MGM plans US$300M boost: MGM Resorts International plans to cut its U.S. staff to save US$100 million by 2020. In a statement Thursday, the company said the layoffs are part of a program to boost operating cash flow by US$300 million a year by 2021. MGM Resorts also will centralize operations and invest in technology. The savings potentially imply 2,000 job cuts. Though most of the layoffs will be managers other higher, the company said some union jobs could be eliminated.
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The state of things at Trump Hotels: In theory, Trump Hotels new brands, Scion and American Idea were supposed to already be up and running sometime in 2018. Now the first Scion is still a year out and the first two American Idea hotels will not open until later this year. And no projects outside of Mississippi have publicly materialized, giving Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump little to celebrate following a two-year stretch overseeing their father’s business, writes the Washington Post.
Jin Jiang ups bid: The consortium led by Jin Jiang International Holdings Co. has upped its bid to acquire the remaining outstanding shares in Radisson from SEK 2.50 to SEK 42.50 in cash per share. The acceptance period on that offer starts January 7 and ends February 4.
U.S. hotels take a dip: In November, U.S. hotels posted a 5.2% year-on-year drop in profit per room—the single biggest margin of decline thus far in 2018, according to the latest HotStats data tracking full-service hotels. November marked the third month in 2018 that U.S. hotels recorded a drop in profit, following a year-on-year decline in both January (down 0.5%) and July (down 2.2%). Profit per room dropped to US$84.26 for the month, a full one-third decline off the US$126.34 GOPPAR recorded in October.
Storm empties out Thai resorts: Tens of thousands of tourists have fled some of Thailand’s most popular islands and resort areas as Tropical Storm Pabuk closes in and threatens to hit the southern part of the kingdom with heavy rains, winds and seven-meter waves. The islands of Koh Phangan and Koh Tao, packed with holiday-makers during the peak Christmas and New Year season, have emptied out since Wednesday as tourists squeeze onto ferries bound for the southern Thai mainland, with swimming banned and boats set to suspend services.
Grab a room soon: The storied Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas will close for about four months before it re-emerges as a Virgin Hotel in 2020. The hotel’s popular music venue, the Joint, will remain, but also will be upgraded and maybe renamed. Rehab, the Hard Rock’s five-acre party pool area, closed last October and will be redeveloped prior to the 2020 reopening.
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Two sell in Tampa Bay: Two waterfront hotels on St. Pete Beach in Tampa Bay, Florida have sold for a combined US$100 million, according to a commercial real estate firm. Together, the Grand Plaza Hotel and the Beachcomber Beach Resort have 258 rooms and span more than 9 acres. The hotels were sold by Excel Hospitality and purchased by Miami investment company Gencom. Benchmark, a global hospitality company, will manage the properties.
Greenwich buying in Michigan: Greenwich, Connecticut-based The Greenwich Hospitality Group acquired the West Bay Beach Holiday Inn Resort in Traverse City, Michigan for US$23.2 million. The 179-room full service waterfront resort was originally built in 1968. The purchasing entity, Delamar Traverse City, LLC, (Delamar is the flagship brand of Greenwich Hospitality) consists of mostly Michiganders with multi-generational ties to Grand Traverse and Leelanau Counties. The hotel will be elevated to a four-star property and rebranded Delamar Traverse City after undergoing a US$10 million transformation phased over a two-year period, during which it will remain open.
InterContinental Prague sells: The investment group R2G, co-founded by Czech billionaire Oldrich Šlemr and the owners of the Avast software company, has reportedly bought the luxury Hotel InterContinental in Prague. According to the Czech edition of Forbes magazine, the sale price likely exceeded 5 billion crowns.
Nix on Styrofoam for Sandals: The company will, as of February 1, eliminate all Styrofoam from its 19 Sandals and Beaches Resorts across the region. The company also recently eliminated single-use plastics from its operations. A Sandals release said the elimination of Styrofoam is particularly important in the Caribbean region, where marine wildlife across the more than 700 islands and coastlines is abundant.
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Dusit signs in Yangon: Bangkok-based Dusit International has signed a hotel management agreement with Rich Mandalay Group of Co. to operate Asai Yankin, one of the first properties to be signed under Asai Hotels, Dusit’s new affordable lifestyle brand. Located in Yankin Township in the northern central part of Yangon, the hotel will have 111 compact rooms. Alongside Asai Yankin, four more Asai properties are already confirmed in the pipeline. This includes three Asai Hotels in Cebu, Philippines (in Lapu-Lapu, Oslob, and the city center); and a flagship hotel in Bangkok, Thailand, in the city’s Sathorn district.