The second Echo Suites opens in Texas. Wyndham Hotels & Resorts has opened its second Echo Suites Extended Stay hotel in Plano, Texas, after opening its first in Spartanburg, South Carolina, in July. Owned by Topeka, Kansas-based Gulf Coast Hotel Management, the ECHO Suites Extended Stay by Wyndham Dallas Plano/Frisco is one of 25 Echo Suites hotels that Gulf Coast Hotel Management plans to open in the coming years. Wyndham has nearly 270 Echo Suites in the pipeline, with several hotels scheduled to open in the next few months.
US hotels unchanged in July. Hotels in the U.S. reported largely flat performance in July compared to the same period last year, according to the latest data from CoStar. Occupancy was 68.8% (down 0.5%), ADR was $161.69 (up 0.5%) and RevPAR was $111.18 (flat). Among the top 25 markets, Hawaii’s Oahu island posted the highest numbers in all three key performance metrics: occupancy (up 4.5% to 88.3%), ADR (up 1.4% to $310.46) and RevPAR (up 5.9% to $274.13). Markets with the lowest monthly occupancy included Phoenix (56.9%) and New Orleans (58.9%).
Banyan makes his debut in Japan. Singapore-based Banyan Group launches its flagship brand Banyan Tree in Japan with the grand opening of the 52-room Banyan Tree Higashiyama Kyoto in the heart of Kyoto’s historic Higashiyama district.
Keshav adds Georgia. San Diego-based Keshav Management acquired the 78-room Residence Inn Macon in Georgia from an institutional seller for an undisclosed amount on Aug. 8. Hunter Hotel Advisors represented the seller.
Groundbreaking new hotel opening in New Jersey. Plainfield, New Jersey-based Landmark Hospitality is reopening the former Grand Summit Hotel in Summit, New Jersey as The Albion Summit. The 156-year-old boutique hotel will be the first in Landmark’s newly formed The Albion Hotels collection.
Criterion secures financing for hotel renovation. London-based Criterion Capital has secured £25 million in funding from Bank of London and The Middle East PLC to convert an office building into a hotel in London’s Trafalgar Square. The three-year loan will help refurbish the upper floors of the Trafalgar Buildings and transform them into Zedwell Trafalgar Square. The project is part of Criterion’s UK expansion strategy for Zedwell, which has over 7,000 rooms in the pipeline.
Japan once again records record numbers of visitors. In July, Japan recorded a record number of visitors for the second month in a row as the weak yen and summer holidays sparked a tourism boom. According to the Japan Tourism Organization, the number of foreign business and leisure travelers was 3.29 million, a record high for a month and surpassing the previous record of 3.14 million in June.
Smaller hotels in the Indian Ocean. Bangkok-based Minor Hotels will open its first NH Hotels & Resorts property in the Indian Ocean on September 1. The 51-room NH Maldives Kuda Rah Resort is located in the South Ari Atoll, about 25 miles by seaplane from the capital city of Malé, and features more than 50 known dive sites.
Sonesta Franchisee Incentive Program. Newton, Massachusetts-based Sonesta has announced a new program that offers a 2% incentive to franchisees who use Sonesta’s procurement program for their purchases. Owners will receive the 2% incentive based on their spending with Sonesta contract suppliers under the Avendra program and other Sonesta-negotiated contracts. The incentive will be paid quarterly as a credit on franchise fee statements. Sonesta says the program is the first comprehensive program of its magnitude in the industry.
