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1. US politicians mull adding more countries to travel ban
American politicians are mulling adding more countries to its travel ban list, barring citizens from these nations from traveling to the U.S, according to Reuters. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said, “I won't be specific on the number, but it’s over 30, and [President Donald Trump] is continuing to evaluate countries.”
Reuters said the total number of nations in the ban might be as high as 32, and it has been previously reported the number could potentially be up to 36. It added the ban for citizens of countries that were part of the original June travel-ban proclamation, or those that soon might be so, applies to both immigrants and non-immigrants such as tourists, students and business travelers.
2. Davidson Hospitality eyes potential deals across UK, Europe
A year since U.S. hotel operator Davidson Hospitality was sold by KSL to Nautic Partners, the Atlanta-based company is trying to diversify its portfolio, seeking out new partnerships with ownership groups to move into the United Kingdom and mainland Europe, according to CoStar News Hotels’ Sean McCracken, who added that while expansion in the Old World was first touted by the company in 2016, a lack of confidence within management and then the COVID-19 pandemic put plans on the back burner.
With those worries behind it, Davidson recently added its first U.K. hotel — Davidson had operated one there when KSL owned it — the 93-room Ragdale Hall Spa, 14 miles northeast of Leicester, England, which, according to CoStar, is owned by New York City-based Fortress Investment Group. Mark Wang, Davidson’s London-based senior vice president of acquisitions and development, said the Ragdale was the perfect fit for Davidson’s new foray into international markets.
“People ask us what we like to do, and frankly, it’s the more complicated the better because we can showcase our capabilities with more complicated assets," Wang said.
3. Marriott enters 145th country with DRC debut
The world’s largest hotel firm, Marriott International, has debuted in its 145th market, the Democratic Republic of Congo. The brand opened two hotels in the African country, both in its capital Kinshasa: the 134-room Four Points by Sheraton Kinshasa and 88-room Protea Hotel by Marriott Kinshasa.
Third-party management company SARV Management LLC will manage both properties, which are owned by local firm SAMAY Hospitality SARL. A news release on the debuts said, “Kinshasa is a dynamic hub for diplomacy, regional trade and the arts” … and has a “population of over 17 million.”
In June, Marriott said it planned on opening 50 new hotels with a combined room count of more than 9,000 by the end of 2027.
4. Second-largest shareholder in India’s ITC Hotels sells $422 million stake
British American Tobacco has reduced its holdings in Indian hotel firm ITC Hotels from 15.3% to 6.3% and thus is no longer the second-largest shareholder in the company, according to Reuters. The proceeds from the sale amounted to approximately 38 billion Indian rupees ($422 million), which would help “reduce debt and exit a non-strategic asset” for British American Tobacco, the news agency reports.
In June 2024, ITC Hotels, a division of conglomerate Kolkata-based ITC, was split from its parent company and listed independently on the BSE, formerly known as the Bombay Stock Exchange. ITC retained 40% of ITC Hotel, which has stock in third-party hotel ownership companies that own the Oberoi and Leela Indian hotel brands.
5. IT issue grounds all Edinburgh Airport flights for several hours
For several hours this morning, Edinburgh Airport grounded all its flights, Scottish newspaper The Herald reported. It said that service stopped at approximately 8:30 a.m. GMT and was not resolved until almost 11 a.m. The airport’s website read, “due to an IT issue with our air traffic control provider, no flights are currently operating from Edinburgh Airport.”
Among the chaos was one flight from New York, which needed to be diverted to Dublin. According to website FlightConnections, the airport serves 15.8 million passengers per year, 162 destinations in 44 countries and 39 airlines. Nineteen United Kingdom airports have connections with Edinburgh Airport.