Pendry lands Manhatten West: Pendry Hotels, in collaboration with Brookfield Properties, has been selected as the hotel operating partner for Manhattan West – an eight-acre, six-building mixed-use development located in Manhattan’s Hudson Yards district. The brand’s first New York City property, Pendry Manhattan West, will feature 164 guestrooms including 30 suites, a signature restaurant and lounge, open-air terrace bar, and meeting and event space. The hotel is expected to open in 2021.
Concord sells the Diplomat: Concord Wilshire has sold the majority of its interest in one of its South Florida hospitality assets. Diplomat Golf Course Venture, an affiliate of Concord Wilshire, has sold the majority of its interest in the Diplomat Golf Resort & Spa, located in Hallandale Beach, Florida, for approximately US$44.5 million to Maltese Diplomat Owner. Diplomat Golf Course Venture, LLC remains an equity partner in the new ownership group led by South Florida developer, Ari Pearl and his PPG Development Group. The Diplomat features an 18-hole golf course, a 60-key AAA Five Diamond hotel, a 48-slip marina, and 10 clay tennis courts. Concord Wilshire originally acquired the property in 2014 and successfully obtained approvals in 2016 for a major resort expansion and residential development consisting of four towers of 1,188 additional hotel rooms and condominium residences.
MCR looking to acquire Marriotts/Hiltons: MCR, a large U.S. hotelier, has closed a fund with an estimated US$1 billion in purchasing power with plans to acquire around 50 to 55 hotels branded by Marriott International and Hilton the firm said on Friday. The MCR Hospitality Fund LP, the firm’s first fund, has capital commitments of about US$300 million and is on track to acquire 25 hotels by year’s end, the company said.
Lawsuit in Harvey hotel worker death: The family of a hotel worker whose body was found 11 days after Hurricane Harvey hit the Omni Houston Hotel where she worked has filed a civil lawsuit saying there wasn’t proper planning for flooding at the hotel. The lawsuit, which lists Omni Hotels and Resorts and Otis Elevator Company among the defendants, reveals new details of what happened in the moments leading up to the drowning of 48-year-old Renick.
Pacific names COO: Pacific Hospitality Group has named Paul J. McCormick as president and chief operating officer. Prior to joining PHG, McCormick excelled in corporate and hotel-level leadership roles at a number of prominent hospitality companies. Most recently, as SVP of Miraval Group, he was responsible for providing operational oversight of the company’s destination wellness resorts and spas and helped with the transition of the group’s assets to Hyatt Hotels Corporation.
U.S. hotel transactions up, up, up: In the first trimester of 2018, U.S. hotel transaction volumes reached more than US$11.9 billion – a 93% increase over last year, according to preliminary figures released by JLL. Deal pace is driven by South Florida and West Coast markets including Hawaii, resort properties, and portfolios of prime full-service hotels.
Who’s selling: Consolidation continues among hotel brand and parent companies, such as Wyndham Hotel Group’s recent acquisition of La Quinta Inns for US$1.95 billion.
Who’s buying: Canadian and Mainland China investors represented the main sources of non-domestic investment, which represented 18% of total transaction volume. Private equity firms accounted for 48% of trades in YTD April 2018.
New Omm management: Amsterdam-based hotel group Europe Hotels Private Collection, founded and owned by Liran Wizman, has acquired the management of Hotel Omm in Barcelona. The property, owned by Rosa María Esteva, co-founder of Grupo Tragaluz, will be converted into a Sir Hotel, EHPC’s design-led, lifestyle hotel collection.
Rosewood in Houston: Rosewood Hotels & Resorts will open a new hotel in Houston in 2023, Rosewood’s second in Texas. The hotel will be part of a mixed-use, high rise development led by Houston-based McNair Interests, managed by the Houston-based Patrinely Group and designed by international architecture firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP. The site will also include luxury residences, multi-family residences, retail and office space.
Scandic rebrand complete: After acquiring Finnish-based Restel’s hotel operations in 2017, Scandic Hotels has completed the rebranding of the company’s former Cumulus hotels to the Scandic brand. The process of rebranding the hotels started in February, with Scandic rebranding an average of three hotels a week.
W LBBTQ+ W plans to debut a series of curated travel guides for global LGBTQ+ travelers. The first of the guides will be available around the world on W’s site The Angle as of June 6 with additional guides being released regularly throughout the year.
Dream launches Chatwal: DreamHotel Group will launch a 5-star luxury brand The Chatwal in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico in 2020. Designed by architecture firm CallisonRTKL and developed by Mexico-based Tamayo Desarrollos, the property will have 44 freestanding villas and 125 branded residences perched on a cliff overlooking the Laja River Valley.