Rival bid for Crown by Star, Blackstone ups offer: Casino operator The Star Entertainment Group has submitted a merger proposal to main rival Crown Resorts. The non-binding proposal offers 2.68 Star shares per Crown share, which Star says values Crown shares above $14. Crown shareholders would also be offered the alternative of $12.50 cash per share, up to a limit of 25% of its shares. The merger proposal trumps a bid by U.S. private equity firm Blackstone, which was raised over the weekend from $11.85 to $12.35. The new cash offer puts an $8.4 billion value on Crown.
Intercontinental Double Bay sells: A Chinese private equity group has sold the Intercontinental Hotel Double Bay in Sydney, Australia, for US$178 million to Melbourne-based developer Fridcorp, founded and headed by Paul Fridman. Independent sources say there are suggestions that Fridcorp, in a joint venture with Piety Group, paid US$178 million to Shanghai United for the luxury 5-star hotel, amid plans to re-style it as a Louis Vuitton-branded hotel. The hotel, which is managed by Intercontinental Hotels Group, includes function and conference facilities, two bars, a rooftop pool and bar and 156 underground car spaces.
Sternlicht expects sellouts: In Starwood Property Trust’s Q121 earnings report, CEO Barry Sternlicht said it will be a while before group business and international travel return, but added luxury hotels and resorts are doing well with rates having doubled or tripled for some Starwood properties. He also said sellouts are expected this summer. “This summer is going to be a free-for-all. America is going to party this summer like it’s 1999,” he said, adding that some cancellations are expected. Greenwich, Connecticut, and Miami Beach-based Stawood reported US$111 million in first quarter earnings, or 38 cents per share, up 67% from the same period in 2020. The REIT reported US$287.2 million in revenue for the first quarter, down about 8% from US$312.6 million in the same period of the previous year.
UAE group’s expansion plans: Dubai-based Time Hotels is set to nearly double its portfolio of properties by 2025, including new hotels in Saudi Arabia. The UAE-headquartered hospitality company and hotel operator will reveal its plans to open eight new properties across the Middle East and the Indian Ocean over the next 18 months. The company currently has 14 properties consisting of 1,465 keys in operation across the UAE and wider GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council). The goal, according to Time CEO Mohammed Awadalla, is to expand that portfolio to 30 properties by 2025.
Sun sells Kanuhura Maldives to HPL: Mauritian hotelier Sun Limited has sold Kanuhura, its only property in the Maldives, to allow it to focus more attention on its interests locally. The buyer is Leisure Oceans Private, which is a new subsidiary set up by Hotel Properties Ltd., Singapore. Sun Resorts’ portfolio includes Sugar Beach, Long Beach, La Pirogue and Ambre in Mauritius. Kanuhura, which was also once part of the One&Only stable, was its only property outside Mauritius. Kanuhura is an 80-villa island in the Lhaviyani atoll, a 40-minute seaplane flight from Male.
Fusion acquires Glow Hotels and Resorts: Vietnam-based Fusion Hotels and Resorts has acquired the Thai-based Glow Hotels and Resorts, which develops and operates properties across Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam. Following the merger, Fusion said it would continue to focus on increasing its presence in Vietnam, as well as capitalizing on attractive growth opportunities in its new Malaysian and Thai foothold.
Rosewood to Hangzhou: Rosewood Hotels & Resorts will open the 140-room Rosewood Hangzhou in China in 2026. Located in Wangjiang New City, the new build luxury hotel will be set within a progressive mixed-use development project, the Wangjiang New City development, which will include a K11 Art Mall, office buildings and workspaces, luxury residences and cultural attractions, in addition to Rosewood Hangzhou. The 16-story hotel itself will sit in a standalone building. The architecture of the project will be led by Büro Ole Scheeren, with interiors by Shanghai-based Neri&Hu. Additional amenities will include four dining outlets, a fitness centre, indoor pool and hydrotherapy areas.
New 4-star hotel for Dublin Airport: A new 410-room luxury hotel is to be built at Dublin Airport next door to Terminal 2. Costing €100 million (US$121 million), the hotel will be linked to the terminal. The UK-based hotel group Arora has lodged a planning application for the development. Arora currently owns and operates 12 hotels, including 10 located at airports. The group has more than 5,000 rooms in the greater London area, including at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted airports. The new Dublin Airport hotel, which will have at least a 4-star rating, is Arora’s first move into the Irish market.
