Middle Eastern hoteliers are researching and fine-tuning new ways to transform health and spa services to serve the luxury-focused hospitality category, seeking to boost revenue and profits as international travel rebounds from the pandemic.

At the Future Hospitality Summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Ruben Toral, director of health and wellness at Bangkok-based business consulting firm Quo Global, said spas once only represented wellness but now are synonymous with lifestyle. The consideration now, he said, is how to turn such a broad concept “into a product that is smaller and more targeted, and then sell it to a population of consumers that is small and demanding.”

Hotel News Now>>
 

CBRE Investment Management completed its acquisition of the Halo office property in Bristol, England, from Tesco Pension Fund for a 5.61% net initial yield, which translates to a price around £73 million in a bellwether transaction for United Kingdom regional offices.

Tesco Pension Fund appointed brokerage Savills to market the landmark, multi-tenant property in Bristol’s city center at the beginning of the year for what was then expected to be a sale price around £70.3 million for a 5.75% net initial yield. There was competitive bidding for the property, according to multiple bidders, underscoring the divergence between high quality, sustainable space and offices considered secondary in preference among investors.

CoStar News>>

Analysts said France’s hospitality industry has the wind in its sails in the run-up to key sporting events including the 2024 Olympic Summer Games and this fall’s Rugby World Cup, both taking place largely in the Paris region.

Events planned throughout France are expected to elevate hotels’ already steady recovery from the pandemic. “During the COVID-19 pandemic, French hoteliers suffered greatly from the closure of their establishments, but they received a great deal of support from the state, landlords and bankers,” said Sami Mendil, head of investment properties and senior director at brokerage CBRE Hotels. 

Business Immo>>

Innsbruck, Austria-based developer Signa plans to build two skyscrapers on the current Karstadt site at Kurfürstendamm 231 in Berlin, with plans calling for a mix of uses including office, retail and hotel space.

Set for completion in 2029, the tower project will be designed by Danish firm Henning Larsen Architects and is planned to span 134,000 square meters, with 5,000 square meters of residential space. Signa originally wanted to create more overall space but ran into political resistance.

Thomas Daily>>

Montreal apartment dweller Carla White has risen to unlikely public prominence by refusing offers to move from a building that its owner seeks to demolish to build an apartment tower.

Developer Mondev and its architectural firm ACDF spent many months advancing through a grueling permit process required to build a downtown Montreal residential tower at the southwest corner of St. Catherine and St. Hubert streets. Now that Mondev has finally received municipal approval, the project is being stalled as White refuses Mondev’s offers to move out from the dilapidated 260-square-foot apartment unit with $400 monthly rent.

CoStar News>>

Silicon Valley tech giant Apple is reported to be kicking off its most extensive retail expansion to date with plans to revamp locations in the United States and overseas.

Apple is finalizing plans to open, relocate or remodel up to 50 stores over the next four years in a bid to freshen up its retail brand more than two decades after debuting its first retail outpost. With more than 520 stores in 26 countries, the strategy underpins the company’s commitment to invest heavily in its real estate even as tech firms look to cut costs elsewhere. A typical suburban mall Apple store is able to generate about $40 million annually in sales, according to company regulatory filings.

CoStar News>>

This report was compiled from CoStar’s news publications in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, France and Germany.