O.J. threatens lawsuit: O.J. Simpson is threatening a $100 million legal action against the Cosmopolitan Hotel in Las Vegas over an incident in which he was thrown off of the property last year. Simpson’s attorney is claiming the hotel acted “with malice and racial prejudice” when it kicked him out and publicly said it was because he was being drunk and disruptive. The hotel issued a trespass notice to Simpson after he was there dining with friends on Nov. 8.
St. Regis comes to Hong Kong: St. Regis Hotels & Resorts will collaborate with China Resources Property to bring the St. Regis brand to Hong Kong by early 2019. Marriott International has nine properties in Hong Kong, but this will be the first property for the St. Regis brand. With interiors created by acclaimed Hong Kong-based designer, André Fu, the 25-story St. Regis Hong Kong will offer 129 guest suites. Guests will have access to St. Regis Butler Service, signature Chinese and French restaurants, a 320-seat banquet hall and a heated swimming pool, among other amenities.
Uptick for Phuket: Bolstered by a strong low season and double-digit China growth, Thailand’s leading resort destination Phuket has hit a historic high note. For the year 2017, the island’s gateway airport posted 11.3% y-o-y growth to reach an estimated 8.4 million incoming passengers. This was mainly driven by a 20% surge in Mainland Chinese travelers to the island and a rising number visitors during low season of 11.2% compared to the same period in 2016. Hotel performance continued to see an uptick in occupancy at 77% last year based on data from STR, though the volume metric resulted in a slight downward trend with a median room rate of THB3,740 (US$115.74).
UK investment: Investment into the UK hotel market reached £5.4 billion (US$7.3 billion) across 219 deals in 2017, according to figures from international real estate advisor Savills. This total represents an increase of 32% from 2016, in which levels totaled £4.1 billion (US$5.5 billion) and is 51% above the 10-year average of £3.6 billion (US$4.8 billion). Key transactions in 2017 included the sales of the London hotels JW Marriott Grosvenor House to Ashkenazy Acquisition Corp and the £80.2 million (US$108.76 million) sale of the Sloane Club in Chelsea by Caledonia Investments and the £58 million (US$78 million) sale of the Holiday Inn Manchester. The UK regions accounted for 58% of transactions by value, with London accounting for 42%.
Mövenpick in Basra: Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts will open a new property in Basra early this year as it looks to capitalize on the city’s status as Iraq’s economic capital and a regional oil and gas hub. The global hospitality firm has signed a deal with Akeel Ibraheem Al-Khalidy to manage the 5-star Mövenpick Hotel Basra, a 152-key property on track to open its doors in the first quarter of 2018.