Forte: Effect of Balkans war is negligible

NEW YORK -- The upcoming summer season should go as planned for Forte Hotels, despite the ongoing crisis in the Balkans, an executive of the hotel company said at a press briefing here.

"We do not foresee a major problem with our summer business," Antoine Cau, chief executive officer, said, but he added that the company is developing plans to compensate for whatever might happen.

"We spoke to agents and operators, and they are all reporting it is business as usual [for European bookings]," Cau said.

A roundup of Forte news follows:

The new hotels are located in New Caledonia, the Maldives, Nigeria, Chad, Taiwan, India, Israel and Morocco. (There are two in Morocco.)

The firm rebranded as Le Meridien a hotel in Leeds, England, and discontinued operating a property in Uzbekistan. "In three years, the goal is to have 200 hotels in the Meridien chain," said Cau, adding that Forte intends to open "15 to 20 properties in the U.S." in the near future.

Le Meridien operates four properties in the U.S. and one in Canada. "We are looking at every possible solution, whether it is buying existing hotels, building new properties or signing management contracts. We want our North America presence to become known," Cau said. Forte also is looking at operating properties in Brazil, Argentina and Cuba, he said.

The system enables agents to receive all commissions in a single payment, regardless of where the reservations are booked. In the past, the commissions were paid individually by each hotel in that specific hotel's local currency. Now, the program will pay agents one single check in U.S. currency, within 15 days of guest checkout.

There also is a toll-free number for agents to call to check on the status of a payment or to get commission assistance. The toll-free number is (877) USA-CTAC.

In order to receive automatic payment, reservations must be made through the CRSs using code FE; via the central reservation office at (800) 225-5843, or through www.forte-hotels.com. Pay from bookings made directly at individual hotels are not processed through the new centralized system.