Langham: Langham Hospitality Group will open its first Cordis hotel in mainland China this month in Shanghai, has signed an agreement to manage Cordis in Hangzhou, China, and has announced plans to re-brand its Auckland property to become the flagship Cordis hotel in the Pacific.
Marriott pipeline: Marriott International currently has the largest and most active pipeline by room-count of any franchise company with 163,063 rooms/1,264 projects, according to data from Lodging Econometrics. Their largest brands in the pipeline are; Fairfield Inn with 27,220 rooms/285 projects, Residence Inn with 23,725 rooms/188 projects and TownePlace Suites with 18,450 rooms/180 projects.
Accor in Brazil. AccorHotels on Wednesday announced the transformation of Sofitel Copacabana into the first hotel with the Fairmont flag in South America. The renovation begins this month and is expected to finish in 14 months. At the same time, after a nearly US$10 million refurbishment the Ceasar Park Rio de Janeiro Ipanema will be transformed into Sofitel Ipanema.
Favstay: Thai hospitality start-up Favstay, which offers condos and villas for rent in Thailand’s top destinations, has secured a US$1 million investment from Bangkok-based Dusit International. The investment, made as part of favstay’s US$2.88 million Series A investment round, will see Dusit have a 9.24% stake in the startup.
Graduate: The 235-room Sheraton Hotel in downtown Iowa City is expected to reopen as a boutique Graduate Hotel by summer of 2018, according to Graduate Hotels President Tim Franzen.
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Crescent: Crescent Hotels & Resorts will manage the 125-room Courtyard by Marriott Toronto Mississauga/West.
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UNWTO Report: The recently released 2nd UNWTO Report on Gastronomy Tourism showcases how gastronomy tourism can be a driver for modern tourism in creating experiences while promoting sustainable tourism.
Hot market pipelines: Analysts at Lodging Econometrics report that the five markets with the largest hotel construction pipelines by project count are: New York with 185 projects/29,447 rooms; Houston with 158 projects/17,475 rooms; Dallas with 141 projects/17,869 rooms; Nashville with 124 projects/15,614 rooms; and Los Angeles with 111 projects/17,701 rooms.