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Briefs: Vision sells in Chattanooga; Scandic’s co-work breakfast

Vision sells Doubletree: An affiliate of global investment firm KKR & Co., New York City, has purchased the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in Chattanooga, Tennessee, for US$27.5 million from Chattanooga-based Vision Hospitality Group. The hotel was originally built by former Chattanooga developer Franklin Haney in the early 1970s when it opened under the Sheraton flag. Vision bought the hotel in 2006 when it was a Clarion.

New sustainable brand for Europe: DER Touristik Group, a subsidiary of the REWE Group, and the hotel operator DSR Hotel Holding (a subsidiary of Deutsche Seereederei) have announced the creation of a joint venture for the marketing of hotels and resorts: DR Hospitality GmbH & Co KG. Based in Hamburg and Rostock, the new joint venture will be headed by Sören Hartmann, CEO of DER Touristik Group and member of the board of Rewe Group, and Horst Rahe, partner of Deutsche Seereederei. The former CEOs of DSR Hotel Holding, Daniel Bär and Björn Franz, will assume the leadership. The 50/50 merger, which will bring together a portfolio of 16 properties in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, includes the merger of the brands A-ROSA Resorts & Hideaways, Aja, Henri Hotels, Hotel Neptun and Hotel Louis C. Jacob. Both companies have stated that they want to become leaders in sustainable tourism in Europe with a focus on the Baltic and the North Sea, as well as the Alpine region and Italy. They said they are convinced that holiday destinations easily accessible by train, bus or car will be areas of growth.

Co-working space at Scandic Hotels.

Scandic introduces co-work breakfast: Realizing breakfast meetings are great way to rebuild networks, Scandic Hotels, Stockholm, has introduced business breakfast as its latest inclusion to its co-working concept in the Nordic nations, which was launched a year ago. Since the launch of the co-working concept, Scandic sold more than 102,000 co-working hours at roughly 270 hotels across Nordic countries, Poland and Germany. Scandic ran a pilot project at its Swedish hotels in spring to analyze how to enhance the co-working concept and the breakfast, which was included with the price of co-working, became popular. The co-working concept is priced at SEK 199 (US$23.30) per day, including breakfast. Guests who are interested only in working can opt out of breakfast for half the price.

Tourism adversely affected in Poland: Tourism was adversely affected in Poland with traffic at 14 airports in the country in 2020 being 70.3% lower than 2019 levels, amounting to 14.5 million passengers, according to the Poland Hotel Market report by Horwath HTL. In 2020, there were 137 hotels less than the year before and almost 5,400 fewer hotel rooms. The number of overnight stays across hotels plummeted 50% in 2020 to 23 million from 44.8 million. Citing STR, the report said hotels in Tricity and Wroclaw led in terms of occupancy rate in 2020. The lowest annual occupancy in hotels in Cracow was 21.3% and Warsaw 27.1%. Although hotels resumed business from May 2021, operating results are still below profitability levels. However, new brands have been exploring the market, with Accor/Orbis, Hilton and Louvre Hotel Group leading as the top three international hotel chains (in terms of hotel rooms).

Hawaii resorts mandate proof of full vaccination: Alohilani Resort Waikiki Beach, Hawaii, and Highgate’s Hawaii collection of seven hotels will require proof of full vaccination for all their staff, guests and patrons from October 15. This comes after Hawaii Governor David Ige earlier urged tourists to refrain from visiting the destination amid a surge in COVID-19 cases and overworked health facilities. “Ensuring a safe, clean and inviting environment is at the core of our commitment to providing the highest level of hospitality,” said Kelly Sanders, senior vice president of operations for Highgate Hawaii.

Guest satisfaction benchmark: Guest satisfaction declined among branded hotels being operated by top third-party management companies, as per the J.D. Power 2021 North America Third-Party Hotel Management Guest Satisfaction Benchmark. This decline is driven by staff service and food and beverage. Guest satisfaction remained stable for services — like Wifi, fitness centers and pools — and perceptions of value for money. The benchmark was based on arrival/departure, cost and fees, food and beverage, guest room, hotel facilities and amenities and services. Third-party operators with more than 14,000 rooms under management was included in the benchmark, based on 3,085 guest responses for stays in branded properties across North America from May 2020 to May 2021. Based on a 1,000-point scale with the benchmark average of 841, this was the overall ranking:

  1. Atrium Hospitality — 863
  2. White Lodging — 858
  3. Crestline Hotels & Resorts — 855
  4. Concord Hospitality — 851
  5. HEI Hotels & Resorts — 850
  6. Highgate Hotels — 850
  7. Crescent Hotels & Resorts — 842
  8. Aimbridge Hospitality — 836
  9. Hersha Hospitality Management — 834
  10. Schulte Hospitality Group — 834
  11. Westmont Hospitality Group — 782

New resort in the Maldives: Jumeirah Group, Dubai, announced the launch of Jumeirah Maldives. The new, 67 all-villa, international resort in North Male Atoll will open on October 2021. The beach and over-water villas are available in one, two and three-bedroom formats, and each villa has its own private infinity pools and a rooftop terrace with a separate dining area, while the three-bedroom villas include their own gym. The Jumeirah Group currently has 24 properties across the Middle East, Asia and Europe.

Stonehill closes construction loan for Margaritaville: Stonehill, the Atlanta, Georgia-based commercial real estate lender, closed a US$104 million construction loan with TPI Hospitality for the 254-room Margaritaville Resort in Fort Myers Beach, Florida. The resort is expected to open in early 2023. The loan carries a 42-month initial term with two extensions and is expected to fund roughly 70% of the project’s cost. Stonehill recently provided a US$28 million loan to help fund the construction of the 167-room, all-suite Marriott SpringHill Suites Hotel in Tampa.  

Expedia survey on fall travel: About 58% of Americans have travel plans during the fall, led by millennials (67%) compared to Gen Z (61%), Gen X (53%) and Baby Boomers (53%), according to the Expedia Group Data on Fall Travel Outlook. The survey, which included 2,200 American respondents and conducted in collaboration with Morning Consult, found that 62% of those who live in the suburban regions are most likely to travel once temperatures begin to cool, followed by city dwellers (58%). Monthly trip searches surged 70% over summer as compared to earlier in the year. Las Vegas, Nevada; Orlando, Florida; and New York City, New York emerged as the top three U.S. destinations from September to November based on hotel demand across Expedia.com, Hotwire, Hotels.com, Travelocity and Orbitz. Based on the search results during the same months on Vrbo, Pigeon Forge, Tennessee; Miramar and Rosemary Beach, Florida; and Gulf Shores, Alabama, emerged as the top three trending destinations for vacation rentals.  

Hilton’s partnership with Live Nation: Hilton Honors, Hilton’s rewards program, has extended its partnership with Live Nation, the largest concert promoter in the U.S., and launched a new offer for members to enjoy in-person events. The offer will allow members to use their points on Ticketmaster.com and LiveNation.com to access tickets to concerts, sport events, comedy shows and theater productions. Members can also combine points and cash. Additionally, the Hilton Honors Experiences Platform will include a members-only access to VIP festival packages. 

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