Cross adds ninth: Cross Hotels & Resorts, Bangkok, Thailand, has signed a management agreement for a riverfront property in Bangkok with Kene Hotel Bangkok Co. Ltd. The 169-key Away Bangkok Riverside Kene will be the ninth addition to Cross’ portfolio this year. Cross’ portfolio includes over 27 hotels under five brands across Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand and Japan.
IHG signs 5 conversion deals: IHG Hotels & Resorts has signed a multi-property development agreement with France’s Grape Hospitality for five conversion properties totaling 810 rooms in key destinations across Europe. The properties include voco Madrid Centre Retiro (the first voco hotel in Spain); three Hotel Indigos (in Florence, Italy; Bordeaux, France; and Barcelona, Spain) and Crowne Plaza Madrid Centre Retiro. The Hotel Indigo brand now has 40 open hotels in Europe with 19 more in the pipeline, while voco has grown to 15 open properties in Europe following the recent opening of voco Dusseldorf Seestern and voco Venice Mestre – The Quid. Crowne Plaza has 88 open hotels in Europe, including a recently opened property in Budapest.
NewcrestImage JV acquires BW Plus: A joint venture of NewcrestImage, Dabu Hotels and Countrywide Hospitality has acquired The Best Western Plus in Page, Arizona. The 130-key hotel will be operated by Terrapin Hospitality. NewcrestImage has now added 77 hotels totaling 8,000 rooms since March. In September alone, the Dallas, Texas-based company added 60 Marriott-branded hotels with around 5,500 rooms across 19 states.
Tivoli Hotels debuts in Spain: Tivoli Hotels & Resorts has announced its debut in Spain with the upcoming launch of Tivoli La Caleta Resort in Tenerife, Canary Islands. The resort, which is closed and undergoing refurbishments, will reopen in spring 2023 and will offer 284 rooms, including 20 suites. Tivoli will continue its collaboration with Portuguese chef Olivier de Costa to develop and implement new concepts. The brand currently has 16 properties across four countries.
RADCO acquires in Florida: The RADCO Companies has acquired three new hotels in the Gulf of Mexico resort community of Panama City, Florida, at an undisclosed price. The properties include a Hampton Inn, Home2 Suites and an adjacent Fairfield Inn & Suites. All three properties will be managed by LBA Hospitality. The properties add 281 Marriott and Hilton rooms to RADCO’s Hospitality Division. Hospitality Real Estate Counselors served as brokers for the Home2 Suites and Fairfield Inn hotels, while Hunter Hotel Advisors brokered the Hampton Inn deal. One of the acquired properties opened in 2021, while the rest two will undergo minor renovations. RADCO will make more capital and operational improvements to all the properties, as part of its value-add strategy. RADCO created a hotel division in 2021 in response to the operational and capital markets disruptions in the hospitality sector caused due to the pandemic.
Hyatt Place El Segundo sells: JLL’s Hotels & Hospitality Group has closed the US$49 million sale of the Hyatt Place Los Angeles/ LAX/ El Segundo in El Segundo, California. JLL represented the seller, Washington Holdings, and procured the buyer, El Segundo-headquartered Welcome Group. The 143-key, select-service hotel was sold unencumbered by management. It was renovated in 2020. The JLL team was led by Senior Managing Director John Strauss, Managing Director James Stockdale and Executive Vice President Melvin Chu.
Streetsense acquires Pure Grey: Streetsense, an experience-based strategy and design group, has acquired Pure Grey, Marriott International’s in-house F&B concept and operations consultancy. Pure Grey, which delivers experiences across all hospitality segments and licenses its own restaurant brands globally, has developed restaurants and bars like Revel & Rye at the New York Marriott Marquis, Laurel Brasserie & Bar at The Grand America Hotel, Spice Market at Live Aqua San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, and launched the Market Kitchen brand at the W Algarve, Portugal. Pure Grey has also helped Marriott revamp its dining strategy after the merger with Starwood Hotels & Resorts. Streetsense has appointed Ed Viita, Pure Grey’s senior director, as its new managing director of hospitality.