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1. Prosecutors claim Swiss resort bar skipped safety checks for five years
Investigators have found that Le Constellation — the ski resort bar in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, that caught fire on New Year's Day and killed 40 — had not “undergone safety checks for five years,” according to the BBC.
Prosecutors in Switzerland's Valais region — which includes Crans-Montana — plan to hire external experts to inspect and audit all 128 venues in the resort area. Officials will also ban all use of sparklers, which is believed to have been the cause of the fire. The BBC reports Crans-Montana Mayor Nicolas Féraud said he did not know why the bar had not been checked for safety issues, but he added he would not resign.
2. GFI refinances Ace Brooklyn for $112.5 million
New York City-based Torchlight Investors have agreed to a $112.5 million leasehold bridge loan with an affiliate of GFI Capital Resources Group to refinance the 287-room Ace Hotel Brooklyn. According to CoStar, GFI acquired the hotel in Feb. 2021 for approximately $44.44 million.
“New York is one of the most desirable hospitality markets in the country and is positioned for continued outsized year-over-year growth. Among the top 25 lodging markets, New York ranks second nationally in revenue per available room growth,” Stan Spiegelman, GFI’s chief operating officer, said in a news release.
3. Vietnam’s Wink Hotels folded into Hyatt’s Unscripted brand
Vietnamese hotel company Indochina Kajima plans to fold its hotel brand Wink Hotels into Hyatt Hotels Corp.’s Unscripted by Hyatt brand. The move adds six hotels in Vietnam into Unscripted by Hyatt that in turn has more than doubled Hyatt’s hotel count in the Southeast Asian country, according to a Hyatt news release. Wink has a seventh hotel, Wink Hanoi Westlake, that is due to open by the end of this year.
The hotels in the deal include the Wink Saigon Centre, Wink Danang Centre, Wink Danang Riverside, Wink Tuy Hoa Beach, Wink Can Tho Centre and Wink Hai Phong Center. Including the under-construction Wink Hanoi Westlake, the seven properties have a combined room count of more than 2,000.
4. Urban Partners acquires Copenhagen development for $95 million
Developer Skanska A/S via its Skanska Commercial Development Nordic division has sold an upcoming hotel-and-residences development in the Ørestads district of Copenhagen, Denmark, to Urban Partners for 608 million Danish krone ($95.35 million), according to a news release.
The hotel portion of the development will have 143 rooms, and there will be 210 residences, although no decision has been made as to the hotel brand or if the residences will be hotel-branded, too. The release said the transfer of the development will take place when construction is finished, which is due in summer 2028. The hotel is on the island of Amager, close to Copenhagen Airport, Kastrup, Denmark’s principal airport.
5. Hilton removes Minneapolis hotel from platforms after DHS controversy
A Hampton Inn property in the suburbs of Minneapolis has been taken off of Hilton's booking platforms a day after immigration agents with the Department of Homeland Security had their reservations canceled, The New York Times reports.
The Hampton Inn Lakeville Minneapolis was fully removed from Hilton's platforms after both Hilton and hotel owner Everpeak Hospitality issued public apologies but video caught an employee saying a policy to turn away agents was still in effect.
Hilton officials did not confirm to the news outlet whether the hotel's franchise agreement was terminated.