Accor taking Orbis services: Accor reportedly has agreed to acquire for approximately US$324 million Orbis’ hotel services business after the Poland-based owner-operator completes stated plans to separate its real estate ownership from its hotel services businesses. Accor currently owns an 85.5% stake in Orbis. This move also back Accor’s stated plan to reduce its exposure to real estate. Subsequently, Accor will start to divest its stake in Orbis, which will continue to own its real estate asset portfolio. According to Accor’s announcement, Orbit’s real estate assets have been valued at €1.18 billion (approximately US$1.34 billion).
Anbang selling in Amsterdam: Bloomberg reported that China’s Anbang Insurance Group is in exclusive talks to sell for €425 million (approximately US$861,000 per key) the 557-key Double Tree Hotel by Hilton Amsterdam Central to French insurance group AXA. Anbang, which is unwinding many of its hospitality assets, acquired the property from Blackstone for €350 million (approx. US$703,000 per key) in 2017.
Starwood takes stake in wellness: A US$22.5 million round of series B financing led by a closed affiliate of Starwood Capital Group will fuel growth for Getaway, a wellness hospitality operator. The company is developing clusters of tiny, minimalist cabins in serene, wooded environments meant for unplugging; all are located two hours from urban centers. Getaway has six Outposts with 140 total cabins outside of New York, Boston, Washington, DC, Atlanta, Portland, and one in between Pittsburgh and Cleveland. Two more are on track to open this summer near Dallas and Los Angeles.
Pentagon adds three in Tasmania: A three-hotel, US$24 million deal by Melbourne, Australia’s Pentagon Group marks the first phase of what it expects to grow into a US$100 million portfolio over the next two to three years. The three hotels, purchased from EBC Leisure, include the Old Tudor Hotel in Launceton, the Bayside Inn at St. Helens and The Foreshore in Lauderdale. All three will be rebranded as Comfort Inns and upgraded, according to The Examiner.
Bye-bye, badda book? Choice Hotels unveiled a new multimedia ad campaign targeted at both business and leisure travelers and tied to the theme “Our Business Is You.” The campaign, from Durham, North Carolina-based Kinney, will be used across Choice’s portfolio. “’Our Business is You’ shifts the focus from what we do as a brand to who we do it for: hardworking Americans and all the reasons they travel,” says Robert McDowell, Choice’s CMO. Marketing during the summer travel season will stress a lowest price guarantee with direct booking and will reintroduce the refreshed Comfort brand.
Hyatt’s first European Alila: Resort 4 SA has agreed to manage Europe’s first Alila-branded resort. The 85-room, 27-residence resort is expected to open in Pont-la-Ville, Switzerland, by 2023. Set on a golf resort, the Alila La Gruyère will focus on recreation and wellness.
Trump Hotel’s liquor license at risk: Washington, D.C., liquor regulators are deciding whether President Trump’s character disqualifies his hotel from possessing a license to sell liquor. A group of at least five residents and property owners have petitioned the district’s alcoholic beverage control board, asking it to consider not renewing the Trump International Hotel’s license. They argued that Trump’s behavior does not satisfy the board’s “good character” requirement; a Trump Organization spokesperson told the Washington Times the charges were “nothing more than politics at its worst.”
Read the Washington Times story