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Hotel, industry and travel news from around the EMEA region; this week: Hyatt Regency for Amsterdam, Dubai gets a Viceroy and more….
A Trio Of Travelodge Stories
LaSalle Investment Management has purchased the 124-room Travelodge Bath Waterside, in the city of Bath, southwest England, from Cordial Hotels for £11.2 million. The sale is part of the UK-based group’s aim to offload 49 hotels and reduce the rent on a further 109 when it entered into a Company Voluntary Arrangement in mid 2012. More Travelodge news this week includes the opening of the group’s seventh hotel in Liverpool city centre, northwest England, and its fifth property in Spain, in Barcelona. The Travelodge Liverpool Central Exchange Street is housed in the Grade-II listed former offices of Sun Alliance insurance. The 125-room hotel cost £8 million to develop. The purpose built 250-room Travelodge Barcelona Poblenou was developed in Barcelona’s 22@ district for a cost of €30 million.
Redefine Merges With BDL
Redefine Hotels and BDL Management have merged to create what is being slated as the largest hotel management company in the UK. The newly formed Redefine BDL Hotels now manages 60 hotels across the UK, Liberia and South Africa. BDL brought 48 hotels to the merger and Redefine added a further 12. The portfolio includes independent hotels and franchises from InterContinental Hotels Group, Hilton Worldwide, Starwood Hotels Resorts and Best Western. Commenting on the merger, Helder Pereira, chairman of Redefine BDL Hotels, said, “It is a strategic move which will enable us to be one step ahead of the trend for consolidation in Europe, mirroring what we are witnessing over in North America.”
Steigenberger’s On Cloud Seven In Stuttgart
Steigenberger Hotels AG has announced its third property for the west German city of Stuttgart. Construction is due to start this summer on a 175-room Steigenberger hotel in the city’s Europaviertel district. The hotel will form the first seven storeys of Cloud No. 7, an 18-floor mixed-use tower that will also include 60 luxury residential apartments and office space. Stuttgart-based Schwäbische Wohnungs AG is the project’s developer and investor. “Our new hotel will be the ideal complement to the Steigenberger Graf Zeppelin and the Steigenberger InterCityHotel. That will give us outstanding synergy effects,” said Puneet Chhatwal, Steigenberger’s chief executive officer.
A New Melody In The Air For Newcastle
Malaysian group Tune Hotels has announced plans to pitch up in Newcastle, northeast England. Work is expected to start next month on converting Proctor House, an historic building within the city’s Quayside conservation area, into a 104-bed hotel. A total of £8.3 million is to be invested in the restoration, which is expected to take 12 months. Tune currently operates five hotels in the UK (four in London and one in Edinburgh).
Greenland Group Makes Its European Debut
Chinese firm Greenland Group made its first appearance in Europe this week. Under its partnership with Spanish group Meliá Hotels International, which was announced in December last year, Greenland has opened a 177-room hotel in Frankfurt, Germany. Formerly the Tryp Hotel at Opelrondell, the hotel underwent a four-month conversion and is now the Qube Frankfurt.
Shangri-La To Sparkle On The Bosphorus
Two years ago, HVS reported that Turkish conglomerate Tanriverdi Holding had signed Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts to manage a hotel in Istanbul, Turkey. This week the Shangri-La Bosphorus Istanbul opened on the site of a former 1930s tobacco warehouse in the Besiktas district of the city, on the European side of the Bosphorus, marking the group’s debut in the country. The warehouse’s six-storey Neo-Classical façade has been lovingly restored, tying the history of the city to the modern interior of the hotel. Hong Kong-based Shangri-La now operates two hotels in Europe (the other is in Paris).
A Hyatt Regency For Amsterdam
Hyatt Hotels Corporation has got together with real estate investor Aedes Real Estate and developer UBM Realitätentwicklung AG to bring Amsterdam in the Netherlands its first Hyatt Regency hotel, and Hyatt’s third property in the city overall. The Hyatt Regency Amsterdam is to be developed in the former Emma Kinderzeikenhuis building (previously a children’s hospital) in the city centre. The 2011-room hotel is expected to open in 2015.
New Hotel For The North Of England
Skelwith Leisure, which develops landmark mixed-use projects across the UK, has announced that work is set to start this month on a £100 million hotel in the north of England. The 303-room Flaxby Country Resort will be housed on the 27-hole Flaxby Golf course, near the market town of Knaresborough in North Yorkshire, and it is due to open in 2015.
Luxury Collection On Its Way To Lebanon
Starwood Hotel’s Resorts’ Luxury Collection brand is to make its debut in Lebanon. The Grand Hill Hotel Spa in the town of Broumana, to the east of Beirut, is to undergo a complete renovation and will open as the Grand Hills a Luxury Collection Resort in 2015. The property is owned by Mouawad Village Broumana Sal. After its transformation, the resort will have 115 rooms and 53 suites.
Dubai To Get Its First Viceroy
Viceroy Hotel Group is planning to enter Dubai with a US$1 billion resort. The Viceroy Dubai, Palm Jumeirah is expected to open in 2017 with 481 rooms and suites on the emirate’s Palm Jumeirah development. The resort is owned by SKAI Holdings and is being developed by Zaya Dubai. It will be Viceroy’s second property for the UAE; the Yas Viceroy Abu Dhabi opened at the end of 2009.
London Soon Hosting The Serviced Apartment Summit And The Boutique Hotel Summit
HVS is delighted to be Platinum Sponsor at Europe’s only conference for the serviced apartment and extended stay sectors: Serviced Apartment Summit 2013, which is due to take place on 8-9 July 2013 at the Andaz Liverpool Street hotel in London. HVS subscribers can receive a 10% discount on delegate tickets by entering the promotional code HVS1 when prompted on the ticket booking page. HVS London’s chairman, Russell Kett, will be moderating a panel on day two of the event called Where now for the leaders? Interview with leading hotel and serviced apartment CEOs. Additionally, Arlett Oehmichen, a director with HVS London, will be there to talk about Market Performance and Insight. Also, in just four days, the Boutique Hotel Summit 2013 will be taking place at the Montcalm at London’s Marble Arch. HVS subscribers can also receive a 10% discount on delegate tickets for the Boutique Hotel Summit by entering the promotional code HVS1 when prompted on the ticket booking page www.boutiquehotelssummit.com/delegates/buy-tickets
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