Blackstone arm acquires six hotels in Italy: HIP, the hotel investment division of New York-based Blackstone, has acquired six hotels in Italy. HIP has signed an agreement with Mangia’s Resort by the Sea Group (formerly Aeroviaggi) for the purchase and refurbishment of six properties on the beachfront in Sardinia and Sicilia. The Mangia family will remain the properties’ operator and shareholder. Both companies have agreed to form a joint venture to reposition the 1,900 rooms and plan to investment around €85 million (US$95.5 million). This is HIP’s next step of its expansion in Europe, following the purchase of assets in Spain, Portugal and Greece.
IHG signs resort in Grenada: IHG Hotels & Resorts has signed the 150-room InterContinental Grenada Resort, which will be built on La Sagesse Beach. Slated to open in 2025, the property will feature more than 30 private suites, restaurants and bars, spa and pool and 6,000 square feet of meeting space. The property is being developed by Range Developments and will be located adjacent to Six Senses La Sagesse, another Range Developments property and brand in IHG’s luxury portfolio, which is scheduled to open in 2023. Currently, there are 13 InterContinental properties in Latin America and 205 open worldwide, including 73 hotels in the pipeline.
Dream goes to Miami: Miami Developer Alex Mantecon of MV Real Estate Holdings, in conjunction with Driftwood Capital, Coral Gables, Florida, have launched Riverside Wharf, a US$185 million mixed-use, hospitality-driven entertainment complex situated along the historic Miami River, which will be anchored by the 165-key Dream Miami. The development spanning 200,000-square foot will feature the rebirth and expansion of The Wharf Miami, 16,000 square feet of restaurants, a 12,000-square-foot event hall, a 30,000-square-foot nightclub and rooftop dayclub, and a private marina capable of accommodating megayachts. Dream Hotel Group, New York City, plans to open the Dream Miami by 2025 with Jon Cardello of Miami-based Cube3 architects working on the design and Savino-Miller Design Studios working on landscape design. Riverside Wharf is scheduled to break ground in 2022 and Dream Miami will feature a 10,000-square foot event hall, as well as a health and wellness center.
Host sells W Hollywood: Trinity Investments has partnered with Oaktree Capital Management to acquire the W Hollywood. The partnership plans to implement a multi-million-dollar capital improvement plan for the 305 room property. Host Hotels & Resorts was the seller for an undisclosed price. It acquired the property in March 2017 for US$219 million.
Starwood buys Iberostar property in Canarys: Starwood Capital Group has agreed to acquire the 420-room Iberostar Las Dalias, Costa Adeje in Tenerife in the Canary Islands, from Spain’s Iberostar Group, for a reported price of around €100 million (US$112 million), on a sale and leaseback basis. The 4-star property, recently re-opened after refurbishment, is to be acquired by Starwood’s unlisted REIT, Starwood Real Estate Income Trust, representing the REIT’s second European leasehold investment, and first in Spain.
Kitzbühel resort acquired: JPI Hospitality, with an Austrian co-investor, has acquired the Q! Resort Health & Spa in Kitzbühel, Austria. The deal marks the first purchase of the JPI Hospitality Investors Club, which recently announced its plan to invest around €300 million (US$337 million) in hotel acquisitions and refurbishments over the next 24 months across major European city and leisure destinations. The hotels are typically positioned in the mid- to upscale leisure and lifestyle segment, with contemporary, iconic concepts and attractive pricing. PKF hospitality group advised JPI Hospitality on the deal.
Cambria breaks ground in Niagara Falls: Cambria Hotels, a Choice Hotels brand, broke ground on the 120-key Cambria Hotel Niagara Falls. The hotel is expected to open in spring 2023 and is located two blocks from the Niagara Falls State Park. The property will be developed by Plati Niagara Inc., which also owns a Quality Inn in Niagara Falls. This is the brand’s fourth hotel to break ground in Q4 2021, following new openings in cities like Louisville, Napa Valley and Orlando and an additional hotel in Nashville and a fifth hotel in Washington, D.C. Currently, there are around 60 Cambria hotels open in the U.S., with over 70 in the pipeline.
UK hotel closes for week of wellbeing: The Eden Hotel Collection in the UK is closing all of its five boutique hotels for up to 11 days during January as part of a new ‘Wellbeing Week’ designed to help boost the morale and wellness of its staff. Staff can opt to spend the time however they wish, or join wellbeing events put on by the hotel including an exercise session from a personal trainer. The week will include drop-in ‘Tea and Talk’ sessions with the hotel’s HR teams upon return. Staff will also be given a month’s access to mindfulness app Headspace, links for wellbeing sources, tools such as a Mental Health MOT, and recommended podcasts and playlists relating to mindfulness and relaxation. The spas at two properties will remain open for treatments and facility use.
France’s aid for ski resorts: France will compensate the ski resorts affected by the ban on British tourists and will try to direct more French tourists to the mountains to make up for the lost business, France’s Tourism Minister Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne said. The ban on British tourists, who account for around 15% of French ski resort customers, was announced last Thursday to control the spread of the Omicron variant of COVID-19. Under the new norms, holiday travel from Britain is not permitted and only French nationals and their partners and foreigners with permanent residence in France can enter the U.K. While Lemoyne did not specify what measures will be implemented, he said last year France provided support worth €7 billion (US$7.86 billion) to the travel sector and would continue to stand by the industry.
Germany bans British travelers: Germany has banned travelers from Britain to slow the spread of the Omicron variant of COVID-19, allowing only German nationals and residents to enter into the country from the U.K. These travelers, however, are required to have a negative COVID test and quarantine for two weeks, regardless of their vaccination status. Germany has also added Denmark, Norway, France and Lebanon to its high-risk list, with travel from these countries being restricted.