affordable at US$700 – US$1,400 per sq. m.Residential flats measuring 120 sq. m. in Beirut, Lebanon and Amman, Jordan cost around US$1,250 per sq. m.
Properties in Tel Aviv and Dubai are among the most expensive in the Middle East. Apartment prices in Tel Aviv are around US$4,560 – US$5,220 per sq. m. while those in Dubai range from US$3,590 – US$4,130 per sq. m.
In South Africa, the price of a 120 sq. m. 2BR flat in Cape Town is around US$2,784 per sq. m., around twice the prices of similar sized properties in Johannesburg, US$1,376 per sq. m
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