BERLIN—Amid deal making and educational sessions, several hotel companies found time to share new updates and announcements during the International Hotel Investment Forum.
What follows is a roundup of some of the latest headlines:
Starwood to open 25 new hotels in Europe
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide announced it will open 25 new hotels in Europe during the next four years. The company already opened two new flagship hotels in Europe with a W hotel in Paris and a Le Méridien hotel in Istanbul. Globally, Starwood plans to open 80 new hotels in 2012, building on a year of record growth with 112 new hotel deals in 2011, the highest number since the global economic crisis, according to the company.
Wyndham unveils new Super 8 room concept for EMEA
Wyndham Hotel Group today unveiled a contemporary new guestroom design concept for its Super 8 brand in Europe and the Middle East. The new room concept is built using modular construction, allowing for faster and more economical hotel development. The room concept combines simplicity with comfort, ensuring the needs of the modern-day traveler are catered for with features such as a USB charging station for iPods and iPhones as well as a large bed and walk-in shower.
Hilton announces portfolio update
Hilton Worldwide opened 170 hotels during 2011 and gained supply share in each of its global regions. In the U.S., Hilton has more than 10% of the room supply market share, the largest in the country, as well as more than 18% of the active industry room pipeline in the planning to construction phases.
The company has added more than 950 hotels to its global footprint since June 2007.
In Europe, Hilton operates more than 225 hotels, has more than doubled its share of hotels under development in two years from 6.6% in 2009 to 14.2% in 2011 and has a pipeline of more than 115 hotels.
Jumeirah Group reports record festive season in Dubai
During the period from 20 December 2011 to 10 January 2012, the Dubai-based Jumeirah Group’s beachfront resorts, which include Madinat Jumeirah, Jumeirah Beach Hotel, Jumeirah Zabeel Saray, saw average occupancy surge to 90%. Revenue per available room stood at 2,600 United Arab Emirates Dirham ($712). Burj Al Arab recorded average occupancy of 80.7% during this period and RevPAR of 7,284 Dirham ($1,983).
Orient-Express announces hotel openings
Palacio Nazarenas, a 55-suite hotel in a former palace and convent in Cuzco, Peru, will open in June 2012. The inauguration of Orient-Express Hotels Limited’s sixth hotel in Peru will be the culmination of a three-year restoration project carried out under the guidance of eight full-time archaeologists and the supervision of Peru’s National Institute of Culture.
The company also plans to open El Encanto in Santa Barbara, California, in early 2013. The 6.77-acre property will feature 92 guestrooms located in clusters of cottages and villas.
New Steigenberger Hotel to open at Berlin Brandenburg Airport
Hamburg property developers ECE are joining forces with hotel operator Steigenberger Hotels AG to build a 4-star hotel at the future capital airport Berlin Brandenburg. A business space operations contract was signed between ECE and Steigenberger, which will run for a period of 25 years.
Steigenberger also announced plans to open its sixth hotel in Berlin, which will be operated under the Steigenberger Hotels and Resorts brand and will be located near to the Chancellery. The project’s investor and developer is PORR Solutions Deutschland GmbH, which has acquired the site in the Europacity district from CA Immo.
Mövenpick expands in Egypt
Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts underlined its commitment to Egypt’s tourism industry by adding Mövenpick Resort Hurghada, Mövenpick Resort Abu Soma and Mövenpick Resort Sharm El Sheikh in Naama Bay to its existing portfolio of four properties on the country’s Red Sea coastline.
The group also announced it will manage the Huma Island resort, a private island in the heart of the stunning archipelago of Palawan Province in the Philippines.
Mövenpick goes green
Mövenpick announced all of its 21 hotels in Europe achieved Green Globe certification. The achievement puts the Swiss upscale hospitality company on target to become the most certified hotel company in the world to receive the Green Globe seal.
Choice installs choiceAdvantage at 5,000th property
Choice Hotels International deployed its cloud-based hotel property management system, choiceAdvantage, to its 5,000th hotel—the Comfort Hotel De L‘Europe of Saint Nazaire, France. The cloud-based property-management system is integral to the company’s expansion in Europe, which President and CEO Steve Joyce said is the company’s No. 1 opportunity for growth in the foreseeable future.
Interstate and TVHG form Dutch Hotel Partners
Interstate Hotels & Resorts and Netherlands-based The Vincent Hotel Group/Dutch Hotel Partners formed a joint venture and will invest in the development of 25 hotels in the Netherlands, acting under the name of Dutch Hotel Partners. The Vincent Hotel Group will develop the hotels and Interstate Hotels & Resorts will manage them. Interstate also has taken an equity stake inTVHG.
