Radisson Signs Deal to Expand in the Philippines

STR reported China hotel RevPAR was up 143.8% year over year for the week ended April 22. Results were up against an easy comparison of down -47.7%. When compared with the same week in 2019, RevPAR was up 1.9%.

Radisson Hotel Group announced the latest phase of their expansion strategy in the Philippines with the signing of a deal with SM Hotels & Conventions Corp for the development of 14 new hotels in the country. The master development agreement with SMHCC is for its Park Inn by Radisson brand with 14 of the Park Inn by Radisson hotels to be built under the agreement over the next five years. That would bring Radisson Hotel Group’s total portfolio in the Philippines to 20 hotels by 2028. SMHCC is the developer and manager of SM Prime Holdings’ hotels and convention business. They first partnered with RHG in November 2010 with the launch of Radisson Blu Cebu. They opened five Park Inn by Radisson hotels over the past decade. The strategic alliance also calls for the expansion of the Radisson Blu and Radisson brands in the Philippines, plus the Park Inn by Radisson expansion. The hotels are expected to be built alongside integrated property developments with SM Malls. Under current development is the 516-room, dual-branded property in Cebu City under the Radisson and Park Inn by Radisson brands, scheduled to open its doors in 2027. The properties will be part of an integrated development adjacent to the SMX convention centre and SM Seaside Arena as well as the SM Seaside City Cebu Mall.

Las Vegas Sands’ Marina Bay Sands in Singapore has completed the renovations on over 850 hotels rooms, located in Towers 1 and 2, nearly two-thirds of the 1,282 rooms that will be renovated, the first wave of their US$1 billion+ reinvestment program. The newly configured rooms and suites, which convey a sense of space amid intricate details, offer a preview of the multi-year transformation that had its roots in late 2021. The next phase of the renovation will focus on the ultra-luxe suites. The hotel renewal will see more suites being created at Marina Bay Sands within the two towers, from 137 to around 422, to cater to rising demand for luxury travel. The Towers 1 and 2 transformation is expected to be complete by end of 2023 and then the renewal will continue into Tower 3, the Hotel Lobby and Sands SkyPark. A revamped Executive Club lounge, new premium fine dining options and health and wellness offerings will also be part of the changes. LVS also said MBS is making headway with its Bay Precinct Strategy, positioning the property and Marina Bay as the epicenter for hosting international business events. They have signed partnerships with 10 high-end hotels in the region, enabling Marina Bay Sands and the respective partner hotels to leverage each other’s strengths and assets to offer an expanded offering for international event organizers looking to host their events in Singapore.

Millennium Hotels announced the launch of M Social in Suzhou, the maiden property for the brand in China. The 294-room luxury lifestyle hotel is the first step in expansion of the lifestyle brand from Millennium Hotels and Resorts in China. The brand, the brainchild of executive chairman Kwek Leng Beng, was first launched in Singapore in 2016 to cater to the young and social media savvy. This is the brand’s fifth physical location with the others in Singapore, Auckland, NY and Paris. M Social Suzhou is located in the heart of Hong Leong City Centre in the central part of Suzhou Industrial Park, occupying a prime location by Jinji Lake. The 294 guestrooms and suites range from 40 to 409 square meters, all with views of Jinji Lake and the Eastern Gate of Suzhou. The 409-square-meter Mega Cool Suite includes 270-degree views of the lake. The hotel offers 728 square meters of ballroom space, a 1,200 square meter fitness center, a swimming pool and a spa along with three restaurants and bars.

Mohegan Inspire, the long-delayed integrated casino resort planned to be near Incheon International Airport in South Korea, on Yeongjong Island, expects to begin to soft open their property in the fourth quarter of 2023. They gave an update saying parts of Phase 1 of the resort will be completed in September. The first phase of construction on the US$1.49 billion project, will include a three-tower luxury hotel with 1,256 rooms, a 15,000-seat arena to host concerts and sporting events, a foreigner-only casino with 700 slot machines, all year indoor water park, theme park, dining and shopping areas. The integrated resort will also include a meeting convention space with a ballroom of 10,000 square meters in size. Mohegan hopes to complete construction with partner Hanwha by September and start opening the resort in the fourth quarter. The entire resort, including the casino, is scheduled to open in the first quarter of 2024.

Sydney-Australia-based hotel investor/operator Pro-invest Group is starting to refocus on managing hotels in Europe. Via an investment platform with ICG Real Estate in September 2022, the firm is looking to invest US$623 million, initially in UK hotels. Right now all their hotels are located in the Asia Pacific region. The joint venture will focus on value-add, opportunistic investments into hotel assets in the UK. Pro-invest is weighing partnerships across UK and European markets. Their hotels in APAC are mostly with IHG’s Holiday Inn Express brand but definitely have favored all IHG brands. The investment with ICG is expected to yield 15 to 20 properties with a total of 3,000 to 5,000 keys.

DoubleDragon Corp of the Philippines, through its subsidiary Hotel101 Global Pte Ltd., signed a binding agreement to acquire a property in Madrid, Spain, for its first development in Europe. The deal is for the acquisition of 6,593 square meters of prime commercial land located in Avenida Fuerzas Armadas, Valdebebas, Madrid. Hotel101-Madrid will have about 736 rooms and will be the first Hotel101 development in Europe, set to be among the Top 5 largest hotels in Madrid and the first homegrown Filipino hotel chain to enter Spain. DoubleDragon expects to generate P8.8 billion in condotel sales revenues from Hotel101-Madrid project. 

The board of directors of Miramar Hotel and Investment Company, Limited announced Dr. David Sin Wai Kin, their Vice Chairman and an Independent Non-Executive Director of the company, passed away on April 17. The company will be identifying a candidate to fill the vacancy of chairman and/or a member of the audit committee, remuneration committee and nomination committee to replace Kin’s spot and fulfill listing requirements of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Middle East Highlights

Hotel occupancy in Egypt increased by about 20%-25% during the first quarter of 2023, compared to the same period last year, according to Asharq Business. Cairo hotels topped the list with 80% occupancy. Tourists from Germany, Poland, Italy, UK and the Czech Republic were the most nationalities that visited the Egyptian resorts.

Aman Group announced two forthcoming destinations in Saudi Arabia in partnership with Diriyah Company – Aman Wadi Safar and Janu Diriyah. Aman Wadi Safar will be located near Riyadh and will have a 78-key Aman hotel, a collection of up to 34 Aman Branded Residences and amenities including an Aman Spa. Janu Diriyah is expected to open in 2026, located within close proximity to the Unesco Heritage Site of At-Turaif, also close to Riyadh. It will have 120 hotel rooms and a spa, as part of the Janu Wellness offering, along with a multitude of dining and experiences.