Read the latest news from around the Asia-Pacific region.

RBH Hospitality Management, one of the leading third-party hotel management firms in the United Kingdom, has set its sights on international expansion, reports HNN’s Terence Baker.

The opportunity to grow outside of the U.K. could come through investors in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region who don’t fully understand third-party management of hotels, CEO David Hart said.

“Further afield, we see the Australian and Asian markets as being potentially huge opportunities for third-party management,” Hart said. “They seem to be where the U.K. market was around 20 years ago, with significant brand management in place, and there is no reason to think that the same benefits of third-party management cannot also be delivered in those markets.”

With multiple hotel signings, projects in the pipeline and scheduled openings, Standard International is prepared for significant growth in the coming years, reports HNN’s Bryan Wroten.

“There’s a long list of places that we want to be in, and we’re slowly finding the right opportunities to do that,” said Miranda Mancuso, Standard's senior vice president of acquisitions and development for the Americas. “It’s really important for us to find not only the right locations but the right partner.”

Among its projects in the U.S. and Europe, the company will open Standard Hotels in Singapore and Melbourne, Australia, this year. It also has a Standard Hotel project set for Pattaya, Vietnam.

BWH Hotel Group President and CEO Larry Cuculic said the company’s relationship with investors in Europe and Asia continue to spark “tremendous growth,” reports HNN’s Sean McCracken. In Asia, the company’s most rapid expansion is coming from Vietnam and Japan, a country that might be surprising considering the inflationary pressures there.

"But all of a sudden, we sign a deal with a huge hotelier in Japan. You have to take a look everywhere and find those opportunities and let people know the kind of value we could add at Best Western to their portfolio," Cuculic said.

Chinese hotel company H World Group, previously Huazhu, sold its remaining ownership stake in Accor, reports HNN’s Terence Baker. The company sold its 3.7% stake for an undisclosed sum. The month prior, Accor sold its 3% stake in H World for $460 million.

Though neither owns a stake in the other, both companies have stated they plan to continue working together to open and operate hotels.

• Singapore’s City Developments Limited will acquire the 416-key Sofitel Brisbane Central Hotel for 178 million Australian dollars ($118.3 million).
• U.S.-based private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. will acquire the 746-key Hyatt Regency Tokyo for an undisclosed sum from Japan’s Odakyu Electric Railway Co.
• Japanese hotel real estate investment trust Japan Hotel REIT Investment Corp. has acquired the 220-key Sotetsu Fresa Inn Shimbashi-Karasumoriguchi in Tokyo for 8.4 billion Japanese yen ($63.8 million).
• Japan’s Triad Co. has acquired the 291-key ANA Crowne Plaza Hotel Kyoto by crowdfunding 7.2 billion Japanese yen.
• Switzerland’s Aman Resorts will debut its sister brand, Janu, with a 122-key hotel in Tokyo in the autumn of 2023.
• New Zealand investment firm Carter Group has invested in Australia-based Pro-Invest Group’s Asia-Pacific Hotel Fund, which aims to raise 500 million Australian dollars to invest in distressed hotels.
• Japan’s Loadstar Capital K.K. acquired Akasaka’s 52-key Hotel Rex for an undisclosed sum.
• Japan-based Real Estate Company Kasumigaseki Capital Co. created a private fund, FAV PRF No. 1, to invest in 10 apartment hotels under its new Fav Hotel brand.
• Australia-based Vision Hotels sold the 60-key Scamander Beach Resort for an undisclosed sum.
• Japan’a Tokyu Land Corp. is investing in three Ibis-branded hotels in Phuket, Krabi and Hua Hin in Thailand. 

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