Top meetings markets: New York (23%), Chicago (22%) and Las Vegas (20%) are the top North American markets that meeting planners intend to use in the next two years, according to STR‘s 2019 DestinationMAP (Meeting Assessment Program). Orlando, Florida, and Washington, D.C., followed at 19%. While not in the list of top destinations, a notable 4% of the 1,000 meeting planners surveyed plan to hold a meeting in Puerto Rico in the next two years. London was selected by more than one in four planners as an international meeting destination in the next three years followed by Paris. Louisville, Austin, Denver and Nashville showed the greatest year-over-year increase in group hotel demand.
Taj to pare asset ownership: Indian Hotels Co. Ltd., Mumbai, is looking to sell some assets to further pare debt and move toward more of a fee-based management business, CEO Puneet Chhatwal told Bloomberg in a recent interview. IHCL aims to reduce ownership to 50% by 2022, from 70% at present, Chhatwal said. The sale and lease-back plans include as many as six hotels at the group’s Ginger budget brand and a similar number held by joint ventures and associate companies, he said, adding that the group has no plans to sell legacy and flagship properties.
Henderson Park buys in Madrid: London-based PE fund Henderson Park Capital has acquired from Singapore-based SafeGuard Real Estate Management the 139-room Aloft Madrid Gran Via in Madrid for €57 million.
Cedar Capital buys in Amsterdam: The 120-room Lloyd Hotel in the Eastern Docklands of Amsterdam, owned by private investor Rocco Veenboer, has been sold to a consortium led by Cedar Capital Partners for €45 million. The hotel is a national monument that dates from 1918.
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Aussie resort sale: Retail billionaire Gerry Harvey has sold his A$45 million Byron Bay resort on the NSW North Coast to Dubai-based Syrian billionaire Ghassan Aboud. The owner-operated, 92-suite Byron at Byron Resort & Spa, jointly owned by Harvey and Harvey Norman Holdings, was listed with in May with a hope of fetching between A$40 and A$50 million. Aboud’s hospitality arm, the Crystalbrook Collection, aspires to a A$1 billion portfolio of hospitality and real estate assets in Australia.
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Crest sells Birmginham Holiday Inn: Crest Hotels has sold the 241-bedroom Holiday Inn Birmingham Airport – NEC in England to 11 Hospitality Ltd. off a guide price of £33m. The hotel will continue to operate subject to a franchise agreement with InterContinental Hotel Group (IHG) under the Holiday Inn brand.
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