Selina grows Israel portfolio: London-based Selina Hospitality PLC has opened the Selina Frishman in Tel Aviv, its third hotel in Tel Aviv and 13th Selina property in Israel overall. The hotel features 178 bed spaces and includes a restaurant and bar, a co-work café, a common kitchen and a wellness area. Selina has opened nine properties in Israel this year. Currently, Selina has locations in 25 countries on six continents.
Six Senses debuts in Australia: Six Senses has drawn up a masterplan for its debut property in Australia — Six Senses Burnham Beeches — in the Dandenong Ranges outside Melbourne. The existing three-story heritage mansion was built in 1933 and comes with a 22-hectare estate. Trenerry Consortium acquired Burnham Beeches in 2021. The Woods Bagot-designed property will offer 43 rooms, a lounge and terrace, a restaurant with outdoor seating, a library bar, and a rooftop retreat. The guest rooms, with individual layouts, will be spread over the mansion’s three main wings. There will also be a separate two-bedroom cottage with interconnecting one-bedroom suite within the site’s Hilltop Retreat. Subject to planning applications, the master plan includes a premium glamping offer to bring the total accommodations to 82. The master plan also includes plans for a village square, giving guests access to more venues. Six Senses Burnham Beeches will open in mid-2025.
Switzerland Six Senses: Six Senses Crans-Montana, the 45-key hotel in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, is expected to open on February 1, 2023. The hotel will feature one- and three-bedroom suites, a bar and restaurant along with a brasserie. The hotel will also include a 6,500-square spa and residences. As one of the last projects in Switzerland for sale without restrictions for international owners, 13 of the 17 residences are on sale as second homes. Ranging in size from 2,260 to 3,550 square feet, the residences have three- to five-bedroom apartments with two to three bathrooms and private parking areas. Homeowners can access the resort facilities.
US performance update: Hotel performance in the U.S. was higher than last week but showed weakened comparisons to 2019, according to STR’s latest data through December 30.
- Occupancy: 55.4% (-7.7%)
- ADR: US$141.71 (+10.2%)
- RevPAR: US$78.50 (+1.7%)
Among the top 25 markets, only New Orleans reported an occupancy increase over 2019 (+1.1% to 67.2%). Miami recorded the highest ADR (+33.1% to US$374.88) and RevPAR (+25.1% to US$301.26) increases over 2019. The largest RevPAR decreases were posted in San Francisco (-44.2% to US$95.77) and Seattle (-25.8% to US$79.21).
Bluffton HI Express & Suites sells: Banyan Investment Group, Atlanta, Georgia has completed the sale of the 112-room Holiday Inn Express & Suites Bluffton @ Hilton Head Area in Bluffton, South Carolina, to Trishul Hospitality for an undisclosed price. The deal generated a 24% IRR and a 3.3x equity multiple. The four-story hotel underwent a multi-million-dollar renovation earlier this year, which saw upgrades to the guest rooms and public spaces. Banyan Investment Group acquired the hotel in 2014.
Crescent adds in Houston: Crescent Hotels & Resorts, Fairfax, Virginia, has added the 267-key Blossom Hotel Houston in Houston, Texas, to its Latitudes: Lifestyle by Crescent collection. The 5-star hotel offers new rooms and suites with more than 9,000 square feet of meeting and events spaces and culinary offerings. Currently, Crescent has more than 100 properties in the U.S. and Canada.
Le Collectionist raises €60M: Le Collectionist, the luxury holiday brand, has raised €60 million (US$63.14 million) to consolidate its global position in the luxury holiday industry. The funding round was led by Highland Europe and will be used for selective acquisitions in areas where demand for the brand is high. Following this round of funding, Le Collectionist will add over 120 positions in 2023 to develop its headquarters in Paris and existing local offices in the South-East and South-West of France, Barcelona, Switzerland and Ibiza and also open new local offices in New York City and London.
Fortune adds in India: Fortune Hotels, a member of ITC’s hotel group, has signed Fortune Park Aligarh, a new property in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh. The hotel will be the brand’s fourth property in Uttar Pradesh. Slated to open in winter 2023, the hotel will include a multi-cuisine all-day diner, banquet spaces and a rooftop restaurant with a bar. Fortune Park Hotels Ltd. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of ITC Ltd. and has 55 signed alliances and more than 4,200 rooms across 47 cities in India.
Four Seasons looks towards Asia: Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts is focusing on Asia for its hotel developments, with many of its pipeline projects planned in the continent. In the coming years, the company plans to open 26 more resorts in Asia and nine in North America of a total of 49 pipeline projects totaling 9,621 keys. About 42% of the group’s open properties — 53 locations — are located in North America, compared to 40 (32%) in Asia Pacific and the Middle East. China leads with 11 projects, followed by the U.S. with five and Saudi Arabia (with four). A total of 13 openings are planned in 2023, with only six deliveries in 2024 and a slight rebound of seven completions in 2025. Three locations will open by the end of this year.
2023 travel trends study: Travel is set to move from nostalgia to boundary-pushing, marking a return to multi-center travel enabling people to experience several destinations in a single trip, the latest study by luxury travel company Black Tomato says. Between 2019 and 2022, there has been a 94% rise in multi-center travel inquiries and for families with older children, adventurous journeys are becoming more intrepid. Small group travel is trending upwards, from an average of nine people to 14 (a surge of 64%) and in turn, a 56% increase in sales for group trips, looking at YTD 2022 vs 2021. Bleisure has turned traditional vacation travel on its head, with travelers planning leisure trips with time for business rather than business trips with time for leisure. In many cases, such travels have extended into month-long ventures, with a 75%/25% leisure/business split.