High Five for AC Hotels by Marriott in France

AC Hotels by Marriott has opened its fifth property in France. The AC Hotel Marseille Velodrome is at the heart of the business district in France’s second largest city, Marseille, on the Mediterranean coast. The 216-room hotel is just a few steps away from the Chanot Congress & Exhibition Center and Velodrome Stadium. Marriott International’s design-led lifestyle AC brand could also be entering the Belfast market in Northern Ireland; the green light has been given for a 188-room hotel development in Belfast’s City Quays area, which will reportedly be operated under the AC Hotels by Marriott brand, becoming the third of its kind in the UK following the launch of AC hotels in Manchester and Birmingham.

Union’s New Place at Frankfurt Airport

Union Investment has acquired a 3,006 m² Hyatt Place development at Frankfurt Airport, in Germany, from the project’s developer and lessee, Europahotel Baufeld 11.3 GmbH & Co KG, via a forward purchase agreement for an undisclosed sum. The Hyatt Place Frankfurt Airport will be part of the mixed-use Gateway Gardens development and is expected to open in the first quarter of 2018. When completed, the 312-room hotel will be purchased by Union for its open-ended retail real estate fund, Unilmmo: Global and it will be operated by the Feuring Group.

Ten DoubleTrees in Turkey

Hilton Worldwide opened its tenth DoubleTree by Hilton hotel in Turkey this week. The DoubleTree by Hilton Van overlooks Lake Van in eastern Turkey. The 94-room hotel, just ten minutes from Van city centre, has six food and beverage outlets, conference space for up to 1,000 guests and a spa, amongst other facilities.

Ramada’s First Resort in Ireland

Wyndham Worldwide has opened its first Ramada Resort property in Ireland. The Ramada Resort Dundalk is in the town of Dundalk, close to the border with Northern Ireland. The 84-room resort is part of Wyndham’s collaboration with Lester Hotels Group; it is the fifth of 20 Ramada-branded hotels expected to open across the UK and Ireland over the next ten years, which will all be managed by Lester Hotels Group.

Scandic Takes on its Second Hotel in Aalborg

Scandic will take over the operation of the First Hotel Europa Aalborg, in northern Denmark, as of 1 June 2016. The 168-room hotel will be renamed the Scandic Aalborg City, and it will become the group’s second hotel in the city, joining the 101-room Scandic Aalborg. Scandic currently operates 22 hotels (more than 3,700 rooms) across Denmark.

Germany Gets its First Premier Inn

Whitbread’s Premier Inn brand recently made its debut in Germany with the opening of the Premier Inn Frankfurt Messe, in the country’s fifth largest city. The 210-room hotel is adjacent to the Messe Frankfurt exhibition grounds. The chain’s latest opening marks its first move outside of the UK and Ireland. Mark Anderson, managing director for commercial, property and Premier Inn Germany, said that the first German property “kicks off our national expansion programme. Our official opening for the site will be in April but in the interim we wanted to welcome our first guests, get their feedback and incorporate that where possible. The feedback so far has been very positive.”

Sol’s In the House in Morocco

Meliá Hotels International is opening its first Sol House property in Morocco in May 2016. The 121-room Sol House Taghazout Bay is 15 km north of Agadir, on Morocco’s southwest coast. It is the fourth Meliá property to open under its lifestyle Sol House brand, with three hotels already in operation across Spain. There are three more Sol House hotels in the pipeline due to open this spring and summer (two in Bali and one on the Spanish island of Ibiza).

Anantara Takes Two to Oman...

Thailand-based Anantara Hotels, Resorts & Spas will be making its first appearance in Oman in mid-2016 with the opening of not one but two resorts in the sultanate. The Anantara Al Jabal Al Akhadar, in northeast Oman, is on the Saiq Plateau, 2,000 m above sea level – which makes it the highest five-star resort in the Middle East. The resort will operate with 82 guest rooms and 33 villas. The Al Aleed Resort – Salalah by Anantara, in the south of Oman, is just ten kilometres from Salalah city centre. The resort, which is situated between a beach and a freshwater lagoon, will have 40 guest rooms and 88 villas.

...Hilton Garden Inn Plans Its Move to Muscat...

Hilton Worldwide has signed a management agreement with the Muscat National Development and Investment Company for the Hilton Garden Inn Muscat – Al Khuwair in Oman, its first hotel in the capital Muscat and its second hotel in Oman overall, joining the 147-room Hilton Salalah Resort, which has been in operation since 1999. The 232-room Hilton Garden Inn is scheduled to open in 2019 in Muscat city centre.

...And HMH Signs its First Corp Hotel for Oman

Dubai-based HMH – Hospitality Management Holdings has signed a management agreement with real estate company Muzn Oman Commercial (S.A.O.C.) for its first Corp-branded hotel in Oman. The three-star Corp Muscat Al Muzn is expected to open in the first quarter of 2018 in Mawaleh, close to Muscat International Airport. The 132-room hotel will be part of the 12,014 m² Al Muzn mixed-use project, which will also include a shopping centre and a luxury wellness facility. “The scale of opportunity in the region for hotels especially in the budget segment is unprecedented. By 2020 our aim to have six hotels in Oman while multiplying by four our total inventory of keys," said Laurent A Voivenel, chief executive officer of HMH.

Millennium Opens a New Saudi Arabian Hotel

Millennium & Copthorne has opened its third hotel in Saudi Arabia: the 191-room Millennium Hotel Hail, which is the only five-star hotel in the northwestern city of Hail. “This opening cements our commitment to expansion across the entire Kingdom, not only the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah but in cities such as Riyadh, Jizan, Tabouk and Jeddah across the North, South and Western provinces,” commented Ali Hamad Lakhraim Alzaabi, Millennium’s president and chief executive officer for the Middle East and Africa.

Absolute Share Price Performance Over the Past Week – 10-17 March 2016

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