CitizenM’s big boost: A massive Singapore government-run fund has acquired a 25% stake in Dutch hotel company CitizenM, providing a cash boost to the owner and operator of micro-hotels, as it ramps up a global expansion. The sovereign-wealth fund, GIC Pte. Ltd., confirmed the investment but declined to provide financial terms. Its stake brings CitizenM’s enterprise value, which includes debt, to €2 billion (US$2.3 billion), the lodging company said. Other investors include RC Capital, the investment vehicle of entrepreneur Rattan Chadha and APG Asset Management, a leading manager of Dutch public pension assets, with Europe’s largest pension fund of approximately €470 billion (US$535 billion) of assets under management.
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Get ready for gambling resorts in Japan: Japan’s cabinet approved regulations for gambling resorts, the first of which could open in Osaka as soon as 2024 and provide a new source of tax revenue. The country legalized casinos in 2016 and passed another bill in 2018 that laid out a roadmap for gaming. The goal was to have the first casino open by the time Tokyo hosted the 2020 Summer Olympics, but issues over regulations and public concern over compulsive gambling pushed back that plan. The move now could open the way for billions of dollars in investment from the likes of MGM Resorts International and Melco Resorts & Entertainment. Japan, which already has horse racing and other forms of legalized gambling, is a late entrant into the Asian casino market, with Macau being the region’s most powerful center.
Google targets vacation rentals: Google is expanding its hotel search to include a wider assortment of vacation rental properties worldwide. Though the company began testing vacation rentals on a small-scale in 2017 with very limited inventory in select markets, now it’s introducing a wider assortment of vacation rental properties worldwide. This experience will begin globally on mobile and extend to desktop in the coming months. Google is homing in on entire units in which a guest can stay (whole home, apartment). It will have a variety of home types (apartments, vacation homes, villas, etc.), based on inventory from the company’s partners. Users can surface vacation rentals by applying the filter within the existing hotel search experience or by clicking on the vacation rentals tip.
More details on Google’s site here
Former president of Marriott dies: Fred Malek, a conservative fundraiser and former president of Marriott Hotels and Northwest Airlines who also served in two presidential administrations, has died, the American Action Network announced Monday. He was 82.
La Sagesse development: Range Developments has entered into an agreement with the Government of Grenada to develop the La Sagesse area in St David’s. The first of the luxury hotels will be the Six Senses La Sagesse, set on a promontory with two beaches and a lake. The project is scheduled to open in 2022.
Scandic adds two in Norway: The pan-Nordic hotel company Scandic has signed a deal to expand two of its properties in Norway by a total of 266 rooms, in connection with the extension of the hotels’ lease agreements. The Scandic Helsfyr in Oslo will be renovated and expanded as part of an agreement with the property owner Eiendomsspar in conjunction with extending the lease. Close to 200 new rooms will be added to the hotel, taking the total number from 253 to 450 – making it the largest Scandic hotel in Norway. The project is expected to be completed in 2021.
Mövenpick’s 1st European mountain resort: The company (part of Accor) has signed an agreement with Panorama Development Corporation to manage the brand’s first European mountain resort, the Mövenpick Resort Savognin. The hotel is set to open in 2021 and will be Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts’ seventh property in Switzerland, featuring 110 rooms and suites.