Fairmont gains an icon: Fairmont Hotels & Resorts and ESJ Resort have announced that Fairmont will assume the management of El San Juan Hotel in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The property will be rebranded as the Fairmont El San Juan Hotel from its current Curio Collection by Hilton affiliation. The hotel reopened in December 2018 following a US$65 million restoration.
Hyatt to Finland: Hyatt Hotels Corp. has entered into a franchise agreement with Primehotels Oy for the first Hyatt property in Finland. Expected to open in 2022, the 224-room Grand Hansa Hotel will become the first The Unbound Collection by Hyatt property in the Nordics as the brand enjoys continued momentum across Europe. Grand Hansa Hotel will become the eighth addition to The Unbound Collection by Hyatt portfolio in Europe.
Barceló’s new management co.: Barceló Hotel Group and Tunisian company UFI Group have signed an agreement to create a new hotel management company: Barceló Caravel. This joint venture was born with the vision to become a leader in the Tunisian hotel sector. Barceló Caravel will open its portfolio with a six 4- and 5-star business and leisure hotels and 1,485 rooms distributed across Tunisia.
Crescent adds airport hotel: The 443-room Marriott LaGuardia Airport Hotel in New York City is now being managed by Crescent Hotels & Resorts, Fairfax, Virginia.
Davidson adds to Pivot brand: Davidson Hotels & Resorts is adding the King Charles Inn in Charleston, South Carolina, to its portfolio. Operated by Pivot Hotels & Resorts, Davidson’s lifestyle and luxury vertical, the 91-room boutique hotel is located in the downtown Historic District. Beginning in 2020, the property will undergo a transformation that will include renovations to all guestrooms and public spaces as well as a rebranding to support the elevated repositioning. This marks the second property in Charleston for Davidson.
London-based JV rolling: Dutch pensions group APG and London Central Portfolio (LCP) have acquired its first asset for a newly formed London hotels investment venture. The all-suite lifestyle hotels joint venture has paid an undisclosed sum to acquire the Harrington Hall Hotel in South Kensington, which will act as a cornerstone for a new lifestyle brand of all-suite hotels which will be located in key micro-markets across prime central London. The new property is expected to open in Spring 2022.
Atom grows in Spain: Atom Hotels has confirmed the €67.4 million (US$75 million) acquisition of two hotels owned by Meeting Point Hotelmanagement: The 384-room Labranda Hotel Isla Bonita, on the Adeje Coast, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, and the 125-room Labranda Hotel Rivera Marina, on the “Playa del Cura”, Las Palmas on Gran Canarias. This sale and lease back transaction enables the group to remain as an operator and lessee under the brand Labranda Hotels & Resorts. A €32 million (US$36 million) renovation of the two properties is scheduled to start after the New Year. With this operation, Atom Hotels portfolio totals 26 hotels and resorts, representing 6,316 rooms and a total asset value of over €656 million US$731 million).
Geolo’s finance vertical: Geolo Capital, the private equity investment arm of the John Pritzker family office, announced the launch of a new hospitality finance vertical with the closing of two investment deals, Alila Marea in Encinitas, California, and Kimpton Buckhead in Atlanta, Georgia. Following Geolo’s sale of Two Roads Hospitality to Hyatt Hotels Corp., the company is now expanding its investment parameters with its new structured finance vertical which will deploy mezzanine and preferred equity investments in leading hospitality projects across both urban gateways and resort destinations.
Vancouver deal: PHI Hotel Group has acquired the 382-room Pacific Gateway Hotel, Vancouver Airport located on Sea Island Richmond, just minutes from Vancouver International Airport. Amenities include close to 25,000 sq. feet of meeting and function space, a 158-slip marina on a nearly 5-acre waterfront on the Fraser River, several food and beverage options, including waterfront dining at The Deck Kitchen + Bar.
Dallas property trades: NewcrestImage has expanded its portfolio by acquiring the 148-room SpringHill Suites by Marriott on Lamar Street in the heart of the West End Historic District of downtown Dallas. The company will now operate four hotels and almost 600 rooms in downtown Dallas. The three other properties are a dual-brand 128-room AC Hotel and 121-room Residence Inn, and a 176-room Hampton Inn & Suites.
Midas grows in Oklahoma: Midas Hospitality, St. Louis, Missouri, has added two Oklahoma hotels to its management operations – the 107-room Hilton Garden Inn and the 99-room Homewood Suites in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. Midas Hospitality also manages an Aloft in Tulsa, Oklahoma and the Hampton Inn in Duncan, Oklahoma. Midas Hospitality currently manages 11 hotels for various ownership groups, as well as owns and manages 27 throughout the Midwest and southern states.
South Korea outbound impressive: The South Korean outbound tourism market has overtaken India in international departures to emerge as the second highest outbound travelers’ destination from the Asia Pacific region, says GlobalData, a data and analytics company. International departures from China dominate the total outbound travelers from the APAC region; Data reveals that 28.7 million outbound travel trips occurred from South Korea in 2018, which is a major increase from 22.4 million in 2016. It is forecast to reach 54.4 million by 2023.