Kimpton grows in Thailand: Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants unveiled the 100-room wellness resort Kimpton Khao Yai in the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Khao Yai, which will open in 2024. It marks the brand’s third property in Thailand following the brand debut in 2020. The new property will have 70 rooms and 30 pool villas. The resort will be a part of the Nusa MyOzone Project, a 600-are integrated resort featuring an 18-hole golf course, recreational and retail facilities, hotels and residences and a private airport. IHG currently has 29 hotels across eight brands in Thailand and 34 more in the pipeline. The company expects to double its presence in Thailand in the next five years and expand its Luxury and Lifestyle portfolio in the country by 50%.
Related, SH Hotels & Resorts launch Baccarat residences: Related Group, Miami, Florida, and Starwood Capital Group’s SH Hotels & Resorts along with French crystal company Baccarat, have launched the sale of Baccarat Residences Miami. The investment partner of Related is GTIS Partners, New York. Arquitectonica, Meyer Davis and Enzo Enea will be working on the architecture and design of the 75-story building. The property is currently 60% reserved and is slated to be completed in 2025. A collection of 318 flow-through tower residences starts from the 15th level and continue till the top four floors with eight penthouses. All the residences feature open-concept living areas with floor-to-ceiling windows and water views. The residences will be delivered ready to be occupied with designer finishes.
Times Square Edition heads to auction: The Times Square Edition in New York City will be auctioned off after a New York State court entered a judgment of foreclosure and sale. The property, comprising the 42-story hotel, digital billboard and retail space, was earlier valued at US$2 billion and has been under dispute between its owner Maefield Development and a group of lenders, led by Natixis SA. Recently, a US$150 million loan on the ground beneath the hotel was marked for sale. The property moved a step toward foreclosure when earlier this year a court ruled in favor of the lender group led by Natixis.
Peachtree, Verakin JV acquisitions in California: Peachtree Hotel Group, the Atlanta, Georgia-based real estate private equity investment firm, in its first joint venture partnership with Verakin Capital, San Mateo, California, has acquired the 81-room Hampton Inn & Suites and the 60-room La Bellasera Hotel & Suites in Paso Robles, California. Peachtree division Peachtree Hospitality Management will operate the properties. The deal’s price and terms were not disclosed. Peachtree will be converting La Bellasera Hotel & Suites to a Tapestry Collection by Hilton. As part of the conversion, the hotel’s signage will be replaced and common spaces, meeting space, F&B outlets, rooms and guest amenities will be upgraded. The Hampton Inn & Suites will also be renovated.
KAYAK grows its hotel brand: KAYAK, Stamford, Connecticut, announced the expansion of its international hotel portfolio with the launch of KAYAK Sol-Playa del Carmen and KAYAK Luna- Playa del Carmen in Mexico. This comes eight months after opening its first hotel, KAYAK Miami Beach. Both hotels are accepting reservations for stays starting from December 13. The company is looking for hotel partners (developers and owners) to further expand growth.
Explorar, Stand Out Hotel Group sign agreement: Explorar Hotels & Resorts, the Phuket-based new resort and hotel brand, has signed an exclusive master franchise agreement with Stand Out Hotel Group, the Edmonton, Canada-based full-service third-party hotel management company. The agreement will see the targeted growth and development of Stand Out Hotel Group in Central America, the Caribbean and Mexico over the next five years. Explorar Hotels & Resorts was launched earlier this year, with its first property — Explorar Pawapi Koh Mook — in Southern Thailand, followed by the announcement of Explorar Treehouses El Nido, which is expected to welcome guests from 2024.
Ascott, Kimaya partnership: The Ascott Ltd., the Singapore-based wholly owned lodging business unit of CapitaLand, has entered into a strategic partnership with Indonesia’s Kimaya Group and signed five agreements to manage 1,134 rooms under the Kimaya and HARRIS brand. Two of the properties are located in Bandung and one each in Jakarta, Bali and Yogyakarta. With more than 150 properties and over 11,000 units across 40 cities in Indonesia, the country is Ascott’s second-largest market after China. Three hotels, located in Jakarta, Yogyakarta and Bandung, will be rebranded as Kimaya hotels by December. In October, Kimaya acquired two HARRIS hotels in Bandung and Bali.
Crestline adds two Houston hotels to portfolio: Crestline Hotels & Resorts, Fairfax, Virginia, announced it will manage two hotels — the 190-key Hilton Garden Inn Houston Energy Corridor and the 182-room Hilton Garden Inn Houston/Galleria Area — in Houston, Texas. With the addition of these two hotels, Crestline now manages 10 properties in Texas. The company currently manages 130 hotels, resorts and conference centers with almost 18,800 rooms across 29 states and the District of Columbia.
Hotel chain presence dips in Spain: For the first time in recent years, there has been a decline in the hotel chain presence in Spain, with figures hovering between 2018 and 2019 levels, according to the ‘Spain Hotels & Chains Report 2021’ by Horwath HTL. Chain penetration remained stable in-line with previous years at about 35% by number of hotels and 58% by number of total keys. The number of total brands increased by around 17% compared to 2019 levels, driven by the arrival of international brands like Four Seasons, Ikos, Hard Rock and Anantara. In terms of room count, Meliá Hotels International, Eurostars Hotel Co. and Barceló Hotel Group led in domestic chains, while Marriott International and Accor Hotels led the international segment. New entrant Apple Leisure Group holds the fourth position with around 10,000 rooms. Hotel investment plunged 61% in 2020, with value of assets transacted reaching €960 million (US$1,096.97 million).
Asia Pacific construction pipeline stays steady: Projects in Asia Pacific’s total construction pipeline, barring China, dipped YOY by 3% (standing at 1,758 projects), while rooms saw a 1% decline YOY (standing at 382,434 rooms) at the end of Q3 2021, according to the recent Construction Pipeline Trend Report by Lodging Econometrics. Projects currently under construction are 858 projects/195,518 rooms, down 9% by projects and 8% by rooms. Projects scheduled to start construction within the next 12 months stand at 396 projects, up 1% YOY, accounting for 78,030 rooms. Projects in initial planning reached peak room counts and closed the quarter at 504 projects/108,886 rooms, up 5% by projects and 15% by rooms YOY. Indonesia led as the country with the highest pipeline in Asia Pacific (with 308 projects/49,063 rooms), followed by India (273 projects/36,065 rooms), and Vietnam (189 projects/74,695 rooms). These three countries accounted for 44% of the region’s total pipeline. The top companies are Marriott International with 259 projects/55,871 rooms, Accor with 217 projects/49,294 rooms, and IHG with 139 projects/28,523 rooms. These three companies accounted for 35% of the region’s total hotel construction pipeline.
Mainsail launches Stay Sojo: Mainsail Lodging & Development, Tampa, Florida, announced the launch of Stay Sojo, a rebranded and expanded unit of the company’s Mainsail Corporate Housing venture. Stay Sojo offers fully furnished one, two and three-bedroom apartment homes, with some pet-friendly units, in more than 100 cities across the U.S. for both short as well as long-term stays. Mainsail specializes in hotel, furnished housing and resort property management and development, marketing and sales. Mainsail has been offering furnished living accommodations in over 560 properties in the U.S. since 2020.