Accor in talks to buy Mövenpick: AccorHotels is in talks to buy hotel chain Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts, Le Figaro newspaper reported in its Thursday edition. The majority owner of Mövenpick, which manages 20,000-plus rooms in more than 83 hotels across Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East, is Mövenpick Holdings, which also includes catering business Marche International. The minority owner is Saudi Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal’s Kingdom Holding Company, which owned a 35.3% stake in FRHI, which Accor acquired in 2016. Alwaleed is now a minority stakeholder in Accor. AccorHotels said last week it would make further acquisitions in coming years using cash from the sale of a majority stake in its property business rather than pay a special dividend.
US$375M Raffles property for Boston: Raffles Hotels & Resorts is partnering with developers Jordan Warshaw and Saunders Hotel Group to put its first North American property in a US$375 million in downtown Boston. The 33-story building will be roughly half hotel, half condominiums, and carry the flag — and the high-end services — of a luxury hotel brand best known for its flagship in Singapore. The development team spent years trying to build on the site, and the deal with Raffles will allow construction on the 400-foot tower to begin later this year. Pricing for the 146 condos hasn’t yet been set. The building is expected to be completed in 2021.
Ireland Choice franchise eyes properties: Choice Hotel Group has been sizing up potential acquisitions in the UK and is also close to finalizing the purchase of leases and properties in Ireland, according to CEO Andy O’Neill. O’Neill said that the Dublin-based company is advanced on two deals in Ireland at the moment. “We’re very close on them. They will both operate as Clarions,” said O’Neill. Choice controls the franchise for Clarion, Comfort, Ascend and Quality brands in Ireland. He declined to name the hotels involved (both 100-room properties) but said that Choice plans to buy one and lease the other.
Room rates on rise for Hilton in 1st quarter: Hilton Worldwide Holdings reported a bigger-than-expected quarterly profit and raised its full-year financial outlook on Thursday, strengthened by demand for rooms in Europe and the Asia Pacific region. The company said it now expected 2018 RevPAR to grow 2-4% versus a previous forecast of 1-3% growth. RevPAR growth was the strongest in Asia Pacific at 11 percent in the quarter, followed by Europe at 7.1 percent, where the strongest economic growth in a decade has lifted revenues for hotel operators. In the United States, Hilton’s biggest market, RevPAR rose 2.8 percent. Earlier this month, Hilton’s main shareholder HNA Tourism Group sold its 82.5 million shares in the company, partially to Hilton and partially in a public sale, in a deal seen as removing risk to the hotel group’s ownership structure and allowing it to focus on its own priorities.
MGM 1st quarter reports profit: MGM Resorts International reported a profit for its first quarter that climbed from last year. The company’s bottom line came in at US$223.44 million, or US$0.38 per share. This compares with US$206.41 million, or US$0.36 per share, in last year’s first quarter. The company’s revenue for the quarter rose 3.7% to US$2.82 billion from US$2.72.
5 new properties for Posadas: Mexico-based Posadas will develop five new properties in Mexico, Dominican Republic and Cuba. The new resorts, set to open throughout 2018 and 2019, include Live Aqua San Miguel De Allende; Grand Fiesta Americana Punta Cana Los Corales All-Inclusive; Fiesta Americana Punta Varadero All-Inclusive and Fiesta Americana Holguín Costa Verde All-Inclusive.
U.S. room rates on the rise: Achieved average room rate at U.S. hotels hit a high of more than US$220 in March, fueling the continued increase in profit per room as the market goes from strength to strength, according to the latest worldwide poll of full-service hotels from HotStats. While the achieved average room rate recorded at hotels in the U.S. represented a year-on-year increase of just 2.1% at US$220.42, it was enough to exceed the previous recent high of US$217.06 recorded in October 2017. In addition to the growth in rate, a 0.2% increase in room occupancy to 81.7% helped RevPAR levels at hotels also rise to the highest level recorded in recent years at US$180.07, almost 14% above the RevPAR for the rolling 12 months to March 2018 at US$158.28.
Read the full report at HotStats