Starwood’s spin-off plan: Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide has planned to spin off its Starwood Vacation Ownership division into a separate company for a while, and Tuesday the company released more details on the plan. The new business will be renamed Vistana Signature Experiences. It will be affected through a pro rata distribution of the new business’ stock to Starwood stockholders, and it is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of this year.
Following completion of the spin-off, Vistana will include 19 vacation ownership resorts and three fractional residences. A news release from Starwood says the deal also will include additional hotel asset inventory expected to be transferred from Starwood as part of the transaction. Owners will continue to receive Starwood Preferred Guest access.
Barceló completes stake: Spanish hotel company Barceló Hotels & Resorts signed an agreement with Spanish banking group BBVA to purchase the remaining 57.5% stake in Occidental Hotels & Resorts, bringing its ownership up to 100%, according to a report in El Pais. Barceló last month purchased a 42.5% stake in the Miami, Florida-based Occidental, a resort chain that owns 11 hotels and resorts and manages two, largely located in Latin America, Mexico and the Caribbean.
According to the article, the acquisition represents an important step in Barceló’s growth strategy in Latin America. Occidental has been owned by BBVA since 2007.
The Apple doesn’t fall far from the tree: Apple Hospitality REIT may be among the newest publicly traded companies in the industry, but President and CEO Justin Knight said the company’s core approach to investment isn’t going to change. In a video interview with HNN Editorial Director Jeff Higley, Knight said the company’s familiar low-risk strategy of buying and selling hotels will continue to drive shareholder value. The company owns 173 hotel properties, all branded under Marriott or Hilton flags.
The company recently sold 18 hotels to MCR Development for approximately $206 million and has several others under contract to sell, he said.
This week in sports: It’s been a hectic period on the ice and on the court, as this week wraps up the Stanley Cup Finals and the NBA Finals, which had fans scrambling for rooms (not to mention tickets) in Tampa, Florida; Chicago; the Bay Area; and Cleveland. While big events are everyday occurrences in cities like San Francisco/Oakland and Chicago, underdogs Tampa and Cleveland have benefited from the lift that comes when frenzied fans follow their teams.
And while not everyone can win, everyone does eat and sleep. That’s been good news in Tampa, where the city scored two extra months of hospitality business. According to a story from Tampa affiliate Fox 13 News, the Waterside Marriott saw positive impacts similar to when the city hosted the Outback Bowl, but over a longer period of time, said the property’s director of sales and marketing.
In Cleveland, searches for hotels are up by nearly 40% compared to last year, according to news from Hotels.com. Sports Travel Insights from Hotels.com showed that searches for check-in between 9 June and 11 June in Cleveland rose 418% after the finals schedule was announced, and since then, they have risen an additional 90%.
Tech trends report: What can hoteliers learn from other industries about technology and attracting guests? Plenty, according to results of a recent survey on the future of hotel booking. Sabre Corporation’s report, “The future of hotel booking—A guide to hotel retailing,” looks at tech innovations from the retail, tech, media and travel sectors to identify trends to help hoteliers gain more success in attracting customers. The upshot: Hoteliers can use technology to address the needs of today’s guests when it comes to gaining loyalty, offering personal service and promoting a great stay.
Compiled by Stephanie Ricca.