ONE MORE THING:THERE WAS, no doubt, a lot of head-scratching at the Bernie Gallagher-led Jurys Doyle hotel chain over the past week on foot of reports in the Hungarian media that it was planning to open a four-star property in Budapest.
Details of this bold move were carried by the Interfax news agency, which operates across central and eastern Europe.
"Jurys has purchased an empty lot in the capital's sixth district and has just submitted a building permit for a four-star hotel that is planned to be completed in the first quarter of 2010," Mark Downey, business development manager at ORS Project Management in Budapest, told Interfax.
The Jurys in question, of course, was the Inns business, which was bought last year for €1.16 billion by a consortium of investors led by Quinlan Private.
Inns boss Niall Geoghegan sprang into action, issuing a press release yesterday clarifying the situation.
"The group has acquired a site in the Hungarian capital Budapest and plans to build a 220-room Inn, which is expected to open in 2010," Geoghegan said. "Contrary to recent incorrect media reports in Hungary, Jurys Doyle is not involved in the project."
Quinlan Private acquired the rights to the Jurys Inn brand as part of its megabucks deal last year. With a bit of luck, Jurys Doyle will change its name and spare us any further confusion.
