Hotel industry and travel news from around the EMEA region; Goldman Sachs buy European hotel chain, a Hilton De Luxe for Moscow, Accor adds more in the UAE and more...

Highgate and Goldman Sachs Buy European Hotel Chain

A joint venture between Dallas-based hotel owner and operator Highgate Hotels and investment bank Goldman Sachs has purchased Austrian-based K+K Hotels from the Koller Family (which founded the business in 1961) for an undisclosed sum. The transaction includes K+K Hotels' management platform and its portfolio of ten four-star hotels in some of Europe's key cities (Barcelona, Budapest, London, Munich, Paris, Prague, Vienna and Bucharest).

More Jurys on the Way for the UK

Jurys Inn Hotel Group is planning to expand its UK portfolio to 36 properties with the addition of a further eight hotels. The properties, all previously part of The Hotel Collection, will become part of the Dublin-based group in November 2015, and collectively the hotels will undergo a £36 million refurbishment. The newest additions to the Jurys Inn family are the 168-room Oxford Hotel (Oxford), the 140-room Parc Hotel (Cardiff), the 132-room Middlesbrough Hotel (Middlesbrough), the 362-room Hinckley Island Hotel (Leicestershire), the 164-room East Midlands Skyway Hotel (East Midlands Airport), the 118-room Inverness Hotel (Inverness), the 147-room Aberdeen Skyway Hotel (Aberdeen Airport) and the 122-room Golden Valley Hotel (Cheltenham).

Barceló's New Hotel to Rule in Madrid

Barceló Hotels & Resorts is to open its first five-star hotel in Madrid in January 2016, bringing its portfolio in the Spanish city up to four properties. The flagship Barceló Emperatiz has been designed to pay homage to Eugania de Montijo, the wife of Napoleon III and one of the most powerful women of her time. The 146-room hotel is in the city's historic Salamanca neighbourhood.

Meet HVS at the Hostel and Budget Traveller Conference

With less than two weeks to go until the second annual Hostel and Budget Traveller conference, on 16 and 17 November 2015 at The Montcalm Marble Arch in London, now is the time to book your place if you haven't already done so! HVS is a platinum sponsor for the event and HVS London's chairman, Russell Kett, will be chairing the Meet the Leaders panel session. Additionally, Harry Douglass, a senior associate at the London office, will present the latest research and statistics from the hostel and budget travel sector. Other notable industry speakers include Erik van Dijk, managing director of MEININGER Hotels; Frederik Korallus, chief executive of Generator Hostels; Simon Eder, founder of Voxburner; Sarah Green, business development director â€" hotels at RBS; Josef Bergqvist, acquisition and investment at Pandox; Liam Doyle, managing director of Clink Hostels; Bill Barnett, managing director, C9 Hotelworks; T Blake Danner, chief operations officer at Sydell Group; Lisa Neubueser, director, hotel fund management at Invesco; and many more. For more information and to book a ticket visit www.hostelandbudgettraveller.com.

Scottish Group Reaches New Heights in Glasgow

Apex Hotels opened the 104-room Apex City of Glasgow this week, making its debut in the city. A total of £10.5 million was spent on fitting out the four-star hotel, on Bath Street in the city centre. Edinburgh-based Apex now operates nine hotels across the UK (in London, Edinburgh, Dundee and Glasgow).

Fancy a Holiday Inn Warsaw or St Petersburg?

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) has signed a management agreement with PKF Piramida-D LLC for the Holiday Inn St Petersburg â€" Proletarskaya in Russia, which when it opens in 2018 will be the second Holiday Inn-branded hotel in St Petersburg. The 414-room hotel will be part of the Expoforum International convention centre. Additionally, IHG also signed a management agreement with UBM this week for the Holiday Inn Warsaw â€" City Centre in Poland. This 254-room hotel is expected to open at the beginning of 2018 close to Warsaw's main railway station. IHG currently has two Holiday Inn-branded hotels in operation in Warsaw, and three in the city overall.

A Hilton De Luxe For Moscow

Hilton Worldwide has signed a franchise agreement with Russian construction firm Mospromstroy for a new hotel in Moscow, Russia. One of the city's iconic properties, the former Luxe Hotel, is to undergo an extensive US$100 million restoration and will be transformed into the Hilton Moscow Tverskaya Luxe. The 220-room hotel, which will also feature 52 apartments, is expected to open by mid-2018 and will be operated by Interstate Hotels & Resorts.

Head to London for an Insight into the Hotel Industry

The Hotel Insights Forum is back for its seventh year and takes place on Thursday 19 November in London. Hosted by hospitality research consultants BDRC, the forum addresses a different themed segment each year. For 2015, it tackles the biggest issues facing owners, operators and investors and is a must-attend event for anyone with any interest in the hotel sector. Brand Margin®, the unique methodology that explores perceptions of the added value hotel guests assign to a brand, will be launched as a new product at the event, following its enthusiastic reception when it was first revealed by BDRC chief executive officer, Dr Cris Tarrant, at the recent Annual Hotels Conference. Other hot topics include OTAs, asset management, and compliance and security. Speakers are drawn from banking, the law, hotel consultancy, hotel operators and the hospitality investment sector. Tickets are available at www.hotelinsightsforum.com.

Accor Adds More in the UAE

Accor Hotels has signed management agreements with Manzil Group for four new projects in the UAE. The 188-room Pullman Sharjah is currently under construction in the emirate of Sharjah and is due to open in 2018 in the Al Taawun area of Sharjah City. A 164-room Majilis Grand Mercure, a 330-room Mercure and a 336-room Adagio will be developed at the Jumeirah Village Triange in Dubai, and all three hotels are scheduled to open in 2019. "AccorHotels still sees great demand from the UAE market, in accordance with official forecasts from Dubai Vision for Tourism which expects 20 million visitors annually by 2020, and the Sharjah Tourism Vision that aims to attract 10 million tourists by 2021," said, Jean-Jacques Dessors, chief operating officer for AccorHotels in the Mediterranean, Middle East and Africa.

Three New Best Westerns for Saudi Arabia

Best Western Hotels & Resorts has opened three new properties in Saudi Arabia: the 85-room Best Western Plus Riyadh, in the country's capital; the 64-room Best Western Dammam, in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province; and the 50-room Best Western Olaya, in Riyadh's business district. "Opening two hotels in Riyadh, the dynamic capital city of Saudi Arabia, marks an important step in our Middle East development strategy," commented Baran Turkel, the group's managing director for the Middle East, Turkey and Central Asia.

Swiss-Belhotel Sharjah Announced

Swiss-Belhotel International has announced that it is to take over the former Sharjah Rotana hotel in the emirate of Sharjah, increasing its portfolio of hotels in operation or in the pipeline in the Middle East to 12. Renamed the Swiss-Belhotel Sharjah, the 205-room hotel is the Hong-Kong based group's third hotel in the UAE.

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