STR reported China hotel data for the week ended April 20th. China hotel RevPAR was down -3.7% year over year. But it was up against a very tough comp of +143.8% in the year ago week.
The Elanor Hotel Accommodation Fund, managed by Elanor Investors Group, has sold the Leura Gardens Resort less than 12 months after acquiring the Blue Mountains, Australia resort. The freehold going concern interest in the resort has been sold to Schwartz Family Company which is Australia’s largest privately-owned hotel group. They also own the nearby Fairmont Resort. The sale price represents a 25% premium on the fund’s original purchase price. The Leura Gardens Resort comprises a mix of 92 guest rooms, suites, and serviced apartments, as well as a two-bedroom on-site manager’s residence, situated on an 18,793 square meter freehold land parcel. It also incorporates substantial conference and events facilities, two restaurants and bars, a coffee lounge, gym and multiple amenity rooms for a variety of uses. For the Schwartz Family, they get to target a different group of guests as Leura is a 3.5-star property while Fairmont is for 4.5-star guests. Leura Gardens Resort is the 15th hotel in the Schwartz hotel network, acquired for $25 million.
IHG Hotels & Resorts is set to double its presence in India over the next five years, aiming to operate 100 hotels. IHG is expanding its footprint in key Indian cities such as Gurgaon, Jim Corbett, Mumbai, Amritsar and Goa, currently operating six core brands in the country. Those brands include InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, voco, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express and Staybridge Suites. IHG and Brigade Group followed this up with a management agreement signing to debut the InterContinental brand in Telangana. The InterContinental Hyderabad Neopolis is slated to open in 2029. The newly constructed hotel is expected to be an integral part of Brigade’s upcoming, mixed-use development. The hotel is proposed to have 300 rooms, five dining options, conferencing facilities, fitness center, spa, swimming pool, outdoor recreation area and a retail outlet. To cater to MICE demands and large social gatherings, the hotel is proposed to feature eight meeting rooms including a spacious ballroom.
Indian Hotels Company is bringing back the Gateway brand but with changes. It will be a full-service upscale offering, earmarked for emerging markets in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities. IHCL will reignite the brand with 15 hotels in Bekal and Nashik and then in Bengaluru, Thane and Jaipur. If IHCL goes with the plan, they expect 100 of the hotels by 2030. IHCL has done the revamp of a brand with success before, mainly the Ginger brand, reintroduced in 2018. Ironically that is when they shelved the Gateway brand in favor of the more upscale Vivanta.
The Mandarin Oriental hotel that is being developed at the Ayala Triangle in Metro Manila, Philippines is further delayed. Ayala Land signed a deal with Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group in 2014 to develop and operate a luxury hotel at the Ayala Triangle. Ayala paid Mandarin Oriental $5 million in 2017. The luxury hotel was supposed to open in 2020 but Ayala Land told shareholders this morning that the luxury brand hotel will finally open in 2026. The 275 room hotel delays were primarily due to the Covid pandemic.
Ridgewood Premier Hotel in Manila is expected to open its doors by the middle of the year. The hotel is just 600 meters from SM Aura Premier and is geared to MICE activities. The hotel rooms are up for sale with a hotel-furnished 24.8 square meter standard suite going for approximately P3.5 million or P7 million for a 55.7 square meter two-bedroom hotel. While you get an automatic 6% rental income per year plus bonuses, in 20 years unit owners can accept a buyout offer that also includes a guaranteed profit on the investment.
Lotte Group of South Korea has sold its China theme park projects for about 450 billion won (US$326.73 million). The project has been stalled due to geopolitical tensions as relations between China and South Korea deteriorated sharply in the years following the installation of the US anti-missile system in South Korea. Seven years ago Lotte halted the Lotte Town project to build a shopping mall, a hotel and a theme park in the Chinese northeastern city of Shenyang. MoneyToday reported Lotte sold its China-based company running the project to a Shenyang city-run firm.
Galaxy Entertainment Group announced a tie-up with Capella Hotels and Resorts. Their Galaxy Macau will be home to the first Capella property in The Greater Bay Area. Galaxy already has the most Forbes 5-Star Hotel honors under one roof in the world. The Capella hotel will open in mid-2025. Capella at Galaxy Macau will be a 17-story hotel offering 36 Sky Villas and 57 Suites. The interiors draw inspiration from the jungle and Macau’s lush green hills. Each Sky Villa features a light-filled balcony with a transparent infinity-edge pool, outdoor lounge, sunroom and hidden winter garden. The luxurious villas include amenities such as a butler pantry, a karaoke room with a cigar butler and premium collection, private cocktail bar and a games lounge. Suites feature private plunge pools and balconies with views of Macau’s architecture. The hotel will feature various food and beverage offerings and more.
Construction is underway at the Mama Shelter Singapore Orchard at 110 Killiney Road in Singapore. The 115-room hotel is scheduled to open sometime in the first quarter of 2025, anchored by a 6,000-square-foot restaurant on the first level and an 8,000-square-foot rooftop bar with a swimming pool. The hotel is the redevelopment of the former Tai Wah Building which private equity investment firm Lucrum Capital purchased for close to $84.9 million in November 2017. Lucrum is looking to see the freehold boutique hotel for S$195 million. The hotel will be operated by Accor’s Ennismore. Lucrum previously put the site up for sale in 2019 for S$155 million but did not get any interest.
Osaka IR KK, the joint venture between MGM and Orix Corp., said they reached an agreement on a JPY530 billion (US$3.42 billion) loan. The agreement was with a group of banks including Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. When an equity component from investors was added, the total funding plan for MGM Osaka came to JPY1.27 trillion. Japanese conglomerate Hankyu Hanshin Holdings Inc. and Hanwa Co Ltd decided to join a group of minority domestic investors in the Osaka IR scheme, taking the total of minority stakeholders to 22.
