- Hotel Indigo brand proves 'a great fit' for the Gulf as IHG confirms Oman debut as first UAE opening approaches
- Mandarin Oriental, Munich reopens with newly renovated rooms and suites
- Hyatt and Genting Americas announce plans for Hyatt Regency JFK at Resorts World New York
- Data metrics - latest performance insights from STR
- News briefs - bitesize updates of latest industry news and developments
Hotel Indigo brand proves 'a great fit' for the Gulf as IHG confirms Oman debut as first UAE opening approaches
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) has signed a management agreement with Redhat Al Jabal to debut its global upscale boutique brand, Hotel Indigo, in the Sultanate of Oman. A new built property, Hotel Indigo Jabal Al Akhdar will feature 176 design-led rooms and will open its doors to guests in early 2022, located in Nizwa, in Ad Dakhliyah Governorate, in proximity to the most scenic mountains in the country. The hotel brand, which draws design elements from each of its local surroundings is proving 'a great fit for the region', according to IHG. This month, it will open doors to Hotel Indigo Dubai Downtown - the brand's debut in GCC. IHG currently operates 96 hotels across seven brands in the Middle East, including: InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Staybridge Suites, voco and Six Senses with a further 41 in the development pipeline due to open within the next three to five years.
Mandarin Oriental, Munich reopens with newly renovated rooms and suites
Mandarin Oriental is offering a little more luxury with the reopening of its Munich property following the most extensive renovation in the hotel's history. In keeping with the successful restoration of its public areas and the introduction of Matsuhisa Munich in 2015, the hotel has now unveiled all new guest rooms and suites to confirm its position as one of the leading luxury hotels in Germany and just in time for its 20th anniversary. Each room incorporates "comfortable and skilful updates and a fresh new look and feel," according to general manager Dominik G Reiner. This includes numerous artworks which pay tribute to Munich's geographical location as the gateway to the Alps. Alongside the changes in each room, completely redesigned bathrooms in black and white tones incorporate advanced sustainable technologies to minimise energy and water consumption and support the removal of all single-use plastic items in our rooms and bathrooms as part of its sustainability efforts.
Hyatt and Genting Americas announce plans for Hyatt Regency JFK at Resorts World New York
Hyatt Hotels Corporation and Genting Americas have announced plans for a new hotel located at Resorts World Casino New York City (RWNYC). The Hyatt Regency JFK at Resorts World New York is scheduled to open in the first quarter of 2021, and will be an eight-storey 400-room four-star hotel with residential-inspired guestrooms and premium suites. The hotel will also include new restaurants, state-of-the-art conference and meeting spaces, retail options, and additional gaming areas. RWNYC is the only casino in New York City, offering over 6,000 slots and electronic table games to millions of guests annually. "We are pleased to collaborate with Genting on this exciting new property and deliver on the Hyatt Regency brand promise of making travel free from stress and filled with success," explains Pete Sears, Americas group president, Hyatt. "This new hotel will be a testament to Hyatt's commitment to growing with intent in markets that matter most to our loyal members and global guests." RWNYC features three unique levels of gaming, Times Square Casino, Fifth Avenue Casino and Central Park Casino, along with several high-limit rooms for Platinum and Black Card members. Conveniently located minutes away from JFK Airport, the hotel will be easily accessible by the A Train, Q37 bus, and LIRR to Jamaica Station with pick-up from a free casino shuttle.
Data metrics - latest performance insights from STR
- STR's Forward STAR data shows that short-term hotel performance in Australia will remain similar to recent months with regional areas outperforming capital cities. Parallel to other countries across the world, higher occupancy in regional areas is especially pronounced on weekends, and occupancy-on-the-books data for the next 90 days (as of 05-Oct-2020) shows a similar pattern. Looking ahead into Nov-2020 and Dec-2020 the data shows regional Australia occupancy of between 14-32%, while across the capital cities it is between 8-17%. Post-Christmas is where the trend begins to shift slightly, with more Australians set to head out of town for their summer vacations.
- The hotel industry in Dubai, United Arab Emirates reported its highest occupancy level since Feb-2020, according to preliminary Sep-2020 data, albeit year-on-year declines in the key performance metrics remained significant. Still, Sep-2020 was Dubai's second consecutive month with occupancy above 40.0%. ADR and RevPAR, while substantially improved from pandemic lows, were lower than Aug-2020 levels though. In comparison with Sep-2019, occupancy was down -37.6% to 45.4%, ADR fell -20.8% to AED284.15 and RevPAR declined -50.6% to AED129.03.
- Preliminary performance data for Sep-2020 indicates that London, United Kingdom hotels showed lower occupancy but higher room rates when compared with Aug-2020. In comparison with Sep-2019, occupancy was down -65.8% to 29.7%, ADR declined -45.3% to GBP93.15 and RevPAR fell -81.3% to GBP27.64. Like previous months, the occupancy and RevPAR levels are the lowest for any September on record in the city.
