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1. Peachtree Adds Seven Hotels to Portfolio
Atlanta-based hotel firm Peachtree Hotel Group has acquired seven branded hotels in a $135 million deal that adds 829 rooms to its portfolio, according to a news release. The hotels — six under Hilton brands and one with Marriott International — will be operated by Peachtree Hospitality Management and are in Casper, Wyoming; Eugene and Hillsboro, Oregon; Lafayette, Indiana; Pittsburgh; as well as one dual-branded hotel in Tempe, Arizona.
Brian Waldman, Peachtree’s executive vice president of investments, said the firm “experienced an uptick during the second half of 2021 for hotel acquisition opportunities, and these seven properties are a continuation of our strategy to benefit from the ongoing recovery in hospitality.”
2. Egypt’s Most Famous Hotel To Convert to Mandarin Oriental
Arguably Egypt’s most famous hotel, Cairo’s 274-room Shepheard Hotel, which welcomed its first guest in 1841, is to be converted into a Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group property, the firm’s debut in the country, according to a news release.
Currently closed but due to reopen in 2023 and renamed the Mandarin Oriental Shepheard, Cairo, the hotel is being developed by Al Sharif for Tourism & Hotels, listed on the Egyptian stock exchange and a subsidiary of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia-based Al Sharif Group Holding.
3. Castell Project Joins with American Hotel & Lodging Association
U.S. hotel industry organizations The American Hotel & Lodging Association and the Castell Project are joining efforts to "strengthen and accelerate the industry's commitment to elevate women in hospitality," according to a news release. Castell will officially becoming part of the AHLA Foundation.
Peggy Berg, founder and chairwoman of the Castell Project, stated that “joining forces with the AHLA and AHLAF will bring reach and strength to Castell’s work, opening leadership in hospitality to women and people of color.”
4. Radisson Launches Conversion Brand Inn & Suites
Radisson Hotels Group has launched a new brand, Radisson Inn & Suites, that will be a “companion brand” to its Country Inn & Suites brand and compete with such brands as Best Western Plus, Fairfield Inn, Hampton Inn by Hilton, Holiday Inn Express and La Quinta, HNN's Bryan Wroten reports from a news release issued Wednesday.
Announced at the Hunter Hotel Investment Conference taking place this week in Atlanta, Radisson’s interim CEO Tom Buoy said the brand would initially be a conversion brand in the upper-midscale, limited-service segment and target airport locations, metropolitan areas and mixed-use developments. A couple of signings already have taken place, Buoy said.
5. White Lodging Continues Exit of Suburban US Markets
Merrillville, Maryland-based hotel firm White Lodging has agreed to sell 25 hotel management agreements for suburban U.S. hotels as it continues its “multiyear strategy to exit suburban markets altogether,” according to a news release.
Company executives said the sales will allow it to focus on a “concentrated urban portfolio with more complex hotels that deliver memorable and elevated guest experiences." CEO Ken Barrett said the move will also allow the firm to better monitor and fashion meaningful career paths for its employees.