Ashford Prime to rebrand as Braemar Hotels & Resorts: Real estate investment trust Ashford Hospitality Prime will become Braemar Hotels & Resorts starting 24 April, according to a news release. The rebranding is designed to reflect the company’s focus of owning exclusively luxury hotels and resorts.
"We are excited to introduce Braemar Hotels & Resorts to further reflect our strategy to focus exclusively on the luxury segment," said President and CEO Richard Stockton. "This rebranding marks an important step to better differentiate ourselves as a high-RevPAR lodging REIT and aligns with our mission to continue to maximize shareholder value."
Experts share ways to better manage project budgets: New-build or renovation, hotel construction projects are expensive. HNN’s Dana Miller spoke with several hotel design and development experts to find the best practices for controlling costs when overseeing construction work at hotels.
Bob Kraemer, principal and co-founder of Kraemer Design Group, said breaking down every aspect of the project and looking at every option is time-consuming but necessary.
“It really helps set the direction and the plan of attack, then that way we’re sort of doing value-engineer throughout the process, not at the end,” he said.
Hopes, anxiety rise as oil nears $70 a barrel: Oil prices could soon reach $70 per barrel, the first time since 2014 when oil prices were collapsing, The Wall Street Journal reports. The price rally has many hoping it will improve the U.S. economy by helping the recovering energy industry, but the increase also brings concerns about what happens when prices rise too high.
The fall in oil prices essentially made a bust out of the boom the U.S. oil and gas industry experienced a few years ago, which in turn hurt hotel companies looking to capitalize on the then high-performing oil markets. Higher prices would lead to more domestic production, thus helping these long-hurting hotels.
In turn, oil prices that rise too high can “stifle economic growth,” according to the article, as higher consumer prices for gasoline “act like a tax” and increase inflation.
Strikes by French aviation, rail workers impede travel: Separate strikes by aviation and rail employees in France are upsetting plans for millions looking to travel to and around the country early this week, the Independent reports. The strikes mean, among other stoppages, that two-thirds of trains within France have been canceled today, according to the article, including 15 trains running between London and Paris and another nine between London and Brussels.
Air France canceled flights affecting about 40,000 passengers for each day of the two-day strike, the article states. The airline canceled 35% of its European and long-haul flights to and from its hub at Charles de Gaulle Airport.
Swiss hotel to build roof guests can use for skiing: Watchmaking company Audemars Piguet is building the 75,000 square-foot Hôtel des Horlogers, a luxury hotel next to its workshop in Le Brassus, Switzerland, Forbes reports. The roof of the hotel will be sloped downward, designed to “mimic the surrounding sloping landscapes,” and guests will be allowed to ski down it.
The roof will be covered in grass during the summer to help the hotel blend in with the scenery, the article states. The hotel is currently under construction and is scheduled to open in 2020.
Compiled by Bryan Wroten.