Accor Buys Mama Shelter

French-based hotel operator Accor has bought over 35% of capital from boutique hotel chain, Mama Shelter. The boutique chain currently has 5 hotels and competes in the affordable, ‘budget boutique’ segments. Prices start at approximately 69 euros per night. The group plans to expand the boutique brand by renaming some of its hotels to Mama Shelter and infusing these hotels with a brand that is fashionable and fresh. Mama Shelter’s current collection of 4 hotels in France and one in Istanbul totals 633 rooms and 450 employees. At least 20 properties are expected to open in locations such as Los Angeles, Lille, Zurich, Mexico City, Seoul, Amsterdam, Barcelona, New York and London.

Canopy by Hilton

Canopy, Hilton’s newest member of its brand portfolio is lifestyle category around the mindset of today's leisure and business travellers. Canopy aims to provide guests with an energizing, comfortable stay with more included value. A hotel taking on Canopy as a brand is focused on great neighbourhood locations with incorporating comfortable local design, food and cultural artistic elements. The brand has announced signed letters of intent for 10 locations in the USA and one in London, UK, with more on the way. Canopy's strong brand value proposition and operating platform have attracted the interest of a number ownership groups and property developers.

Adonis Hotel Opens In Singapore

The new boutique hotel of the local beauty and wellness brand, Adonis group has officially opened its doors this week. The hotel is nestled within Purvis Street occupying what used to be the old Nam Tong Lee Confectionary. Already, since its soft opening in July, this new 19 room hotel has gained recognition as a finalist for Asiarooms.com Hotel Awards 2014 “Hotel With Best Room Design”. The hotel has managed to maintain an average occupancy between 85% to 95% since July. The boutique and lifestyle segment in Singapore continues to grow with a number of properties expected to open over the next 24 months.

Tourism Arrivals increasing in Sri Lanka

At approximately 1.1 million visitors so far this year (up to September 2014), international arrivals to Sri Lanka are an impressive 22% up from the same period in 2013. The increase is largely driven by increased visitation from source markets such as  Eastern Europe, the Middle East and China which have seen a 97%, 74%, and 43% increase in arrivals respectively from 2012 to 2013.  The single largest growing feeder market during this period was Indonesia which increased almost 500% from 2,900 to 17,300 arrivals. With a target of 2 million international arrivals in 2015 and 2.5 million in 2016, Sri Lanka is slated to become of the region’s premier tourist and leisure destinations. In response to the increasing demand of quality accommodation on the island, many international hotel brands including Anantara, Hilton, Radisson, Marriott, Sheraton and Shangri-La are expected to enter the market in the next few years.

Absolute Share Price Performance, as on 31 October 2014