IHG STRENGTHENS PRESENCE IN VIETNAM: IHG Hotels & Resorts is diversifying its portfolio in Vietnam and will be launching two of its Luxury & Lifestyle brands – Hotel Indigo and Vignette Collection – in the country this year as part of its expansion strategy. The opening of Hotel Indigo Saigon The City in Ho Chi Minh City will see the introduction of Hotel Indigo, while Vignette Collection will debut in Vietnam with an upcoming hotel in Hoi An. IHG has been strengthening its presence in Vietnam and launched voco hotels in Danang in 2023. The hospitality company is also set to open InterContinental Halong Bay Resort in Ha Long city (its first property in the area), followed by Holiday Inn Resort Halong Bay in 2026. IHG will also launch InterContinental in Thanh Xuan Valley within the city of Vinh Phuc in the next few years. Currently, IHG has 18 open hotels under six brands across the country, with 26 more properties in the pipeline. The group plans to more than double its existing portfolio by 2028.
EVERHOME SUITES ADDS THIRD LOCATION: Choice Hotels’ Everhome Suites brand has opened a hotel in Nampa, Idaho, marking the midscale extended-stay brand’s third opening. Everhome Suites Nampa Boise showcases the ‘Closer to Home’ prototype, which incorporates local community touches into signature spaces. The hotel features a Nampa mural, created by Jess Wagner. The four-story Everhome Nampa offers 122 rooms with fully-equipped kitchens and spa-style bathrooms, along with a multipurpose lobby, an outdoor area, a fitness center and guest laundry facilities. The hotel is located about 20 minutes outside of Boise and blocks away from Amazon’s new fulfilment center and the Ford Idaho Center. The hotel is the first out of the eight properties that Choice has developed in partnership with Denver-based Highside Companies. Everhome Suites is aiming to have more than 10 open hotels by 2025 and has over 60 properties under various stages of development.
ASHFORD COMPLETES REFI FOR NASHVILLE HOTEL’S MORTGAGE LOAN: Ashford Hospitality Trust, Inc. has closed on the refinancing of the mortgage loan for the 673-room Renaissance Hotel in Nashville, Tenn., which had a final maturity date in March 2026. The new $267.2 million non-recourse loan has a two-year initial term with three one-year extension options. The previous loan totaled $240 million and included the 296-room Westin Hotel in Princeton, N.J. As part of this refinancing, the Westin Princeton is now unencumbered and has been listed for sale by Ashford. The company will use the excess proceeds from the refinancing for general corporate purposes, including paying down its strategic financing.
FOUR SEASONS TO OPEN IN MADINAH: Four Seasons and Saudi Arabia-based Dar Al Omran Co. have unveiled plans to expand in the Middle East with the Four Seasons Hotel Madinah. Slated to open later this year, the new-build hotel is located close to the Al-Masjid an-Nabawi, also known as the Prophet’s Mosque. The hotel offers 246 rooms and suites, multiple dining options, a fitness center, spa and meeting and events area. The hotel’s architecture was led by HKS, with LE Design Group in charge of interior design of rooms and public spaces. AvroKO led interior design of the lobby, reception and dining venues. Waleed Sobhy has been appointed as the hotel’s general manager.