A quick roundup of global hospitality news.
HOLIDAY INN OPENS IN PHILADELPHIA: IHG Hotels & Resorts has opened a new Holiday Inn property in South Philadelphia following a conversion and renovation. Located close to the Philadelphia International Airport, a round, high-rise building was converted to open as the 206-room Holiday Inn Philadelphia Airport – Stadium Area. The hotel features a restaurant, business center and over 10,000 square feet of space for events. IHG partnered with owner and manager Watermark Hospitality Group for the renovation, conversion and reopening of the hotel. The New Jersey-based family-owned hotelier has a portfolio of 15 hotels across the mid-Atlantic and northeast U.S. This is Watermark’s first IHG-branded property. Holiday Inn’s portfolio currently comprises around 800 open or in-pipeline hotels and joins four more IHG-branded hotels in Philadelphia city.
OUTRIGGER ADDS KAUA’I BEACH RESORT: Outrigger Resorts & Hotels has added Kaua’i Beach Resort & Spa to its portfolio in its home market of Hawaii. The resort will be rebranded as OUTRIGGER Kaua’i Beach Resort & Spa. Located in Līhu’e, the resort spans 25 acres of beachfront property and offers 350 rooms with ocean views. The resort includes a spa, onsite dining options, four swimming pools, a fitness center and events and meetings space. This acquisition is a significant part of Outrigger’s expansion strategy and establishes its presence in the four biggest Hawaiian Islands. The resort, previously under Outrigger’s management in the 1990s, has now returned to the company’s portfolio. Outrigger plans to enhance the property.
HILTON TO INSTALL 20,000 TESLA CHARGERS: Hilton will install up to 20,000 Tesla Universal Wall Connectors through an extended agreement with Tesla. Beginning early next year, these connectors will be installed at 2,000 hotels across the U.S., Canada and Mexico, making Hilton’s planned EV charging network one of the biggest among hospitality companies. Hilton is set to have at least six chargers at each of the selected hotels. Tesla’s Universal Wall Connector was recently launched to charge ant North American vehicle model. According to Hilton, there has been an increase in travelers looking for hotels which offer EV charging facilities. In 2023, Hilton.com’s EV charging attribute had the fastest volume of growth to-date, rising from fourth to second highest in converting searches to stays.
HOTEL INDIGO EXPANDS EUROPEAN PORTFOLIO: IHG Hotels & Resorts has expanded its European Luxury & Lifestyle collection by adding six Hotel Indigo properties to its portfolio. The six additions include the 100-room Hotel Indigo Bordeaux in France (to open this autumn), the 107-room Hotel Indigo Trieste – Palazzo Kalister (to open in 2025), the 160-key Hotel Indigo Florence (to open later this year) and 50-room Hotel Indigo Turin (to open later this year) in Italy; 78-room Hotel Indigo Jerez in Spain (to open in 2025) and 127-room Hotel Indigo Faro in Portugal (to open in mid-2025). These signings are the latest milestone in the growth of the Hotel Indigo brand, which has 145 open hotels and 128 more in the pipeline worldwide.
LOCALE MIDTOWN PHOENIX OPENS: Locale, the apartment-style hotel brand management company and The Dinerstein Companies, the real estate and development company, have expanded their partnership with the launch of Locale Midtown Phoenix. The property offers 27 upscale furnished apartments for short and extended stays in the Aspire Park Central residential community. Located close to Creighton University and St Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center, the rooms have fully-equipped kitchens, in-unit washer-dryers and self-check-in. The property features a resort-style pool, fitness center and a sky deck that offers views of downtown Phoenix. The launch follows the partnership’s recent project in Nashville, Locale The Gulch, which transformed the fifth floor of Aspire Gulch, Dinerstein’s luxury residential building, into upscale apartment-style rental accommodations. Having joined hands in 2016, the two partners have launched eight properties, with plans to add more in 2024.