CHECK OUT! – latest hotel highlights from across the globe

22 April, 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.

  • Hilton delivers its Garden Inn Gangnam style in South Korea brand debut
  • Radisson debuts its fourth brand in Dubai with opening of Radisson Hotel Dubai DAMAC Hills
  • InterContinental to bring its unrivalled luxury to Barcelona in late summer 2021
  • Rosewood Hotels & Resorts new brand film is a tribute to the unlimited wonder of travel
  • Data metrics - latest performance insights from STR
  • News briefs - bitesize updates of latest industry news and developments

Hilton delivers its Garden Inn Gangnam style in South Korea brand debut

Hilton Hotels has confirmed the signing of a management agreement with JOON TOWER for the opening of the Hilton Garden Inn Seoul Gangnam. The deal marks the launch of Hilton's focused service brand in South Korea. The upscale and affordable accommodation is targeted for opening in the summer of 2021 and will house 208 guest rooms, a full-service restaurant and bar, meeting facilities, an outdoor pool, a fitness room, and The Shop, where snacks, local beverages and self-service coffee are available 24 hours a day. The new property is located in the centre of Seoul's famous Gangnam Business District, south of the Han River. Renowned as one of the country's main tourist areas, Gangnam features trendy restaurants, upscale and designer-brand shopping malls, as well as vibrant nightlife options. Close to key cultural, entertainment, shopping and commercial areas, GBD is a major office district in the city and a base for many major corporations, particularly in the technology, insurance and manufacturing sectors.


Radisson debuts its fourth brand in Dubai with opening of Radisson Hotel Dubai DAMAC Hills

Radisson Hotel Group has confirmed the debut of its fourth brand in the United Arab Emirates, the upscale Radisson, with the opening of Radisson Hotel Dubai DAMAC Hills. This latest addition brings the group's presence to 14 hotels in the United Arab Emirates and 77 hotels, resorts and serviced apartments in operation and under development across the Middle East. Located in a newly-developed, family-friendly neighbourhood, the Radisson Hotel Dubai DAMAC Hills is a potential base for both business and leisure travellers alike. The hotel is conveniently situated close to a range of activities and attractions including the nearby IMG Worlds of Adventure, Global Village and Dubai Autodrome. Surrounded by lush green parks and community lakes, this upscale, full-service hotel features 481 rooms and apartments, all with balconies overlooking the majestic fairways and greens of the nearby golf courses.


InterContinental to bring its unrivalled luxury to Barcelona in late summer 2021

IHG Hotels & Resorts will open InterContinental Barcelona in the city's Montjuic district later this year, the global luxury hotel brand's second hotel in Spain. Located on the site of what was the Crowne Plaza Barcelona, the hotel is undergoing a complete transformation to align with the InterContinental brand's aesthetic of discreet luxury and global sophistication. Designed by the Spanish-based, Brime Robbins consultancy, InterContinental Barcelona will offer 273 rooms, along with a 180 square metre Presidential Suite, and 17 junior suites. More than 3,000 square metres will be available for hosting meetings, conferences, congresses, banquets, and exhibitions, including 18 meeting rooms with a capacity for 1,200 people. Drinking and dining options will see the arrival of three restaurants, one of which will be headed by a Michelin-starred Chef; a Cocktail Bar; the Rooftop 173 and the Terraza Montjuic, designed for hosting events. InterContinental Barcelona will join the emblematic InterContinental in Madrid, located in the centre of the Spanish capital, and more than 200 InterContinental Hotels & Resorts around the world. In Spain, IHG Hotels & Resorts has 26 hotels including five hotels in its Luxury & Lifestyle collection, notably Kimpton Vividora Hotel in Barcelona, Hotel Indigo Barcelona - Plaza Catalunya, Hotel Indigo Madrid - Princesa and Hotel Indigo Madrid - Gran Via. The collection will soon welcome Six Senses Ibiza and Kimpton Mallorca.


Rosewood Hotels & Resorts new brand film is a tribute to the unlimited wonder of travel

Rosewood Hotels & Resorts earlier this month debuted A Sense of Place, the brand's newest film created in partnership with Studio Dangin, a creative agency renowned for its collaborations with the world's most influential fashion, lifestyle and fragrance brands. The interpretation of Rosewood's guiding A Sense of Place philosophy, wherein the distinctive ethos of the destination is woven into the identity of each property, the video celebrates the vibrant characteristics of the communities that comprise the brand's global footprint to inspire meaningful travel and togetherness in today's times. Clips showcasing several of the collection's most iconic properties, as well as the larger land and cityscapes to which they belong, are accompanied by smart text overlays that communicate the wonder of travel and Rosewood's commitment to helping guests to capture them. The film also features a prototype room filmed inside an abstract space as if it were a luxury fashion or beauty product. The serenity of the room is captured in delicate motion, textured with tranquil sounds, and juxtaposed against the film's scenes a fast-moving and busy world. The stylised model room works to symbolise that Rosewood is more than a hotel; "the sanctuaries exist to inspire gathering across cultures and experiences - to welcome, to share, to dine and, together, to journey in discovery," it explains.


