Hotel Indigo expands in U.K.: IHG will bring its Hotel Indigo brand to Bath, United Kingdom. The hotel will open in 2016 and operate under a franchise agreement with St James’ Hotels Group.
New Holiday Inn planned for Nashville: Ray Dayal and his partners plan to build a full-service 228-room Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites in Nashville, Tennessee. The hotel is expected to open in 2017 and include a bar, restaurant, coffee shop and meeting space.
Waramaug grows in Canada: Waramung Hospitality Canada, in partnership with Superior Lodging Corp., purchased the master license rights to Travelodge Canada from Holloway Lodging Corp. Additionally, Waramaug and Superior also acquired the controlling share of the development rights for Super 8 Canada.
Hong Kong tourism examined: According to the latest Horwath market report, the tourism industry contributed to 4.9% of Hong Kong’s GDP and employed approximately 270,000 people in 2013. This represents 7.2% of the city’s total employment.
Marijuana tourism drives travel: In 2014, Denver saw a 73% year-over-year increase in hotel searches for check-ins during the April 20 weekend, which featured a number of organized marijuana events and music festivals, according to Hotels.com. Although the date falls on a Monday this year, searches for check-ins during April 17 through April 20 have risen more than 60% over the same timeframe last year.