Davidson adds the Caribbean. Atlanta-based Davidson Hospitality Group will operate two interconnected resorts at Frenchman’s Reef on St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands: The Westin Beach Resort & Spa at Frenchman’s Reef and Morningstar Buoy Haus Beach at Frenchman’s Reef, Autograph Collection. Operated by New York City-based Fortress Investment Group, the two properties will reopen in 2023 after more than $400 million in renovations and feature 486 rooms, 80,000 square feet of meeting space, 10 restaurants and bars, and a spa.
Rockpoint sells hotel in DC. Boston-based private equity firm Rockpoint has sold the Beach Hotel in Washington, DC, to an unnamed buyer for $26.8 million. The sale price is $13 million less than what Rockpoint paid for the property in 2018, according to the Washington DC Business Journal.
Joint venture is about to take over the Hyatt Regency Orlando. A joint venture between Los Angeles-based Ares Management and Houston-based Rida Development is close to acquiring the 1,641-room Hyatt Regency Orlando from Hyatt Hotels Corp. The property is valued at more than $1 billion, according to a Bloomberg report. The joint venture would take out a CMBS loan to complete the transaction. Last week, Hyatt said during its earnings call that it would complete the sale of an asset by the end of August (the Hyatt Regency Orlando, according to RW Baird analyst Michael Bellisario). The deal would fulfill the company’s commitment to sell $2 billion worth of assets.
India leads the APEC pipeline. According to Lodging Econometrics, India is expected to have the most hotel openings in the APEC (Asia Pacific, excluding China) region by 2026. In the second quarter, APEC’s total pipeline reached a record 2,056 projects with 406,118 rooms, representing a 6% increase in projects and 1% increase in rooms year-on-year. Currently, there are 864 projects with 199,784 rooms under construction in the APEC region, while the number of projects scheduled to start construction in the next 12 months has increased to 358 with 65,853 rooms, representing a 23% increase in projects and rooms year-on-year. India leads the APEC country count with a record 610 projects with 75,280 rooms, accounting for 30% of the projects in the APEC pipeline. Vietnam ranks second with 247 projects and 85,760 rooms, while Indonesia ranks third with 181 projects and 31,550 rooms. The APEC cities with the most projects are Bangkok with 67 projects and 15,394 rooms, followed by Jakarta with 42 projects and 8,979 rooms and Melbourne with 40 projects and 7,496 rooms. India claims 25% of APEC openings in 2024 and has the largest number of new openings by the end of 2026.
The travel and hospitality industry will be hiring a lot of staff in July. According to the U.S. Travel Association, 18,000 new travel and hospitality jobs were created in the last two reporting months. Joshua Friedlander, USTA vice president of research, wrote that the leisure and hospitality sector currently employs nearly 17 million people, up nearly 300,000 from last year.
Ascott Ltd. triples the Unlimited Collection. The Ascott Ltd. has unveiled a brand refresh of The Unlimited Collection after the company more than tripled its portfolio in the past year with 11 hotels across Asia, Europe and the Middle East. The brand refresh reinforces The Unlimited Collection’s global positioning as a curated selection of independent upscale hotels. The brand debuted with three hotels in Singapore in 2020 and recently began operations in Vietnam. Ascott also revealed plans to further expand The Unlimited Collection brand in Malaysia and Indonesia in Asia.
Radisson is expanding its offering in India. Radisson Hotel Group has signed a deal for a 100-room Park Inn by Radisson branded hotel in Chennai, India. The Park Inn by Raisson Chennai ECR hotel is a joint project with Chanda Hotels of Tamil Nadu, India and will be the brand’s first hotel in Chennai.
HAMA student suitcase competition. The Hospitality Asset Managers Association is now accepting applications for the 19th annual HAMA Student Case Competition. Participating students from more than 40 undergraduate and graduate programs across the country will be given a return-on-investment scenario to analyze and formulate a recommendation to improve their business. HAMA is partnering with HotStats for benchmarking data and LARC for a Boston market forecast. Interested students and/or professors should email Adam Tegge at [email protected].
