- The new Westin Monterrey Valle aims to bring 'a new wave of well-being' to Mexico's third largest city
- Kimpton Vividora Hotel brings new boutique luxury offering to Barcelona
- Dream Las Vegas set to bring 450 'chic and stylish' additional rooms to the Strip from 2023
- AAA adds six new hotels to its coveted Five Diamond list
- News briefs - bitesize updates of latest industry news and developments
The new Westin Monterrey Valle aims to bring 'a new wave of well-being' to Mexico's third largest city
Westin Hotels & Resorts says it is continuing its commitment of bringing unmatched wellness offerings to Mexico with the opening of The Westin Monterrey Valle, the brand's first hotel in Monterrey, and its eighth property in Mexico. Acquired by Fibra Inn and operated by Grupo Hotelero Prisma, the hotel is located in the heart of the city´s famous San Pedro Garza Garcia neighbourhood - one of the most prestigious areas in Monterrey. Embracing the brand's core pillars of Eat Well, Sleep Well and Move Well, the new Westin Monterrey Valle aims to offer business and leisure travellers signature wellness experiences that incorporate local influences across the culinary, spa, and design elements. The property features 174 rooms and suites, all equipped with Westin's Heavenly Bed, designed to revitalise the body and mind for a night of restorative sleep.
Kimpton Vividora Hotel brings new boutique luxury offering to Barcelona
The new Kimpton Vividora Hotel, represents the first opening in Spain for Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants, InterContinental Hotels Group's boutique luxury brand. Located in the heart of the Ciutat Vella district (the old city), in Barcelona's cultural and historical Gothic Quarter, it features 156 guestrooms, 10 suites, (which take inspiration from a stylish Barcelona apartment and feature locally designed furniture and artwork), three restaurants and bars, and a rooftop terrace and pool offering panoramic views of the city. Its location means it is within walking distance to some of the city's most prominent landmarks, while guests can enjoy Kimpton's signature perks including a nightly hosted Social Hour where guests can bond over drinks. There are currently 66 Kimpton hotels open globally, and another 33 set to open in the next 3-5 years. This year Kimpton will debut in Paris, Bali, Bangkok, Tokyo, Manchester and Mexico City as well as expanding across the US.
Dream Las Vegas set to bring 450 'chic and stylish' additional rooms to the Strip from 2023
Hotel and brand management company Dream Hotel Group announced plans to debut its flagship lifestyle brand Dream Hotels in Las Vegas with a free-standing 450-room luxury lifestyle hotel on the Las Vegas Strip. In partnership with local developers Contour and Shopoff Realty Investments construction will begin in early 2021 with a soft opening date set for 2023. The property will feature 450 "chic and stylish" guest rooms and suites, seven dining and nightlife venues, including a rooftop pool deck, bar and lounge, three feature restaurants, two additional bar and lounge concepts on the gaming floor, and a grab-and-go cafe on the street level, as well as 12,000 square feet of private meeting and event space, a full-service spa, fitness centre and on-site parking.
AAA adds six new hotels to its coveted Five Diamond list
With the addition of six hotels and five restaurants, AAA has unveiled the 2020 Five Diamond list, comprising just 119 hotels and 67 restaurants. This exclusive group represents less than 1% of the nearly 60,000 AAA Diamond establishments across the United States, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean. The new properties making this grade comprise four properties upgraded from Four Diamonds: the Boston Harbor Hotel; the Four Seasons Resort Scottsdale at Troon North; the Hotel Bel Air in Los Angeles; and UNICO 20°N 87°W Hotel Riviera Maya in Akumal, Mexico. The other two properties are new listings: Hotel Xcaret Mexico in Playa del Carmen, Mexico and the Mandarin Oriental, Canouan, in St Vincent and the Grenadines.
News briefs
- The Courtyard by Marriott Pasco Tri-Cities Airport formally opened its doors in Pasco, Washington earlier this month (Feb-2020). Located at 2101 West Argent Road, the 99-room hotel operates as a Marriott franchise, owned by A-1 Hospitality Group and managed by Columbia Hotel Management.
- InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) has confirmed the official opening of EVEN Hotel Alpharetta - Avalon Area. The hotel, located on Old Milton Parkway across from Avalon, is the brand's first location in the US state of Georgia and is owned by Epelboim, continuing IHG's strong relationship with the company. The property features 132 guest rooms, including six suites and eight accessible rooms.
- Hotel Equities (HE) has partnered with former Olympic wrestler turned hotelier Lincoln McIlravy and his hospitality company, Serve 20:28. HE has assumed management of McIlravy's portfolio of hotels in Iowa and Nebraska, which includes the Homewood Suites by Hilton Iowa River Landing and Home2 Suites by Hilton Iowa City in Coralville, Iowa; the Staybridge Suites in Des Moines, Iowa; and the Hampton Inn South Heritage Park in Lincoln, Nebraska.
- Hotelbeds has confirmed a strategic partnership with Credit Union Travel (CU Travel), the official travel partner of the credit union industry in the United States. As part of the agreement the 180,000 hotel properties available from Hotelbeds globally, many of which are directly contracted at the best price and under exclusive terms & conditions, now gain access to CU Travel's 12 million users across the United States.
- A Hyatt Hotels affiliate has entered into a franchise agreement for the first Hyatt branded hotel in Izmir, Turkey. Expected to open in 2021, the 161-room Hyatt Regency Izmir Istinye Park marks the seventh Hyatt branded property in Turkey. The property will form part of a new major development, Istinye Park Izmir, slated to become a local landmark comprising of a high-end shopping mall and recreation park.
- The 304-room and suite JW Marriott Muscat has opened providing a new accommodation offer for those attending the Oman Convention & Exhibition Centre (OCEC) precinct. Located in the heart of Muscat's new business hub, within the Sultanate's largest urban development project Madinat Al-Irfan, the hotel is directly linked to the OCEC, it also provides easy access to key city landmarks including Muscat Old Town, Royal Opera House, Old Souq and Mattrah Corniche.
- Key exchange company KeyNest and guest experience platform Wishbox have announced their integration, in a move that will fully automate self check-in operations and communication for hundreds of property managers across Europe. Users are now able to link their accounts and automatically generate collection codes for their KeyNest keys by assigning a key to a particular rental on Wishbox. Providing guests with a self check-in option is one of the requirements for making properties eligible for Airbnb for Work, Airbnb's collection of properties considered suitable for business travellers.
- Seaside Finolhu has become the first luxury resort from the Maldives to be accepted as a member of Design Hotels, the globally-recognised resource for curated design-led hotels. The resort is operated by the German hotel company, Seaside Collection.
- Miami hotel performance exceeded projections and reached record levels in both average daily rate (ADR) and revenue per available room (RevPAR) during Super Bowl LIV weekend, according to analysis by benchmarking specialist STR. During the nights of 31-Jan-2020 to 02-Feb-2020, the Miami/Hialeah market posted an absolute ADR level of USD616.91 (+148.5% year over year), which drove a RevPAR value of USD572.30 (+175.2%) - the highest levels in the metrics among any Super Bowl weekend. Occupancy in the market rose 11.3% to 92.8%, according to STR.
- Ultima Collection has announced the launch of Ultima Geneva Grand Villa, an urban sanctuary set to open on 1-Apr-2020. Located on the shores of Lake Geneva, Ultima Geneva Grand Villa will be a luxury residence available for private hire only, offering travellers a stylish gateway to the Alps. Built over three storeys it will accommodate up to 16 guests and will be comprised of one master bedroom, seven bedrooms and a one-bedroom guest villa, all of which are en-suite.
- WhyHotel, an alternative lodging service that operates pop-up hotels in newly built, luxury apartment buildings, has announced plans to launch a new pop-up hotel within Juniper, the first apartment building located in the Merriweather District in Downtown Columbia. Owned by The Howard Hughes Corporation, Juniper will include 70 WhyHotel units at its onset as it begins welcoming guests in Apr-2020. This will be WhyHotel's fifth operational locations and it is poised to announce a number of additional locations across the US.