MGM dodges ad misstep: Just weeks after a shooter stationed at the Mandalay Bay hotel in Las Vegas carried out the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history, MGM Resorts International has pulled the plug on an ill-timed corporate branding campaign called “Welcome to the Show,” which also contained the line “blow the mind of all mankind.”
IHG debuts brands in Asia: InterContinental Hotels Group will bring two of its hotel brands to China and Asia Pacific in an attempt to capture wellness enthusiasts and the wealthy. The new brands are Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants and Even Hotels, which focuses on incorporating health and wellness into the travel experience. Kimpton will open in three new locations – Shanghai, Sanya, a city in China’s Hainan province, and Bali in Indonesia. Even Hotels is coming to China.
Hyatt no more: Fort Lauderdale’s Pier 66 hotel will reopen after Hurricane Irma damaged its 17-story tower building and forced the resort to close for more than a month. The hotel, formerly a Hyatt Regency, will also debut a new name, Pier Sixty-Six Hotel & Marina, as it becomes an independent property under the ownership of Tavistock Development Co. The Hyatt name was removed this week.
Marriott in Australia: Marriott International has signed an agreement with Hotel Operations to open The Westin Darwin, marking the company’s expansion into Australia’s Northern Territory. The eight-story hotel, constructed as part of a large-scale mixed-use development, will have 240 rooms, including 14 suites.
Hilton Grand Vacations acquires: Hilton Grand Vacations has acquired Sunrise Lodge, a Hilton Grand Vacations Club. Since 2012, the 83-unit, ski-in mountain lodge in Park City, Utah, has been operating under a fee-for-service agreement through which HGV provided marketing, sales and resort management services to the seller Sunrise Park City, LLC and its asset manager Lantern Asset Management.
‘Stars’ in Vegas: MGM Resorts International has bought women’s basketball team the San Antonio Stars and will move the team to Las Vegas. The Stars will become the second professional team in Las Vegas, joining the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights – with the NFL soon to follow – when they begin play next season with home games at the Mandalay Bay Events Center.