Driftwood fund buys in Houston: Miami-based Driftwood Capital, through its acquisition GP fund, has acquired the Hotel Indigo Houston at the Galleria, a 131-key hotel located in Houston’s Uptown submarket. The firm will open investment syndication for the property on September 1 with a minimum investment of US$50,000. This is the fourth hotel property that Driftwood Capital has added to its portfolio in the last 12 months. Earlier this year, the firm acquired the 316-room Hyatt Regency Fairfax in Virginia, while it acquired the 248-key Hilton Southlake in Dallas and the 399-key Sheraton Pittsburgh Hotel at Station Square in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 2020. All properties are managed by Driftwood Capital’s affiliate company. Driftwood Hospitality Management Driftwood Capital, which has acquired 22 full-service hotels and developed seven new ground-up hotel projects since its inception, retains a 10% stake in all investments.
Miami Worldcenter hotel, expo site sale: MDM Group sold its five-acre Miami Worldcenter site to New York City developer Witkoff and Chicago-based asset management firm Monroe Capital for US$94 million, dashing plans for the Marriott Marquis Miami Worldcenter Hotel & Expo. Witkoff and Monroe Capital haven’t shared their plans for the site. The site is zoned for over 60 stories and can house a mix of residential, hospitality and commercial uses. After MDM bought the site in 2017, it finalized its project to replace the Miami Arena with a 600,000-square-foot convention center and a 1,700-room hotel. First announced in 2006, the Miami Worldcenter is one of the largest urban developments in the U.S., delivering some new hotels, high-rises, retail and restaurant space in downtown.
Grand Hotel Central sale: The Único Hotels group, owned by the Guardens family, sold the 146-room Grand Hotel Central in Barcelona to Schroders Capital Real Estate for €93 million (US$110 million). Schroders Capital and The Único Hotels plan to utilize the hotel’s recent refurbishment to secure their position in Barcelona’s luxury hotel market. The acquisition was made through the Schroder European Operating Hotel Fund I. Schroders Capital currently has €18.6 billion (US$22 billion) in assets under management.
Azora’s investment plan: Azora European Hotel & Lodging, the real estate fund which invests in hotels in southern Europe, plans to close the year with an invested portfolio of €400 million (US$473 million). It expects to close operations for €200 million (US$236 million) before the summer holidays. In April, the fund closed its first operation with the purchase of the Arenas Resort Giverola complex, located in Tossa de Mar (Girona, Spain) from the Swiss hotel group Arenas Resorts. The company said it has an investment capacity of almost €1,500 million (US$1,776 million) in assets in the Mediterranean, with special focus in the Iberian Peninsula and also in southern Europe.
Primonial Group’s deal with Dominique Ozanne: Primonial Group’s real estate unit signed a strategic partnership with Dominique Ozanne, chairman of Hova Hospitality and former chief executive officer of Covivio Hotels. The partnership covers advisory services for the future acquisition of hotel assets in Europe and support for the management of hotel assets already held by the funds managed by the Primonial Group, valued at roughly €900 million (US$1,065 million). The Primonial Group plans to diversify its asset allocation in Europe, replicating their position in healthcare real estate, where it has over €9 billion (US$10.6 billion) in assets under management.
Insolvency proceedings against Oyo closed: The insolvency proceedings against Indian hospitality chain Oyo and one of its subsidiaries was closed by the Indian tribunal, National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT), which also disallowed the intervention of external parties including the Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI). The FHRAI had claimed in May that the NCLAT allowed it to intervene on behalf of hotels in the insolvency case. Oyo will continue to work with its hotel partners for the closure of any pending claim. Indian hotelier Rakesh Yadav had filed an insolvency plea against a unit of Oyo but withdrew it after resolving the matter with the hospitality chain in June. In April, the National Company Law Tribunal, Ahmedabad, initiated insolvency proceedings against Oyo’s subsidiary, Oyo Hotels and Homes, based on Yadav’s case, who had claimed that the subsidiary had defaulted on a payment of Rs 16 lakh (US$21,452).
Corporate, international travel rebound: Business and international travel should recover by 2022, as per the fifth Bank of America survey regarding global travel since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the survey, 46% of U.S. respondents expect to take their next business trip in 2022 or later, compared to 40% of respondents in the prior survey, and “56% [of respondents] now expect to travel more vs 50% previously.” The survey reveals that two-thirds of Chinese and Japanese respondents expect their 2021 travel to be at or above pre-pandemic levels. In Europe, 47% of the respondents expect travel to increase relative to the pre-pandemic level with a top priority for 27%. Europe remains the top destination for international travel once borders reopen, the report says.
Packages, promos matter: Almost 92% of people will be heading to international destinations once the world is safe, a recent survey by PR and marketing consultancy Parker Sanpei has revealed. The respondents placed enhanced safety and cleanliness protocols towards the bottom of their criteria and there was no preference between vacation rentals and hotels/resorts. By the end of a deliberation that started with “packages and promotions” being important for return travelers, respondents unanimously agreed that “upgrades on check-in” were better for increasing loyalty. According to the survey, marketing and advertising that will work with travelers presented the most unexpected predictions and are steering experts away from wasting money while focusing on things like brand building, packages and imagery over traditional tactics like print advertisements (with a 92% negative rating) and travel planning sites (with a 60% negative rating).