Rosewood heads to San Francisco: Rosewood San Francisco is slated to open in 2026 with 180 rooms in the Transbay district, occupying 15 floors of the new 61-story building that spans around 1.1 million square feet. The 800-foot-tall building is designed by Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects. F4 Transbay Partners, a joint venture of international real estate firm Hines, Urban Pacific and the real estate business within Goldman Sachs Asset Management, has chosen Rosewood Hotels & Resorts to manage the hotel. Rosewood currently manages 26 luxury hotels, resorts and residences across 15 nations and has 26 properties under development.
Bill for financial assistance to NYC workers: Unemployed hotel staff are likely to get financial assistance under a New York City Council bill that could mandate hotel owners to pay employers up to US$1,000 a week in severance, a move that is seen as an incentive for hotels to resume business. The union-backed bill, which is expected to be introduced by Queens Councilman Francisco Moya, is aimed at hotels where more than 75% staff remain unemployed or at least 50% of rooms are unoccupied. Out-of-job staff at the closed hotels will receive weekly payments of US$500 for 15 weeks, which will then increase to US$1,000 per week for the next 15 weeks. The bill is expected to apply to workers of about 40 closed hotels and will retroactively take effect from September 6.
CoralTree adds brand: CoralTree Hospitality, in partnership with its parent company Lowe, has acquired a controlling interest in the Magnolia Hotels brand from Denver-based Stout Street Hospitality. CoralTree will manage four of Magnolia’s six properties in Denver, Houston, St. Louis and Omaha, while licensing the name to the New Orleans and Dallas properties. The Denver, Houston and St. Louis hotels will remain a part of Marriott’s Tribute portfolio distribution network. With the addition of the six new Magnolia Hotels, CoralTree has a portfolio of 22 hotels and resorts throughout the United States. Stout Street Hospitality will continue to asset manage its current portfolio as well as develop and manage future opportunities.
South Beach icon sells: In an off-market deal, Astor LLC has sold Miami Beach’s Hotel Astor for US$12.75 million to Victory Investments Group. The buyer plans to breathe new life into the shuttered 42-room, three story hotel with an extensive renovation, bringing the price per key to US$500,000. The Art Deco hotel is located on a prime corner location in the heart of South Beach and features a swimming pool and 4,000-plus square-foot restaurant space. The Susan Gale Group with ONE Sotheby’s International Realty represented both sides of the transaction.
Hilton resort in Vietnam: Hilton has signed a management deal with Sun Group, a Vietnamese hospitality and real estate development company, to launch La Festa Phu Quoc, a new resort under the Curio Collection by Hilton in Phu Quoc, Vietnam. The 197-key resort is slated to open in 2023 and will be Hilton’s first resort in the country. Currently, Hilton operates three hotels in Vietnam and has another nine hotels there in development, including the Hilton Saigon, which will be the first flagship Hilton brand in Ho Chi Minh City.
Aareal Bank finances Paris hotel: Aareal Bank closed a financing deal in the form of a senior loan, running into the double-digit million-euro range, to Hoche Eight SAS, the owner of the Accor-managed, 148-room Sofitel Paris Le Faubourg hotel. Hoche Eight SAS, an investment vehicle owned by a group of Asian investors, acquired the hotel in 2016. Hoche Eight SAS was advised by Stephenson Harwood AARPI, Workman Turnbull and PwC Société d’Avocats; while Aareal Bank was advised by HVS on valuation and De Pardieu Brocas Maffei on legal matters.
New resort in Belize: Six Senses Belize is targeting a mid-2025 opening with 45 villas and an additional 20 residences. Guests will be able to access a secret beachfront on Ambergis Caye, which will also house the 20 residences, ranging from two to seven-bedrooms and will be available for purchase. All the resort villas and residences are located on a 10-acre private island, 1.7 miles across the water from Secret Beach. The island will have 44 one- and two-bedroom resort villas and a three-bedroom villa, most of which will be overwater bungalows. The resort and residences have been designed by architects Studio Caban, interior design firm Maed Collective, landscape designer Maat Handasa and sustainability experts XCO2.
LXR adds to its portfolio: LXR Hotels & Resorts, Hilton’s luxury collection brand, will make its debut in the United States’ Pacific Northwest region with Hotel 1000 Seattle, a 120-room urban luxury retreat situated in the city’s downtown business and arts district. The hotel, which was previously known as Loews Hotel 1000, became a part of LXR’s portfolio in late August. The transition, which will be followed by a renovation in 2022 to add more amenities and an enhanced design, makes the property LXR’s third property in the U.S.
Chetrit sells in Miami: The Chetrit Group reportedly has sold the 104-room Royal Stays Miami aparthotel to its operator, Yedid Buchweld, for US$42 million (US$404,000 per key). Buchweld financed the deal with a US$28 million loan from Maxim Capital Group, brokered by Meridian Capital Group. Records indicate a Chetrit affiliate acquired the property in 2012 for US$14.5 million.
Microsoft’s deal with Oyo: India’s Oyo Hotels has entered into a multi-year strategic alliance with Microsoft Corp. to create travel technologies enabled by the tech giant’s Azure cloud infrastructure and AI. Announcing that Microsoft has invested in the Indian start up, the companies announced the alliance will work on improving digital capabilities of small and medium hotels and home stays. Oyo, which is backed by SoftBank Group Corp., Lightspeed Venture Partners and Greenoaks Capital, is valued at US$9.6 billion after Microsoft invested US$5 million in the company. Oyo operates hotels, home stays and resorts in India, Southeast Asia, Europe and the U.S.
Ascott acquires Texas student accommodation asset: Ascott Residence Trust has acquired Wildwood Lubbock, a freehold 1,005-bed student accommodation asset in Lubbock, Texas, for US$70 million, expanding Ascott’s longer-stay portfolio to 11%. This marks Ascott’s third student accommodation investment in seven months. The accretive acquisition will increase Ascott’s pro forma FY 2020 Distribution per Stapled Security by almost 1.5%. The transaction will be completed on September 21. Wildwood Lubbock caters to more than 40,000 students from the Texas Tech University.