A quick roundup of global hospitality news.
IHG’S NEW DUAL-BRANDED HOTEL NEAR CHICAGO: IHG Hotels & Resorts has opened a new dual-branded Holiday Inn and Staybridge Suites property in the Chicago suburb, Rosemont III. Holiday Inn and Staybridge Suites O’Hare Airport comprises 284 rooms — 139 Holiday Inn and 145 Staybridge Suites — across nine floors and is the first in the U.S. to feature Holiday Inn’s refreshed and modernized H5 room design concepts. The hotel is owned by Gateway Investment Partners and is managed by Hostmark Hospitality Group. The hotel’s guests can access shared common areas and facilities, which include a restaurant, an indoor pool, a fitness center, an outdoor patio and grills and more than 9,000 square feet of event space. This property marks the newest addition to IHG’s dual-branded hotel portfolio, following the recent opening of voco hotels and Holiday Inn in Chicago’s Downtown Wolf Point area. Currently, IHG has roughly 800 open or pipeline Holiday Inn hotels in its Americas portfolio, while the group’s Staybridge Suites Americas portfolio includes over 400 opened hotels and/or in the pipeline.
JW MARRIOTT OPENS IN FLORIDA: JW Marriott has opened its latest hotel — JW Marriott Clearwater Beach Resort & Spa in Clearwater Beach, Fla. Located along a secluded stretch of the beach, the luxury, beachside hotel offers 162 rooms and 36 residences with views of the Gulf of Mexico. This is the brand’s first beachfront property to be designed ground up. The hotel includes multiple dining venues, a full-service spa, a fitness center, children’s cub, a rooftop pool deck and more than 20,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor event space. Part of Marriott Bonvoy’s global portfolio of 20 hotel brands, JW Marriott has over 100 hotels across more than 35 countries.
KIMPTON ANNOUNCES SECOND HOTEL IN NYC: Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants, part of IHG Hotels & Resorts’ luxury and lifestyle portfolio, will open its second hotel in New York City with the opening of a new boutique hotel. Slated to open this fall, Kimpton Hotel Theta will be located in the city’s Theater District. The hotel is an adaptive reuse of an existing mixed-use hotel and was initially imagined by Morris Lapidus. The reimagined, 15-story hotel will offer 364 rooms, including five suites, a 3,200-square-foot rooftop restaurant by TableOne Hospitality, a grab-and-go market and coffee service in the lobby and 1,100 square feet of meeting space. Kimpton Hotel Theta will be operated by Highgate. Currently, there are more than 70 Kimptons open globally and over 25 more hotels are expected to pen in three to five years across 20 new destinations.
EARTH HOTELS ANNOUNCES FIRST HOTEL IN UAE: Dubai-based Earth Hotels will open the first GCC-based properties, Earth Shore, Marjan Island in Ras Khaimah in the U.A.E. in Q1 2025. The new project will span 300,000 square feet and offer 265 rooms, including resort rooms, terrace suites and two-bedroom villas. The property will have direct beachfront access, a 13,000-square-foot social hub and a signature beach club with a dining and event space that can accommodate up to 500 persons. Earth Hotels’ first opening will be the Earth La Revolucao in Porto, Portugal, in late 2024, followed by the 265-key Earth Shore, Marjan Island, in the U.A.E. in 2025. The company plans to expand in the U.A.E. and Saudi Arabia in the next two to three years.
YOO SIGNS HOTEL IN PHUKET: YOO, the residential and hospitality design brand, has signed an agreement with Thai developer World Corp. to bring the luxury By YOO Residences and upper upscale YOO2 Hotel to Phuket, Thailand, in partnership with the hotel management company, La Vie Hotels & Resorts. La Vie will operate both hotels. Located in the tropical forest at the southern end of Patong Beach, the Forest by YOO will be a design-led lifestyle hotel. The hotel is designed by London-based YOO Design Studio and is expected to open in 2026. The By YOO villa residences will have 131 fully serviced private units and will include a clubhouse with a restaurant, bar, pool deck, gym and wellness facilities. The YOO2 hotel will offer a spa and wellness center, gym and children’s club.