Crestline set to grow. Third-party management company Crestline Hotels & Resorts, Fairfax, Virginia, has announced the creation of a US$300 million fund to acquire hotels and invest in properties with strategic capital partners. Crestline will be investing US$150 million of equity and is targeting 50% debt for the fund. Crestline said it will use the fund and its management expertise to convert underperforming hotels into lucrative investments that outperform their competitive sets. The fund has flexible investment parameters, allowing it to acquire hotels, invest in joint ventures, provide mezzanine financing and consider entering into long-term leases or performance guarantees.
IHG eyes Thailand. IHG, in partnership with Ratanakorn Asset, has announced the signing of eight new properties in Thailand’s key resort destinations of Pattaya, Rayong, Phuket, Khao Lak and Koh Samui. The multi-brand signing, consisting of new-builds and a conversion across the Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express and Staybridge Suites brands, will add more than 2,000 rooms. The hotels are set to open from this year to 2027. IHG has 24 hotels open in Thailand across five brands with a further 14 hotels opening in the next three to five years.
Omni sued in Boston. While ground has been broken for the 1,055-room Omni Boston Seaport Hotel, a lawsuit has been filed concerning a similarly named hotel that has operated near the Omni site since 1998. Fidelity-owned Seaport Hotel says the hotel giant is infringing on a brand the smaller 428-room hotel created when it opened in a neighborhood that looked a lot different 20 years ago than it does today.
Possible strike in Vegas. Las Vegas casinos union members voted Tuesday to authorize a strike at any time starting June 1. About 25,000 members of the Culinary Union who work at 34 different casino-resorts across the tourist destination cast ballots in two sessions and handed union negotiators a huge bargaining chip as they work to solidify new five-year contracts. The union last voted for a strike in 2002 but reached a deal before employees walked out. The last strike, in 1984, spanned 67 days and cost the city and workers tens of millions of dollars.
W selling at loss? New York real estate investment firm Westbrook Partners is close to acquiring from Host Hotels & Resorts the 270-room W Union Square hotel for US$168 million (about US$620,000), sources told The Real Deal. Host paid US$185.3 million for the property in 2010.
Hyatt conquers Ireland. Hyatt Hotels Corp. has reportedly agreed a deal with the Hodson Bay group to open its first property in Ireland with its Hyatt Centric brand. In May 2019, the €50 million, 234-room property is supposed to open in the Liberties district of Dublin’s south inner city. The Liberties area has become a magnet for hotel development in recent years. The Dublin-listed hotel group Dalata is developing a large Maldron across the street from the district.