Melia Hotels Announces International Push

The DJIA jumped 243 points while Nasdaq could only muster a 29 point rise. The S&P 500 was up 26 and the 10 year treasury yield was down .05 to 4.13%. Lodging stocks were higher. MAR and HLT both traded up to new all time highs while BHR and TNL both ended the day up 5%.

Stifel upped their price target on Host Hotels to $21 from $20. They maintained their Buy rating on the stock.

TPG Hotels & Resorts announced the launch of Intera Collection, the firm’s independent, boutique, and soft branded management division dedicated to operating unique, non-branded assets. Properties within the Intera Collection benefit from a fully integrated operations platform with a 24-hour staffed reservation call center and an organizational structure comprised of senior hospitality executives with specialized experience and management acumen within the boutique, independent, and destination segments. Additionally, properties in the Intera Collection will benefit from the firm’s extensive experience delivering creative food and beverage experiences coupled with an amenities-rich approach that highlights each property’s unique characteristics and identity.

Brandt Hospitality Group announced the grand opening of the Residence Inn by Marriott Dallas Grand Prairie, the company’s first hotel in Texas. The hotel features spacious suites, a fitness center and an outdoor pool.

Certares Management LLC purchased the 202-room Le Meridien Philadelphia hotel for 32.7 million from Walton Street Capital. Located in the Center City neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the property will undergo a change in management. HEI Hotels and Resorts has managed the property since it opened, but the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board system currently shows a pending liquor license for the Le Meridien registered to Hersha Hospitality Management. The 10-story hotel features 9,000 square feet of event space, a central atrium courtyard and a bistro.

A multi-million dollar renovation is expected to take about 18 months to complete at a Downtown Quincy, Illinois hotel. According to Tracy Holdings, not only will the Atrium on Third have a new look but a new name when the renovation is complete. The cost of renovating the 145-room hotel will be between $5.7 million and $10 million. Once all of that work is complete, the hotel will be named the Atrium Hotel at Third, DoubleTree by Hilton. All guest rooms will be renovated, the front desk will be moved, the banquet spaces will be reworked and a wall will be built to separate the indoor pool from the restaurant and lounge area.

Hyatt Hotels Corporation, in collaboration with Inmobiliaria Canels, SA de CB and GACO&BA, announced their affiliates have entered into an agreement to bring the full-service Hyatt Centric lifestyle brand to Queretaro, Mexico. Slated to open in 2025, the three-story hotel will offer 105 guestrooms and suites, a lobby-level ballroom, multi-functional meetings and events spaces, a boutique, three restaurants and two bar concepts, a fitness center and a rooftop pool. Hyatt Centric Queretaro will be the second Hyatt Centric brand property in Mexico.

Sonesta International Hotels Corporation announced plans for the construction of a new Sonesta ES Suites in Port Charlotte, Florida. The new property, expected to open in Spring 2025, marks the first Sonesta ES Suites brand project developed from the ground up. The extended-stay hotel will span four floors and offer 117 rooms, breakfast and dining services, an outdoor pool, fitness room, market pantry, guest laundry, onsite parking and more.

InterContinental Hotels Group announced the opening of the new-build Candlewood Suites Atlanta Smyrna in Smyrna, Georgia. Managed by Sandpiper Hospitality the new hotel features 93 guestrooms, free laundry facilities, outdoor Gazebo Grills, Candlewood Cupboard, and The Lending Locker program.

IHG Hotels & Resorts, in conjunction with owner Sapphire 2021 LLC, celebrated the opening of its second U.S. Garner hotels property in Macon, Georgia. The 63-room Garner Macon West offers an onsite fitness center and a business center.

Collinaire Luxury Suites, a historic boutique hotel in Miami Beach, has been sold for $8.9 million to 2024 221 Collins LLC. The seller was Collins 221 LLC. The new owner of the eight-suite hotel currently plans to turn the property into a living space for teachers who will work at an upcoming elementary school called BaseCamp 305. The school is expected to open in 2025. Gale Group International listed the hotel on Ten-X.

The Planning and Zoning Commission of Waterford, Connecticut unanimously approved construction of a 122-room Woodspring Suites hotel on Boston Post Road. Seven Hills Hospitality Group said construction would take about a year once a building permit is obtained.

Red Jacket Resorts announced the first phase of a collection-wide renovation scheduled to be completed by May of this year, ahead of the regional’s 2024 summer season. Three of its five mid-Cape Cod, Massachusetts properties, Red Jacket Beach Resort, Riviera Beach Resort and Blue Water Resort, will undergo a collective $40 million property-wide reinvention that includes 397 newly designed guestrooms, family suites, and vacation cottages, seven updated food and beverage outlets, lobby spaces, meeting rooms, as well as refreshed pool experiences and beachfront amenities. Red Jacket Resorts’ multiphase re-imagination is under the stewardship of EOS Hospitality, which acquired the portfolio in late 2021.

Margaritaville Hotel Kansas City will open in the spring of 2025 in Wyandotte County, Kansas. Sunflower Development Group and Homefield KC are working with the Margaritaville lifestyle brand to open the hotel. The 229 room hotel will have a resort-style outdoor pool, an indoor pool, event space, retail space and several Margaritaville-inspired bars and restaurants. VICI properties Inc. will provide up to $105 million in construction financing to support the Margaritaville Development. The property will be managed by Davidson Hospitality Group.