Union Investment buys in Stuttgart: German institutional investor Union Investment has acquired the Turm am Mailänder Platz hotel development in Stuttgart, Germany, from Austrian developer Strabag Real Estate for €137 million (US$167 million). The forward sale includes 429 rooms across two new-build hotels, including a 169-room Adina Aparthotel and a 260-room Premier Inn. The development, which is scheduled to complete in December 2021, is located in Stuttgart’s Europa district close to the new main railway station.
LaSalle acquires London hotel ground lease: Chicago real estate investment manager LaSalle has acquired the ground lease of the St. Martins Lane Hotel in London from Luxembourg-based real estate investor Vivion for £54.3 million (US$76 million), according to reporting from HVS. The 100-room luxury property, located in the city’s Theatre District near Covent Garden, is managed by Accor following its recent acquisition of U.S. lifestyle operator SBE. Vivion had previously acquired the hotel along with London’s Sanderson hotel from Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim Al Thani for £255 million (US$357 million) in 2019.
Park selling two select-serve hotels: U.S. REIT Park Hotels & Resorts has entered into a definitive contract to sell the 210-room Hotel Indigo San Diego Gaslamp Quarter and the 204-room Courtyard Washington Capitol Hill Navy Yard in Washington, D.C., to an undisclosed purchaser for a combined US$149 million (US$360,000 per key). When adjusted for its anticipated capital expenditures, the sale price for the assets reportedly represents a 7% 2019 capitalization rate (7.4% excluding capex), or 12.8x 2019 EBITDA (12.2x excluding capex).
Flex office brand to launch in 5 cities: Bridge Commercial Real Estate, the Atlanta, Georgia-based subsidiary of Bridge Investment Group, is opening an initial 158,000 square feet of flex office space in five metro areas in the U.S. The spaces are geared toward big companies wanting suburban stopovers for their employees. Named Abridge, the flex office program is expected to grow to 1 million square feet across Bridge’s national portfolio, which spans more than 14 million square feet of office space in more than 100 properties in 15 states.
Wyndham pipeline sees growth: In the first quarter of 2021, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts converted 52 independent and branded hotels to one of its 20 brands, accounting for over 70% percent of its global room additions. The brand’s overall development pipeline has continued to expand both domestically and internationally with new conversion opportunities. Wyndham awarded 112 new franchise contracts in the first quarter of 2021, and by March 31 the development pipeline had grown sequentially from Q4 to approximately 1,400 hotels and approximately 187,000 rooms.
MCR acquires Staybridge Suites Cathedral City: New York-based MCR won a foreclosure auction for the 197-room Staybridge Suites Cathedral City Palm Springs, an IHG Hotel, based in Palm Springs, California. The acquisition marks MCR’s expansion into the California market.
New rules for England’s ‘green list countries’: Twelve destinations have been put on a green travel list for people in England, meaning anyone returning will not need to quarantine from May 17. However, places on the green list — which includes Portugal, Israel and Gibraltar — have their own restrictions on who can visit from abroad. The transport secretary said the UK approach was “necessarily cautious.” But the travel industry has said it is too cautious and called it a reopening of air travel “in name only.” Turkey, the Maldives and Nepal will be added to England’s red list of countries on May 12, meaning travelers from those destinations will have to quarantine in a hotel for 10 days on their return.
Travel recovery report: A new quarterly trend report with a focus on travel recovery has been released by Expedia Group Media Solutions, the digital advertising arm of Expedia Group. The report features data and insights from custom research, as well as exclusive global Expedia Group “travel intent and demand data.” Highlights from the report include:
- Increases in searches and traveler demand were linked with growing momentum for COVID-19 vaccine roll-out and travel guidelines
- In searches in North America, the week of March 15 saw the largest spike in searches – an increase of 30% – following the Center for Disease Control’s (CDC) release of guidelines for fully vaccinated individuals
- Most global Q1 2021 searches fell within the 0-21 days search window – and while this trend is strengthening for domestic trips, longer search windows for international trips are beginning to emerge
- In EMEA, searches 91+ days out represented almost 40% of international searches made in Q1 2021, up from around 25% in Q4 2020
- Beach and city destinations made up the top 10 booked destinations around the world
- Vacation rental demand increased and the global average length of stay for vacation rentals jumped 30%
Mumbai hotels get a boost: Mumbai’s hospitality sector, which is struggling in the face of losses suffered as a result of the COVID-19 lockdown in the state, has received a boost with the energy and revenue departments offering electricity duty and non-agriculture (NA) tax to registered hotels at the industrial rate instead of the higher commercial rate. As electricity duty for the industrial sector is charged at 9%, much lower than the 21% for the commercial sector, the overall power charges will go down, giving hotels a major relief.