Aprirose Acquires its First Mercure Hotel

Real estate investment company Aprirose has purchased the Mercure Bristol Holland House Hotel and Spa in the UK for a figure reported to be £45 million (£163,600 per room). The 275-room, four-star hotel, in the southwest England city of Bristol, on the River Avon, will be managed by Redefine BDL Hotels and is the first Mercure property in Aprirose’s portfolio. “This asset is a great investment for our investors as the hotel market remains undersupplied in Bristol,” commented Gary Jones, Aprirose’s chief operating officer. The deal marks the Aprirose’s second collaboration with Redefine: the Glasgow-based hotel management company is now running the Hampton by Hilton London Docklands, which was acquired by Aprirose last month.

Kimpton Makes its First Appearance in Europe

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) has opened the doors to the first Kimpton property in Europe, and the first to open outside of the Americas. The 274-room Kimpton De Witt is at the heart of Amsterdam in the Netherlands. The property is housed in a three-storey building, known as ‘Little House’, that dates from the 1600s. “Europe was the original inspiration behind Bill Kimpton founding the brand and now we’re bringing the brand home again. Opening in Amsterdam, gives us the perfect opportunity to indulge in the playful, creative and innovative approach to luxury that the city inspires in Kimpton’s unique and special way,” said Angela Brav, IHG’s chief executive officer for Europe.

Principal Signs Hotel for Birmingham

Principal Hotel Company (owned by US-based Starwood Capital Group) has signed a deal with Hortons’ Estate to open a Principal hotel in the UK city of Birmingham. The Grand hotel in the city centre, which is housed within a Grade II*-listed building, will undergo a restoration to be transformed into a 180-room Principal property by early 2019. There are already three properties operating under the urban lifestyle brand in Manchester, York and Edinburgh, and further openings are planned for 2017 and 2018 in Glasgow, Cardiff, Liverpool, Leeds and Oxford.

Orbis Announces a Novotel for Sarajevo and a Mercure for Sighisoara

Orbis Group, AccorHotels' strategic partners in Eastern Europe, has signed a franchise agreement with Al Shiddi Group for the first Novotel in Bosnia and Herzegovina. An existing property in the capital’s Old Town, the Hotel Bristol, will be reflagged as the 186-room Novotel Sarajevo in the third quarter of 2017. Additionally, Orbis has also announced that it will open a Mercure Hotel in the city of Sighisoara, in Romania’s historic Transylvania region. The existing Binderbubi Hotel and Spa will be transformed into a 52-room Mercure property by the end of the third quarter of 2017, becoming Orbis’ first Mercure hotel outside of the capital, Bucharest.

Park Inn by Radisson Makes its Debut in Rwanda

The Rezidor Hotel Group has opened its first Park Inn by Radisson property in Rwanda in the city’s capital, Kigali. The 161-room Park Inn by Radisson Kigali is within walking distance of the city centre and 12 km from Kigali International Airport, the main point of entry into Rwanda. The four-star hotel is the group’s fifth hotel in East Africa overall. The hotel has a restaurant, a pool bar, a lobby lounge and a ground-floor nightclub.

Ritz-Carlton on its Way to Zanzibar

Marriott International has signed an agreement with Pennyroyal Gibraltar Ltd for the first Ritz-Carlton hotel in the Zanzibar Archipelago, off the coast of East Africa. The Ritz-Carlton, Zanzibar, a 45-minute drive from Zanzibar International Airport, is expected to open in 2021 with 90 suites and villas. The hotel will be part of the mixed-use Amber Resort complex, which will cover approximately 1,750 hectares of coastline in the north east of the island. Commenting on the signing, Alex Kyriakidis, Marriott’s president and managing director for the Middle East and Africa, said, “The Ritz-Carlton, Zanzibar will compliment Marriott International’s strong presence in the Indian Ocean and provide the necessary impetus to put the destination on the global itinerary of our guests.”

Hilton Garden Inn Opens in Ras Al Khaimah

Hilton Worldwide’s Garden Inn brand has made its first appearance in the emirate of Ras Al Khaimah with the opening of the Hilton Garden Inn Ras Al Khaimah in the Al Nakheel area. The 240-room hotel is a product of a partnership between Hilton and RAK National Hotels LLC. Hilton now has five hotels in operation across the emirate overall and 22 in the UAE.

Absolute Share Price Performance Over the Past Week – 18-25 May 2017

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