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Briefs: Biden opening borders to vaccinated; W adding Florence

New plan will allow vaccinated foreigner to visit US: In a major turning point that will accelerate the recovery of the hotel industry, the Biden Administration in the United States said on Monday that starting in early November it plans to ease travel restrictions on all fully vaccinated foreign visitors. The more uniform requirements long sought after by the travel and tourism community will require all foreign nationals arriving in the United States to show proof of being fully vaccinated. The U.S. Travel Association immediately put out a statement lauding the decision, specifically referring to Commerce Secretary Raimondo for “working with the industry to develop a plan to restart international travel and safely reconnect America with the world.”

Rendering of W Florence.

W Hotels to Florence: Marriott International has signed an agreement with Progetto Majestic S.r.l. to launch the W Hotels Worldwide brand in Florence, Italy. Featuring 120 rooms, including 20 suites, W Florence is slated to open in 2023. Currently, Marriott operates 14 W-branded properties and residences across Europe, Africa and the Middle East. The opening of W Rome this autumn will mark the brand’s debut in Italy.

Querido adds in Morocco: Querido, Vancouver, Canada, has added the Royal Mansour Marrakech in Morocco to its portfolio. The luxury resort, owned by the King of Morocco, opened in 2010. The property consists of 53 individual three-story riads. The portfolio of Querido, which works exclusively with family-owned hotels, currently comprises 20 hotels and two yachts from across five European countries and Morocco.

Accor expands in Africa: Accor, Paris, announced the addition of the Fairmont Djibouti, a new flagship seafront property in Djibouti City, Africa. Comprising 155 rooms and 10 serviced apartments, the hotel is expected to open in 2024. Accor, which currently operates 155 properties in Africa, with 85 more properties in the pipeline, is partnering with Carnegie Hill Hospitality for the property.

Ramsfield-CarVal funds loan secured by Cooper: Ramsfield Hospitality Finance has partnered with funds managed by CarVal Investors to provide a US$135.2 million mortgage loan secured by Cooper Hotels, Memphis, Tennessee, the owner and builder of the 11-property, 2,045-room portfolio of premium Hilton branded hotels in Michigan, Tennessee and Florida. The loan facility was completed within three weeks following a stalemate with the current lender. The Ramsfield-CarVal partnership has completed hotel debt investments worth over US$2 billion.

Stockdale Capital acquires in Salt Lake City: Real estate investment firm Stockdale Capital Partners, Los Angeles, California, announced the acquisition of the DoubleTree Suites Salt Lake City Downtown from HRI Properties, New Orleans, Louisiana. No acquisition price was available. The 241-room property includes 5,752 square feet of meeting space and is located in the city’s business hub and close to ski resorts. Stockdale currently manages around US$1 billion in assets on behalf of joint ventures and discretionary closed-end fund.

New incubator for hospitality start-ups: CitizenM COO Michael Levie, along with Bangkok-based brand strategist David Keen, have launched KUBE Ventures, a global incubator to accelerate change in hospitality. With a bigger purpose to better realize hospitality’s potential. KUBE Ventures creates and partners with start-ups, leveraging KUBE Circle and KUBE Conscience to grow ideas. KUBE Circle brings together hospitality leaders in a club-like concept to form global think tanks for knowledge sharing, education and networking. It will also be its own catalyst of start-ups. KUBE Ventures is governed by KUBE Conscience – an appointed board to measure the values and potential of each entity.

Dusit adds to management portfolio: Dusit International, Bangkok, has entered into a management agreement with Chuxiong Rongda Real Estate Development Co. Ltd. to operate the 275-room dusitD2 Chuxiong, Yunnan, in southwest China. Dusit is represented by Dusit Fudu Hotels and Resorts in China. Slated to open in Q2 2023, this will be the first internationally branded hotel in Chuxiong Yi Autonomous Prefecture. Dusit currently includes 300 properties operating under six brands in 17 nations. The company currently operates 10 hotels in China and there are more than 20 properties in the pipeline.

Meliá bank deal for franchisees: To help grow its franchising model, Meliá Hotels International, Mallorca, Spain, has reached an agreement with BBVA bank to offer potential Meliá franchisees access to preferential financing conditions to meet their cash needs. The company already has a portfolio of 50 franchised hotels with another seven hotels scheduled to join in the near future.

Tripadvisor enhances subscription plan: Tripadvisor, Needham, Massachusetts, is enhancing its Tripadvisor Plus, the newly-launched travel subscription service, which will enable hotels to participate in the plan using their retail rates instead of the discount price which was the norm so far, and offer a set of perks. Tripadvisor Plus subscribers can access rewards at check-in instead of accessing savings when they book. The rewards will be equivalent to a percentage of what the traveler paid for the stay and will be valid for every Tripadvisor Plus booking. The reward is fungible — the traveler can opt to apply the reward on future trips or cash out.

Security breach at 21c Museum Hotels: 21c Museum Hotels, Louisville, Kentucky, announced that personal information of a group of employees was accessed by “external actors” from their email accounts. While all emails and attachments of the affected email accounts were reviewed, the company failed to locate the address information of some individuals. Although the investigation found no proof of attempted or actual misuse of any employee’s personal information, the company is offering two years of free identity theft and credit monitoring services to all the impacted employees.

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