Bourne Leisure founders to buy back Butlin’s: The Harris family, which co-founded Bourne Leisure and previously owned the U.K.’s best-known holiday camp chain Butlin’s, has reportedly offered to buy the brand back from Blackstone, its current owner, for over £300 million (US$362.58 million). A deal is expected to be finalized next week and will take the proceeds from Butlin’s sale to more than £600 million (US$725.17 million). The family’s interest to buy the brand back comes amid the domestic holiday business benefitting from a boom in staycations across the U.K. The Harris family’s eagerness to retake control of the chain comes 18 months after it sold Bourne Leisure to Blackstone for £3 billion (US$3.62 billion). The Harris family was part of a trio to sell Bourne Leisure and retained a minority stake in the company after the deal. Earlier this year, Blackstone hired Rothschild to launch an auction to sell Butlin’s portion of the business. Last month, the U.K.’s biggest private pension fund, the Universities Superannuation Scheme, said it was buying Butlin’s underlying real estate for £300 million.
Noble acquires 14-asset portfolio: Noble Investment Group, Atlanta, Georgia, has acquired a 14-asset Marriott, Hilton, and Hyatt portfolio and will invest in physical enhancements across the portfolio while optimizing operations to increase profitability and boost market share. Since 2Q21, Noble has invested over US$1.5 billion across the U.S. in 40 hotels with 6,000 rooms. The acquisition of these premium branded hotels is aligned with the company’s strategy to invest in well-located assets in high-growth markets with healthy business and leisure demand. In February, Host Hotels & Resorts acquired a 49% interest in Noble Investment Group with the stated goal of leveraging their respective platforms/expertise on asset management, renovation, and investment opportunities.
Oxford Capital recapitalizes Godfrey Hollywood: Oxford Capital Group, Chicago, Illinois, has recapitalized its construction debt and equity at The Godfrey Hotel Hollywood, its newest hotel in California, including senior debt from Alliance Bernstein and preferred equity from Related Fund Management. The hotel will continue to be sponsored and managed by Oxford Capital Group and Oxford Hotels & Resorts, respectively. The 220-key luxury lifestyle hotel which opened in August 2021, is Oxford’s 10th property in California and the 12thin the western region.
Left Lane acquires Mansion on Forsyth Park: Left Lane, New York City, has acquired The Mansion on Forsyth Park in Savannah, Georgia, for US$52.5 million from hotelier Richard Kessler of the Orlando, Florida-based Kessler Collection. Left Lane will undertake a multi-million-dollar renovation and expansion of the 126-key hotel. Once completed, the property will comprise 149 rooms, the main restaurant, club bar and lounge, pool restaurant and bar, spa, lobby bar, retail spaces, and multiple event spaces.
Early planning stage projects soar in Latin America: The construction pipeline in the Latin American region stands at 555 projects/90,496 rooms in 2Q22, with the early planning stage of the pipeline being the only stage with growth, up 43% by projects and 26% by rooms YOY, as per Lodging Econometrics. In the first half of the year, 40 projects/8,481 rooms began construction in the region. New project announcements in Q2 2022 rose 57% by projects YOY at 36 projects/6,208 rooms. There are 254 projects/46,670 rooms currently under construction, while projects scheduled to start construction in the next 12 months are at 158 projects/23,371 rooms, and projects in early planning are at 143 projects/20,455 rooms.
Top 5 LatAm countries leading construction pipeline:
Mexico – 211 projects/34,509 rooms
Brazil – 89 projects/14,471 rooms
Peru – 29 projects/3,669 rooms
Dominican Republic – 24 projects/5,563 rooms
Columbia – 19 projects/2,936 rooms
Top 5 LatAm cities with largest pipelines:
Mexico City, Mexico – 26 projects/3,371 rooms
Guadalajara, Mexico – 21 projects/2,595 rooms
Cancun, Mexico – 19 projects/8,379 rooms
Lima, Peru – 18 projects/2,567 rooms
Sao Paulo, Brazil – 11 projects/2,101 rooms
Top LatAm franchise companies:
Marriott International – 105 projects/17,559 rooms
Hilton – 100 projects/14,166 rooms
Accor – 80 projects/10,274 rooms
IHG – 59 projects/6,828 rooms
Choice Hotels launches Direct Pay: Choice Hotels International, Rockville, Maryland, has launched Choice Direct Pay program, a direct invoicing option that streamlines billing and booking process for corporate travelers. The program allows corporate customers to make reservations at multiple Choice hotels with their company being billed directly through a single, centralized invoice. The program enables business travelers to make a single payment for all stays at all hotels through weekly consolidated invoicing, add project costs and department codes to bills, access to their existing negotiated and chainwide rates by entering their Choice-issued CID, search for participating hotels and book through their preferred channel, and more.