Marketing in a post-vaccine U.S.: Confidence in travel has started to climb again in the U.S., according to new data from YouGov. That data also took a look at consumer trends among key U.S. travel audiences and puts a spotlight on some of the biggest questions facing travel marketers today. What factors are driving travelers’ choices? In April 2021, over two in five U.S. adults (44%) said they planned to take a vacation within the U.S. at some point in the next year, showing a 10-point increase in domestic demand since November 2020 (34%). It’s an indication that, at least for now, vacationers will stick closer to home.
Disney resort adds timeshare units: Disney confirmed it would make the rare move of shifting some existing rooms from its Grand Floridian Resort in Orlando, Florida, to the on-site Disney Vacation Club timeshare company. According to Orlando Weekly, this will come in the form of the hotel’s “Big Pine Key building” being transformed into 200 new Disney Vacation Club studio suites, which will open next year. The move toward timeshares could suggest a push toward further cultivating loyalty — especially coming off of a year of intense instability.
Marathon buyer in UK: MCAP Global Finance, a UK affiliate of New York-based investment manager Marathon Asset Management, has bought 17 assets (15 Holiday Inns and two Crowne Plazas) for an undisclosed price from Cerberus Capital Management. The portfolio consists of 17 branded, full-service IHG hotels across the UK. Most of the assets (2,374 rooms) have recently been refurbished and well-positioned for an industry rebound. CBRE advised Marathon and Eastdil Secured advised Cerberus. In 2019, Marathon sold to Thailand’s DTGO Corp. a portfolio of 17 IHG and Hilton asset.
IHG signs 3 in Turkey: IHG Hotels & Resorts has signed three properties in Turkey, including the 214-room InterContinental Grand Ankara scheduled to open in 2023; the 259-room Crowne Plaza Istanbul Tuzla Viaport Marina; and 122-room Holiday Inn Express Ankara Airport, schedule to open in 2022.
Adaptive mixed-use for Radisson: Radisson Hotel Group Americas is partnering with Chicago-based Lockwood Development Partners to acquire and jointly re-develop nine hotels across eight states in partnership with Veteran Services USA. The properties will be franchised with Radisson and managed by Commonwealth Hotels, based in Covington, Kentucky. Commonwealth will undertake a multi-million-dollar renovation of the properties, which will be adaptive mixed-use hotel conversions. The hotels will be in bifurcate buildings with separate entrances for residential and hotel use and will additionally market to veterans and senior communities that visit these areas for programs and care.