WoodSpring signs in San Francisco: WoodSpring Hotels entered into an agreement with West77 Partners to develop up to 25 hotels throughout the greater San Francisco area. This marks the second development agreement between the West77 Partners and WoodSpring
Quorum adds three hotels: Quorum Hotels & Resorts has assumed management of hotels in Lexington, Kentucky; Provo, Utah; and Columbia, South Carolina. The hotels include the 174-key Hilton Lexington Suites, 99-key Courtyard Provo and 130-key Hyatt Place Columbia/Downtown/The Vista.
Read more at Hotel News Resource
G6 Hospitality expands in Mexico: G6 Hospitality signed three franchise agreements with Latina Promohoteles, S.A. de C.V., to build three new Hotel 6 properties in the cities of Querétaro, León and Irapuato. The properties in Querétaro and León are targeted to open in 2017 while the location in Irapuato is scheduled to open by 2018.
London’s August data: STR’s preliminary August 2016 data for London shows nearly flat occupancy levels (with a slight 0.8% decrease in occupancy to 84.7%) and lower rates (with a 1.1% in ADR to £140.14 (US$185.05). However, despite the year-over-year decline, the absolute RevPAR level was the third-highest on record for an August in London.
WeChat at Grand Hyatt NY: Grand Hyatt New York launched an account on WeChat to “better serve and connect” with inbound Chinese business and leisure customers. The hotel’s WeChat account includes direct booking capabilities as well as a newsfeed on hotel updates, amenities, special offers and other events at the property.
Hotel Zachary comes to Chicago: Hickory Street Capital revealed plans for Hotel Zachary, a new boutique, lifestyle hotel that is adjacent to Chicago’s Wrigley Field. Slated to open in early 2018, the 175-room Hotel Zachary aims to offer an “authentic neighborhood experience.”
ITHQ announces Cuba partnership: The first phase of a 8- to 10-year project will begin this week between the Institut de tourisme et d’hôtellerie du Québec (ITHQ) and the Cuban Ministry of Tourism’s FORMATUR, the ministry’s training division for the tourism and hotel industry. Between now and September 2018, the ITHQ will hold training activities for cooking professors and the directors of five hotel schools as well as for trainers and cooks who work at hotels. The team will also evaluate Cuba’s cooking programs to develop “highly practice-focused training” that will be launched at these schools in 2017 and 2018.
Rosemont development: As part of its 60th anniversary celebration, the Village of Rosemont in Illinois will welcome its first boutique hotel, The Rose, in spring 2018. The 165-room hotel is part of an expansion of the village’s entertainment offerings and new minor league baseball team.
Hotel Phillips details restaurant concept: Developed in partnership with DMK Restaurants, Arbor Lodging Partners revealed details about a new restaurant concept, Tavernonna Italian Kitchen, at its Hotel Phillips in Kansas City, Missouri. Tavernonna will aim to celebrate the “rich, varied history of Italian food, wine and cocktails” with both traditional and contemporary dishes made with ingredients sourced from local farms and vendors.
Asia’s top markets, companies, brands: Lodging Econometrics reports that (excluding China), the top three cities in Asia with the largest hotel construction pipelines by rooms are Seoul with 26,008 rooms/124 projects, Jakarta with 21,390 rooms/122 projects and Tokyo with 12,029 rooms/54 projects. The leading franchise companies in Asia’s hotel construction pipeline (excluding China) are: IHG with 26,211 rooms/116 projects, Marriott International with 25,912 rooms/110 projects and Starwood Hotels & Resorts with 25,632 rooms/115 projects. The leading brand for each of the top three franchise companies in Asia’s pipeline, (excluding China) are Holiday Inn with 10,372 rooms/42 projects, Marriott Hotels with 7,167 rooms/25 projects and Starwood’s Sheraton Hotels with 6,444 rooms/27 projects.