AIC Hotel Group, which is associated with Nobu and other hotel brands, has filed preliminary plans in Orange County, Florida for a massive resort east of Disney Springs. AIC Hotel Group purchased about 50 acres of vacant property just north of the Orlando Marriott World Center Resort for $32.75 million in 2019. Nobu Hotels announced plans in 2022 for an Orlando resort with a scheduled opening date in 2026. The conceptual master plan calls for four hotels with a combined 1,934 rooms, 16 restaurants, an entertainment venue, a spa and 270 apartments designated as Club Membership Units. The plan also shows multiple pools, waterslides and a lazy river associated with the hotels and a dining, retail and entertainment village in the center of the resort. In all, the plan calls for over 100,000 square feet of F&B space, nearly 35,000 square feet of retail space and 73,225 square feet for events. The Nobu Hotel website says the Orlando resort will feature 300 rooms including eight villas, a Nobu restaurant, 50 branded residences, and meeting and event space. The new master plan does not specify how the Nobu project would integrate into the larger resort.

A new condominium hotel is being proposed in downtown State College, Pennsylvania. Plans include a nine-story mixed-use building with 4,760 square feet of commercial space on the ground floor and a condominium hotel with 72 units on the upper floors. The plans were submitted by PVE, and the owner Haugh Realty, Inc.

Hunter Hotel Advisors announced the sale of the Residence Inn Philadelphia Langhorne. MCR Hotels sold the property to Baywood Hotels. Hunter facilitated the transaction on behalf of MCR Hotels. The Residence Inn Philadelphia Langhorne comprises 100 keys, a fitness center, indoor pool and 234 square feet of meeting space.

Driftwood Capital secured $60.5 million in refinancing for the Margaritaville Lake Resort, Lake of the Ozarks, a 520-key resort located in Osage Beach, Missouri. Driftwood Capital, along with Berkadia South Florida, arranged the financing through Goldman Sachs Bank USA and Starwood Mortgage Capital. The Margaritaville Resort Lake of the Ozarks includes a full-service marina, championship golf course, indoor water park, spa and seven restaurants and bars.

Travelodge appointed Demi Turner as Director of Sustainability, a newly created role at Travelodge which further strengthens the company’s commitment to its ESG Strategy. Prior to Travelodge, Demi worked across a range of companies including Whitbread, KFC, ASOS and WPP. Demi will lead and coordinate the evolution of Travelodge’s sustainability strategy as well as work to reduce the company’s carbon footprint, in a bid to become a net-zero business by 2050.

Melia has reached an agreement with Gaalata for the sale of a 50% stake in its Puerto Vallarta hotel. The price of the transaction will amount to more than USD 30 million. Once the transaction is closed, Melia and Gaalata plan to renovate the hotel, which will be managed under the Paradisus brand.

Blue Del Mare SRL and Grupo De Valle announced the official agreement of Wyndham Blue Del Mar Cap Cana, Dominican Republic. The project will begin immediately with the sale of its 292 luxury residences. The development will be complemented by two restaurants, cafes, co-working spaces, lobby lounge, multiple pool areas, exclusive spa, fitness center, sports facilities, kids club, recreational activities center, rooftop lounge bar and a large ballroom for events and conventions. The operating company, Operadora Hotelera Dominicana SRL, will provide exceptional profitability and a sure appreciation of the property.

International Highlights

Melia Hotels International announced a strong push for its international expansion. In 2023, Melia signed 26 new projects and opened a dozen hotels, concluding the year with 350 operational hotels and 92,057 rooms, plus another 64 projects in the process of opening with 13,524 rooms. In 2024, the company’s expansion plans will remain equally ambitious, with an initial goal of opening more than twenty hotels and continuing to sign as many new projects. One of the most significant projects for this year is the Torre Melina Hotel, Gran Melia which opened in Barcelona. Especially significant will be the growth of the luxury brand ME by Melia, which in 2024 will landing destinations such as Lisbon, Malta, Malaga, Sayulita, and Guadalajara, the later two in Mexico. The Zel brand will see the opening of a new hotel in Tossa del Mar (Girona) this year, with additional projects in Sayulita (Mexico), Madrid, and Punta Cana (Dominican Republic). Another area of expansion is Saudi Arabia. In this regard, Melia has announced a new letter of intent with Gulf Real Estate Company to manage a 220-room hotel in Half Moon Bay. The Melia Collection brand, which will double from 8 to 16 hotels in the coming years, reinforcing the company’s commitment to luxury segment. In this regard, the signing of two boutique hotels in Mallorca and one in Cadiz were recently announced. After opening its first hotel in Albania in 2022, two projects were just signed this year: the ME Tirana and the Melia Velipoja.

Radisson Hotel Group announced the signing of Radisson RED Berlin Kudamm, the Group’s first Radisson RED property in Germany’s capital. Following an extensive refurbishment and renovation, the new Radisson RED Berlin Kudamm will open late spring 2024 with 133 guestrooms including 14 studios, an all-day dining restaurant, flexible event spaces, co-working space, game areas, and a summer garden terrace in the inner courtyard. Arena Hospitality Group is the co-owner and manager of the property.