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1. Midad and Diriyah sign $826 million Four Seasons deal
Riyadh-based Midad Real Estate has signed an agreement with Saudi Arabian giga-project Diriyah Gate to construct and open a Four Seasons hotel with 159 rooms, along with branded private residences, according to a news release. The deal is worth a 3.1 billion Saudi riyals ($827 million).
The hotel is to be one of almost 40 hotels at the gigantic project on the outskirts of the Saudi capital. Diriyah Gate Development Authority’s Group CEO Jerry Inzerillo said “the Four Seasons Hotel Diriyah will be one of our largest luxury hotels. … This agreement reflects our ongoing commitment to enabling Saudi partners to participate in Diriyah’s transformational journey.”
2. A&O acquires two hotels in Manchester from Ares Management
Germany’s A&O Hotels and Hostels has acquired the freehold of two hotels, the 164-room Novotel Manchester Centre and 127-room Ibis Manchester Centre 96 Portland St., for an undisclosed sum from Ares Real Estate and EQ Group. A&O added it is to invest £8.2 million ($11 million) in transforming them into the A&O Manchester City Centre. Manchester marks the fourth United Kingdom city A&O has presence in.
The hotels are part of the 21-hotel portfolio Ares acquired in May 2024 from London-based Land Security Group in a £400 million deal.
3. US hotels performance shows clean sweep of positivity
During the week of Dec. 28 to Jan. 3 U.S. hotel occupancy rose 4.4% to 50.5%, average daily rate rose 3.4% to $175.47 and revenue per available room rose 7.9% to $88.65, according to CoStar hospitality data. In the period, only one chain scale — economy — showed a full sweep of negative numbers. Economy hotel occupancy fell 0.3% to 45.2%, ADR fell 4.3% to $66.62 and RevPAR fell 4.7% to $30.13.
Of the top 25 U.S. hotel markets, the best-performing market in the period was Dallas, where occupancy increased 11% to 48.7%, ADR increased 5.8% to $107.29 and RevPAR increased 17.5% to $52.25. Miami in the period saw a larger increase in RevPAR than Dallas, its relevant metric rising 26.4% to $337.51, while Tampa Bay, also in Florida, saw its RevPAR plummet 19.4% to $112.70. Across all the top 25 markets, occupancy increased 3.2% to 60%, ADR increased 3.6% to $204.36 and RevPAR increased 7% to $122.67.
4. German job numbers underline further economic woe
Unemployment in Germany, traditionally the economic power of Europe and the European Union, held steady in December, according to the Wall Street Journal. The newspaper said Germany’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in the month was 6.3%, a rate that it said is “steady … though actual jobless numbers inched higher [by 3,000], signaling an economy that still lacks momentum.”
In December, Germany’s central bank stated that the nation is beset by job reductions, a shortage of skilled labor and an aging workforce, among other economic problems. The Bundesbank said it expected unemployment to fall to 5.7% and 5.4%, respectively, across 2027 and 2028.
5. Loews appoints Goshow as chief commercial officer
Loews Hotels & Co. has announced its new chief commercial officer. Kristie Goshow, who hails from the United Kingdom, has worked and lived in the U.S. for a number of years, most recently with the same title at Peregrine Hospitality Group, formerly KSL Resorts. Before that, Goshow served as chief marketing officer at Preferred Hotels & Resorts, now known as Preferred Travel Group.
At Loews, Goshow will have responsibility for the firm’s commercial strategy across its 27 hotels. She has worked at Jumeirah Hotels & Resorts, Le Méridien Hotels & Resorts, Viceroy Hotel Group and Virgin Atlantic.