Trump project wins tax break: The state of Mississippi awarded a tax break worth up to US$6 million for a hotel project involving the Trump family business, to owners Dinesh and Suresh Chawla, who are building a hotel that will be branded and managed by the Trump Organization.
Read the story in the New York Times
African acquisition: Signature Lux Hotels has been acquired by Onomo Hotel Group, which owns 10 hotels aimed at business travelers across eight African countries.
Embassy Suites in Massachusetts: Rockbridge acquired an Embassy Suites in suburban Boston and will renovate the hotel, which will remain with that flag, this year. Pyramid Hotel Group will operate. A purchase price was not given.
Hyatt Centric in Florida: The Kolter Group’s Kolter Hospitality is planning to add a new Hyatt Centric in Fort Lauderdale that will occupy the first 15 floors of a 46-level building that will also have condominium residences and retail. It’s expected to open in 2020.
Golf in South Africa: Marriott Golf will manage a golf resort property in South Africa, its first in that country, the Arabella Golf Club in Hermanus.
Loyalty program upgrade: Carlson Wagonlit Travel’s distribution division, RoomIt by CWT, added the RoomIt Loyalty Booster program, which allows travel managers to partner with CWT to run promotional campaigns where travelers are incentivized with either points or miles for booking within their corporate travel program. Tests showed that the program delivered a higher compliance rate during campaigns.
IPO on hold: Aspen REIT, a recently formed, single-asset real estate investment trust, will postpone its planned initial public offering in order to “retool our crowd-funding distribution channel,” according to management. The REIT says it intends to own the St. Regis Aspen Resort in Colorado.