Accor in Jeddah: Accor Hotel Services Middle East has signed management agreements with Alesayi Group for three more hotels in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia by the end of 2018, comprising a 275-room Novotel, a 250-key Ibis and an Adagio consisting of 150 apartments.
RLHC in Seattle: Red Lion Hotels Corp. has opened a second franchise location in the Seattle market in as many months. The converted Red Lion Inn & Suites – Federal Way is the third NW Hospitality has signed to the brand, which plans to invest US$2 million in upgrades to the guest rooms and public space.
TripAdvisor deal: Hotelsclick.com, Italian-based travel portal specializing in worldwide hotel bookings, is one of the world’s first online travel agencies to participate in TripAdvisor instant booking. The feature allows users to make a hotel reservation through TripAdvisor partners while remaining on the TripAdvisor site experience.
Host wins in court: Host Hotels & Resorts announced Tuesday that litigation related to the San Antonio Marriott Rivercenter hotel ended in its favor as the Texas Supreme Court denied the motion for rehearing from Keystone-Texas Holding Corp. On June 13, 2014, the Texas Supreme Court had overruled a lower court’s US$57.3 million verdict against Host for allegedly interfering with an effort to sell a San Antonio shopping mall and adjacent land underlying the San Antonio hotel.
Mega near Dallas: An indoor ski resort with a 300-room Hard Rock Hotel is planned for development in Grand Prairie, Texas, near Dallas. Developers plan to spend US$140 million for the 350,000-square-foot “snow ski facility” and another US$75 million for the hotel. The developer anticipates ground breaking in first quarter 2015, contingent upon full financing. The project will take 34 months to construct and is scheduled to open in early 2018.