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1. Aristocrat awarded first casino vendor license in United Arab Emirates
Sydney-based gaming company Aristocrat, which specializes in slot machines and casino games, has been awarded the first gaming-related vendor license by the United Arab Emirates’ General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority. The UAE recently changed its rules on gaming.
Other casino hotel entrants have made attempts to open in the Muslim country, where rules and religious beliefs concerning profiteering on gambling are deep-rooted. According to Time Out Dubai, MGM, Bellagio and Aria have plans to open in the United Arab Emirates but have not specifically announced any casinos or gambling operations as part of those properties. The only one that has is the 14 billion Emirati dirham ($3.8 billion) Wynn Al Marjan Island in Ras al Khaimah, which is due to open in 2027.
2. Marriott reaches 500 hotels in Caribbean and Latin America
Marriott International has opened its 500th hotel in the Caribbean and Latin America with the opening of the adults-only, 109-room Almare, a Luxury Collection Resort, Isla Mujeres, just north of Cancun.
Brian King, president of Marriott’s CALA region, said the “property marks Marriott’s first luxury all-inclusive resort in Mexico, expands our Luxury Collection brand to a fourth property in the country and strengthens our presence in the high-demand market of Isla Mujeres.”
According to Marriott’s website, its first hotel in the region was The Paraiso, which opened in the Mexican coastal city of Acapulco in 1969. That hotel is no longer in Marriott’s portfolio.
3. Whitbread sells two England hotels for £56 million
United Kingdom-based Whitbread PLC, owner of the Premier Inn hotel brand, has completed a sale-and-leaseback deal for two properties in England for a remuneration of £56 million, which it said in a release “achieved a net initial yield of 4.25% across the two properties.”
The two properties, both with 30-year leases, are the 90-room Premier Inn Oxford Westgate and 137-room Hub by Premier Inn Westminster St. James’ Park, London. Whitbread still owns most of its Premier Inn portfolio but increasingly is trying to have a balance of owned and leased assets. With its latest deal, Whitbread owns 56% of its U.K. hotel portfolio.
4. Hicks takes helm at HSMAI
The Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International named Brian Hicks as its new president and CEO. He takes over the role from Bob Gilbert, who led the U.S. organization for 30 years and died in September.
Hicks has spent a similar amount of time in the hospitality industry, with increasingly senior roles at Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, IHG Hotels & Resorts and Starwood Capital.
“As I step into this role, I’m both humbled and inspired by the strong foundation Bob Gilbert established. Together, we share a deep passion for this industry,” Hicks said in a news release.
5. Oscar Wilde jail to become hotel
The Reading Chronicle reports a former jail in Reading, England, known for housing playwright and novelist Oscar Wilde in 1895 will be transformed into a hotel, according to its owner Chinese businessman Channing Bi. The property is known nationally as Reading Gaol — “gaol” being the preferred spelling in this case for “jail.” But technically His Majesty’s Prison Reading is a Grade II-listed building of historic importance that last saw an inmate in late 2013.
Bi’s £100 million ($130 million) plan for the building includes a hotel with an unspecified room count, a museum and an art gallery. The Reading Chronicle reports Bi bought the property from the Ministry of Justice for £7 million in January of this year.