There are 1,800 rooms contracted and several more in the pipeline. Two hotels are already open (the 112-room Holiday Inn Express at Schiphol Airport and the 254-room
Holiday Inn Express at Amsterdam Sloterdijk) and three more hotels will be completed by the end of 2012. Four further hotels will start construction or conversion this year, with opening dates scheduled for 2013. All the properties will operate as Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express orHampton Inn brands.
Key European markets continue recovery trend
At nearly €6.8 billion ($8.9 billion) invested in 2011, investment in hotel property in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the U.K. continued the recovery trend that began during 2010, according to a study published by BNP Paribas Real Estate. Even though investment volume rose by 3.5% over 2010, the pace of growth slowed significantly during the second half of the year. Indeed, the first half of 2011 posted an increase of more than 80% compared to the same period the year before, whereas the second half of 2011 (and especially the last quarter) lost steam with investment levels 31% lower than the same period in 2010.
At the same time, the hotel industry weathered the recession and ended on a globally positive note despite the slowdown from September 2011 onwards. A rise in revenue per available room ranging from 3.5% to 8.9% was recorded in the same five countries.
Highlights within the five leading countries include:
• At €713 million ($938 million), France accounted for 68% of overall portfolio exchanges during 2011 in the five main European tourism markets.
• At 49% of overall investment, the U.K. dominated the hotel investment market in 2011. Investment levels amounted to €3.3 billion ($3.9 billion), up by 13%.
• The first half of 2011 began with a fanfare (€652 million, or $857 million) in Germany, although hotel property investment slowed down rapidly to generate only €283 million ($372 million) in the last six months of 2011.
• Investment in Spain’s hotel industry remained weak in 2011 with a 6% contraction compared to 2010, although this was far less than the 46% drop in investment levels in commercial real estate.
• At €117 million ($154 million), investment in Italian hotel real-estate was lifeless in 2011.
Hotel deal volumes start to recover
The volume of hotel deals in Europe, the Middle East and Africa increased significantly during 2011 compared to 2010, according to the Annual EMEA Hotel Transaction Survey produced by Colliers International in association with Hotel Analyst.
Last year’s document listed 88 deals in 2010 with a transaction value of more than €5 million ($6.6 million) but in 2011 that number increased to147 deals, including both single asset and portfolio.
The biggest single asset transaction was the €409 million ($538 million) paid for the Ritz-Carlton in Moscow. This was only slightly behind the biggest portfolio deal, which was the €690 million ($907 million) acquisition by Blackstone of the Mint hotel portfolio.
CBRE sells central London hotel
CBRE Hotels announced the sale of The Kingsley by Thistle on behalf of Curzon Hotels to a
private client of Citi Private Bank. The sale completed with the benefit of a management contract with Guoman Hotel Management (UK) Limited.
BLP’s real-estate transactions indicate buoyancy in hotel sector
Despite challenging market conditions, global law firm Berwin Leighton Paisner reports a significant increase in activity at both ends of the real-estate spectrum with a combination of distressed deals and prime asset transactions driving the sector forward. BLP completed five significant prime hotel transactions worth more than £1 billion ($1.6 billion), including the acquisition by Jupiter Hotels of 24 ex-Jarvis hotels.
After a lackluster period for hotel transactions, stifled by a lack of bank financing, the proliferation of institutional funding through sale and leaseback structures has stimulated the market. This trend, coupled with the emergence of prestige development projects such as the National Football Centre and the Bulgari Hotel and Residences, Knightsbridge is seeing buoyancy return to the hotel sector.
Servotel launches specialized hotel banking service
Servotel Corporation announced the official launch of their new joint venture subsidiary Servinvest, a specialized investment banking services boutique with a focus on hotels and real estate. Servinvest will take over and enhance all transaction-related business, equity and debt financing while Servotel remains focused on hotel development and investment-advisory services.
Singapore hotel outlook continues to rise
RevPAR grew 14.7% last year to $212 and is expected to increase between 5% and 8% this year, according to CBRE Hotels. Upscale hotels increased 18% to $244 from $206 a year ago. RevPAR should not fall to 2009 levels as Singapore has re-structured its tourism industry and is now more immune to the effects of the global environment.
New hotel developments in Singapore will be mostly mid-tier (46%) and economy (28%) hotels during the next few years. The mid-tier hotels will cater to the business and leisure travelers who might choose to downgrade in light of lower accommodation budgets.
The market does face some uncertainty in 2012, reflecting the outlook for the global economies. The occupancy levels certainly support rises in room rates but the lower confidence levels amongst hoteliers will temper these increases.