Deutsche: Deutsche Hospitality signed an agreement for its first hotel in Thailand. The 5-star Steigenberger Hotel Riverside will open in the capital city of Bangkok in 2019 and offer 259 rooms, including deluxe rooms, suites, superior suites, honeymoon suites and a presidential suite.
Fairtree Capital: Fairtree Capital bought three UK hotels: The Headland Hotel in Torquay, The Palace Hotel and The Queens Hotel, both in Paignton, for £12.5 million (US$15.5 million).
Seibu: Seibu Holdings plans to introduce a lower-price hotel brand geared toward middle-income guests in 2019, as foreign tourism in Japan rises. The new, yet-to-be-named hotel brand would be the fourth for the holding company, which operates Prince Hotels.
Atlific: Atlific Hotels will manage two Toronto-based Airdrie Calgary properties, the Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites Airdrie-Calgary North and Hampton Inn & Suites by Hilton Airdrie.
Delta by Marriott: Delta Hotels by Marriott has reflagged the Hunt Valley Inn, formerly a Wyndham Grand Resort. This is Delta Hotels’ second property in the greater D.C. and Baltimore area and third hotel in the U.S.
Mexican travel to Canada: Mexicans are forsaking visits to the United States, many in favor of Canada where their money goes further and visa requirements have been scrapped, according to the latest data from ForwardKeys. Starting in March 2016 there was a 16% increase in travel in the period up to the U.S. presidential election. When visa-free travel came into effect in December, there followed an 82% increase compared to the preceding year.
Booking.com: A Turkish court ordered the travel website Booking.com to be blocked in a dispute with the country’s main travel agency association, Turkey’s state-run news agency reported Wednesday. The move was ordered against Booking.com as a “precautionary measure” while the case is ongoing.
Kushner Companies: Anbang Insurance, the Chinese investor that was going to help the Kushner Companies redevelop the $7.5 billion tower at 666 Fifth Ave., has backed out of the deal. Anbang had been in talks to invest in the redevelopment of the 1,400-foot-tall tower, which will be renumbered as 660 Fifth Ave. Kushner is eyeing adding a 94-key, seven-star hotel and nine levels of retail.
Travelodge: Travelodge plans to expand into Scotland, which the company called a key growth area, with 21 new hotels.
Hilton: Hilton appointed Sumindi Peiris vice president of global marketing, luxury and lifestyle brands. Prior to joining Hilton, Peiris most recently served as vice president, global director Johnnie Walker Reserve in Singapore.
Queenstown Holiday Inn Express: InterContinental Hotels Group and Australian boutique hotel developer Pro-invest Group have planned a US$60 million, 227-room Holiday Inn Express in Queenstown.