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Briefs: HVMG portfolio grows | Loan for Lightstone

HVMG’s addition to management portfolio: Hospitality Ventures Management Group (HVMG), an Atlanta-based private hotel management and investment company, has assumed management of a four-hotel portfolio of Marriott and Hilton branded hotels in Atlanta and Durham, North Carolina. With a total of 589 rooms, these hotels bring HVMG’s management portfolio to 48 hotels and convention centers in 17 states, totaling 1,584 guest rooms, with more under development. The Durham and Atlanta properties extends the company’s south eastern presence with 19 hotels in the region.

LXR Hotels & Resorts enters Seattle: Hilton’s 120-room Hotel 1000 in Seattle, Washington, is set to transition to LXR Hotels & Resorts, which is Hilton’s luxury collection brand, in August. This will be LXR Hotels & Resort’s first property in the Pacific Northwest. The property features seven flexible event rooms, a boardroom and all-weather greenhouse terrace. LXR Hotels & Resorts features a selection of luxury properties which were developed based on the demand for top-tier properties that retain their unique identity and market prominence. LXR will welcome five new properties to its collection, the company said.

Lightstone gets US$130 million loan: Lightstone Group, the New York-headquartered real estate investment company, received a US$130 million construction loan for the fourth Moxy hotel in New York City. Lightstone recently secured a US$90 million senior loan from MSD Partners for the 303-key hotel along with US$40 million in mezzanine debt from Lionheart Strategic Management. Once completed, the new hotel will span 18 stories and will be managed by Tao Hospitality Group. Lightstone acquired the hotel’s site in April 2019 for approximately US$57 million.  

Hotel Equities new hotel operations president: Albert Smith has been named as the president of hotel operations of Hotel Equities, the Alpharetta, Georgia-based hotel owner, operator and development firm. Smith will report to Hotel Equities’ chief operating officer Bryan DeCort and will provide leadership and oversight to the group’s portfolio of more than 200 hotels. A 20-year veteran in luxury hospitality, Smith has held key leadership roles in several companies. Most recently, he served as the senior vice president of lifestyle hotels at Highgate, a hospitality investment and management company. Prior to that, he served as the senior vice president with Atlanta, Georgia-based Davidson Hotels.

Accor to operate Artista San Antonio: Accor announced a strategic agreement to manage and operate the 112-room Artista San Antonio hotel with San Antonio, Texas-based developer Harris Bay. The hotel, which will open in July 2023, will operate under Accor’s newest lifestyle brand, Morgans Originals. The hotel’s architecture is led by Kris Feldmann Creo Architects in collaboration with a soon-to-be-revealed interior design team. The hotel also features over 2,500 square feet of event and meeting space. Artista San Antonio will join the recently announced Legacy Hotels & Residences in Miami, that will see the portfolio of Morgans Originals grow from three to five properties by 2023.  

Baccarat Hotel in Florence: New York-based SH Hotels & Resorts, in partnership with London-headquartered Omnam Group, will open the first Baccarat Hotel in Florence, Italy, in 2024. Located in the city’s northern edge, Baccarat Hotel Florence will feature guest suites, two food and beverage outlets, a garden café showcasing sustainably sourced food items, and an oculus lounge. SH Hotels & Resorts, an affiliate of Starwood Capital Group, is a hotel management company that operates 1 Hotels, a lifestyle brand that launched in 2015 and has properties in South Beach, Manhattan, Brooklyn Bridge, West Hollywood, Sanya in China.

Largest hotel loan in Spain: The RIU Group has borrowed €825 million (US$972 million) from CaixaBank, the largest hotel loan ever in Spain’s history, to acquire 49% of 19 hotels owned by the tour operator TUI. The loan will also fund the development of new business projects in Mexico and Senegal. Nahomi Riu, the group’s financial director, closed the deal with CaixaBank, which does not plan a mortgage guarantee, in two and a half months. The RIU Group will have the necessary liquidity to acquire the portfolio, valued at €670 million (US$790 million), which will give it full ownership of the properties. Currently, 49% of the assets are owned by TUI Group and 51% by the Riu family.

Deutsche Hospitality expands in Switzerland: Deutsche Hospitality, the Germany-based hotel company, has announced plans to open Hotel Zleep in Lausanne, Switzerland, along with Switzerland-based property developer Gestiparcs Immobilier SA. The 120-room hotel, which will open in 2023, will be built according to the ‘Minergie’ scheme, the Swiss construction standard for new and refurbished low-energy-consumption buildings. The hotel will be a part of a mixed use concept, which includes 300 student apartments, 30 residential units, retail outlets, offices and car parks. This is Deutsche Hospitality’s second hotel in Switzerland after the Zleep Hotel Zurich Kloten.

AHLA award in memory of Arne Sorenson: The American Hotel & Lodging Association, The American Hotel & Lodging Foundation, and The BHN Group announced the launch of The Arne Sorenson Social Impact Leadership Award. The annual award will be given in memory of Arne Sorenson, industry icon and former CEO of Marriott International who died earlier this year. The award will be presented to a senior-level executive in the lodging industry during the AHLA Foundation’s fundraising gala and during the annual Americas Lodging Investment Summit. The first recipient of the award will be announced in January 2022 at the AHLA Foundation’s gala.  

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