Jumeirah Group CEO Will Depart

The Macau Statistics and Census Service said visitors from South Korea, Thailand, and Mainland China ranked in the top three with the highest visitor spending per capita in Macau last year. Each visitor from South Korea spent an average of US$450 while those from Thailand spent US$417. Mainland Chinavisitors spent an average of US$378. Per-capita spending by visitors from South Korea, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, and Japan increased from 2019.

Accor has partnered with a Cebu-based firm to bring the biggest hotel of its high-end international brand to the Philippines. Accor announced its partnership with Tytans Properties and Development Inc. Accor will manage the Pullman Mactan Cebu Hotel & Residences. The property will have 200 hotel rooms and 900 apartment units with the apartment units spread across three towers, one of which is a serviced apartment tower. All in all, the development will have 1,100 keys for Accor to manage, making it the largest Pullman property in the world. Construction will begin 2025 with completion expected by 2028.

Skift, parent company of this publication, reported that Katerina Giannouka has left Jumeirah Group, one year into her time as CEO. Skift said they saw an internal document attributed to Jumeirah’s owning company Dubai Holding group CEO Amit Kaushal that was circulated to leaders in the organization. Katerina was said to step down to deal with some family matters before embarking on new opportunities outside of the group. Thomas Meier, CEOO, will serve as Interim CEO again. He did this when previous CEO Jose Silval left the company.

Katerina Giannouka speaking at Skift Global Forum East in December 2023 in Dubai, UAE.

The new Artyzen Habitat Hengqin Zhuhai is scheduled to open in March of this year, offering 230 guestrooms. The hotel is adjacent to the Hengqin Port and is included in the Shun Tak Hengqin Port Commercial Center and will be connected to the Zhuhai Jinwan Airport. Artyzen Hospitality Group Limited is a unit of Shun Tak Holdings Limited. The hotel is part of Shun Tak’s Hengqin Integrated Development which, besides the hotel, will offer 426 residential units, 42,300 square meters of Grade A office space, and a 43,000 square meter shopping mall. The mall is expected to open in the third quarter of this year.

Melia Hotels International unveiled its first foray into Bangkok, Thailand with the opening of Innside by Melia Bangkok Sukhumvit. This follows Melia establishing hotels in Phuket, Koh Samui, and Chiang Mai. The 34-story high Bangkok hotel has 208 rooms spread across eight categories including the sung Innside Room to the more expansive The Townhouse, which features two bedrooms. The top floors of the hotel include the Luz Bangkok Tapas Bar, a swimming pool, gym, and The Giant Swing Pool Bar. Other dining options include The Kites Eatery.

TFE will begin operating the former Sheraton Four Points in Docklands in Australia on April 8th. The 273-room hotel is being renamed the Vibe Melbourne Docklands by the owner MA Financial Group. This property is helping MA seed the launch of the MA Accommodation Hotel Fund, an open-ended fund for wholesale investors targeting high-quality assets.

The near-new Mantra Melbourne Epping Hotel in Melbourne, Australia’s Northhas been listed for sale by Australian Proprietary Company Epping SPV. The 4.5-star hotel opened in 2019 and is currently operated by Accor Hotels under the Mantra brand. The hotel sits on a 9,448 square meter site and consists of 214 keys across the configurations of 181 hotel rooms, 30 dual-key apartments, two suites, and one penthouse. Guest facilities include the Trader Café Restaurant and Bar as well as the Republic Tavern, Beer Republic Brewery & Twist Distillery, conference and meeting rooms, a gym, and 145 ground-level car parks. CBRE Hotels is managing the sale of the hotel via an Expressions of Interest campaign closing on April 5th. The hotel is available with the continuation of management under the Mantra brand or vacant possession.

The Sunseeker, a boutique Byron Bay hotel considered Australia’s most exciting new arrival, has been listed for sale. CBRE Hotels was exclusively appointed to handle the sale of the property, nearly new after opening in 2021 following a significant refurbishment. The property is situated on an expansive 6,337 square meter Bangalow Road corner site and offers 12 guest rooms, nine self-contained bungalows, a three-bedroom residence plus a caretaker studio apartment. Facilities include a mineral-heated pool with a poolside bar and cabana, fire pit, retro coffee cart, lobby library lounge, children’s playground, edible gardens, and beehives. In 2023, The Sunseeker opened The Residence, a three-bedroom house which now forms part of the hotel’s letting pool, featuring its own barrel sauna. The Sunseekeroffers additional potential via a 1,250 square meter vacant land parcel which has an active development approval for extra accommodation. The Sunseeker is available for sale with vacant possession.

Lemon Tree Hotels announced the signing of Sankhwas Garh, a Lemon Tree Resort and Keys Lite by Lemon Tree Hotels, Vijayawada. Both hotels are expected to open in fiscal year 2026 and shall be managed by Carnation Hotels Private Limited, the management arm of Lemon Tree Hotels. Sankhwas Garh in Rajasthan will feature 51 well-appointed rooms, a restaurant, bar, banquet hall, meeting rooms, swimming pool, and other public areas. The hotel will be about 110 kilometers from the Jodhpur Airport. Keys Lite by Lemon Tree Hotels, Vijayawada will feature 44 well-appointed rooms, a restaurant, and a meeting room. The hotel will be about 15 kilometers from the Vijayawada International Airport.

Landmarks Bhd said a buyer has been found for its wholly-owned unit Andaman Resorts Sdn Bhd’s luxury resort, The Andaman in Langkawi in Malaysia. The group said ARSB’s received and manager (R&M) Deloitte Restructuring Services PLT had entered into a binding agreement with Mutiara Hotels & Resorts Sdn Bhdfor the sale of the charged asset.

Dubai developer Damac announced that steady progress is being made on its 120-key Mandarin Oriental Bolidhuffaru Reef Resort in the Maldives. The work on its one-bedroom beach villa structure has already been completed. Construction activities for the structure of the two-bedroom beach units and the back of the house area currently in progress. The project is advancing with the construction of over 60 over-the-water villas and the development of the north and south jetties. Commencement of the works for the three and four-bedroom units, along with the initiation of ground preparation for front of house zones are expected to begin shortly. The 34-hectare luxury resort is scheduled to open in 2025.