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1. Tongcheng acquires Dalian Wanda’s hotel arm
Dalian Wanda Group has agreed to sell its hotel management division, Wanda Hotels Development, to fellow Chinese company Tongcheng Travel Holdings for 2.5 billion Chinese yuan renminbi ($343 million). Wanda Hotels & Resorts has seven brands and 204 hotels. Shanghai-based business news site Mingtiandi said the deal gives Tongcheng 40,200 rooms in a “transaction reflecting a 9.5-times multiple of the target company’s 2023 adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.”
It added Wanda has a further 376 hotels in development. This will allow Dalian Wanda, which is 65% owned by chairman Wang Jianlin, to reduce debt. In March, Dalian Wanda exited the St. Regis Chicago residential tower, which had originally been earmarked to have its first U.S. hotel, the Wanda Vista Tower.
2. US hotel executives navigate uncertainty
At the recent Hospitality Asset Managers Association conference, a number of hotel executives said business is steady but uncertainty is rearing its head like never before, writes CoStar News’ Bryan Wroten. Warren Fields, president and CEO of Pyramid Global Hospitality, summed it up perfectly: “Well, I would panic, but I don’t know what to panic about.”
U.S. tariffs and the fraught labor market are top of mind for hotel executives. They added that demand from well-heeled guests is for now offsetting concerns. Sonesta International Hotels Corp. President and CEO John Murray told the conference that management “preach to our team members all the time that the only thing that they should really get comfortable with is change and they should be ready to pivot. … May is shaping up to be a great month along with June, but April is a bit dicey.”
3. Macau’s 13 Hotel back on market for $309 million
The 13 Hotel & Casino, which opened in Macau in 2018, is back on the market for an estimated 2.4 billion Hong Kong Dollars ($309 million), according to the South China Morning Post. The hotel debuted as “one of the world’s most expensive hotels,” the news outlet added.
The 22-floor, 199-room hotel closed in 2020 and reopened in 2024 when the Macau Government Tourism Office renewed its license. The SCMP said “a tourism boom looks to lift overall business in the world’s largest gaming hub.”
4. Default Airbnb rates to include all costs
Airbnb is rolling out an update to show customers all booking costs upfront including taxes and fees, not just the rental cost for the property itself. The company said a toggle on its site has allowed this feature since 2023. Now, the full price will be shown upfront.
Airbnb said in a statement it unlocked the pricing transparency tool on Monday because “one thing we’ve consistently heard from our community is the importance of affordability and transparency — issues that are top of mind now more than ever.” Some consumers said it was annoying that cleaning and other costs notably increased the price of their stay. Taxes remain an additional cost.
5. One US tariff reaches 3,521%
Think some U.S. tariffs might be high? The presidency of Donald Trump now is going after solar-panel manufacturers that it believes are not doing business on a level playing field. The administration is imposing tariffs on companies in Southeast Asia ranging from 41% to a whopping 3,521% for some exporters from Cambodia due to, according to the BBC, “a lack of cooperation with the Commerce Department investigation.”
The move targets companies in Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam, three of which were last week visited by Chinese prime minister Xi Jinping to secure and underline trading partnerships between China and those countries.