Ritz-Carlton first. The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company has signed a management agreement with NDG Asia Pacific Limited to open the first Ritz-Carlton property in New Zealand in 2019 on the waterfront in Auckland.
Radisson bigger in Russia. Radisson Blu and Agrocom Group have announced the signing of the 81-room Radisson Blu Hotel, Rostov-on-Don, strengthening Rezidor’s footprint in Russia. Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group has 37 hotels with 10,300 rooms in operation and under development across Russia. The new hotel is scheduled for opening in early 2017.
Israel on China’s radar. Globes website has reported that hotel operators from China are interested in buying hotels in Israel. The names of chains under possible consideration have not been disclosed. In 2015, as many as 45,000 Chinese tourists visited Israel, while by August 2016, over 50,000 have so far come this year, with many more planning to visit by the end of the year. Government of Israel tourism officials had expected 100,000 Chinese tourists to visit Israel in 2017.
Hyatt reaffirms expectations. Hyatt Hotels Corp. reported third quarter 2016 financial results with adjusted EBITDA of US$192 million, beating consensus of US$190 million. Adjust EPS was $0.47, again beating consensus of $0.29. Company-owned and leased RevPAR was +1% with comparable system-wide RevPAR at +2.5%. “Once again, we saw relative strength in the Americas region, driven primarily by group business,” said President and CEO Mark Hoplamazian. “Our outlook for the overall business for the remainder of 2016 is positive, and we reconfirm our expectations for comparable systemwide RevPAR growth in a range of approximately 2% to 3% for the year.”