Goodbye Grand Victoria: MGM Resorts International will sell the Grand Victoria Casino in Elgin, Illinois, of which a subsidiary of the company owns a 50% interest, to Eldorado Resorts for US$327.5 million cash, subject to a working capital adjustment. MGM will receive its 50% share of the net proceeds after certain transaction costs, or approximately US$162 million. The transaction is expected to close within the year.
Caesars in Dubai: Caesars Entertainment signed an agreement to manage two luxury hotels and a beach club in Dubai, the casino operator’s first non-gaming resorts. The operator of Las Vegas’ Caesars Palace said in a statement it had signed a non-binding letter of intent with Dubai’s state-linked Meraas Holding to manage the hotels, located on the Bluewaters Island development.The resorts will feature 479 hotel rooms and 12 restaurants and bars, and the two hotels, Caesars Palace Bluewaters Dubai and Caesars Bluewaters Dubai, are set to open in the fourth quarter.
Emaar in Aljada: Emaar Hospitality Group and Sharjah-based developer Arada will launch three new hotels in Aljada – Sharjah’s new lifestyle hub. A management agreement was signed Thursday by Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed Al Qasimi, Chairman of Arada, Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal, Vice Chairman of Arada, and Mohamed Alabbar, Chairman of Emaar Properties. Under the terms of the agreement, Emaar Hospitality Group will manage Address, Vida and Rove hotels in Arada’s flagship destination Aljada.
Kaitiaki Tagaloa developing: The French Polynesian government has chosen its bid for the construction of part of the Tahitian Village resort complex, a scaled backed version of the original Mahana Beach project. The consortium Kaitiaki Tagaloa includes Kaitiaki Property, Iwi International and Samoa’s Grey Group, which already owns and runs several high-end hotels in Tahiti, Moorea and Bora Bora. The project includes 3-to 5-star hotels and apartment complexes, totaling more than 1,500 units.
More from New Zealand-based RNZ
Indigo in Gibraltar: IHG has signed the Hotel Indigo Gibraltar, under a franchise agreement with property developers, Roquebrook. The building will be entirely reconfigured with a new facade and rooftop extension for the 120-room property. Alongside the onsite gym, the hotel will also have a destination restaurant and bar.
London missing the Chinese love: London’s immediate tourism outlook is on the wane with international forward air bookings showing a significant decline, particularly from the Chinese who have accounted for a boom in visitor numbers in recent years – that’s according to latest figures from ForwardKeys which predicts future travel patterns by analyzing 17 million booking transactions a day. A year-on-year comparison shows that international forward bookings to London lag by 3.5% for the first half of 2018, with a large 10.1% fall currently projected in the second quarter. At the same time, other top European Union destinations – Paris, Rome, Amsterdam and Barcelona – look set to grow visitor arrivals.