Mandarin Oriental adds in London: Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group is growing its presence in London with this winter’s opening of the Mandarin Oriental Mayfair, London in Hanover Square. The hotel comprises 50 rooms and 78 private residences, an urban spa and will also feature the first namesake Akira Back restaurant in the U.K. from Michelin Star winning Chef Akira Back along with his ‘ABar Lounge’ concept. Mandarin Oriental Mayfair, London is designed by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, with Tokyo-based studio, Curiosity, creating the interior design of the hotel’s public spaces. The guest rooms and suites have been designed by U.K.-based Studio Indigo.
Anantara grows Thailand portfolio: Anantara Hotels, Resorts & Spas is growing its presence in Thailand with the addition of the 148-room Anantara Koh Yao Yai Resort in Koh Yao Yai island, which is located in the middle of Phang Nga Bay. Developed in partnership with Soraya Development, the resort is expected to open in December. The property will feature one kilometer of beach against limestone formations with one- and two-bedroom beachfront pool villas. The suites with ocean views are housed in four low-rise buildings and will overlook a freeform swimming pool. Eight 366 square meter penthouses will span two floors and include a glass bottom swimming pool.
Mohr Capital’s first hospitality acquisition: Mohr Capital, Dallas, Texas, has acquired the 350-key Doubletree by Hilton Austin in Austin, Texas, from an undisclosed international global real estate investment firm for an undisclosed price. The acquisition marks the privately held real estate investment company’s first investment in the hospitality sector. Mohr Capital will invest US$11 million for the renovations. HEI Hotels & Resorts, Norwalk, Connecticut, will manage the hotel. Hodges Ward Elliott Managing Director John Bourret and Director Austin Brooks represented the seller.
US performance update: Hotel performance in the U.S. improved from the previous week, as per STR’s latest data through May 14.
- Occupancy: 66.5% (-5.9%)
- ADR: US$148.31 (+10.5%)
- RevPAR: US$98.59 (+4.1%)
Among the Top 25 Markets, Phoenix witnessed the highest occupancy increase over 2019 (+4.5% to 73.8%), while Philadelphia saw the largest occupancy decline (-19.6% to 64.8%). Miami recorded the highest ADR increase (+62.8% to US$282.26). The steepest RevPAR deficits were in San Francisco (-29.5% to US$158.08) and Boston(-26.1% to US$158.25).
Record highs in China’s construction pipeline: At 3,711 projects/704,101 rooms, the construction pipeline in China touched a record high in projects and room counts with a growth of 8% by projects and 7% by rooms YOY, revealed Lodging Econometrics. China has 2,623 projects/477,245 rooms under construction, both at record highs, and up 11% and 12% YOY, respectively. Projects expected to start construction within the next 12 months stand at 504 projects/96,054 rooms. Projects and rooms in the early planning stage surged 26% and 17% YOY, respectively, and stand at 584 projects/130,802 rooms at the end of Q1 2022. The record highs can be attributed to the large number of hotel projects returning after construction previous postponements. Chengdu led China’s pipeline with 143 projects/29,276 rooms, followed by Shanghai (with 123 projects/23,617 rooms), Guangzhou (118 projects/24,372 rooms), Hangzhou (100 projects/21,069 rooms) and Wuhan (94 projects/12,887 rooms). Franchise companies topping China’s construction pipeline are Hilton, hitting a record high by projects, with 675 projects/123,855 rooms, InterContinental Hotels Group (443 projects/91,569 rooms), Marriott International (393 projects/104,785 rooms), Accor (201 projects/36,909 rooms) and Jin Jiang Holdings (187 projects/18,529 rooms). LE projected opening of 817 new hotels with 124,951 rooms throughout the year, while in 2023, 893 new hotels with 142,285 rooms are forecast to open.
All-inclusive sector trends: The all-inclusive resort sector has seen a dramatic transformation in the past two decades, with traditional hotel brands foraying into this space and opening up luxury and upper upscale offerings, showed JLL’s latest report ‘Americas All-Inclusive Resort Sector Trends & Outlook.’ All-inclusive resorts in Mexico and the Dominican Republic are averaging an occupancy recovery of 77% on a March TTM basis compared to 2019, the report revealed. Newer travel experiences, due to the pandemic, need for a hassle-free vacation with very little planning, a destination with a wellness factor and absence of travel restrictions and quarantine measures drove the popularity of these resorts. Luxury and upper upscale all-inclusive resorts were also driven by consumer demand for high-quality experiences and stress-free trips. All-inclusive resorts proved to be an opportunity for traditional EP hotel brands, with more and more hotel operators adopting a multi-brand model for a wider demand base. Institutional hotel brands have aggressively entered into this space through mergers & acquisitions, strategic partnerships and brand extensions, which indicates investor optimism. As per the report, with more brands entering this sector, they are likely to follow the groundwork laid out by Apple Leisure Group, which was acquired by Hyatt in 2021 and was one of the first “all-in-one” vertically integrated platforms. “This created a self-contained ecosystem which was able to generate demand via owned booking channels and then service that demand in its managed all-inclusive resorts,” the report said.