The Next Chapter of Edition Will Bring Ice and Fire

The Marriott International and Ian Schrager duo has formed a trio with US-based real estate firm Carpenter & Company to bring Marriott's luxury lifestyle brand EDITION to Europe's own land of ice and fire, enchanting Iceland. The 250-room Reykjavik EDITION is to be developed in Iceland's capital, adjacent to the city's waterfront Harpa conference and concert venue at Reykjavik harbour. The hotel is scheduled to open in 2018. Owned by Carpenter & Company, Marriott International will manage the hotel under a long-term agreement.

Steigenberger Reaches Seventh Heaven in Frankfurt

Steigenberger Hotel Group has announced plans to increase its presence in the central German city of Frankfurt to seven properties. The Hotel am Hauptbahnhof is to be developed at the southern exit of the city's main railway station and is due to open in 2018. The 400-room hotel will be part of a larger mixed-use project, which will also include a multi-storey car park and a new bus station. Steigenberger currently operates four Steigenberger-branded hotels and two InterCityHotel properties in Frankfurt.

Compass Sets Its Sights on a Long Nap in the UK

In a joint venture with Singapore-based Seacare Hospitality Pte Ltd, Thai group Compass Hospitality has acquired a portfolio of three hotels in the UK for an undisclosed sum, said to be a multimillion dollar figure. The Big Sleep Hotels' portfolio includes the 81-room Big Sleep Hotel Cardiff, in the Welsh capital; the 59-room Big Sleep Hotel Cheltenham, on the edge of England's famous Cotswolds area; and the 50-room Big Sleep Hotel Eastbourne, in the seaside resort of Eastbourne on England's south coast. The hotels will be managed by Compass and bring the group's portfolio in the UK up to five hotels. Compass has 49 properties overall in Thailand, Malaysia and the UK.

Starwood's Sheraton Arrives in Bucharest

Starwood Hotels & Resorts has made its first appearance in Romania this week with the opening of the Sheraton Bucharest in the southeast of the country, in Bucharest. The 270-room hotel is the result of a partnership between Starwood and S. C. Grand Plaza Hotel S. A. Just 18 km away from Henri Coanda International Airport, the hotel is one subway stop from the Romanian Capital's Old Town. Starwood now has more than 60 Sheraton properties in operation across Europe.

Haigh Hall to Become a Hotel

Wirral-based hotel owner and operator Contessa Hotels has gained planning approval for a £6 million regeneration plan to transform the Grade II-listed Haigh Hall in the town of Wigan, Greater Manchester, into a four-star, 30-room boutique hotel. The hall, which was built in the first half of the 19th century by James Lindsay, the 7th Earl of Balcarres, is owned by Wigan Council and leased to Contessa. The renovation work will also include a new car park and landscaping. Contessa currently owns two hotels on the Wirral Peninsula, in northwest England.

Langham Number Two in the Pipeline for Dubai

Hong Kong-based Langham Hospitality Group has announced its second project for the Middle East. In partnership with Dubai-based real estate group Omniyat, the group will open the 167-room Langham Place Downtown Dubai in 2018 in the emirate's Burj Khalifa district. A total of US$273 million is to be invested in the project, which will also include 271 serviced apartments. Langham is due to make its debut in the region next year with the opening of the 323-room The Langham, Palm Jumeriah Dubai.

AccorHotels and R Hotels Introduce a New Style to Dubai

The ibis Styles Dubai Jumeriah officially opened this week on Al Mina Road. The 191-room, six-storey hotel is owned and operated by R Hotels under a franchise agreement with AccorHotels, and is R Hotels' fifth hotel in the UAE. The new opening means AccorHotels now has a portfolio of eight ibis-branded hotels across the UAE, but this is the group's first ibis Styles property in the country.

PPHE Announces its Interim Half-Year Results

PPHE Hotel group has released its unaudited interim results for the first half of 2015. Total revenue increased by 12.4% to €141 million and EBITDA climbed 21.9% to €48.4 million. Reported profit before tax fell 16.2% to €14.8 million, owing to a one-off benefit recorded in the first half of 2014. Increases in rooms revenue and occupancy led to a 12.5% rise in RevPAR to €19.80. Commenting on the figures, Boris Ivesha, PPHE's president and chief executive officer, said, "Demand has been strong in the destinations in which we operate and our hotels have performed well, particularly in the Netherlands and Germany."

Absolute Share Price Performance Over the Past Week – 20-27 August 2015

InterContinental Hotels Group –  Was raised to 'outperform' from 'neutral' by Credit Suisse.

PPHE Hotel Group – Has announced an increase in revenue in its interim half-year results.

AccorHotels – Raised to 'neutral' from 'underperform' by Credit Suisse. 

Disclaimer: Information provided above has been gathered from various market sources. HVS has not independently verified the accuracy of the information provided. Interested parties should not rely on the information as statement of facts and are advised to make their own independent checks to verify the information provided. For further information, please feel free to contact HVS London.