An Equinox by any other name: Equinox Holdings reached a settlement with a similarly named San Francisco-based hospitality company that had claimed the health club company’s venture into the hospitality business threatened its 24-year-old brand. Public documents filed with the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of California indicate the parties reached a settlement on March 29 with Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers signing a settlement order on April 12.
Hyatt in Canada: Hyatt will expand its Hyatt Place and Hyatt House brand footprint in Canada with the signing of management and franchise agreements by a Hyatt affiliate for nine Hyatt Place hotel and three Hyatt House hotels. There are currently nine Hyatt-branded hotels open Canada, and the expected openings of these 12 Hyatt Place and Hyatt House hotels would increase Hyatt’s brand presence in the region to 21 hotels within the next few years.
Fauchon tries its hand at hotels: Fauchon, one of France’s historic and best-known upmarket food groups, said it was planning to launch a collection of 20 boutique hotels to target wealthy, overseas tourists. The company is aiming to launch its first hotel this September by Paris’ Place de la Madeleine, the site where Fauchon was founded in 1886, the company said.
Marriott does a fly-by: Marriott International has introduced a new hotel brand to the Detroit area in Delta Hotels by Marriott. Delta Hotels Detroit Metro Airport has taken over the Radisson Hotel Detroit Metro Airport. RJK Hotel Management LLC, based in Henderson, Nevada, decided to transform the hotel and retains ownership of the establishment at 31500 Wick Road, Romulus. Crescent Hotels & Resorts LLC manages the hotel.
Horse for a Room Mate: Room Mate Group has launched a new corporate image: A silhouette of a horse, an animal which the company says represents the founder’s past as an Olympic equestrian. It is also an animal that Room Mate says reflects values of passion, strength, honesty, authenticity and empathy.
Middle East and Africa pipeline: Analysts at Lodging Econometrics report that the construction pipelines for the Middle East and Africa continue to grow resulting in 875 projects/216,045 rooms combined, according to LE’s recent trend report.
The total Middle East pipeline has 594 projects/170,490 rooms and is up 23% by rooms year-over-year. This is the 16th consecutive quarter of pipeline growth seen by the Middle East. There are 358 projects/113,830 rooms under construction, up 13% by projects YOY. Those scheduled to start construction in the next 12 months are at 127 projects/31,752 rooms, up 9%, while projects in early planning stand at 109 projects/24,908 rooms are up 31%.
The total Africa pipeline has 281 projects/45,555 rooms and is up 21% by projects YOY. In Africa, there are 127 projects/21,233 rooms under construction, up only 1% by projects YOY. Those scheduled to start construction in the next 12 months are at 79 projects/11,954 rooms, up a whopping 65%, while projects in early planning stand at 75 projects/12,368 rooms are up 29%.
Mandarin Oriental releases statement: The Mandarin Oriental in London’s Hyde Park neighborhood released a statement in the wake of a fire yesterday that engulfed the top of the newly refurbished hotel. The hotel says it is still assessing the damage and declines to say when it will fully re-open.