HI Express in Washington sells: The Holiday Inn Express & Suites in Everett, Washington, sold for US$17 million (US$171,717 per key), according to property records. The 99-room hotel was acquired by an entity affiliated with NITSI, Redmond, Washington, and was sold by an entity associated with EKOB.
Nobu adds in Abu Dhabi: Nobu Hospitality, Miami Beach, Florida, in partnership with the U.A.E.-based Aldar Properties, has announced plans to add a Nobu Hotel, Restaurant and Residences in Abu Dhabi, the U.A.E. Scheduled to open on Saadiyat Island in 2026, Nobu Hotel will feature 165 rooms and suites, including a Nobu Villa. The Nobu-branded residences will offer multi-bedroom waterfront residences and penthouses with views of Guggenheim Abu Dhabi.
Fayetteville Avid Hotel sells: Khair Management, led by Shahid Sheikh, has acquired the 82-room Avid Hotel in Fayetteville, North Carolina, for US$9.6 million. The seller was Donda Investment, led by Minesh Patel and Vibha Patel. The hotel sits on 3.2 acres of land. Academy Bank in Kansas City, Missouri, provided a loan worth over US$7.7 million for the acquisition. The Patels acquired the property as land in 2018 for US$750,000.
Lemon Tree signs in India: New Delhi, India-based Lemon Tree Hotels, in partnership with Parikh Inn Pvt. Ltd., has signed a 42-key hotel in Jamshedpur, India. The hotel is scheduled to open by September 2023 and will be managed by Carnation Hotels, Lemon Tree’s fully-owned subsidiary and management arm. Lemon Tree has signed four hotels in November and 15 properties this fiscal. The company has 8,400 rooms across 87 hotels in 52 destinations. When its pipeline becomes operational, Lemon Tree will have around 11,150 rooms in 120 hotels across 75 destinations in India and abroad.
Roseate to develop at Noida airport: Roseate Hotels and Resorts, owned by New Delhi, India-based Bird Group, has won the bid to open the first airport hotel at the upcoming greenfield Noida International Airport, located near New Delhi. The luxury hotel will feature 220 rooms, banquet, dining and wellness areas. The construction of the airport’s first phase is underway and is expected to be completed by September 2024. The Bird Group operates six properties in India and the U.K.
Big scale projects dominate Middle East: Larger scale projects dominate the Middle Eastern hotel construction pipeline at the end of the third quarter, with an average of 252 rooms per project, according to the Lodging Econometrics. About 72% of the region’s pipeline is concentrated in the luxury, upscale and upscale chain scales, which mostly comprise bigger-scale projects. Hotel construction pipeline across the Middle East stands at 535 projects/134,897 rooms. There were 320 projects/87,149 rooms projects under construction. Projects scheduled to start construction in the next 12 months stood at 87 projects/21,713 rooms, up 12% and 16% respectively YOY. Projects in the early planning stage are 128 projects/26,035 rooms. A total of 47 new hotels, totaling 11,011 rooms, opened through the third quarter in the region.
Top 5 Middle Eastern countries with highest pipelines:
Saudi Arabia – 210 projects/57,912 rooms
The U.A.E. – 114 projects/31,096 rooms
Egypt – 75 projects/16,784 rooms
Qatar – 67 projects/accounting for 15,110 rooms
Oman – 29 projects/6,438 rooms.
Top 5 Middle Eastern cities with highest pipelines:
Provincial region – 76 projects/15,298 rooms
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – 61 projects/12,430 rooms
Doha, Qatar – 55 projects/12,789 rooms
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia – 42 projects/8,956 rooms
Makkah, Saudi Arabia – 31 projects/21,228 rooms
Top 5 franchise companies with highest pipelines:
Hilton Worldwide – 96 projects/24,129 rooms
Marriott International – 79 projects/22,093 rooms
Accor – 79 projects/18,384 rooms
IHG – 52 projects/12,353 rooms
Emaar Hospitality Group – 20 projects/5,048 rooms
Cadogan acquires Draycott Hotel: Cadogan has acquired The Draycott Hotel in London’s Chelsea area from Draycott Holdings Ltd. Managed by Mantis Collection, the 35-key hotel will undergo a sensitive restoration before reopening as The Chelsea Townhouse and will be operated by Iconic Luxury Hotels. The existing owners and management team of the hotel will continue to operate till January 5, 2023, after which the operation and staff will be transferred to Iconic Luxury Hotels. Iconic Luxury already operates two more Cadogan properties — 11 Cadogan Gardens and The Apartments at 20 Cadogan Gardens in Chelsea. Built in 1890, the Victorian building consists of three red-brick townhouses on Cadogan Gardens. JLL and DMH Stallard served as advisors to the former owners, while Cadogan was advised by Cripps.