Accor sells half its Huazhu stake for $451m: French hotel firm Accor has announced it will sell half of its stake in Chinese hotel group Huazhu for $451 million. Huazhu also owns a small stake in Accor. Accor’s president and CEO Sébastien Bazin will remain on Huazhu’s board and Accor will still hold a 5% stake in the company.
The news release announcing the sale noted it allows “Accor to crystallize the value created from the implementation of the partnership between both groups in January 2016. Over the period, the value of Accor’s initial investment in Huazhu has been increased by 4.5 times.”
Accor and Huazhu will continue developing and owning hotels, a partnership that began in 2015.
Twenty14 Holdings sees U.K. investment move above £300m: With the 9 December opening of the 152-room Great Scotland Yard hotel, the former home of London’s Metropolitan Police Force, investment firm Twenty14 Holdings has increased its investment in the United Kingdom to more than £300 million ($394 million), out of a total global portfolio worth approximately £750 million ($985 million), according to news site Arabian Business.
The Abu Dhabi-based firm bought the 241-room Waldorf Astoria Edinburgh-The Caledonian in 2018, and Twenty14 said in its latest piece of news that Hyatt Hotels Corporation is to manage the London asset under its soft brand Unbound Collection, that brand’s U.K. debut.
Debut Warner Bros. Hotel to open in Abu Dhabi: In more Abu Dhabi news, U.S. entertainment company Warner Bros. Pictures is to open its debut hotel, which will open in 2021 at its entertainment complex on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi.
Work has been underway for some months now, according to Time Out Dubai, but the official 9 December announcement said the $112 million, approximately 250-room asset, owned by Abu Dhabi-based developer Miral, is 40% completed.
Running family independents poses different challenges: In today’s frenetic business climate and increasing brand saturation, it is a challenge to run an independent hotel, but when that hotel is a family business and dynasty, additional challenges—and joys—present themselves, writes Hotel News Now’s Terence Baker.
One challenge for those family businesses is that in addition to the day-to-day and year-to-year concerns, those hoteliers must operate while preparing the next generation.
“We should also not put too much pressure on the next generation. My father did not, although maybe he was clever and manipulative about it?” said Paul Milsom, managing director of The Milsom Hotels, which has five assets in the English region of East Anglia.
One drawback of such a setup is that business talk can pop up at any moment, even the Christmas dinner table, sources said.
Marriott closes on Elegant deal: Marriott International officials have announced they’ve officially closed on a $130 million, all-cash deal to acquire Elegant Hotels Group, according to a news release. The deal helps Marriott get a jumpstart on its all-inclusive resort portfolio, which company officials have noted is an area of focus going forward.
Elegant owns and operates seven all-inclusive properties with 588 rooms on the west coast of Barbados.
Compiled by Terence Baker.