Eldorado Resorts to buy Isle of Capri Casinos for $1.7b: Eldorado Resorts announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Isle of Capri Casinos in an accretive cash and stock transaction valued at $1.7 billion, according to a news release. The deal will add 13 casino-resorts to Eldorado’s portfolio, bringing the company’s total to 20 properties with more than 6,500 rooms.
“Led by our proven gaming, hotel management and food-and-beverage teams with a long-term record of operating execution and M&A integration, we believe that Eldorado Resorts will be positioned for long-term success,” said Gary Carano, chairman and CEO at Eldorado. “Combining the assets, management, personnel, operations and other resources of these two organizations is expected to create substantial near- and long-term synergies."
Airbnb buys travel startup Trip4real: After advising and partnering with this Barcelona-based company, Airbnb has purchased Trip4real, reports TechCrunch. According to the news website, Trip4real “offers a marketplace for tourists to browse and book ahead,” focusing on local experiences.
“We are delighted to welcome Trip4real to the Airbnb family,” Airbnb said in a statement to TechCrunch. “[Founder] Gloria Molins and her team share our vision of a different kind of travel experience that is local and authentic. Their experience and expertise is a great complement to our ongoing efforts to transform the way that people travel.”
No price was disclosed in the deal.
Video: Neil Shah of Hersha shares thoughts on state of hotels: Neil Shah, president and COO of Hersha Hospitality Trust, spoke with HNN’s Sean McCracken at this year’s Hotel Data Conference to give some insight on where things are headed for hotels and real estate investment trusts.
Shah said his company has been able to stay active even as hotel REITs have been mired in a difficult environment with a slowing transactions pace.
“We still find that the transaction market is alive and well,” Shah said. “So even though hotel performance is in some markets declining, we’re finding that hotel values are holding up pretty well.”
Despite global economy, air travel still growing: The International Air Transport Association reports that air travel grew more between 2005 and 2015 than any other 10-year period since 1975 to 1985, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Asia, specifically China, has been a major player in air-travel growth over the past decade, the newspaper reports. The Asia/Pacific region saw revenue passenger kilometers grow by annual rates of 1.3% to 11.8% during that 10-year period.
Globally, revenue passenger kilometers are on course to grow by more than 6% this year, the newspaper reports, behind the 7.4% growth in 2015. While lower than the previous year, 2016’s growth rate would still beat the long-run average, which hovers between 4.5% and 5% annually.
Icehotel to use sun to keep rooms frozen year-round: Sweden’s Icehotel has plans to keep a wing of rooms carved from ice frozen throughout the year, Business Insider reports, and it will use solar panels to power chilling tubes in ceilings to keep those rooms a constant 23 degrees Fahrenheit.
The frozen wing will have 20 hand-carved art rooms with ice sculptures and two to three beds each, Business Insider reports. The year-round wing will be joined by an additional 15 suites the hotel constructs during the winter.
Compiled by Bryan Wroten.