Zetter Group acquired by Orca Holding: Orca Holding, a specialist hospitality investor based in Malta, has bought the London-based Zetter Group for an undisclosed amount. The sale includes The Zetter Hotel in Clerkenwell, as well as the Better Townhouses brand, which has two central London Properties. Orca says it has plans to keep the Zetter hotel brands and expand with more properties over time.
Debt investors step up lending: Credit investors are stepping into a void left by banks and insurance companies and providing debt financing for top-quality hotels in a bet on a post-pandemic recovery, according to a new report from real estate services firm JLL. The renewed interest in financing is driving down debt costs for assets like drive-to leisure resorts and trophy or luxury hotels. All-in interest rates for those borrowers have fallen in recent months to the high-3-to-low-4 percentage point range over the London interbank offered rate, according to Kevin Davis, a senior managing director in JLL’s hospitality group. That’s down about 1.5 to 2 percentage points from last summer’s peak.
Business travel isn’t dead, says AmEx: For American Express, the future of corporate travel could be a positive scenario: fewer slogs for routine meetings, but more teambuilding exercises in sunny climates. That’s the scenario presented by Evan Konwiser, the executive vice president of product and strategy for American Express Global Business Travel. What he predicts is a re-envisioning of business travel that prioritizes experiential meetings—in-person bonding opportunities for scattered remote workers and trips that feel more like work perks than obligations. And he says there’s precedent for a strong rebound.
Wyndham’s new dual-brand: Wyndham Hotels & Resorts has broken on its new La Quinta and Hawthorn Suites dual-brand hotel concept in Pflugerville, Texas. This marks the first-ever pairing of the two flags under the same roof and, according to the company, enables owners to target both the business transient and extended-stay demand within any given market. The company has 36 La Quinta and Hawthorn dual-branded hotels in its development pipeline in markets such as San Antonio and El Paso, Texas; Yuma, Arizona; Wichita, Kansas; and Charlotte, North Carolina. The 100-room property is set to open in March 2022.
Remington managing Hampton Inn NY-JFK: Dallas, Texas-based Remington Hotels, a third-party management company, will now manage the Hampton Inn NY-JFK in Jamaica, New York. The recently renovated 216-room hotel is the seventh Remington property in the New York and New Jersey area. The announcement comes on the heels of the recent management agreement with New York LaGuardia Airport Marriott in January, another product of the brand’s growing relationship with ASAP Holdings.
Raffles at Galaxy Macau: Galaxy Entertainment Group has signed on with Accor to open the Raffles at Galaxy Macau in the second half of 2021. The 450-suite property will be an exclusive all-suite addition to the existing Galaxy Macau, a casino resort. Located on the resort’s east promenade, Raffles at Galaxy Macau has a glass airbridge connecting the two towers on every floor.
Rosewood’s 2nd London property: Rosewood Hotels & Resorts has released new details about its London property, including the hotel’s official name, The Chancery Rosewood. Set to open in 2024, the property’s design is being led by a team of designers including architecture restoration by British architect Sir David Chipperfield of David Chipperfield Architects and interiors by French architect Joseph Dirand. The second London property for the brand, the 139-room hotel will also have revitalized public spaces and dining venues designed by Tristan Auer and Bar Studio. Additional amenities and facilities consist of a Yabu Pushelberg designed Asaya integrative wellness facility, five retail outlets and a selection of meeting and events spaces including a 750-guest ballroom.
Hawaii still hurting, but industry slowly recovering: According to the Hawaii Tourism Authority, January’s hotel room revenue was still US$90 million dollars below January of 2020. That’s a nearly 80% decrease. The HTA says there were 1.5 million “room nights” available but only 359,000 were booked. Travel experts are confident that Hawaii is very slowly turning the corner. Travel agents will also play a large role in Hawaii’s tourism recovery, especially when it comes to assisting visitors with the state’s pre-travel testing program and COVID-19 restrictions.
Langkawi’s top-tier hotel market: Malaysia has been under a movement control order since March 18, 2020 and as the country nears the one-year anniversary of this event, Horwath HTL Malaysia looked at the Langkawi Luxury and Upper Upscale hotels to see how they had been performing leading up to and during the global pandemic. Notably, Langkawi suffered a major setback in tourist arrivals in 2020, witnessing a 54% decline to only 1.8 million from the all-time high of 3.92 million arrivals in 2019, in the wake of travel restrictions. It is also noteworthy that about 44% of the arrivals in 2020 were driven by the first quarter. This is reflected in the Occupancy and ADR performances of the Luxury and Upper Upscale hotels in Langkawi, which saw demand shrink once international travel halted.
Raffles Singapore virtual whodunnit: Raffles Hotel Singapore is releasing a virtual interactive play set against the backdrop of the hotel. From April 1 to June 30, guests can investigate the mystery through virtual gameplay, or via exclusive experiences on-site or during their stay at the hotel. Written by playwright Jean Tay and directed by actor/director Hossan Leong, “The Curious Case of the Missing Peranakan Treasure” immerses audiences into the role of a detective tasked to investigate missing treasure of the fictional “Treasures of the Straits” exhibition at the Raffles Hotel Singapore.