HOTELSMag.com - 10 Minutes News for Hoteliers - Page 50

2 min

Coury Holdings launches new brand for full, select-service hotels

🏨 Coury Holdings introduces Concert Hospitality, targeting full-service and select-service hotels for personalized experiences and operational efficiency. The new entity starts with an initial portfolio of four hotels, including Marriott Westlake in Dallas/Fort Worth, and aims for 10-12 properties by year-end. Chris Charbonnet leads as regional vice president of operations, leveraging over 20 years of industry experience. Concert Hospitality will work closely with strategic partner NewcrestImage for expanding its branded and independent hotel portfolio.

2 min

Auberge Resorts Collection to operate London’s Cambridge House

🏦 Auberge Resorts Collection will manage the luxury Cambridge House in London, set to open in late 2025 at 94 Piccadilly. Reuben Brothers are investing £1 billion ($1.3 billion) in the project, as part of the Piccadilly Estate regeneration, which includes One Carrington and Shepherd Market. Cambridge House will feature 102 rooms, a private members’ club, a spa with hydrotherapy facilities, two pools, seven treatment rooms, and a ballroom. Jean-Louis Deniot and Laura Gonzalez are responsible for the design of the hotel and club respectively.

Auberge Resorts Collection to operate London’s Cambridge House

🏦 Reuben Brothers have appointed Auberge Resorts Collection to manage Cambridge House, targeting a late 2025 opening at 94 Piccadilly, London. This Grade 1-listed building, as part of a £1 billion regeneration of Piccadilly Estate, will offer 102 rooms, a private members' club, and various amenities like a double-level spa and event spaces. The hotel is part of Auberge Resorts Collection's European expansion, adding to properties in France, Greece, Italy, and upcoming locations in the U.S.

2 min

Briefs: Kimpton’s boutique hotel in Budapest; Meliá expands Southeast Asian portfolio

🏦 Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants opened Kimpton BEM Budapest, a 127-room boutique hotel, in Budapest's Buda side near the Castle District. Meliá Hotels International introduced Meliá Pattaya City (234 rooms) and Paradisus Jomtien Resort (698 rooms) in Thailand, expanding its local portfolio to six. Smith Hill Capital and Bain Capital provided a $72 million refinancing for the 208-room Hotel Viking in Newport, R.I. Crescent Hotels & Resorts will manage Virginia's first JW Marriott at Reston Station, opening in 2025 with 243 rooms and 94 luxury condos.

6 min

Great expectations: The why, when, how and with what of entering a new hotel market

🏨 Aqua-Aston Hospitality, founded in 1948 with 25 properties in Hawaii, expands into Tempe, Arizona, with dual-branded Fairfield Inn & Suites and TownePlace Suites. Hotel Equities enters U.S. Virgin Islands with a new Hampton by Hilton, the first development there in 30+ years. Hyatt introduces Hyatt Studios in the upper-midscale, extended-stay category. Hilton enters five new markets, including Bermuda and Paraguay. Coury Hospitality's Vin hotels launch in Grapevine, Texas, and Rogers, Ark. Hotel Equities grew from two to over 40 hotels in Canada since 2018, with a plan for similar expansion in the Caribbean and Latin America.

6 min

Great expectations: The why, when, how and with what of entering a new hotel market

📢 Aqua-Aston Hospitality, established in Hawaii since 1948 with 25 properties, expanded to Tempe, Arizona, opening a dual-branded Fairfield Inn & Suites and TownePlace Suites. Hotel Equities, based in Atlanta, recently took on a new Hampton by Hilton hotel in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, marking the first development there in over 30 years. Hilton entered five new markets including Bermuda and Nepal. Key factors for entering new markets include demand, area renaissance, and historical performance. Aqua-Aston Hospitality's managing director Andrea Mue emphasizes targeting locations with growth potential. Hotel Equities only commits to new markets after extensive research, exemplified by over a year of study before expanding into Canada and the Caribbean/Latin America. Marriott International, Hyatt Hotels, and Coury Hospitality also employ strategic analyses for expansion, focusing on guest demand, infrastructure, and differentiating their brand in the market.

2 min

Briefs: Kimpton’s boutique hotel in Budapest; Meliá expands Southeast Asian portfolio

🏡 Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants opened Kimpton BEM Budapest, a 127-room boutique hotel, alongside the Danube River in Budapest's Buda side near the Castle District. In Thailand, Meliá Hotels International is expanding with Meliá Pattaya City, a 234-room hotel set to reopen in December, and Paradisus Jomtien Resort, a 698-room property with a 43-floor tower, opening in 2028. Smith Hill Capital and Bain Capital Special Situations provided a $72 million loan to refinance Hotel Viking, a 208-room property in Newport, R.I. Crescent Hotels & Resorts will manage Virginia's first JW Marriott hotel, a 243-room property with 94 JW Marriott-branded condos above, opening in Reston in 2025.

3 min

Hotel loyalty programs driving occupancy growth: CBRE

🏨 U.S. RevPAR declined by 2.1% YOY in Q1, with some hotel C-corporations seeing a decrease of up to 5%. CBRE's study on U.S. hotel loyalty programs—Choice, Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott, Wyndham—found loyalty member occupancy contribution surged despite a lower per-member contribution. Average loyalty members per room increased to 128 in 2023 from 120. Loyalty member contribution to occupancy rose by 2.5 percentage points to 51%, and the balance sheet liabilities for loyalty points grew by 9.3%. However, average liability per member decreased by 1.7% YOY to $18.86. Room nights per member returned to 1.1, the pre-pandemic level, in 2023. Loyalty point redemption revenues jumped by 11% to $1.1 billion. Loyalty point expenses on P&L statements rose by 14.3% in 2023, surpassing room revenue growth of 8.3% and total revenue growth of 9.4%.

2 min

New York State to ban mini shampoo bottles at big hotels

🚿 Starting January 1, 2025, New York State mandates hotels with over 50 rooms to stop providing small plastic toiletry bottles under 12 ounces; smaller hotels have until 2026. Initial violations incur a $250 fine, with subsequent breaches at $500, benefiting the state’s Environmental Protection Fund. The bill, introduced in 2019, was signed into law in 2021 by Governor Kathy Hochul but delayed implementation. New York follows California's 2019 law, with Washington and Illinois considering similar legislation. Marriott reported 95% compliance with switching to larger toiletry bottles in 2023, while Holiday Inn planned to ditch mini toiletries by 2021 and Disney aimed for an 80% plastic reduction.

2 min

Briefs: ECHO Suites’ first location; Driftwood expands into Kentucky

🏨 Wyndham inaugurated ECHO Suites Spartanburg in Spartanburg, S.C., marking its first ECHO Suites location with a 124-room prototype. Announced in 2022, the brand aims at the extended-stay market with around 270 hotels and over 33,000 rooms in development across the U.S. and Canada. The new hotel offers suites with kitchens, free WiFi, smart TVs, EV charging, and amenities like a fitness center and laundry facilities. Driftwood Hospitality entered Kentucky with the $75 million Canopy by Hilton Downtown Louisville, boasting 168 rooms, a historic district location, and completion expected in Q4. It offers 5,100 square feet of meeting space and multiple dining options. Protea Hotels celebrated its 40th anniversary by opening in Angola and South Africa, with locations in Luanda (84 rooms) and Pretoria Hatfield (203 rooms), each offering various dining and leisure facilities. Rotana added the Palma Bay Rotana Resort in New Alamein, Egypt, to its portfolio, now totaling 702 keys within the country, featuring 176 rooms and numerous amenities, as part of a broader 77-hotel operation across regions with a pipeline of 9,830 keys.

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