Data metrics - latest performance insights from STR

  • During the New Year 2021 celebrations in China, several hotel classes outperformed the performance in the benchmark year of 2019, among those classes, high-end hotels were the most favoured. When indexed against 2019, Luxury class ADR (CNY102.97) was higher during 2021 Chinese New Year, while the Luxury occupancy index (59.5% of 2019 levels) was better than the other hotel classes. When looking strictly at occupancy, Upper Upscale hotels saw the second highest indexed occupancy (56.6%). Upscale ADR reached CNY90.26 for the same period, the second highest indexed ADR. Midscale and Economy class hotels saw the lowest indexed occupancy (46.7%) and ADR (CNY 66.21).
  • Europe is the only world region showing increased hotel construction activity in comparison with the end of 1Q last year, according to Mar-2021 pipeline data. The in construction pipeline stood at 258,129 rooms, +26.9% versus Mar-2020, those in final planning were up +23.7% to 181,101 rooms (+23.7%), while those in planning were down -8.8% to 155,615 rooms. Germany (51,785) and the United Kingdom (36,919) lead Europe in total rooms in construction. In Asia Pacific, in construction rooms were down -3.4% to 462,795 rooms, in the Middle East & Africa levels were down -1.9% to 141,914 rooms, while in the Americas in construction rooms were down -11.6% to 240,635 rooms.

News briefs - bitesize updates of latest industry news and developments

  • Accor will open the Ibis Styles Bournemouth in Jun-2021, the 30th hotel operating under the brand in the UK. The property is housed in a building that dates back to the 1930s and will feature 76 rooms following a full renovation to the former Hotel Royale that previously traded on the site.
  • Hersha Hospitality Management (HHM) has announced the addition of 25 hotels totalling approximately 4,000 rooms to its portfolio since last year. At the same time, the business retained all of its existing management contracts in 2020. Despite the pandemic, HHM successfully launched and/or opened three new luxury or lifestyle properties for their owners: The Whitney Hotel in Beacon Hill/Boston; the THesis Hotel in Coral Gables/Miami; and the Plaza Hotel at Pioneer Park in El Paso. HHM's portfolio is now comprised of roughly one-third lifestyle and independent, one-third resort and full-service and one-third urban and select-service hotels. The company's full portfolio includes 140 hotels operated on behalf of more than 20 institutional and long-term owners.
  • Hotelbeds has announced a strategic partnership with independent, multi-branded hospitality group, Banyan Tree Group. With this agreement, Hotelbeds has secured exclusive offers and privileges for its customers at Banyan Tree Group's 48 hotels across 22 countries, which spread across the Banyan Tree, Angsana, Cassia, Dhawa and Laguna brands. This new partnership will likewise provide Banyan Tree Group with access to Hotelbeds' 60,000 travel trade buyers based in more than 140 source markets worldwide.
  • LHG (London Hotel Group) has brought to market a prominent brownfield site on Tooting High Street in South London which offers options for hotel or residential development. Available at a guide price of GBP12 million, the 0.2 hectare site has been unoccupied for around five years. Planning permission has been granted by the London Borough of Wandsworth for construction of a 373-bedroom hotel totalling 114,440 square feet and extending from three to six storeys in height, incorporating four additional storeys of basement accommodation with an atrium lightwell.
  • Whitbread, the owner of the Premier Inn and hub by Premier Inn hotel brands, has opened the doors to its latest addition to Oxford - a new 123-bedroom Premier Inn Botley. The hotel - the first Premier Inn hotel to the west of the city - is the one of two major investments by Whitbread in Oxford as it continues with its strategic expansion in the city. The eight-storey hotel, which features Premier Inn's latest format bedrooms and Thyme restaurant on the first floor, occupies a prominent position overlooking the A34 and West Way.
  • Algarve-based winery Quinta dos Vales has introduced The Vines, a brand-new resort of holiday-homes, located in the heart of the renowned wine estate. In Jun-2021 the doors will open for the small resort with just 16 stand-alone houses, each comprising of two independent villa suites. Each villa suite features one bedroom, a bathroom with walk-in shower, an open plan kitchen and living room, as well as a private terrace.
  • A newly constructed hotel in the heart of Clayton, Missouri's business district - the first hotel built in the city since 1990 - is scheduled to open its doors in autumn of 2022. Hotel development, management and investment firm Midas Hospitality recently broke ground on the USD47 million Residence Inn by Marriott, situated near the 47-acre Shaw Park, the city's oldest and largest park established in 1935. The 12-storey hotel will feature 170 extended stay rooms complete with fully equipped kitchens, a fitness centre, a 3,300-square-foot of meeting space with outdoor terrace and bar and laundry facilities.
  • Safely.com, a insurtech and guest screening solution for the vacation and short-term rental industry, has announced a partnership with Hostfully, the end-to-end property management platform that helps vacation rental property managers increase bookings and deliver a great guest experience. By integrating the insurtech solution and innovative operational process and know-how, the partnership aims to offer property managers of any scale the tools they need to recruit more homeowners and protect direct bookings.
  • Sage Hotel Management, which manages a portfolio of approximately 55 independent and branded luxury, lifestyle, full-service and focused-service hotels with more than 12,000 guest rooms across properties in 18 US states, has an agreement with the M3 cloud-based accounting, financial reporting and data management platform to utilise its Accounting Core, Insight - its business intelligence platform - and Professional Accounting Services.