What’s ahead for Brexit and Britain? On Tuesday, as expected, Prime Minister Theresa May suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Parliament, rejecting her deal for exiting the European Union by a vote of 432 to 202. On Wednesday, May narrowly survived a no-confidence vote, but things are unstable right now, writes the New York Times, as Britain enters uncharted territory and both its place in Europe and its economic future remain uncertain.
“The greater the uncertainty, the more indecision will prevail,” Russell Kett, chairman of hotel valuation consultancy HVS, told HOTELS after the vote. When May returns next week with a “plan B,” “for such time as the ultimate outcome and timing are unknown, most hotel investors in the U.K. will delay making critical decisions – uncertainty fuels indecision,” he said. There are several options for a way forward, including allowing more time to negotiate a deal, seeking a compromise that would avoid a “no-deal” exit, or other EU countries moderating the terms of a deal, Kett said. But “if the current level of intransigence continues, there remains a real risk that the U.K. will ‘crash out’ of the EU on 29 March with no deal. Because this attracts an even greater level of uncertainty, from a hotel investment perspective, this could have the most destructive effect, which may then take even longer to resolve.”
RIU in Toronto: RIU Hotels & Resorts announced the construction of a hotel in its Riu Plaza urban line, in Toronto. The Spanish company intends to invest around US$100 million in the project, establishing the first RIU hotel in Canada. The project is set to open in 2021. The building, a newly built modern tower block, will be located in the city’s financial district, with 350 rooms and a gym, bar and restaurant; upper floors will be residences.
Excel acquires three: Washington, D.C.-based real estate investment firm Excel Group acquired three hotels – the 151-room Hyatt Place Dulles Herndon-East in Herndon, Virginia; the 161-room Hampton Inn Long Island Brookhaven in Farmingville, New York; and the 101-room Hampton Inn & Suites Providence-Smithfield in Smithfield, Rhode Island.