Nobu hotel debuts in Italy: Nobu Hospitality announced the launch of its first hotel and second restaurant in Italy. Slated to open in summer 2022, the Nobu Hotel and Restaurant Roma is a collaboration between Nobu Hospitality and Carlo Acampora, chairman and CEO Grand Hotel Via Veneto, which will see the transformation of the Grand Hotel into a Nobu property. The hotel will offer 122 rooms and suites, including a 500 square meter Nobu Suite, green rooftop terrace, indoor and outdoor meeting space, spa, fitness center, club lounge, and a restaurant offering round-the-clock in-room dining.
Accor signs stadium deal: Accor has signed a seven-year deal and won the naming rights for Stadium Australia in Sydney Olympic Park to begin the transition to Accor Stadium. The stadium, which opened in the run up to the 2000 Olympic & Paralympic Games, has a capacity to hold concerts for 100,000 people and more than 80,000 spectators for seated sporting events. The stadium will host the Australian national women’s football team against U.S. on November 27 and is set to feature giant LED screens at 1,200 square meters.
Vaccine mandate by hotel chain: Millennium and Copthorne Hotels New Zealand will require all visitors and guests entering its hotels, restaurants, bars or meeting venues to be vaccinated starting this Friday. Children below 12 are exempt from the mandates. All contractors and hotel-based staff are required to be fully vaccinated by January 17. The company will keep a check on people’s vaccination status through the COVID vaccine pass.
Four Seasons launches residences in Austin: Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts, Toronto, Canada; Austin Capital Partners, Cleveland, Ohio; and Hines, Houston, Texas, announced a new residential project — Four Seasons Private Residences Lake Austin in Austin, Texas. This will be Four Seasons’ first standalone residential project in Texas. While Four Seasons staff will manage the property’s luxury services, Hines will head the development team and manage the construction. The 145-acre property will consist of 179 residences located atop a hill above Lake Austin. All homes will have outdoor terraces and a floor-through experience, while some homes will have semi-private lobbies with only one other residence on the same floor. The property also includes an athletic center, clubhouse, private wellness, spa and beauty center, and a private lake oasis. Sales for the project began seven weeks ago.
Mission Hill acquires in South Carolina: Denver, Colorado-based Mission Hill Hospitality, a KSL Capital Partners portfolio company, announced the acquisition of the Hampton Inn in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, for an undisclosed amount. This is the 13th property in Mission Hill’s portfolio since it was launched earlier this year. The beachfront hotel comprises 228 rooms, including 52 suites, spread across two 14-story towers. Planned capital improvements include a refurbished lobby, guest rooms and enhanced F&B services. The hotel will continue to operate under the Hampton Inn brand and will be managed by LBA.
Madison, Wisconsin, hotel financed: Mortenson, Minneapolis, Minnesota, announced it has completed the financing and acquisition of the site for the Judge Doyle Square Hotel from the City of Madison, Wisconsin. The site will feature a 262-key Embassy Suites by Hilton, which is expected to open in early 2024. In collaboration with Kahler Slater, Vierbicher and Wild Muse, Mortenson will finalize permitting for the project over the next few years and plans to break ground in spring 2022.
IHG sells Even hotels: InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) has sold the 202-room Even Hotel in Brooklyn, New York, for US$29.7 million, as well as Even hotels in Rockville, Maryland, and Norwalk, Connecticut, to 6R Hospitality, New York City. IHG bought the Brooklyn property for US$19 million in 2013. All the three hotels will continue to operate under the Even Hotels brand, while Crescent Hotels & Resorts will manage them.
Sale of Hilton hotel in Texas: A limited liability company linked to Benchmark Pyramid’s office in Boston has acquired the 125-key Hilton Garden Inn in San Antonio, Texas, from an affiliate of the Columbia, Maryland-based Baywood Hotels. The 10-story hotel, which opened in 2018, holds an assessed value of US$12.5 million, as per the Bexar County Appraisal District. Benchmark Pyramid’s portfolio, as of September, comprises 210 properties across the U.S., Europe and the Caribbean, with more than US$3 billion in annual operating revenue under management. The newly merged company also manages the La Cantera Resort & Spa in Northwest San Antonio, which California-based Ohana Real Estate Investors acquired from USAA Real Estate Co. in June.
Marriott on Tucson tower?: Marriott International has reportedly signed to open a Tribute-branded boutique hotel on the first nine floors of One South Church building in Tucson, Arizona. Opwest Partners, Scottsdale, Arizona, is redeveloping the 35-year-old building, the tallest one in Tucson. Floors above the hotel will be available for office spaces, while negotiations are going on with potential restaurant owners for a restaurant with patio seating on the ground floor.
MacNaughton grows Hawaii portfolio: MacNughton, Honolulu, Hawaii, has acquired the 72-key Hotel Renew in Waikiki Beach, Hawaii. The hotel’s staff has been retained, with Carly Clement serving as the general manager. In 2019, MacNaughton acquired the Lotus Honolulu at Diamond Head hotel, located close to Hotel Renew. Along with ownership and operation of the Lotus Honolulu at Diamond Head and Hotel Renew, MacNaughton has ownership interests in several other hotels across Waikiki, elsewhere in Hawaii and in Vermont. Over the last four decades, MacNaughton has invested in, developed or consulted on approximately 50 assets, including over US$2 billion in residential sales, 3 million square feet of commercial GLA, and 2,000 hotel keys.
Sir George Hotel sold for A$14 million: Hotel operator and publican Fraser Short has acquired Sir George Hotel in Jugiong, Australia, for A$14 million (US$9.96 million) from mother-daughter duo Liz Prater and Kat Hufton. Short will take over charge of the hotel from February 2022. The purchase was brokered by Paul Fraser and Tom Gibson of CBRE Hotels. Built in 1845, the hotel was bought by Prater and Hufton in 2015 reportedly for A$550,000 (US$391,311) and consists of 11 luxury suites (eight ‘barn’ villas and three ‘stable suites’), bakery, restaurant and bar and a retail store. It also features a four-bedroom private residence located around the corner from the hotel. The deal represents a price-per-key record for regional NSW.
Global asset management report: With more operational complexities and absence of historical precedent, hotel owners should consider shifting their focus from RevPAR to total RevPAR to boost profitability in the long term, recommended the inaugural annual JLL Hotels & Hospitality Global Asset Management report. Forming a property’s labor strategy is a significant indicator for profitability, the report mentioned, adding that hotel companies should adopt COVID non-labor expense management techniques in the long term. Hotel companies should manage revenues across F&B and amenities outlets and plan to adopt extra charges similar to the airline industry’s model to survive extraordinary hikes in wages and inflation. Capital expenditure strategy of hoteliers should be balanced with short-term liquidity needs against long-term asset preservation goals, the report said.
Irish hotels report losses worth €90 million: Hotels in Ireland have reported over €90 million (US$101.74 million) in losses as companies across the country canceled events and gatherings reportedly over the last two weeks amid a surge in COVID-19 cases. Tourism officials have sought government aid for the country’s hospitality industry. According to the Irish Hotels Federation, in normal circumstances, December trading sustains the first few months of the next year. However, occupancy levels have stayed much lower than expectations, with hotel companies reporting occupancies of 35% for December and 14% for January-February. Hoteliers are calling for the retention of the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme and the Local Authority Rates Waiver, which will be discontinued from December 1 and January 1, 2022 respectively.