- The United States of America leads the rest of the world in terms of new hotel openings through the Covid-19 pandemic. Between the beginning of Mar-2020 and end of Sep-2020, 521 properties opened in the country accounting for 55,395 rooms over the seven-month period. A further five countries opened more than 2,000 rooms over the same period: China (23,470 rooms), Japan (16,304 rooms), Germany (9,027 rooms), Canada (2,748 rooms) and United Kingdom (2,481 rooms).
News briefs - bitesize updates of latest industry news and developments
- The Cornerstone Collective has announced a comprehensive programme to provide hotel brands, owners and operators with a road map to design their properties safely, intelligently and prudently for today and the inevitable recovery from the Covid-19 virus. The proprietary Nexus Design Standards lay out specific criteria culled from across the full spectrum of expert sources, including the CDC, EPA, WELL, LEED, IBC, Fitwel, Mindful Materials and medical specialists. The programme provides non-biased, research-based solutions that provide critical guidance for safe design, while allowing the ability to optimise the hotel's uniqueness.
- Hotel Zena, a ground breaking hotel dedicated to female empowerment, has opened in Washington DC. Situated at the nexus of Downtown DC and the vibrant Logan Circle neighbourhood and renewed 14th Street, the Viceroy Hotels & Resorts property houses 191 rooms. The hotel is a story about women, but also a celebration of people who work together to achieve fundamental civil rights. The "Portrait Gallery" in the hotel's lobby features the stories of female warriors who have made significant contributions in the struggle for Women's Rights and Gender Equality.
- As part of an extensive renovation, the Hotel Metro Milwaukee, Autograph Collection has deployed the BeyondTV guestroom entertainment platform from Hotel Internet Services (HIS), a full-service provider of internet services and solutions for the hospitality industry. To further support guest needs it ha also delivered an advanced Wi-Fi network upgrade across the historic 1930s era building in which it is housed.
- Situated in the popular seaside town of St Julian's, within walking distance of the beach and less than twenty minutes away from Malta's international airport and the UNESCO World Heritage City of Valletta, the Hyatt Regency Malta becomes the first Hyatt-branded property in the archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea. The property includes 151 rooms, including 11 suites and one ambassador suite all featuring sea or Saint Rita Square views.
- Following the South African government's decision to open borders, Leeu Collection is to re-open its Cape Wineland properties (which have been closed since Mar-2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic) in phases, following some impressive upgrades and renovations, many of which make it easier for guests to socially distance. The romantic auberge Le Quartier Français re-opened this week, with Leeu House (just a couple of doors away in the heart of Franschhoek) accepting bookings from late Oct-2020. Leeu Collection's third property, the flagship Leeu Estates on the outskirts of Franschhoek, will re-open its rooms to guests in early Dec-2020.
- Hotel Equities has announced the opening of a dual-branded Marriott International offering in the Indianapolis Keystone area of Indiana that brings a fusion of two of its distinct brands together in a shared accommodation offer. With a combined 180 guestrooms and suites the Residence Inn and SpringHill Suites properties are owned by development and investment firm The Witness Group and are managed by Hotel Equities following the recent consummation of the firm's alliance with TWG.
- Aimbridge Hospitality, a global third-party hotel management company, has been selected to manage the Renaissance Charleston Historic District Hotel. The centrally located property between King Street and Meeting Street boasts 166 design-forward guest rooms and an eclectic décor throughout its common areas.
- Hospitality Ventures Management Group (HVMG) has announced the grand opening of 104-room Residence Inn by Marriott Waco/South in Texas. Located at 2424 Marketplace Drive, the 4-storey hotel is near Hillcrest Baptist Medical Center and proximate to Baylor University and multiple corporate entities and situated within the Central Texas Market Place development. Designed for long stays, the brand offers spacious suites with separate living, working and sleeping zones that allow guests to enjoy the freedom of travel, whether for business or leisure.
- At this year's Vacation Rental World Summit, Revyoos, an all-in-one review aggregator for short-term rentals, was selected as winner of the VrTech Startup Competition, which showcases young technology companies creating innovative solutions for the vacation rental industry. The platform has been designed to help property managers and owners improve their SEO, credibility and conversions by gathering all their reviews spread across different channels in one place. Previous year's winners include Operto, Stasher and Hello Here.
- SITU, the international serviced apartment agency, has launched SITU Live: Global Network, a product that allows professional serviced accommodation operators worldwide to connect their inventory, availability and pricing. The network launches with a marketplace of over 40 locations across the UK, with the aim of expanding this coverage to over 200 worldwide by Dec-2020.
- The ground breaking hast taken place for the St Regis Cap Cana Resort & Residences, the first St Regis hotel in the Dominican Republic. Slated to open in 2023, the resort is expected to feature 200 guest rooms and suites offering spectacular ocean views and 67 residences.
- New hotel brand stayAPT Suites aims to provide US travellers with an unmatched hotel experience as the venture launches nationwide this autumn following the opening of a first location at the start of this month in Goldsboro, NC. Guiding the stayAPT Suites experience is a design philosophy that abandons the traditional one-room hotel layout in favour of a residential-feeling suite with intentional spaces. There are plans to open stayAPT Suites in several new locations before the end of the year, including in Alexandria-Fort Belvoir, Va., Chattanooga, TN, Greer, SC, Greenville, SC, and Houston, TX.