Marriott’s Northern Marianas Venture Marks Milestone Expansion

Marriott International announced its expansion into the CNMI, expecting to open the first Marriott hotel in the Northern Marianas Islands in 2025. Honest Profit International Ltd announced its partnership with Marriott through a hotel management agreement. The Marriott Resort Saipan will be a 300-room hotel, the one that was supposed to be Honest Profit’s Saipan Resort Hotel in San Antonio that was expected to cost $130 million to build when they broke ground back in 2014.

Marriott announced the launch of The Artiste Kochi, part of the Tribute Hotel portfolio in Kerala, India. The Prestige Group developed the 32-room boutique property. This is part of Marriott’s expansion plans in the country, a plan that has them at 250 properties across India by 2025.

Mayfair’s 13th property in India is the Mayfair Spring Valley Resort in the North East of India in Assam. The hotel has 133 operational rooms, with another 100 under construction. It will be the biggest resort in the region on an area of 35 acres. The property’s banqueting facilities include a 9,000 square foot pillar-less conference hall, two lawns spanning from 25,000-35,000 square feet, a board room, poolside, 9,000 square feet greenhouse party space along with other amenities such as two swimming pools, a restaurant, and bar. The rooms include a three-bedroom Royal Villa with a private pool and lawn and a two-bedroom Regent Villa with a private pool, cottages with dip pools, spa, kids room, restaurant, bar, and more. By the first quarter of next year, the property will add a 15,000-square-foot banquet hall, addition of lawns, party/function rooms, restaurants, and a swimming pool.

The YOHO Treasure Island Resorts World Hotel in Macau announced that its official opening will take place on December 15. This will follow a four-month soft opening period. Genting Hong Kong originally owned the project. It is located in the heart of the Amaral forecourt near Nam Vam Lake. The hotel conducted a soft opening in August, offering 500 rooms at the time. When officially opened, it will have 600 rooms. Treasure Island Entertainment Complex Limited owns the property, with Ao Mio Leongbuying control from Genting. The hotel stands 70 meters tall and offers a total gross floor area of 886,237 square feet. The third floor of the hotel features Macau’s first large-scale outdoor Japanese-style hot spring bath with an outdoor heated swimming pool. The hotel will be non-gaming, at least at first. If The 13 is any indication, non-gaming hotels are not as in demand as those that have full casinos.

Melia Hotels International signed an agreement with Guangzhou Aocheng Investment Company Ltd for the first ME by Melia hotel in Asia Pacific. ME Guangzhou is set to open its doors in 2027, envisioned as a sanctuary of indulgence and refinement. ME Guangzhou will feature 120 rooms and suites, impeccable personalized services, a diverse array of dining options, and state-of-the-art facilities to cater to the needs of both business and leisure travelers. The hotel will include versatile event spaces, including ballrooms and meeting rooms. A rejuvenating spa and a well-equipped fitness center will provide guests with the opportunity to unwind and rejuvenate. The hotel is being developed at Guangzhou Macau Place, within the Guangzhou International Financial City – Huangpu Bay Business Circle. That location is expected to become the second central business district of Guangzhou. In addition to ME, Guangzhou Melia expects to open more of these branded hotels in 2023 and 2024 in Malaga, Spain; Malta; Lisbon, Portugal; and Guadalajara, Mexico.

DigiPlus Interactive Corp, formerly Leisure and Resorts World Inc, is furiously backpedaling in the Philippines. They are forced to issue a statement saying they have no imminent plans to develop land it owns on the holiday island of Boracay. This is after a few days of what seems like a strategy that backfired. Instead of privately going to former partner Galaxy Entertainment Group and trying to convince them to restart their joint venture and develop a $500 million Boracay integrated casino resort, DigiPlus called Galaxy out publicly, asking what it would take to get them back into the Philippines as a partner. Galaxy’s answer was they have no intentions of revisiting that IR development. DigiPlus decided to throw founder Alfredo Benitez under the bus. Benitez, now Bacolod City Mayor, had called for the development to be resurrected. DigiPlus noted that Benitez had stepped down from the Board of Directors in 2021 and does not speak on behalf of the company. DigiPlus said despite Benitez’s comments, they have no imminent plans to pursue the development of the 24-hectare property in Boracay Island.

The first phase of reconstruction of the Waterfront Manila Hotel and Casino complex in the Philippines should be completed by the middle of next year, according to Acesite (Phils.) Hotel Corp. Acesite notified the Philippines Stock Exchange that Phase One of the reconstruction of its property should be completed in May 2024, with Phase Two completed in January 2025 and Phase Three five months later. The property has been under reconstruction since 2018, following a massive fire that damaged its podium and killed six people. The revamp will include the amenities, guest facilities, and remaining rooms of the hotel. The soft opening of the reconstructed property suffered delays due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Personnel Moves

Paul Jones, the CEO of The Lux Collective, announced his retirement effective June 30, 2024. In light of Jones’ impending departure, the Board of Directors of The Lux Collective has already put a succession plan into motion. No potential successors have been named yet, so we can’t really figure out why they said they have a succession plan in place and how this showcases the proactive leadership of the Board.

Kamat Hotels India Ltd has promoted Varun Sahani to the position of Senior Vice President of Operations. In his new role, Sahani is poised to drive Kamat Hotels India to greater heights.

Middle East Highlights

IHG Hotels & Resorts said they are opening its Middle East region headquarters in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. IHG said they are eyeing expansion in the Kingdom, with 50% of their development in the Middle East region focused there. Since the launch of InterContinental Riyadh in 1975, IHG has been expanding its presence in the Kingdom. The group currently runs 40 hotels in Saudi Arabia, offering 18,000 rooms, and it has 32 hotels under construction there.