Welcome to the … never mind: American rock band the Eagles and a Mexican hotel have settled a legal case after the hotel’s owners withdrew their application to trademark the name Hotel California in the U.S. The band had claimed that the hotel was encouraging guests to believe that it had a connection with the band and its ’70s hit “Hotel California.”
Radisson Blu in Costa Rica: Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group signed a new-build Radisson Blu Resort & Spa Papagayo in Guanacaste. The 100-room hotel is expected to open in late 2020.
Singita in Rwanda: South Africa-based Singita plans to open Singita Kwitonda Lodge in late 2019 on 178 acres at Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda, including eight suites and a villa. The park is the habitat of mountain gorillas.
NYX in Bilbao: Leonardo Hotels is opening is second NYX brand in Spain in early 2019; the hotel in Bilbao will be in a former bank building that originally held the Hotel Inglaterra and have 105 rooms.
Trypping in Pittsburgh: Wyndham Hotel Group’s Tryp brand will be in a former school in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania’s Lawrenceville neighborhood. The 108-room hotel is being developed by the Century Group, designed by Pittsburgh firm Desmone Architects and is expected to open in early 2019.
Iberostar brand strategy: Iberostar Hotels and Resorts updated its brand strategy with a redesigned logo and recategorization of its hotel groups into city hotels, ocean hotels and classic and historic hotels, the latter called Iberostar Heritage. City hotels include Grand and Iberostar brands; Ocean resorts include Grand, Selection and Iberostar; the classic group includes Grand and Iberostar Heritage.
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Marriott’s big year: Marriott International signed the most development contracts in 2017 than any year previous, the company said. It signed more than 750 contracts for new hotels representing nearly 125,000 rooms under long-term management and franchise agreements. Its global pipeline grew to a record 460,000 rooms, with over half located outside of North America.
Sahid Group owner dies: The owner of Indonesia’s Sahid Group hotel networks, Sukamdani Sahid Gitosardjono, died on Thursday at age 89. He founded Sahid Group in 1953; it had interests in hospitality and tourism, textiles, construction and other businesses. There are 27 Sahid Hotels across the country’s archipelago.
Read the story in the Jakarta Globe