Four Seasons Okinawa: Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts and Berjaya Okinawa Development Co., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Malaysian group Berjaya Land Berhad, will develop a property on the island of Okinawa. The project will debut as part of the development’s master plan as Four Seasons Resort and Private Residences Okinawa. Comprising a total of 100 acres, the project is expected to take approximately four years to complete with a total development cost of US$400 million and estimated gross development value of US$1 billion.
Meet the new flagship NY Thompson: In one of the most significant hospitality transactions during the past few years in New York City, affiliates of Elliott Management Corporation and developer GFI Capital Resources Group have acquired The Parker New York which overlooks Central Park along the famed “Billionaires’ Row” corridor in Manhattan. The new owners have committed more than US$100 million to revitalize the hotel and will add a mix of new luxury residential condominium units, led by renowned designer Thomas Juul-Hansen, who will design the property’s interiors. GFI Capital has previously worked with Elliott in multiple instances including The Beekman, a Thompson Hotel, & Residences in Lower Manhattan. Hyatt will operate The Parker New York immediately as a Hyatt-affiliated hotel, while GFI Capital prepares the property for its full renovation expected to begin in 2020. The hotel will remain open during construction, and will be relaunched as the newest flagship Thompson Hotel in 2021.
Ashford also takes 1 in NY: Ashford Hospitality Trust is officially in business in New York City. The Dallas-based real estate investment trust has paid US$195 million to buy the newly built 310-room Embassy Suites by Hilton New York in the Garment District. It’s the firm’s first acquisition in the Big Apple. The 41-story hotel, co-developed by Hidrock Properties and the Buccini/Pollin Group, opened last year. AIG Global Real Estate owned the majority stake in the property.
More WoodSpprings on the way: Choice Hotels International has signed an agreement with CHECO Purchase Company, a subsidiary of Concord Hospitality, which has newly formed Common Oaks Lodging, to develop 27 new WoodSpring Suites hotels. The hotels will be built throughout Michigan and North Carolina, as well as in the metropolitan areas of Jacksonville, Florida and Nashville, Tennesee. The transaction comes on the heels of the brand’s record-setting growth year in 2018 where the WoodSpring Suites brand significantly exceeded the number of new contracts awarded in a single year. The brand now has more than 100 hotels in the pipeline, with nearly 250 open and 35 hotels expected to open in 2019.
Pendry in L.A.: Pendry Hotels is about to break ground in Los Angeles on the Pendry West Hollywood and the Pendry Residences West Hollywood. The approximately 300,000-square-foot development (a partnership between Pendry Hotels, AECOM Capital, the investment arm of AECOM, and Combined Properties) encompasses a full city block along the famed Sunset Strip in West Hollywood is scheduled to open in 2020.
Flamingo Hotel management change: Yang Capital and restaurateurs Anderson Pugash and Benson Wang have acquired a managing interest in the historic Flamingo Hotel in Santa Rosa. The property will come under new management through a joint venture between their respective operating companies Point Hospitality and Serious Leisure. Point Hospitality will operate the guest rooms, event center and health club while Serious Leisure will manage the food and beverage. Together, the companies are planning a repositioning of The Flamingo. The Flamingo was built in 1957 and has long been a cornerstone of the Santa Rosa community. The team plans to honor its history and sense of community through a thoughtful restoration and renovation of the property. Construction is anticipated to begin in winter 2020.
Get some Zleep: With an 51% investment in the family-run Zleep Hotels, Deutsche Hospitality is bringing a fifth hotel brand to its portfolio. The umbrella brand Deutsche Hospitality combines four well-known hotel brands: Steigenberger Hotels and Resorts, Maxx by Steigenberger, Jaz in the City and IntercityHotel. With the Zleep Hotels brand, Deutsche Hospitality is expanding its product offering, entering the economy market and expanding into Scandinavia for the first time. Ten hotels in Denmark and one hotel in Sweden are currently part of the Zleep Hotels portfolio, and four more are in the planning stage. Both parties, Deutsche Hospitality and Zleep, will invest a multi-digit million amount in the further development of the company.
Loyalty and book direct: A new, updated Kalibri Labs Special Report was released Thursday: Book Direct Campaigns 2.0: The Costs and Benefits of Loyalty 2018. The report provides conclusive evidence that the loyalty member campaigns first launched almost three years ago, have either strengthened or stabilized the growth through Brand.com while the OTA channel has either held steady or decelerated. While both channels continue to grow, Brand.com has consistently generated 50% more bookings on average to U.S. hotels than the OTA channel.
Innside gets facelift: Meliá Hotels International is reinventing the Innside by Meliá portfolio, including Innside New York NoMad. Previously known for its centrally-located, urban lifestyle hotels, in 2019, Innside by Meliá will expand to include resort destinations, to bring a stronger leisure and wellness offering to its portfolio.
Middle East and Africa performance, 2018: Hotels in the Middle East reported negative 2018 performance results, while hotels in Africa posted total-year growth across the three key performance metrics, according to data from STR.
U.S. dollar constant currency, 2018 vs. 2017:
Middle East
Occupancy: -0.5% to 64.6%
ADR: -5.2% to US$155.45
RevPAR: -5.7% to US$100.45
Africa
Occupancy: +4.7% to 60.6%
ADR: +7.1% to US$118.31
RevPAR: +12.1% to US$71.74
Among subcontinents in the region, Northern Africa posted the largest 2018 increases in each of the three key performance metrics: occupancy (+11.8% to 61.1%), ADR (+13.8% to US$96.81) and RevPAR (+27.2% to US$59.18). Within Northern Africa, Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia each recorded double-digit RevPAR growth for the year.
Europe performance, 2018: Europe’s hotel industry reported positive results in the three key performance metrics during 2018, according to data from STR.
Percentages, 2018 vs. 2017:
Europe
Occupancy: +1.2% to 72.4%
ADR: +3.9%
RevPAR: +5.2%
Dublin
Occupancy: +0.7% to 83.8%
ADR: +6.5%
RevPAR: +7.2%