Briefs: Terrapin acquires K Partners; MGM wins Osaka deal

Terrapin acquires K Partners: Hotel management company Terrapin Hospitality, Houston, Texas, has acquired third-party hotel management firm K Partners, San Antonio, Texas. After the acquisition, Terrapin’s portfolio consists of 70 managed properties comprising 7,335 rooms across 13 states, with Terrapin and its affiliates having an ownership interest in 30 of these properties. Tony Sherman will continue as Terrapin’s chief executive officer, while Shawn Kvernen will join Terrapin as the senior vice president, business development. Paul Nessbaum and Leslie Ng, Terrapin’s investors, will focus on Terrapin’s growth plans, capital markets activities and more M&A opportunities.

Osaka selects MGM-ORIX: MGM Resorts International, Las Vegas, Nevada, announced that MGM Japan and ORIX, MGM’s joint venture partner, has been selected as the region’s integrated resort partner by Osaka, Japan. Details of the proposed US$10 billion development were released as MGM attempts to bring a world-class resort to Osaka and transform it into a tourism hub. MGM is developing MGM Osaka, MGM Villas and MUSUBI Hotel with a total of 2,500 rooms.

Tollman passes: Stanley Tollman, founder and chairman of international travel group The Travel Corp., encompassing more than 40 brands including Trafalgar, Insight Vacations, Contiki Holidays, Red Carnation Hotels and Uniworld Boutique River Cruises, has died following a battle with cancer.  He was 91. He is survived by his wife, Beatrice Tollman, today the leader of the Red Carnation Hotels brand.

CityCenter deal closes: MGM Resorts International has closed on the previously announced purchase of Infinity World Development Corp’s 50% interest in CityCenter Holdings for US$2.125 billion. In addition, MGM Resorts and Blackstone have also closed the previously announced sale-leaseback agreement for Blackstone to acquire the real estate assets of Aria and Vdara for US$3.89 billion. Following the transaction, MGM Resorts has leased the property from Blackstone and continues to manage, operate and be responsible for all aspects of the property on a day-to-day basis. In connection with the closing of the transactions, the MGM Resorts has fully retired CityCenter’s debt. As of June 30, 2021, CityCenter had cash and cash equivalents of US$307 million and total debt of US$1.73 billion.

Marriott’s South Asia pipeline: Marriott International announced it has signed 22 new hotel agreements in South Asia – comprising India, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Nepal – in the past 18 months, expecting to add more than 2,700 rooms to its portfolio. More than a third of the projects include hotels and resorts in the luxury-tier. Select brands represent more than 40% of the newly signed projects. Currently, Marriott has 135 operating hotels across 16 brands in five countries across South Asia.

Italy bouncing back: After almost two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, Italy seems to be bouncing back, driven by the investment boom in the hospitality sector, recovery of domestic tourism, new hotel openings and more in the pipeline, according to a study by PKF Hospitality Group. A full recovery is expected by 2023-2024, the study mentioned. Within the next three years, approximately 1,400 rooms are predicted in Milan with more than 100 hotels in the Italy pipeline. There is also interest in new and alternative destinations like Trieste, Bologna, Bergamo and more. According to a report ‘Italian Real Estate Hotels Value’ conducted by World Capital and PKF Hospitality Group, Italy has a real estate hotel asset value of around €117 billion (US$136.7 billion). In the first half of 2021, almost 80% of the hotel deals were located in the big four destinations (Rome, Milan, Venice and Florence), with most transactions in the luxury sector.

Huazhu’s new CEO for international business: Huazhu Group Ltd., Shanghai, announced the appointment of Jihong He as chief executive officer for international business from October 1. In the recently created role, he will be in charge of the group’s international businesses, including Deutsche Hospitality. Previously, He served as the chief strategy officer and CEO of Data Center Business of CapitaLand Ltd.

Hospitality Ventures assumes management of Marriott hotel in Dunwoody: Hospitality Ventures Management Group, Atlanta, Georgia, announced it has started management of the 344-key, recently renovated Atlanta Marriott Perimeter Center in Dunwoody, Georgia. Currently, Hospitality Ventures operates 52 hotels and one convention center, totaling to 8,300 rooms, across 17 states.

New CEO in UK: EasyHotel in the U.K. has named Karim Malak as chief executive following the death earlier this year of former lead Francois Bacchetta. Malak was previously chief executive at aparthotel group Adagio.

Paceline acquires in Charlotte: Affiliates of Paceline Equity Partners, Dallas, Texas, has acquired two limited-service hotels — Holiday Inn Express & Suites Charlotte Ballantyne and the TownePlace Suites Charlotte Fort Mill — in Charlotte, North Carolina. This is Paceline’s second and third acquisitions in the year, following the purchase of Sheraton Boston Needham Hotel in Needham, Massachusetts. The123-room Holiday Inn Express & Suites Charlotte Ballantyne is expected to benefit once Novant Health Ballantyne Medical Center, located nearby, completes construction. The 105-key TownePlace Suites Charlotte Fort Mill is an extended-stay hotel.

Wellness real estate flourishes: Global wellness real estate grew 22% annually, from US$148 billion in 2017 to US$225 billion in 2019 and US$275 billion in 2020, according to the report ‘Wellness Real Estate: Looking Beyond COVID-19’ by the Global Wellness Institute. Despite the growth, construction dipped 2.5%. However, the number of global residential projects focused on wellness almost tripled from 740 in 2017 to 2,300 in 2020. The U.S., China, Australia, the U.K., Japan, France and Germany account for 82% of the wellness real estate sector, with the U.S. and Japan constituting almost 60%. The top 20 global markets for wellness real estate saw remarkable growth between 2017 and 2020, with Japan and Canada witnessing growth rates of 360% and 240%, respectively.