Loews breaks ground in Texas: Loews Hotels & Co, New York, held a groundbreaking event for the US$550 million, 888-key Loews Arlington Hotel and Convention Center in Arlington, Texas, which will include more than 200,000 square feet of meeting space inside the connected new Arlington Convention Center. The project marks Loews’ debut as a developer with more than US$240 million of its own equity in the project. Slated to open in early 2024, this is the second Arlington hotel for the company.
Ellison reportedly buys Hyatt in Tahoe: Lawrence Investments LLC, led by Oracle Co-Founder Larry Ellison, has reportedly acquired for US$345 million (US$817,535 per key) the 422-room Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe Resort, Spa and Casino in Lake Tahoe’s Incline Village neighborhood. The deal was recorded by Washoe County on September 3. Ellison, who owns a nearby 18,000-square-foot complex, also reportedly acquired an adjacent parcel of approximately 8.6 acres.
Orlando hotel business travel off 81.5%: Orlando hotel business travel revenue is projected to decline 81.5%, losing US$2.27 billion in 2021 compared to 2019 levels, as per a recent report by the American Hotel & Lodging Association and Kalibri Labs. Florida hotels are set to lose more than US$5.3 billion, while hotels across the U.S. are set to close 2021 down more than US$59 billion in business travel revenue after suffering losses worth US$49 billion in 2020. Business travel is not expected to return to pre-pandemic levels till 2024. There will be 500,000 fewer jobs by the end of 2021 as compared to 2019, including more than 44,000 lost jobs in Florida.
Net zero carbon hotel launched: room2, London, announced it will open in December the world’s first whole life net zero carbon hotel in Chiswick in West London. The property is slated to be 89% more energy efficient than other U.K. hotels per sq. m. The property has been built in a way that helps achieve net zero both through design and construction stages. The hotel will convert 100% of its energy requirements from ground source heat pumps and 5% of energy requirement from solar energy source. A ‘blue’ roof will store 50,000 liters of rainwater, while a ‘green’ roof will increase local biodiversity. Two ‘lab rooms’ will provide information on energy, water consumption and air quality while analyzing and learning from guest behavior patterns.
Flight inquiries surge in Singapore: The announcement of ‘vaccinated travel lanes’ in Singapore has resulted in a rush of international flight inquiries, with searches for cities within the island nation’s vaccine travel lanes doubling, as per data by Expedia Group. Singapore recently announced quarantine-free travel lanes with the U.S., the U.K., Canada, France, Denmark, Netherlands, Spain and Italy from October 19 and South Korea from November 15. Travelers must be fully vaccinated and take COVID tests before entering the country. Search interest among Singaporeans increased week-on-week to 180% for Seoul, 160% for Vancouver, 130% for Frankfurt, 120% for London and 80% for Los Angeles.
Millennials prioritize travel: As much as 55% of younger millennials in the U.S. said they will travel as much or more than they did in 2019, according to latest Accenture travel research. About 43% of consumers will travel as much or more than they did in 2019 in the next six months, with an additional 15% being open to it but are planning to make last-minute decisions. Pent-up demand has made travel a priority, with 40% of the respondents saving for a vacation as part of their top five financial priorities in 2022. Almost 48% of Gen Z and 50% of younger millennials prioritize vacations in their budgets for 2022. However, 27% said they won’t travel within the next six months over finances and concerns over sharing crowded places.