Hotel industry and travel news from around the EMEA region: Kimpton keeps up with the Europeans, UK Mercure Hotel sold in off-market transaction, Dalata to buy leasehold interest in four hotels and more...
Kimpton Keeps Up With the Europeans...
InterContinental Hotels & Resorts (IHG) is bringing its Kimpton Hotels & Resorts chain to Europe with a hotel planned for Amsterdam in the Netherlands. The Crowne Plaza Amsterdam City Centre is to undergo a full renovation and will open in 2017 as a Kimpton hotel, becoming the first Kimpton-branded property outside of the Americas. The 270-room hotel is owned by YC Amsterdam BV. IHG purchased Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants in January last year. "IHG's ability to take Kimpton to new markets and geographies was a key part of the transaction and we're delighted to announce this important milestone for the brand," commented Richard Solomons, IHG's chief executive officer.
...As the O2 Arena Sets the Stage for IHG's Latest London Hotel
IHG has opened a new property in London. The InterContinental London " The O2, which is adjacent to the O2 Arena on the Greenwich Peninsula in southeast London, is the second InterContinental-branded property to open in the UK capital. The 453-room hotel, with five food and beverage outlets, extensive meeting and event space (including a 3,100 m² ballroom and 1,600 m² of pre-function space) and a spa, amongst other facilities, is operating under a franchise agreement with Meridian Hotel Operations Ltd and is managed by the Arora Group. IHG now has 30 InterContinental Hotels & Resorts hotels in operation across Europe.
Are You Ready for GIOHIS?
The Gulf & Indian Ocean Hotel Investors’ Summit (GIOHIS) 2016 is due to start in just over a week at the Viceroy on Yas Island, in Abu Dhabi, on 8 February. GIOHIS is a brand new type of hotel investor summit, aimed specifically at meeting the needs of hotel and serviced apartment owners, investors and developers, and is run by the hotel owners’ alliance, HOFTEL. Russell Kett, chairman of HVS London, will be at the event; Russell will be interviewing Gerald Lawless, president and chief executive of Jumeirah, and Omer Kaddouri, chief executive of Rotana Hotel Management Corporation. Additionally, Hala Matar Choufany, managing partner of HVS Dubai, will be leading a round table discussion, titled "How to value a hotel in a market with no comps". A 10% discount is available to HVS newsletter readers on both the hotel owners and the non-hotel owners rates. To get this discount, enter the code HVSDISCOUNT when you purchase your ticket.
Sixth Luxury Hotel for Doðuþ
The Doðuþ Group has acquired the 102-room Aldrovandi Villa Borghese Hotel next to the Villa Borghese gardens in Rome, Italy, for a price estimated to be €50 million (€490,000 per room). The five-star, 19th-century villa, previously owned by the Ossani family, will undergo a refurbishment to upgrade its facilities and incorporate a new urban resort concept at the end of this year. The hotel is the sixth to be added to the Doðuþ Luxury Hotel collection.
UK Mercure Hotel Sold in Off-Market Transaction
An unnamed cash buyer has purchased the Mercure Last Drop Village Hotel in Bromley Cross, northwest England, for more than £4 million in an off-market transaction. The 128-room hotel will continue to operate under Accor's Mercure brand.
Internos Completes Purchase of Madrid Hotel
Internos Global Investors has aquired the NH Madrid Suecia in Spain for €45 million (€354,000 per room) from Explotadora de Hoteles EDTL SL. The four-star, 127-room hotel, close to Banco de España Metro Station in central Madrid, will continue be operated by NH Hotel Group under a long lease.
Dalata to Buy Leasehold Interest in Four Hotels
Dalata has conditionally agreed to purchase the leasehold interest in a portoflio of four hotels across Ireland and the UK for an enterprise value of €40 million (€49,000 per room). The hotels in question are the 252-room Gibson Hotel (Dublin, Ireland), the 211-room Croydon Park Hotel(London, UK), the 191-room Clarion Hotel Cork (Ireland) and the 158-room Clarion Hotel Limerick (Ireland). Dalata plans to invest €14 million in the properties and reflag them under its Clayton Hotels brand.
