FAIRMONT ADDS IN CHINA: Accor has partnered with Dalian Culture & Tourism Group for Fairmont Dalian, a hospitality experience at Zhongshan Square in Dalian, Liaoning province, China. The 70-room luxury hotel will open in October following extensive restorations and refurbishments. The four-story century-old heritage building, featuring European Renaissance Baroque Architecture, is designated National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit. With the support of the Dalian municipal government, Fairmont will monitor the eco-sensitive restoration and preservation process. Fairmont Dalian will include a lounge, ballroom, multiple meeting rooms and restaurants.
CITIZENM GROWS U.S. PORTFOLIO: citizenM has opened citizenM Miami Worldcenter, its second property in Miami, following the opening of Miami Brickell in July 2022. The 351-room hotel is located within the new Miami Worldcenter Development, a $4 billion mixed-use project in downtown Miami. The opening marks the brand’s 30th property globally and the first opening in the U.S. this year. Designed by citizenM’s architecture partner Concrete, in partnership with Gensler, the hotel features a gym, rooftop pool and bar and four meeting rooms. Currently, citizenM has 12 hotels across the U.S. portfolio and 30 globally. The brand is aiming to reach 60 operational properties globally by 2027.
UNYOKED RAISES €18M FOR EUROPEAN EXPANSION: Unyoked, the nature-focused, sustainable hospitality group, has raised €18 million ($19.14 million), led by investors Munich-based SURPLUS Equity Partners GmbH (SEP) and Sydney-based Realside Financial Group. The capital raised will be utilized to grow its European portfolio and add more nature cabins in the U.K., Australia and New Zealand. Unyoked will prioritize expansion in the U.K., Scandinavia, Germany, Benelux, Austria and Switzerland. Founded in 2016, Unyoked currently operates about 100 off-grid cabins across Australia, New Zealand and debuted in the U.K. in 2022.
SUSTAINABLE RETREAT IN TROJENA: Collective Retreats has partnered with NEOM to open a sustainable retreat in Trojena, the mountain destination in NEOM in northwestern Saudi Arabia. This is the latest collaboration between NEOM’s Hotel Development unit and another brand. Scheduled to open in early 2026, Collective Trojena will feature 60 open-air rooms and meeting spaces along with water features, communal campfires and culinary experiences. The property will also provide access to the development’s complete array of year-round outdoor activities and cultural events. The Asian Winter Games will be held in Trojena in 2029, expected to open in late 2026.
MARRIOTT JOINS IWF: Marriott International has partnered with the U.K.-based non-profit Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) to fight online child abuse through technology solutions to restrict guest network access to websites with child sexual abuse materials (CSAM) in its properties. This comes after Marriott recently trained a million associates at Marriott hotels to recognize and react to signs of human trafficking. As part of this latest initiative, Marriott is working with Cisco to implement its security technology to cut off access to CSAM-containing online pages on the IWF’s blocked URL list. Marriott conducted a pilot last November at six of its properties in the U.S. and will deploy the technology across its hotels in the U.S. and Canada this month. A global rollout to other regions is slated through 2024.