Hilton Hotels & Resorts is Taking the Midnight Sleigh to Georgia…

Hilton Worldwide has signed a management agreement with Granat LLC that will see it introduce its flagship Hilton Hotels & Resorts brand to the Georgian capital, Tbilisi. An existing Soviet-era building on Kostrova Street is to undergo an extensive transformation, including a US$50 million investment to create a glass roof and a restoration of the historic property’s facade, and it will be unveiled in early 2019 as the 206-room Hilton Tbilisi. Hilton currently has one hotel in operation in Georgia, the 247-room Hilton Batumi on the country’s Black Sea coast, and the Hilton Garden Inn Tbilisi Chavchavadze is currently under construction and due to open in 2018.

…And DoubleTree Drops Down the Chimney in Belarus and Cheltenham

Hilton Worldwide’s DoubleTree by Hilton brand has made its first appearance in Belarus with the opening of the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Minsk. The 193-room hotel is at the centre of the country’s capital city, within the Galleria Minsk shopping and entertainment complex, and it is the group’s second hotel in the country overall, joining the 120-room Hampton by Hilton Minsk City Centre. There is more DoubleTree news this week as the Cheltenham Park Hotel, just two miles from Cheltenham city centre in England’s Cotswolds region, is to become part of the brand following a £4.5 million refurbishment. As of March 2017, the Grade II-listed 148-room hotel will become the DoubleTree by Hilton Cheltenham. The hotel, which is three miles from the famous Cheltenham race course, will be Hilton’s first hotel in the city.

STAY WYSE in Amsterdam in February

The second STAY WYSE Hostel Conference will be held from 2-3 February 2017 at Beurs van Berlage in Amsterdam. It will feature the launch of a new hostel performance benchmarking service, which has been developed by STR following an initiative led by HVS London. Harry Douglass, an associate director with HVS, hopes to see you at the event, which will be attended by hostel investors and operators and others with an interest in the sector. 2016 has been an exciting year for the hostel space and this will be a most important event. Further information can be found at www.conference.staywyse.org.

A Radisson RED for Georgia and a New Blu for Turkey

Carlson Rezidor is to open its first Radisson RED hotel in Georgia. The new-build hotel will be in Tbilisi city centre on Chavchavadze Street, and is due to open in mid-2019 with around 100 rooms. Additionally, the group has signed an agreement for the Radisson Blu Hotel, Trabzon in the northeastern Turkish city of Trabzon on the country’s Black Sea coast. The 162-room hotel, owned by Karadeniz Orme Sanayi Ve Dis Ticaret A.S, is expected to open in the second quarter of 2018. “This signing is in line with our growth strategy in Turkey where we are a leading player. We are pleased to enter the Trabzon market which is lacking internationally branded hotels and offers great opportunities,” commented Elie Younes, HVS alumnus and executive vice president and chief development officer at Carlson Rezidor.

Marriott Gives a Gift of Moxy to the UK and Doubles its Courtyards in Brussels

Marriott International’s Moxy brand has made its debut in the UK with the opening of the Moxy Aberdeen Airport in northeast Scotland. The 250-room hotel is owned and was developed by Amsterdam-based Vastint Hospitality and the franchisee is Norwegian hotel management and development company Belvar. Additionally, Marriott’s Courtyard brand is continuing its European expansion with a new opening in Brussels, Belgium. The 180-room Courtyard Brussels EU is at the heart of the city’s European Quarter and is the second Courtyard by Marriott to open in the Belgian capital, bringing the group’s portfolio in the country up to six properties overall.

Leonardo’s Latest Brand Owns the Night

Leonardo Hotels recently announced the launch of its fourth brand: NYX Hotels. The new lifestyle brand is named after Nyx, the Greek goddess of the night; the lobby in each NYX hotel will transform into a club during the evening and the brand hopes to appeal to night owls from around the world! The first NYX hotel opened in Israel earlier this year (the 190-room NYX Tel Aviv) and three properties are already planned for Europe – the NYX Milan is expected to open in Italy at the beginning of 2017; plus both the Fusion Hotel Prague in the Czech Republic and the Gran Atlanta Madrid in Spain will close during 2017 for extensive renovations and will emerge from their makeovers as NYX properties.

A Good Choice for Greece

Choice Hotels International has signed a multi-unit development agreement with GVK Enterprises for a hotel portfolio across Greece, bringing the group’s Comfort, Quality and Clarion brands to the country for the first time. The first hotel from the agreement is expected to open by summer 2017 in Athens and will operate under the Comfort flag. An additional four hotels will be developed on the mainland and across the islands. “We are thrilled to be expanding our European portfolio to Greece, an important travel and tourism destination that has shown signs of strong recovery and positive forecasts,” said Mark Pearce, Choice Hotels’ senior vice president, international division.

Sheraton’s Grand New Hotel in Guinea Decks Out Its Halls

Marriott International has made its debut in Guinea, West Africa, with the opening of the Sheraton Grand Conakry, in Guinea’s capital and largest city. The 269-room hotel is on the oceanfront in Conakry’s Kipe district and has more than 1,300 m² of meeting and event facilities. “We are proud to be the first Sheraton Grand in Africa and Indian Ocean, and to join the existing roster of esteemed hotels and resorts worldwide,” said the hotel’s general manager, Helga Deboeck.

Meliá Makes it a Quartet in Cape Verde

Meliá Hotels International has recently opened its fourth hotel in the Cape Verde archipelago, off the northwest coast of Africa. The all-incluive, adults-only Meliá Llana Beach Resort & Spa is on the southwestern coast of the island of Sal. The resort has 303 rooms and suites, a gym, a spa and extensive food and beverage outlets amongst other facilities, and joins its sister properties on Sal, the 286-room Meliá Tortuga Beach, the 1,150- room Meliá Dunas Beach Resort & Spa and the 843-room Sol Dunas.

Deutsche Hospitality Makes Its Debut in Tunisia

Deutsche Hospitality is moving into a new market by opening two hotels in Tunisia in the second quarter of 2017: the 365-room Steigenberger Hotel Kantaoui Bay in the resort of Port El Kantaoui and the 570-room Jaz Hotel Tour Khalef in the city of Sousse. Deutsche Hospitality has signed a management agreement for the hotels with Zohra Driss.

Mövenpick Moving to Al Marjan Island

Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts has completed a deal that will see the Swiss group operate its first hotel in Ras Al Khaimah, UAE. The Mövenpick Resort Al Marjan Island, Ras Al Khaimah is scheduled to open in 2019 on a beachfront location within the Al Marjan Island development, the emirate’s first man-made project, with 430 guest rooms and 120 serviced apartments.

Langham, Jeddah Announced

Langham Hospitality Group has signed an agreement with Advanced Hotels Company for a hotel in the city of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The Langham, Jeddah is scheduled to open in summer 2018 opposite a new shopping complex as the first of its brand in the kingdom. The hotel will have 238 rooms and 39 suites, as well as multiple food and beverage outlets and 3,500 m² of banqueting and meeting space.

Absolute Share Price Performance Over the Past Week – 15-20 December 2016

 

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.