DELAWARE NORTH ACQUIRES BW IN ARIZONA: Delaware North, the Buffalo, N.Y.-based hospitality and entertainment group, has acquired the Best Western Premier Grand Canyon Squire Inn in Tusayan, Ariz. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The 322-room hotel and resort will be renamed the Squire Resort at the Grand Canyon and will remain affiliated with the Best Western Premier brand before transitioning to the Best Western Signature Collection later this year. This is the second hotel to be operated by Delaware North near or in Grand Canyon National Park. Along with the hotel, the resort includes five dining options, banquet space, indoor and outdoor pools and a fitness center.
MERCURE OPENS IN CAIRNS: Accor has opened a Mercure-branded hotel in Cairns in Australia’s North Queensland. The new hotel follows a multimillion-dollar upgrade and rebrand of the former ibis Styles Cairns and consists of 75 rooms, a pool deck and a new restaurant. Mercure Cairns has been designed by Australian designer Scott Carver. Mercure has 55 properties located across key metropolitan and leisure destinations in the country.
ACCOR SIGNS FAIRMONT IN INDIA: Accor has grown its Fairmont Hotels & Resorts portfolio in India with the signing of Fairmont Shimla Fagu in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, in partnership with RTM Hotels Pvt. Ltd. The new-build property will open in 2026 and will be constructed on a 2.5-acre hilltop plot of land. The 105-key hotel will be the fourth Indian property. Once open, the property will feature 5,500 square feet of event space, an indoor pool and spa and multiple dining venues. Accor currently operates 430 properties, totaling more than 93,008 keys, across India, the Middle East, Africa and Turkey, with additional 192 properties, totaling 41,230 keys, in the pipeline.
CHOICE EXPANDS SAFE STAYS BY RELOSHARE LOCATIONS: Rockville, Md.-based Choice Hotels International, Inc. has expanded its commitment to the Safe Stays by ReloShare alliance with the addition of Radisson Hotels Americas. Choice had acquired Radisson Hotels Americas in August 2022. In February 2022, Choice partnered with Safe Stays by ReloShare, a program and booking platform which provides emergency accommodation to victims of abuse, human trafficking and violence. With the addition of Radisson Hotels Americas, more than 90% of Choice Hotels properties in the U.S. can now be booked on the ReloShare platform. As of January 10, more than 6,000 hotels in Choice’s U.S. portfolio have been activated with ReloShare.
GLOBAL HOTEL ALLIANCE BECOMES GLO FOUNDING MEMBER: Global Hotel Alliance, the U.A.E.-based alliance of independent hotel brands, has become a founding member of the U.K.-headquartered Global Loyalty Organisation (GLO), the new international loyalty entity. Launched this month, GLO is a global network of specialists in loyalty, rewards, consumer engagement and loyalty innovation, bringing together companies across travel, hospitality, finance, retail and technology. As a founding member, Global Hotel Alliance will bring in international experience to the network with the help of its loyalty program, GHA Discovery, expanding to over 23 million members globally since it was launched in December 2021. Head of Product at Global Hotel Alliance Kristi Gole has been appointed an advisory board member of GLO.