CHECK OUT! – latest hotel highlights from across the globe

11 September, 2020

The Corporate Travel Community (CTC) brings you the second of this week's round up of some of the latest accommodation news from across the globe.

  • Japan's third Hotel Indigo to open in the popular highland destination of Karuizawa in 2022
  • Radisson builds on 20 year partnership with master franchise agreement with Atlantica Hotels in Brazil
  • Courtyard by Marriott brand debuts in Malaysia with Courtyard By Marriott Penang opening
  • Data metrics - latest performance insights from STR
  • News briefs - bitesize updates of latest industry news and developments

Japan's third Hotel Indigo to open in the popular highland destination of Karuizawa in 2022

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) and Tokyo Century Corporation have signed a management agreement to open Hotel Indigo Karuizawa in 2022. Located in the mountains near Nagano, Karuizawa is a popular destination for Japanese and international travellers who appreciate outdoor activities, including golf and hiking, during its mild summers, and skiing and onsens (hot springs) during the winter. It's also home to popular attractions such as the Kyu-Karuizawa old town and Karuizawa Prince Shopping Plaza. There is a growing momentum behind boutique and lifestyle hotels in Japan, as they offer a unique and distinctive service that appeals to a new generation of traveller. Meeting the brand's signature profile, the property will draw on the story of the local neighbourhood to incorporate locally-influenced design and service. It will comprise 155 guestrooms spread across three wings, as well as feature meeting facilities, a spa and a gym. This will be Japan's third Hotel Indigo, following the opening of Hotel Indigo Hakone Gora in 2020, and the upcoming Hotel Inuyama Urakuen Garden, which will open in mid-2021. IHG operates 34 hotels in Japan, across the InterContinental, Hotel Indigo, Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn. Alongside the opening of the first Hotel Indigo earlier this year, the ANA Holiday Inn Resort Shinano-Omachi Kuroyon opened in Jul-2020, while the Kimpton Shinjuku Tokyo and Holiday Inn & Suites Shin-Osaka will open in Oct-2020.


Radisson builds on 20 year partnership with master franchise agreement with Atlantica Hotels in Brazil

Radisson Hotel Group has signed a master franchise agreement with Atlantica Hotels in Brazil, building on the two companies longstanding relationship of nearly 20 years that seen Atlantica act a licensee for Radisson's brands in Brazil. The new franchise agreement will cover all seven of Radisson's brands in a move to grow the hotel group's presence throughout the country. Atlantica Hotels currently has 15 hotels in operation with Radisson Hotel Group in key destinations. Radisson Faria Lima in Sao Paulo, which is now Radisson Blu São Paulo, was the first Radisson to open in Brazil in 2001. As Atlantica Hotels continued growing its extensive portfolio, they opened the first Radisson RED in Latin America, the Radisson RED Campinas. Three new build hotels are currently under construction. The Radisson Hotel Flecheiras is being built along Brazil's northeastern coast with an anticipated opening in 2022; Radisson Hotel São Paulo, Pinheiros is also set to open in 2022; while Atlantica Hotels also has plans to open the first Radisson RED in Porto Alegre, the biggest city in Brazil's South region, in 2023.


Courtyard by Marriott brand debuts in Malaysia with Courtyard By Marriott Penang opening

The first Courtyard by Marriott property has opened in Malaysia, marking the 17th Marriott brand to operate in the country. Located in Penang on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, a city often referred to as "The Pearl of the Orient" and known for its cultural heritage, historic charm, and palm-fringed beaches, the 199-room property is to be found along the bustling Jalan Macalister in the heart of the city's UNESCO-listed George Town. The new opening features rooms and suites designed to be "smart and spacious," says Marriott, offering unobstructed views of Georgetown and the Straits of Malacca. Each room is fitted with "thoughtful" amenities and comes with high technology equipment and an ergonomic work area, ideal for business or leisure travellers. The property will also feature the Gin Library, slated to open in the last quarter of 2020, the island's first and only distillery-themed bar.