Premier Inn Pops Up in Frankfurt
Whitbread's Premier Inn chain is set to make its debut in Germany this March with a hotel in Frankfurt. The Premier Inn Frankfurt Messe, close to the city's main railway station and the Messe Frankfurt trade fair grounds, is taking bookings now for March 2016 onwards. The UK-based group purchased the freehold of the 200-room hotel in autumn last year.
Choice's Ascend Hotel Collection Rises in the UK
American group Choice Hotels International has launched its upscale Ascend Hotel Collection in the UK, with two hotels in Edinburgh, Scotland, becoming the first UK properties to become part of the collection. The 18-room Howard Hotel and the 42-room Channings Hotel have becomeThe Howard, an Ascend Hotel Collection Member and the Channings Hotel, an Ascend Hotel Collection Member, respectively. Both properties are operating under franchise ageements with the Edinburgh Collection. Choice owns 11 brands overall and Ascend is its fourth brand to operate in the UK market, alongside Clarion Collection, Quality, and Comfort.
Motel One Makes its Mark in Newcastle
German group Motel One has opened its first hotel in the city of Newcastle, on England's northeast coast, and its fifth property in the UK overall. The 222-room Motel One Newcastle is in the city centre and is the combination of a renovated existing building and a new-build property. Motel One has a further two hotels in the pipeline for the UK (in Glasgow and Manchester).
Meliá Grows INNSIDE Qatar
Meliá Hotels International is expanding its presence in Qatar with the signing of a third hotel for Doha. The 192-room INNSIDE Doha is scheduled to open in 2017, adjacent to the Qatar National Museum, joining the Meliá Doha (which opened in 2015) and the ME Doha (due to open in 2017). The INNSIDE Doha will have a signature restaurant, a fitness centre with a spa and a rooftop terrace with a swimming pool.
Second Hyatt Regency in Jordan
An affiliate of Hyatt Hotels Corporation has entered into an agreement with Ayla Oasis Development Company (AODC) for the 286-room Hyatt Regency Aqaba Ayla, in Aqaba, Jordan. Expected to open in 2018, the hotel will be the first to open in the multiphase Ayla development which will include other hotels, residential communities, Jordan’s first 18-hole golf course, a marina and marina village, as well as other facilities. The hotel marks Hyatt’s second entry into Jordan and will join the 311-room Grand Hyatt Amman. Sahl Dudin, managing director of AODC, said, “We are honoured to work with Hyatt on the second Hyatt hotel in Jordan. Hyatt Regency Aqaba Ayla, our first project with Hyatt, will be a crucial step in bringing Aqaba to the forefront of the region’s tourism industry. With the combination of the strong Hyatt Regency brand experience and the excellent facilities offered at Ayla, we believe Hyatt Regency Aqaba Ayla will be a huge attraction to both business and leisure travelers.”
AmericInn Going Global
US-based midscale brand AmericInn is expanding its operations overseas with the aim of opening at least 20 hotels across the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent over the next five years. To facilitate its expansion in the Middle East region the group will partner with Dubai-based Eaglewing Estates and Hotels Pte. Ltd.
More Hampton by Hilton for the UAE
Hilton Worldwide has signed a management agreement with Abdullah Al Neyadi for another Hampton by Hilton hotel in Dubai, UAE, bringing the brand's pipeline in the emirate up to three properties. The newest signing is the 154-room Hampton by Hilton Dubai Al Barsha, which is scheduled to open in 2018 just one kilometre from the Mall of the Emirates. Already under development in Dubai are the 420-room Hampton by Hilton Dubai Al Quasis (which will mark the brand's debut when it opens in 2017) and the 206-room Hampton by Hilton Dubai Al Mina(expected to open in early 2019).
