Star Wars hotel? A resort designed to look like a starship is rumored to be in the works for Disney’s Star Wars Land theme park at Disney World in California. The park is scheduled to open in 2019.
Costa Rica eco-resort: Discovery Communications announced plans yesterday for a US$400 million eco-resort in Costa Rica that would open in 2020. The company is developing the facilities, which will include a farm, beach rock climbing and a volcano, with Sun Latin America. The company owns the Discovery Channel and Animal Planet channels.
IHG breach: The data security breach that hit IHG last year hit more than 1,100 locations, much more than the 12 that were revealed in February. The breach occurred at IHG brands in North America and Puerto Rico from September to December.
Read more at Krebs on Security
Sofitel Budapest: Poland’s Orbis Hotel Group has reportedly signed a letter of intent to sell the Sofitel Budapest Chain Bridge Hotel in Hungary for €76 million, or about US$226,000 per key, according to Bloomberg. The sale is conditional on Orbis completing a purchase option on the property. The main shareholder in the hotel is AccorHotels.
Palladium bid for growth: Palladium Hotel Group of Spain plans to add a management component in the Caribbean, Mexico, South America and Europe in addition to its ownership model. The company has 12 hotels and resorts in Latin America. “Another priority is finding investment partners who are willing to analyze reconversion projects” similar to ones the company did in Ibiza and Tenerife, a company executive said.
SLS lawsuit: The SLS South Beach Hotel in Miami is the subject of a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which claims that at least 15 Haitian workers were repeatedly discriminated against by hotel management before being fired in 2014.
Chef in Nashville: James Beard Award-winning chef Michael Mina will open Bourbon Steak Nashville at the JW Marriott in the Tennessee city. The interior will be designed by Adam Tihany. It will open in 2018 with the hotel.
Facebook marketing: A survey by the U.K.’s EyeforTravel puts Facebook at the top for travel marketers. According to “The State of Data and Analytics In Travel Report 2017,” 61.6% think Facebook is the best-performing social media network. Instagram trailed at 15.8%; Twitter ranked 10.3%.