Raines Buys HP Hotels, Hilton to Expand in France

The DJIA rose 336 points today while Nasdaq was up 239, the S&P 500 was up 65 points and the 10-year treasury yield bounced back .12 to 3.64%. Lodging stocks were higher. VCSA led with a gain of 6% while SLNA was up 5%. BVH continued its decline, down another -6% today.

Raines announced they acquired HP Hotels, a full-service, third party hotel management company. Raines said this will result in operational expansion throughout the Southeast and Southwestern US. Raines is a fully integrated hotel development management and investment company and felt that assets alone would not get them to where they need to be as a company. The acquisition expands Raines’ footprint geographically beyond the Southeast, adding properties in the Southwest, including Texas and Oklahoma. As a result, they will add not only its first IHG properties but also its first independent assets. The addition of HP’s independent and soft-branded properties will grow Woven by Raines, a specialized division of the company providing a development and management approach to boutique hotels, to a portfolio of eight hotels. HP’s principals and executive team have joined the combined company. Kerry Ranson, who co-founded HP as CEO is now a Raines partner, serving as the president of operations. With the addition of HP’s hotels, Raines now manages 49 properties in eight states across seven brands. Operating as Raines, the combined company maintains offices in Florence and Charleston, SC.

The Courtyard by Marriott Long Beach Downtown announced the addition of two Topgolf Swing Suites at their 216-room hotel. Powered by Full Swing Technology, the suites feature two simulator bays and a variety of virtual games including Topgolf target games, Zombie Dodgeball, Hockey, Baseball, Football, Carnival games and more. Each suite offers comfortable lounge seating, HDTV’s and food and beverage service. The hotel boasts over 10,000 square feet of newly renovated meeting spaces, a fitness center, outdoor pool and the Bistro restaurant.

Parks Hospitality Group announced the “topping off” of its new hotel in Asheville, North Carolina. The 188-room hotel is slated to open in late Fall 2023 and will be the only all-suite property in the area. The Embassy Suites by Hilton Asheville Downtown offers nearly 7,000 square feet of new event space, a business center, two restaurants, an indoor pool, fitness center and onsite parking.

The $1 billion Great Canadian Casino Resort is opening, this summer, adjacent to the Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto. The site will feature a Vegas-style casino, a 400-room hotel, a 5,000-seat live entertainment venue, and multiple onsite dining options. The existing Casino Woodbine will operate with no interruption until the new operation debuts.

Vault Home Collection hopes to develop a Six Senses hotel and residences in Telluride, Colorado. The current design of the Six Senses Telluride calls for 82 hotel rooms, 18 residences and employee housing for 56 people. There will also be 25,000 square feet of retail and market space, a spa and health center, two restaurants and a rooftop pool. The project will also include an Earth Lab, Alchemy Bar, and Gear Garage. Dependent on final approval, the project could be completed by winter 2025.

Heron Hospitality purchased the Harvey Mansion in December 2020 and for the past few years, has been working on renovations to turn the property into a boutique hotel. The goal is to open the hotel, located in New Bern, North Carolina, in the second half of this year. The hotel will be called The Harvey and it will feature 10 high-end, boutique hotel rooms.

Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, in Atlantic City, New Jersey, is embarking on a $55 million redesign and rebranding of The Water Club, in time for the resort’s twentieth anniversary. Renamed the MGM Tower, the new offerings will feature more than 700 completely re-imagined guestrooms and add a collection of luxury Vista Suites. Newly remodeled rooms in the MGM tower are slated for completion by Memorial Day weekend. Borgata is introducing a versatile 9,000-square-foot event spaceon the 32^nd floor. The MGM Tower at Borgata features 757 guestrooms and suites; 27,000 square feet of meeting and event space; two indoor and two outdoor heated pools; and five boutique retail shops. Borgata Hotel & Casino features 2,000 hotel rooms and suites; 106,000 square feet of meeting and event space; 161,000 square feet of gaming space; 2,400-seat Event Center; 900-seat Music Box theater; Premier Nightclub; two race and sports books; 11 retail boutiques; 13 restaurants; Spa Toccare; indoor pool and adjacent outdoor garden; outdoor pool and Borgata Beer Garden.

Beacon Hospitality announced the opening of the Microtel Inn & Suites by Wyndham in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. The 78-room hotel is located in the Rehoboth Beach Tanger Seaside Shopping Outlet Complex. 

Locale Hospitality announced its expansion into California with the opening of Locale Menlo Park within Presidio Bay’s Springline located in Menlo Park. The company will manage 15 one-bedroom and two-bedroom residences at Springline. Beyond the furnished residences, Locale Menlo Park guests will have access to the community’s indoor and outdoor spaces including a resort-style pool, golf simulator, co-work style lounge and Canteen Café. Springline will soon be anchored by a roster of must-visit restaurants. 

Colliers has facilitated the $10.2 million sale of the Holiday Inn Express & Suites in Hardeeville, Georgia. The property is a three-story, select-service hotel comprised of 77 guest rooms.

Europe Highlights

Hilton predicts 2023 will be its strongest year of growth in France, with seven planned hotel openings. As well as continued expansion in Paris, Hilton is focusing on major resort destinations and provincial towns and cities, working with several local owners in France on a development pipeline that will more than double the hotel group’s presence nationwide. In France, Hilton’s development plans will see 24 properties added to the current portfolio of 23 hotels in coming years.Tapestry Collection by Hilton and Curio Collection by Hilton make up more than a quarter of upcoming hotels in Europe. In addition to collection brand openings, Hilton’s focused service brand Hampton by Hilton is experiencing strong growth. In both France and wider Europe, Hampton by Hilton has a higher number of pipeline hotels than any other Hilton brand. Hilton’s hottest 2023 French openings include: Opening this summer, Canopy by Hilton Cannes will be Hilton’s first property in the resort town, following a franchise agreement with SDPNE. Sainte-Anne Hotel Dijon, Curio Collection by Hilton is the company’s debut in the Burgundy region of France, opening this summer following a franchise agreement with Naos Hotel Group. Marty Hotel Bordeaux, Tapestry Collection by Hilton is opening this spring following a franchise agreement with Vicartem / ExtendAm. Hilton Garden Inn Paris La Villette is opening this spring as the brand’s fourth Parisian hotel and the first in central Paris, following a franchise agreement with Naos Hotel Group.

Fort Partners reached a deal this month for a 30-year lease on land, from the Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, to transform a fifteenth-century Italian palace into a Vatican City boutique hotel. The developer has tapped Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts to manage a hotel at the site which will feature 55 to 60 rooms and a courtyard restaurant. As part of the arrangement, Fort Partners has agreed to invest 54 million euros in the restoration of the property. The developer aims to have the hotel open in 2025. 

Farallon and Reig Capital have put the 120-room Mandarin Oriental hotel in Barcelona, Spain up for sale. The property has 24 suites, two restaurants, a rooftop terrace, and a spa. The hotel and two connected commercial premises which are included in the transaction, are valued at around 240 million. The Mandarin Oriental underwent refurbishment between 2017 and 2020. A further 300,000 euro renovation is set to be carried out, with the aim of increasing the value of the asset. The sale process is being run by JLL.

A well-known hotel and wedding venue in Gwynedd has been put up for sale. Meifod House, located outside Caernarfon, U.K. features five en-suite bedrooms and suites, breakfast rooms, a banqueting suite for around 150 people, a commercial-grade kitchen, and a drawing room. The owners also have the benefit of a two-bedroom suite on the second floor and a private downstairs lounge.