Club Med bid increased: Global Resorts SAS raised its bid for Club Mediterranee SA to surpass a competing offer from Fosun International Ltd. Global Resorts raised its proposal to €23 (US$29) per share, €1 more than Fosun.
Shaner closes on loan: Shaner Hotel Holdings closed on its US$226.6 million commercial mortgage-backed securities loan with JP Morgan Chase. Shaner’s current hotel portfolio consists of more than 40 hotels in 17 U.S. states and two countries.
Mandarin Oriental launches new mobile sites: Aiming to provide visitors with a faster and more intuitive user experience, Mandarin Oriental launched upgraded mobile websites in nine languages. The sites provide information and booking capabilities for the group’s 27 global properties.
RLHC launches redesigned website: Red Lion Hotels Corp. launched a redesigned website featuring new e-commerce technologies, messaging capabilities and promotions.
Hotel booking debuts on Twitter: Stayful launched TweetStay for Twitter users to book reservations at independent boutique hotels. Users can request a hotel quote by tweeting @Stayful with the hashtag #tweetstay and provide the destination city, hotel level and travel dates. Stayful in turn negotiates prices with the hotels and tweets back a link with the hotel offer.
Viceroy to debut in Europe: Viceroy Hotel Group will open its first hotel in Europe in 2017. The Viceroy Algarve at Quinta da Ombria, Portugal, will include 147 guestrooms and 99 residential apartments, villas and townhouses.
Kempinski to open first hotel in the Caribbean: The Government of Dominica and Range Developments have signed an agreement for the construction of a Kempenski hotel. Cabrits Resort Kempenski Dominca will be Kempinski’s first hotel in the Caribbean.