Hilton expands in the UK: Hilton Worldwide has partnered with Shiva Hotels to introduce the first Curio – A Collection by Hilton hotel in the UK. Lincoln Plaza London will include 129 guestrooms and is scheduled to open in late 2016. Hilton also announced an agreement with EQ Group to open DoubleTree by Hilton London – Kingston upon Thames. The new hotel is scheduled to open in the second half of 2016 and will include 146 rooms and suites.
Onyx to enter Vietnam: Onyx Hospitality Group signed a partnership agreement with HB Group to manage Ozo Hoi An, a 364-room beachfront resort in Vietnam. The property is scheduled to open in late 2016 and will be Onyx’s first hotel in Vietnam.
Rosewood adds second property in Cambodia: Rosewood Hotels & Resorts was appointed by Vattanac Properties to manage Rosewood Siem Reap, scheduled to open in 2019. It will be the second Rosewood property in Cambodia, following Rosewood Phnom Penh opening in 2016, also owned by Vattanac Properties.
Minor develops in Malaysia: Minor Hotel Group will develop an Anantara resort in Desaru Coast in Malaysia. Anantara Desaru Resort & Villas is scheduled to open in 2018 and will have 123 keys comprising a 103-room resort with deluxe guest rooms and villas and 20 three- and four-bedroom villas. The resort will also feature restaurants, bars, two swimming pools, a lounge, meeting space, a gym and a spa.
Wyndham unveils rewards for meeting planners: Meeting planners who are also members of the Wyndham Rewards loyalty program can earn one point for every dollar spent on qualifying revenue at participating hotels. With “go meet,” there is no minimum spend requirement and no maximum point limit.
TUI sells LateRooms: TUI sold its British hotel booking website, LaeRooms, to Cox & Kings. TUI has not released details on the sale, but said it will reveal more in its December earnings release.
US business travel growth slows: US business travel spending will increase by 3.1% in 2015 and 3.7% in 2016, but the global oil price collapse and economic weakness in China, Russia and the Middle East will dampen the outlook for growth, according to GBTA’s BTI Outlook – United States 2015 report.
US pipeline growth: According to a recent United States Construction Pipeline Trend Report from Lodging Econometrics, the pipeline has now posted eight straight quarters of year-over-year (YOY) growth and recorded double-digit increases in each of the last four quarters. The construction pipeline is at 4,038 projects/507,221 rooms, up more than 20% YOY by room count. However, the pipeline is 29% below the 2008 high of 5,883 projects/785,547 rooms.
Conference center trends: The International Association of Conference Centres (IACC) has released the 2015 edition of “Trends in the Conference Center Industry,” indicating that IACC members have improved occupany and rates are once again stronger than the previous year. The trends research also showed that resort meeting venues achieved the greatest increase in Complete Meeting Package rates, with a 2.6% increase over the previous year.