Hurricane Florence update. Hoteliers in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia are starting to prepare for the imminent arrival of Category 4 Hurricane Florience, which is expected to make landfall in Wilmington, North Carolina, and generate dangerous flooding conditions and storm surges. Evacuations are underway and hoteliers are working to evacuate. Hilton reports it is evacuating properties in South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia, while others in the projected path remain open and are implementing their emergency preparedness plans. At Marriott International, plans are in place to evacuate and close hotels as local authorities or conditions require such action.
Even though Hurricane Florence is not projected to hit Charleston, some downtown hotels are closing and forcing guests to evacuate. An official at Belmond Charleston Place said 184 guests were asked to leave. The Dewberry Hotel said they closed at noon Tuesday and hoped to reopen on Sunday. An official at the Francis Marion Hotel said it also closed at noon. In Georgia, hotels are expected to fill up quickly with many hotels around the coast, such as those in Savannah and Brunswick, are either sold out or filling fast, according to booking websites. And Airbnb is stepping in by offering evacuees and disaster relief workers free temporary lodging through its Open Homes Program.
Hotel Equities takes partner. Atlanta-based Hotel Equities announced on Wednesday has created a strategic alliance with private equity firm Virtua Partners, which will make a series of investments in Hotel Equities platform totaling more than US$500 million. The new capital will be utilized to fuel growth through hotel management company acquisitions, organic growth and strategic investments into various hospitality assets. Hotel Equities provides management and development services to 115 properties with US$2 billion in assets under management.
Hyatt plans Normandy. Hyatt Hotels Corp. has entered into a franchise agreement with a subsidiary of Matmut S.A.M. to develop the 78-room Hyatt Place Rouen in the capital of Normandy, France. The hotel, slated to open in 2021, will be managed by Cycas Hospitality.
Fake reviewer going to jail. A landmark legal ruling in Italy will see the owner of PromoSalento, a company which sells fake review packages to hospitality businesses, sentenced to nine months in prison after the Criminal Court of Lecce ruled that writing fraudulent reviews under a false identity was “criminal conduct. The defendant was also ordered to pay €8,000 in costs and damages. TripAdvisor supported the prosecution as a civil claimant, providing evidence from its in-house fraud investigations team.
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Big August in London. STR’s preliminary August 2018 data for London indicates strong performance driven by significant growth in demand. Based on daily data from the month, London reported supply increased by 1.8%; demand increased 7.5% to 86.8%; ADR was up2.5% to p145; and RevPAR jumped 8.2% to p126.29.The absolute ADR and RevPAR levels were the highest for an August in London since 2012, when the market hosted the Summer Olympics.
Flood’s impact in India. The fear of disease and epidemic post-the Kerala, India, floods is likely to keep travellers away from the state and hotel occupancy in September below 20% to 25% against 60% in the same month last year. Occupancies were under 10% during August across several premium properties in Kerala, even in business districts, according to the report.
Alternative hotelier grows. AutoCamp, a modern hotel experience that combines luxury tents with custom designed Airstream trailers, has broken ground for its newest property near California’s Yosemite National Park with an opening planned for the first quarter of 2019. This property will have a 4,000 square foot clubhouse with accommodations including 15 luxury tents, three cabin suites and 80 deluxe Airstream trailers built in the USA by Airstream, as well as five ADA suites. It will be the first AutoCamp with a pool, hot tub, and fresh water pond.
Ski Shanghai. Dubai-based shopping mall company Majid Al Futtaim recently announced that it’s building the world’s largest indoor ski resort in Shanghai. The park, called Wintastar Shanghai, will cover nearly 1 million square feet of land. The current titleholder, Harbin Wanda Indoor Ski and Winter Sports Resort in Harbin, China, stands at 869 thousand square feet, reports CNN. The resort will contain three slopes and 25 non-skiing activities, and there has been no announcement about the project’s competition date. The Chinese government is trying to encourage citizens to ski. According to a 2017 CNN report, only 12.1 million Chinese people have tried skiing at least once, which is less than 1% of the population.