JW Marriott will debut in Spain: Marriott International has signed an agreement to introduce the JW Marriott brand to Madrid, Spain. Located in the central Plaza de Canalejas, JW Marriott Madrid will be developed by Millenium Hotels Real Estate as part of their lease agreement with a wholly owned subsidiary of Belagua and is expected to open in 2022. The hotel’s design will be led by local architects Arvo Arquitectura de Juan, with interiors by the Madrid team at Rockwell Group. The restored property is expected to offer 139 guestrooms, which will include two floors of suites, all featuring outdoor terraces. Plans for public spaces include a lobby bar, a restaurant and wellbeing spaces.
NH joins Global Hotel Alliance: The Global Hotel Alliance, operator of the multi-brand hotel loyalty program Discovery, announced that Madrid-based NH Hotel Group will join the alliance and merge the NH Rewards loyalty program with Discovery in early 2022. NH Hotel Group is majority-owned by Bangkok-based Minor Hotels, which is a Global Hotel Alliance shareholder.
Yotel London Clerkenwell sells for US$97M: London-based LGIM Real Assets has invested has £70 million (US$97 million) to buy a central London hotel on behalf of its managed property fund. The asset manager said it has bought the 212-room Yotel London Clerkenwell from James Cowper Kreston Administrators. The asset is the Yotel hotel group’s first central London hotel. Yotel will continue to operate the property under a long-term management agreement. In addition to the hotel, the property comprises 3,000 square feet of retail space and five apartments totaling 5,000 square feet.
U.S. State department to list 80% of countries as ‘Do Not Travel’: The U.S. State Department announced Monday that it would begin to update its travel advisories to more closely align with those from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a change that “will result in a significant increase in the number of countries at Level 4: Do Not Travel, to approximately 80% of countries worldwide.” In a media note Monday, the department said, “This does not imply a reassessment of the current health situation in a given country, but rather reflects an adjustment in the State Department’s Travel Advisory system to rely more on CDC’s existing epidemiological assessments.” In the note, the department also said, “the COVID-19 pandemic continues to pose unprecedented risks to travelers.” In light of those risks, the Department of State now strongly recommends U.S. citizens “reconsider all travel abroad.”
NYC’s tourism industry shows signs of revival: Tourists are finally returning to New York City’s once desolate streets, according to reporting from Bloomberg. Such visitors mark a welcome shift after the pandemic dealt a blow to New York’s tourism industry, which supports 400,000 jobs and US$70 billion in annual economic activity. The indicators, while early and subtle, are starting to recover. Since January, the hotel occupancy rate has ticked up six percentage points, to 35%, according to STR. The industry reported its fifth straight monthly increase in average daily room rates, which have risen 12% since December.
Australians ready to head to New Zealand: As travel is revived between Australia and New Zealand this week, research undertaken by ForwardKeys, which has the most up to date and comprehensive fight booking data available, reveals that Australians appear ready to flock to New Zealand. On April 6, New Zealand’s Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, announced that quarantine-free travel would again be possible from April 19. In the week that followed, bookings immediately jumped, with the total number of tickets issued for bidirectional travel between the neighboring countries reaching 49% of those issued in the equivalent week in 2019, the last “normal” travel year, according to ForwardKeys. Out of all tickets issued between Australia and New Zealand, 73% are from Australia going to New Zealand, while 27% are from New Zealand towards Australia.
First ‘Radisson Individuals’ in Southeast Europe: Radisson Hotel Group will open the Hotel Imperial Plovdiv, under the Radisson Individuals brand, in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. The 194-room hotel also marks the group’s return to the Bulgarian market.
Cycas managing three in Europe: Amsterdam-based Cycas Hospitality has signed three management agreements across the UK and Belgium. The first property deal is with Eastern & Oriental (E&O) to manage the E&O Group’s inaugural European serviced apartment property – a 54-room luxury property in London expected to open in autumn 2021. Cycas has also taken over the management of Qbic-branded properties in the UK and Belgium including the 148-room Qbic Brussels and the 261-room Qbic Manchester, which is set to open next month on a prominent site in the city center.
Cross signs third hotel in Pattaya: Bangkok-based Cross Hotels & Resorts has signed a management agreement with Kasetsinn Co. to open Cross Pattaya Phratamnak in Thailand. Set to open in August 2021, the 78-room hotel has a wellness spa, fitness center, kids club, swimming pool, beach house, fine dining restaurant and bar, and meeting facilities.
Hilton releases ESG report: Hilton has released its 2020 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Report, which highlights the company’s environmental, social and governance performance. Hilton received several ESG honors in 2020, including being named the 2020 Global Industry Leader on the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices, a prestigious ranking for corporate responsibility and sustainability performance, for the second consecutive year.
‘Traveling with Intention’: Many hoteliers have experienced isolation and struggle in the past year and have questioned whether pursuing their passions as travel industry suppliers, would remain feasible in the current environment. This is according to Andrew Cohan, managing director of Horwath HTL Miami, who shares his latest thoughts on the industry in a new report called “Traveling with Intention.” He writes: “For the cost of some web research, it can be fruitful for hoteliers to behave as consumers do on social media and find their ‘tribe,’ either in the form of industry associations, social change advocacy groups, or research organizations. Remaining connected, creating community and learning from each other may not guarantee success, but can increase its probability, and feeling part of a ‘movement’ can be quite energizing.”