Tristan fund acquires Manchester hotel: Tristan Capital Partners’ EPISO 5 Fund announced the acquisition of a 261-room, 4-star hotel in Manchester, England, in keeping with its new €500 million (US$582.11 million) hotel investment strategy. The hotel opened in May after a three-year transformation from an office building. It will be rebranded to Yotel, which currently has 18 hotels across Europe, North America and Asia. The property will be managed by Hamilton Hotel Partners.
Suit against NYC over change in zoning code: New Yorkers for Tourism, a group businesses and employees, have filed a suit against New York City in Manhattan Supreme Court to overturn the Special Permit Requirement that will mandate developers to go through an “arduous, time consuming, expensive and uncertain” review procedure before they can build new hotels. The Special Permit Requirement, which is yet to be passed, will be codified as a text amendment in the zoning code, requiring developer to go through the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure and eventually be approved by the City Council.
Hilton’s tech-driven enhancements: Hilton announced the launch of technology-driven enhancements to improve the guest experience across the company’s 18 brands. The Digital Key Share feature will allow more than one guest (up to four more people or devices) to access their room’s Digital Key through the Hilton Honors app. Hilton has also enhanced the Hilton Honors benefit, which will provide eligible Gold and Diamond members with early confirmation of complimentary room upgrades. Members will be informed about their space-available upgrade 72 hours before their arrival, allowing guests to check in to their upgraded room from the app.
Gulph Creek debuts in Georgia: Gulph Creek Hotels, Wayne, Pennsylvania, has been selected to manage the 186-key Four Points by Sheraton Atlanta Airport West in Atlanta, Georgia. The hotel, which opened in January 2019, is Gulph’s first property management project in Georgia. This is Gulph’s most recent Four Points by Sheraton management venture, after the recently-opened Four Points by Sheraton Albany and the Four Points by Sheraton Boston Newton in 2020. Gulph operates more than 20 hotels, with over 2,800 rooms.
Saudi Arabia to convert oil rig into hotel, theme park: Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund will be converting a huge oil rig into a tourist attraction called The Rig, which will include an 800-room hotel resort and theme park. Spanning 150,000 square meters, the venue will have three hotels, restaurants, helipads and adventure and sports activities. The fund hasn’t disclosed the location of the theme park and its opening date as yet, adding that project is part of its 2021-2025 strategy.
Accor joins sustainability initiative: Accor is the first global company to join the HRS’ Green Stay Initiative, which was launched in March to provide a transparent avenue for hotels to share their performance in energy, waste and water. So far, hotels from across 62 countries have participated in the initiative, which uses an algorithm based on United Nations and Greenhouse Gas Protocol methodologies to deliver analytical data to travel program leaders to consider during their hotel procurement procedure. While booking hotels online, travelers can see an icon identifying a property as a preferred green hotel, which further enhances compliance.