GREEN LIGHT FOR THE CORDISH COMPANIES’ LOUISIANA CASINO PLANS: The Cordish Companies has received the green light to become a casino operator in Bossier City, La. The Louisiana Gaming Control Board has unanimously granted the approvals needed to become a gaming operator in the state to LRGC Gaming Investors, LCC, an affiliate of The Cordish Companies. With this, Cordish can finalize the acquisition of Diamond Jacks Casino & Hotel in Bossier City and start its over $270 million transformation into a Live! Branded casino resort and entertainment destination. The redevelopment will include the construction of the first land-based casino in the Shreveport-Bossier market. Besides renovating the hotel’s rooms and public spaces, Cordish will build a new, land-based casino to replace the existing casino riverboat. Live! Casino & Hotel Louisiana is slated to open in 2025. The gaming, dining and hotel destination will have an upscale 550-key hotel, resort pool and fitness center, over 47,000 square feet of gaming space including more than 1,000 slots and electronic table games and over 40 live action table games, a 25,000-square-foot event center and 30,000 square feet of dining entertainment venues including over six dining options.
HILTON’S LXR TO OPEN IN ITALY: Hilton will introduce its luxury LXR Hotels & Resorts brand in Italy and has signed a franchise agreement with Paval Holding and Apex Alliance to open a hotel alongside Lake Garda in northern Italy’s Gardone. Grand Hotel Gardone Lake Garda, LXR Hotels & Resorts will open in 2026, following a multi-million-euro renovation of an existing property. The hotel’s interiors will be enhanced while the grand façade will be preserved. The hotel, owned by Lithuania-based Apex Alliance and Romanian Paval Holding, will be managed by Apex Alliance Hotel Management. The hotel will offer 160 rooms, two signature restaurants, two bars, a spa with indoor and outdoor pools and fitness facilities once the renovations are completed. The hotel will also have 825 square meters of meeting space, including a ballroom with a terrace overlooking the lake. Most of the rooms will also offer lake views. The hotel first opened in 1884 and has been a landmark along the Gardone Riviera. Currently, Hilton has more than 40 trading and pipeline properties across Italy.
JV ACQUIRES TWO MARRIOTT HOTELS IN TEXAS: A joint venture of NewcrestImage, Dabu Group and Preeminent Hotels has acquired ownership and operation of two Marriott-branded hotels — the 90-key Courtyard and the 90-suite Residence Inn — in The Woodlands, close to Houston. Both the hotels will undergo comprehensive renovations in 2024 and remain open during the process. The Courtyard has an onsite fine dining restaurant, Starbucks coffee shop, fitness center, indoor pool and a business center. The Residence Inn includes suites with fully-equipped kitchens, an indoor pool, tennis courts, a gym and BBQ grills.
ME BY MELIÁ LAUNCHES IN ASIA PACIFIC: ME by Meliá, the brand by Meliá Hotels, will soon make its debut in the Asia Pacific market. The Spanish hotel company has signed an agreement with Guangzhou Aocheng Investment Co. Ltd. for ME Guangzhou. Located at Guangzhou Macau Place, within the Guangzhou International Financial City-Huangpu Bay Business Circle, the hotel is expected to open in 2027. The hotel will have 120 rooms and suites, several dining venues, event spaces, a spa and a fitness center. At present, ME by Meliá has properties in destinations like London, Madrid, Barcelona, Dubai, Ibiza, etc. The brand will open three more hotels by the end of this year and three more in 2024 in Spain, Malta and Mexico.
OKAMI HOTELS TO ACQUIRE RESORT HOTELS: Okami Hotels, the Spanish investment and operating platform, will be acquiring resort hotels in the Balearic Islands and Catalonia. This comes after three years of managing and selling properties for its clients. The independent company has been operating the Spanish and Portuguese market, with more than 1,000 rooms under management this year, €45 million ($47.42 million) in CAPEX and leading deals for clients worth €100 million ($105.38 million) in the past 18 months. With this initiative, Okami will explore new markets, assets and partners and expects to attract good investments next year.