CHECK OUT! – latest hotel highlights from across the globe

25 February, 2021

CTC - Corporate Travel Community brings you a round up of some of the latest accommodation and hospitality news from across the globe. Here's our second offering of the week.

  • Accor launches new hybrid meeting concept with a primary focus on small meetings
  • Hyatt incorporates former The Time Nyack Hotel into its playful travel Joie de Vivre lifestyle brand
  • Cambria Hotels opens its fifth property in greater Washington DC area
  • Data metrics - latest performance insights from STR
  • News briefs - bitesize updates of latest industry news and developments

Accor launches new hybrid meeting concept with a primary focus on small meetings

Accor has announced it is collaborating with Microsoft to launch ALL CONNECT, a new hybrid meetings concept supported by the Microsoft Teams platform. This new concept will enable guests around the world to adapt to the new ways of working that are expected to be an enduring legacy of the COVID-19 pandemic. Research by Accor shows that 50% of physical meetings planned by the company's Meetings & Events customers in 2021 will switch to virtual formats, and that 70% of respondents see hybrid meetings as an important service in the future. Furthermore, sector analysis shows that the trend towards remote events and meetings is likely to endure beyond the pandemic even as corporate budgets return to pre-Covid levels. Accor says that currently more than half (55%) of Accor hotels with meeting rooms are already providing hybrid meetings solutions to their clients. Launching in Apr-2021, the new ALL CONNECT concept will "resets the bar on the hybrid meeting experience," according to Accor and will enable corporate customers and meeting planners to combine physical in-hotel meetings with virtual interactions across multiple locations simultaneously. It has an ambitious target to achieve 100% of its hotels with meeting rooms complying with the new hybrid meetings standard by 2022 across all brands, from economy to ultra-luxury worldwide. The concept will focus primarily on small meetings (8 to 50 physical participants).


Hyatt incorporates former Time Nyack Hotel into its playful travel Joie de Vivre lifestyle brand

Hyatt Hotels Corporation and Juniper Capital Partners have announced the debut of Hotel Nyack, previously The Time Nyack Hotel in New York's Hudson Valley. Recently acquired by Juniper Capital Partners, Hotel Nyack now joins Hyatt's Joie de Vivre lifestyle brand, which aims to inspire the spirit of playful travel through neighbourhood connections. Located in Hudson Valley's Rockland County, Hotel Nyack will provide picturesque views of the Hudson River and newly reconstructed Governor Mario M Cuomo Bridge. The 133-room hotel with loft-style accommodation housed within the framework of a four-storey, former factory, has plans to renovate several portions of the hotel including its culinary offering. An open, industrial feel and reflection of the urban neighbourhood within the property's contemporary design certainly lends itself to the overall heartfelt and inclusive spirit of the Joie de Vivre brand.


Cambria Hotels opens its fifth property in greater Washington DC area

Cambria Hotels the upscale brand franchised by Choice Hotels International, has continued to expand in key markets across the United States with the opening of its newest downtown location: the Cambria Hotel Washington DC Capitol Riverfront. The nine-storey, 154-room hotel is the brand's fifth property in the greater Washington DC area, adding to properties in College Park, Maryland; Rockville, Maryland; Arundel Mills, Maryland; and in DC near the Convention Center. Located on Q Street SW, the hotel is situated in the heart of the District's growing Capitol Riverfront neighbourhood and provides picturesque views of the Potomac River. The hotel is also within three miles of the US Capitol, Fort McNair and the National Mall, and just a short walk to the Navy Yard Metro Station, which connects guests to destinations in Washington, D.C., Maryland and Northern Virginia. It is among four Cambria Hotels opening in the first quarter of 2021, in addition to hotels in Rock Hill, South Carolina; Orlando, Florida; and Fort Lauderdale Beach, Florida, which opened in Jan-2021.


Data metrics - latest performance insights from STR

  • Glasgow, Scotland is expecting to see a healthy boost in hotel accommodation for the UN Climate Change Conference later this year, according to Forward STAR, STR's forward-looking benchmarking solution. Occupancy already on the books sits between 84% and 89% for the event period in early Nov-2021. This marks a substantial increase compared to business on the books for the rest of the year.
  • London, England hotel accommodation is showing small increases around two key sporting events in 2021, according to data from Forward STAR, STR's forward-looking benchmarking solution. Levels are sitting mostly below 10% for 2021, but there are modest spikes for the UEFA Euro group stage football match between England and Scotland on 18-Jun-2021 (21%) and on 02-Oct-2021, the eve of the London Marathon (15%).
  • Hotels in Tampa, United States of America recorded only moderate rate gains on Super Bowl Weekend due to the limited attendance and game festivities. Down on previous Super Bowl host markets, the city posted a +64.5% year-on-year increase in ADR. During the nights of 05-, 06, and 07-Feb-2021, Tampa posted an absolute ADR of USD245.82, which drove RevPAR of USD202.59 (+64.9%). Occupancy in the market was 82.4%, relatively flat in comparison to the equivalent days last year.

News briefs - bitesize updates of latest industry news and developments

  • The new Aparthotel Adagio Saint-Nazaire will open in France ahead of this summer. Due to welcome guests from May-2021, the three-star Adagio Access is part of a franchising agreement with Portner Invest. Located around 10 minutes from the town centre and the seaside resort of Saint-Marc-sur-Mer, the aparthotel will consist of 80 renovated apartments - some of which will have private outdoor terraces.
  • Hospitality management company Charlestowne Hotels is offering each of its properties and stakeholders with real-time business intelligence through the deployment of ProfitSword's performance forecasting technology and Event Temple's advanced group and event sales management software. Designed to streamline access to performance data the systems automatically combine valuable group and event related analytics.
  • Hotel Equities has confirmed the opening of the Holiday Inn Express & Suites Fort Myers Airport. Located in close proximity to Southwest Florida International Airport, the hotel is owned by Shivam Soham and is being managed by Hotel Equities.
  • Il Sereno Lake Como is launching a new concept penthouse suite located in a building adjacent to the hotel. Launching in Jun-2021 it will feature interiors inspired by classic post-war Italian glamour, 'La Dolce Vita', modernist Italian designers, the much-loved Como silks, for which the region is famous, and the design icon of Il Sereno itself. Accessed by a private elevator, there will be almost 150 square metres of living space, including a 30 square metre terrace, plus an additional 50 square metre grass garden around the perimeter. The Penthouse will feature a large living room, dining space, two bathrooms, main bedroom, with spectacular views of the lake.
  • Outrigger Hospitality Group has confirmed an USD80 million transformation of the brand's flagship property, Outrigger Reef Waikiki Beach Resort, located directly on the golden sands of world-famous Waikiki Beach. With a focus on wellness and unmatched hospitality, property enhancements include upscale residential-style rooms and suites. Expansive resort grounds include three distinct accommodations: the Ocean Tower, the Pacific Tower and the Diamond Head Tower - a five-storey oceanfront building that will be converted into 23 brand-new, spacious rooms/deluxe suites, raising the key count to 658.
  • Radisson Hotel Group has confirmed the opening of the historic Grand Hotel Savoia Cortina d'Ampezzo as a Radisson Collection Hotel following an extensive renovation. Located in Cortina d'Ampezzo, a year-round resort destination, the hotel features 126 guest rooms, including 19 junior suites and 8 suites, a lobby and cigar bar, as well as a relaxing wellness and spa area. The property is adjacent to the Radisson Residences Savoia Palace Cortina d'Ampezzo, which offers 44 open plan apartments with interiors inspired by traditional mountain chalets.