- The newly renovated Hyatt Regency Barcelona marks Hyatt's continuous growth in Spain
- Marriott debuts its Aloft brand to the Caribbean with San Juan opening
- London retains top spot as the world city with the most five-star hotel properties in the Forbes Travel Guide's 2020 Star Rating Awards
- Wyndham Grand builds its global footprint with first property in Portugal
- News briefs - bitesize updates of latest industry news and developments
The newly renovated Hyatt Regency Barcelona marks Hyatt's continuous growth in Spain
Hyatt Hotels Corporation has confirmed the opening of the fully renovated 280-room Hyatt Regency Barcelona Tower, a hotel in the gateway to Barcelona's new financial district. It is the second Hyatt Regency branded property in Spain. Designed by renowned architect Richard Rogers who is best known for his work on the Pompidou Centre in Paris, the Millennium Dome in London, and the European Court of Human Rights building in Strasbourg, the hotel is one of Barcelona's skyline landmarks. The 344-foot (105-metre) high and 29-storey tower is topped by a stunning glass dome providing the top-floor restaurant with 360-degree views of the city. The property offers 280 rooms including 41 suites, one Presidential Suite as well as twelve duplex suites.
Marriott debuts its Aloft brand to the Caribbean with San Juan opening
Marriott International is boosting its Aloft Hotels portfolio, its innovation incubator brand for global travellers. The latest opening is the Aloft San Juan, the first Aloft hotel in the Caribbean. With 177 rooms, this vibrant new boutique hotel features a loft-inspired design at a location near Isla Grande airport and Miramar, Old San Juan. Aloft hopes to appeal to "next generation" travellers, while its convenient location near Puerto Rico Convention Center and open spaces and terraces overlooking the fountains of the Convention Center are sure to make it popular for events and the business travellers attending them.
London retains top spot as the world city with the most five-star hotel properties in the Forbes Travel Guide's 2020 Star Rating Awards
London is still the world's five-star hotel capital, according to the Forbes Travel Guide's 2020 Star Rating Awards. The latest annual update recognises the UK capital as having 19 five-star properties, including six new hotels that have secured five-star status for the first time. These comprise Brown's Hotel in Mayfair; Rosewood London near Covent Garden; The Berkeley in Knightsbridge; Kensington's The Milestone Hotel & Residences; The Four Seasons Hotel London at Ten Trinity Square, near the Tower of London; and The Egerton House Hotel in Chelsea. The awards, which honours luxury hotels, spas and restaurants, recognised Four Seasons as the brand with the most five-star hotels globally - a total of 44 properties. In total, the travel guide recognises 1,898 properties in 73 countries with them awarded five-star, four-star or recommended status.
Wyndham Grand builds its global footprint with first property in Portugal
Wyndham Hotels & Resorts has announced the expansion of its flagship upper-upscale Wyndham Grand brand with the opening of Wyndham Grand Algarve in the world-famous leisure and golf destination Quinta do Lago. This marks the brand's debut in Portugal and follows its entry into Georgia (Tbilisi), Croatia (Novi Vinodolski), the Greek Islands (Crete) in 2019. The property features 132 suites with one or two bedrooms, luxury amenities, a balcony or terrace and complimentary Wi-Fi. The property offers multiple dining options, a full-service spa, state-of-the-art fitness centre, and indoor and outdoor pools, located approximately 25 minutes from Faro airport. Wyndham Hotels' future expansion plans include a pipeline of 20 additional hotels in various destinations, including St Kitts and Nevis, Barbados, Belize and a new dual-branded Wyndham Grand and TRYP by Wyndham hotel in Miami, Florida.
News briefs
- The Autograph Collection Hotels portfolio has been expanded with the opening of The Ben, the first hotel on the downtown West Palm Beach, Florida. waterfront. The 208-room, new-build hotel features a modern design aesthetic reflecting the spirit of the Ben Trovato Estate, one of West Palm Beach's original homes. It is owned and operated by Concord Hospitality.
- Best Western Hotels & Resorts has opened the newly renovated Best Western Plus Wilkes Barre-Scranton airport hotel, located at 30 Concorde Drive in Pittston, Pennsylvania following the completion of a USD2 million improvement project. The hotel features 99 guest rooms, including eight suites.
- Cambria Hotels, an upscale brand franchised by Choice Hotels International has celebrated its third opening in the greater Charleston, South Carolina metropolitan area with the opening of the Cambria Hotel Summerville-Charleston. The 95-room hotel located on Sigma Road in the Nexton Town Center mixed-use development joins the Cambria Hotel Charleston Riverview and Cambria Hotel Mount Pleasant-Charleston.
- Edwardian Hotels has announced it will open their newest boutique property in Leicester Square, London in Jun-2020. The Londoner will have 350 rooms and 35 suites and will feature a rooftop bar, a ballroom with capacity for 1,000 guests and a selection of onsite restaurants and bars.
- The Fairfield by Marriott Inn & Suites Dallas Arlington South revealed a new décor when it opened earlier this month. The 110-room property, located at 4251 South Collins Street, is managed by Chase Hospitality and offers convenient access to AT&T Stadium, Globe Life Park, Six Flags Over Texas, Epic Waters Indoor Water Park, as well as downtown Fort Worth and downtown Dallas.
- The opening of Hyatt Centric Downtown Portland in Oregon, marks the first Hyatt Centric hotel in the Pacific Northwest. The 220-room hotel is located in the heart of Portland's hip West End District, just steps from high-end eateries and landmarks.
- Kazan International airport in the Russian republic of Tatarstan could soon see the opening of a nearby hotel, with Kravt Invest looking to invest RUB1.8 billion (EUR25.8 million) into the construction of a 250 room property. It is understood that the hotel will be adjacent to the terminal building and connected to the airport via an indoor passageway.
- The new Le Méridien Dania Beach at Fort Lauderdale airport aims to bring Le Méridien's distinctive French heritage and the allure of the Côte d'Azur to South Florida. The new 12-storey property, developed in partnership with national real estate developer Charles S Cohen, has 245 rooms and suites.
- Whitbread's Premier Inn hotel chain is continuing to gain momentum in its expansion into Ireland with the announcement of its sixth site. It has secured a site for a 151-bedroom Premier Inn hotel in the Distillery Quarter at Newmarket Square, Dublin 8. This deal increases the business' secured development pipeline in Ireland to more than 1,000 bedrooms.
- Luxury hotel chain, Seaside Hotels, which operates as Seaside Collection, has successfully acquired Finolhu, a luxury island resort in the Baa Atoll of the Maldives. This represents the hotel chain's eleventh boutique property and it's first in the Maldives. Finolhu was opened in Jun-2016 and consists of four islands with long beaches. The resort has 125 villas - 91 over-water and 34 beachfront with more than half featuring private pools.
- Berlin's hotel industry reached its highest levels in occupancy and revenue per available room (RevPAR) despite the uncertainty around an economic recession, according to 2019 data from benchmarking specialist STR. Thanks to healthy demand growth and a lack of significant supply increases, occupancy rose +1.5% to 79.2%, driving RevPAR growth of +1.4% to EUR78.87. Average daily rate (ADR), on the other hand, fell slightly (-0.1% to EUR99.53).