Hotel Equities-Coakley & Williams partner: Alpharetta, Georgia-based Hotel Equities and Linthicum Heights, Maryland-based Coakley & Williams Hotel Management have formed a strategic alliance whereby Hotel Equities will provide operational oversight and national support to all hotels within the Coakley & Williams portfolio of properties. The partnership provides Coakley & Williams with additional resources, including Hotel Equities’ operational platform, sales and revenue generation expertise, hospitality training platform and proprietary business intelligence tools.
Starwood Capital buys in Copenhagen: A controlled affiliate of Starwood Capital Group has acquired the Skt. Petri hotel in Copenhagen from Strawberry Forever for an undisclosed sum. The 288-room hotel is also acquiring 50,000-square-feet of leisure and retail space located on the ground floor of the hotel. Alongside the acquisition, Starwood Capital and Strawberry Forever intend to work together to pursue future hotel investments across the Nordics.
Gallant proposes to acquire 66.25% stake in Singapore-Bintan: Gallant Venture is proposing to acquire 66.25% of shares in Singapore-Bintan Resort Holdings for a total consideration of S$4.94 million (US$3.7 million) from shareholders that include Keppel Land, OCBC, UOB, DBS, UOL Equity Investments and Tropical Resorts. The remaining 33.75% shares are held by Salim Group-linked entities which are not involved in the proposed acquisition. Singapore-based Gallant, a developer, master planner and manager for industrial parks and resorts in Batam and Bintan, said that the company has received indications from all shareholders that they accept the company’s proposal to acquire their respective stakes.
Ronan, Colony sell this stake for over US$1.2B: Dublin-based developer Ronan Group Real Estate and U.S. investment firm Colony Capital (based in Boca Raton, Florida) are understood to have agreed the sale of “a majority interest” in the European headquarter offices they are developing for Facebook and Salesforce in Dublin to an international investor for a figure in excess of €1 billion (US$1.2 billion). While Ronan Group declined to comment on the matter, the as-yet-unidentified party is understood to be a new entrant to the Irish market.
Industrious clicks for NYC Wythe: New York City’s Wythe Hotel is further expanding a partnership with U.S. co-working company Industrious. The partnership, Oasis by Industrious at Wythe Hotel, involves converting a selection of loft-style guest rooms into private office suites, in addition to an expanded member perks program. The initial summer partnership saw 30% growth month-over-month with a 40% guest return rate among workers seeking a “comfortable, safe alternative to working from home.”
Sun International joins Global Hotel Alliance: Johannesburg-based gaming and hospitality group Sun International will become the latest addition to the Global Hotel Alliance, a collection of 35 independent brands and 570 hotels in 85 countries that uses a shared technology platform to drive incremental revenues and create cost savings for its member brands. The integration and launch of Sun International’s properties into GHA is expected to be completed by mid-2021. The Table Bay hotel in Cape Town is expected to go live first in April, followed by the rest of Sun International’s properties.
Fertitta Entertainment will go public: Houston, Texas-based Fertitta Entertainment, the parent company of Golden Nugget/Landry’s and Fast Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company, co-headed by Doug Jacob and Sandy Beall, has entered into a definitive merger agreement that will result in Fertitta Entertainment becoming a publicly listed company. Tilman Fertitta, sole owner of Fertitta, will continue to lead the Golden Nugget/Landry’s empire and serve as chairman, president and CEO of the company. Fertitta will also be the company’s largest shareholder with an approximately 60% interest and stock valued upon the closing of the transaction in excess of US$2 billion dollars. No other changes to management are anticipated.
Canada preps for quarantines: Canada’s Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said on Monday that air travelers should be prepared for COVID-19 testing upon arrival in Canada and hotel quarantine requirements to come into effect as soon as February 4. On January 29, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that mandatory COVID testing would soon be required for people returning to Canada, on top of pre-departure test requirements implemented earlier this year. Travelers will then have to wait up to three days at a government-approved hotel for their results, which Trudeau said must be paid by the traveler and could cost upwards of US$2,000.
NYC leads U.S. pipeline: In the recent U.S. Construction Pipeline Trend Report released by Lodging Econometrics, at the close the fourth quarter of 2020 and after more than six quarters since leading all U.S. markets in the number of pipeline projects, New York City has regained top billing again with 150 projects/25,640 rooms. Other U.S. markets that follow are Los Angeles with 148 projects/24,808 rooms; Dallas with 147 projects/17,756 rooms; Atlanta with 140 projects/19,863 rooms, recording a record-high number of rooms; and Orlando with 112 projects/19,764 rooms, a record-high pipeline project count for the market. Despite the impact COVID-19 has had on hotel development, there are four markets in the U.S. that announced more than 10 new construction projects in Q4 ’20. Those markets include Miami with 18 projects accounting for 2,756 rooms, Orlando with 18 projects/4,806 rooms, New York with 17 projects/2,700 rooms, and Atlanta with 11 projects/1,843 rooms.
Japan suffers second blow: Japan’s hospitality industry first grappled with the so-called soft lockdown announced last year, only to see another round being declared by Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on January 7. And unlike the previous decree, the current emergency covering Tokyo and 10 other prefectures has singled out restaurants and bars, raising concern that it could sound the death knell for many establishments and have a long-lasting impact on the nation’s famed culinary landscape.
Times Square Margaritaville coming soon: Musician and businessman Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville Resort empire is coming to Manhattan and, despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, plans to open in Times Square late this spring. Initially set to open in fall 2020, the 234-room hotel will have 4,861 square feet of ground-floor retail space, five restaurants and bars, Times Square’s only outdoor pool, and at least one margarita-equipped Statue of Liberty replica. Construction is estimated to have cost about US$300 million.
Of digital nomads and ‘bleisure’: According to online tech mag TechRepublic, the future of business travel may include a mix of these two concepts. For example, CitizenM hotels recently announced a global passport; a subscription service allowing remote workers with a penchant for frequent traveling the ability to stay in any of the company’s hotels. Other analysts are confident business travel will return to pre-pandemic levels, including increased travel among people who choose to merge professional lives with vacation (aka, “bleisure”).