Data metrics - latest performance insights from STR

  • The hotel industry in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates reported improved performance levels from previous months with all three performance metrics up, according to preliminary data for Aug-2020. The occupancy and RevPAR levels were the highest for any month since February. The ADR level was in line with the short-term August average. In comparison with Aug-2019, occupancy was down -6.4% to 62.9%, ADR slipped -3.4% to AED307.23 and RevPAR fell -9.5% to AED193.22.
  • There was a higher performance from hotels in London, United Kingdom from previous months during Aug-2020 but at levels significantly lower than historical averages, according to preliminary data for the month. In comparison with Aug-2019, occupancy was down -64.4% to 30.7%, ADR fell -42.9% to GBP86.40 and RevPAR declined -79.7% to GBP26.52. Each of the three key performance metrics were up from Jul-2020 levels, while the occupancy and RevPAR levels were London's highest since Mar-2020. Still, even with the month-over-month improvement, the occupancy and RevPAR levels are the lowest for any August on record in London.
  • Evacuations and displacements due to Hurricane Laura have created hotel demand in markets throughout the states of Louisiana, USA and Texas, USA last month. For the week commencing 23-Aug-2020, Louisiana hotel occupancy rose +35.9% from the prior week to an absolute level of 55.7%. Texas hotel occupancy improved +17.0% to a level of 54.4%. Each of Louisiana's sub-markets recorded a week-over-week jump in occupancy: Louisiana South (+45.0% to 66.1%), Louisiana North (+34.4% to 70.0%) and New Orleans (+24.7% to 38.5%). Six Texas markets reported double-digit percentage increases, led by San Antonio (+38.1% to 59.1%), Austin (+34.5% to 57.2%) and Houston (+31.2% to 51.0%).

News briefs

  • The new Andaz Xiamen has opened in south China, situated in the heart of Xiamen, within the mixed-use development of The MixC and close to Xiamen Botanical Garden. The Hyatt property houses 304 rooms, including 20 suites with separate living rooms, which enjoy vibrant views over the city. The Nanyang-inspired private spaces feature high ceilings typically found in tropical climates and natural textures and materials.
  • The 155-room Fairfield by Marriott Inn & Suites Nashville near Vanderbilt opened to guests this week. The Marriott franchise is owned by Midtown Hotel Partners and managed by Kana Hotel Group. Located three miles from downtown Nashville, the propertry offers guests convenient access to Centennial Park, Historic Music Row, and 2nd Avenue Historic District & the many Honky-tonks.
  • HotStats, a global provider of monthly profit and loss benchmarking data, has entered into an agreement with the Middle East and Africa affiliate of the Hospitality Asset Managers Association (HAMA) in order to consult, collaborate, cooperate and exchange information with each other in areas of mutual interest that will further their respective strategic interests and objectives. This is the second collaboration announced between HotStats and a HAMA affiliate, following an earlier agreement with its European affiliate chapter.
  • Hotelbeds has entered into a distribution partnership with The Ascott Limited. The distribution partnership provides Ascott with access to Hotelbeds' more than 60,000 B2B travel buyers from more than 140 source markets worldwide, including tour operators, airlines, points redemption clients and retail travel agencies. At the same time, Hotelbeds' customers will gain access to preferential rates and availability across the 160 properties that form Ascott's portfolio in Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the USA.
  • Luxury Travel Intelligence has revealed its latest version of its annual luxury hotel brand ranking, based on an algorithm that includes 123 touch points relevant to the luxury hotel sector. Heading the list this year is Six Senses, with a score of 82.8% and up from eighth in the ranking. It was slightly ahead of Aman, which ,oved up from fourth position with a score of 82.3%. Last year Belmond and Mandarin Oriental where the only brands to score more than 80%.
  • Real estate owner and developer SHVO has secured approval from the Historic Preservation Board (HPB) of the City of Miami Beach to move forward with its master plan development of The Raleigh Hotel, together with the South Seas and the Richmond, located on Collins Avenue and 18th Street in Miami Beach. The project will fully restore the three properties and to unify them as one site in order to operate them as a luxury hotel and condominium building. The approved plan also includes construction of a new 175-foot oceanfront residential tower behind the Richmond and South Seas.
  • TRIPBAM, the global hotel shopping, benchmarking and analytics provider, announced a new release of its Smart Sourcing product that makes the solution available to any corporation or consultant, regardless of whether they're an existing TRIPBAM client or using a TMC reselling the TRIPBAM rate auditing service. In addition, this new release also boasts a new batch RFP feature, which allows corporates to easily send out multiple bids at once to thousands of hotels around the globe, as well as a new discount factor to account for difficulties in applying historical data to a post-Covid marketplace.