Latest News: VP Hospitality Acquires Atlanta; Choice, Westgate partnership; LOGE, Schulte partner for growth

VP Hospitality acquires in Atlanta. Marrietta, Georgia-based VP Hospitality has acquired the 142-key Fairfield Inn & Suites Atlanta Vinings/Galleria from an undisclosed institutional seller for an undisclosed amount. Hunter Hotel Advisors brokered the transaction.

Choice, Westgate Partnership. Choice Hotels International has signed a strategic partnership with Orlando-based Westgate Resorts so that 21 Westgate properties can now be booked on Choice’s website or through its rewards program. The hotels will join Choice’s exclusive offerings and are located throughout the United States, including seven locations in Orlando. Choice Hotels would not provide any details on how the deal is structured.

LOGE, Schulte partner for growth. North Bend, Washington-based LOGE Camps and Louisville, Kentucky-based hotel management company Schulte Hospitality Group have formed a partnership focused on the brand and operational growth of LOGE Camps’ existing 18 hotels and its expanding portfolio of properties across the U.S. LOGE Camps is known for its eco-friendly, outdoor-inspired overnight experiences.

American hotels report a positive week. On the positive side of the MLK Day calendar shift, the US hotel industry reported for 12-18 January positive year-over-year comparisons according to CoStar data. Occupancy was 55.8% (+6.7%), ADR was $155.81 (+10.0%), while RevPAR was $86.93 (+17.4%). Among the top 25 markets, San Francisco reported the largest gains in each of the three key metrics: occupancy (+35.9% to 71.2%), ADR (+230% to $625.98) and RevPAR (+348.3% to $445.85). Market performance was lifted by the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference. Ahead of the presidential inauguration, Washington, DC saw the next highest increases in ADR (+52.8% to $221.62) and RevPAR (+83.9% to $131.16). The only RevPAR declines were reported in Dallas (-4.7% to $78.50) and Oahu (-1.7% to $217.99).

Azul adds in Michigan. San Diego-based Azul Hospitality has added the recently opened 154-key AC Hotel Detroit to its portfolio and the conversion of the 23-key Cadillac Hotel in Lexington, Michigan, to the Tapestry Collection by Hilton. AC Hotel Detroit was developed by the Roxbury Group in collaboration with the Peachtree Group.

ASTA, USTA urge caution regarding potential travel ban. The American Society of Travel Advisors and the US Travel Association responded to language in one of President Donald Trump’s many executive orders on Monday that could lead to a ban on travel from countries considered a security risk. The executive order calls for “enhanced vetting and screening” of people entering the United States and orders that security agencies and the State Department prepare a report within 60 days “identifying countries around the world for which vetting and screening information is so deficient, that they justify a partial or full suspension of entry for nationals from these countries.” ASTA urged “caution and restraint.”

Owners of MCK propose takeover. The majority owner of Millennium & Copthorne Hotels New Zealand (MCK) is proposing a full takeover of the company’s remaining shares. CDL Hotels Holdings New Zealand, owned by Singapore-listed City Developments Limited (CDL), has announced its intention to make an offer to purchase the remaining 24% of the ordinary shares in MCK for $2.25 per That valued the company at just over $237 million and represented a 25% premium to Friday’s closing price of $1.80. CDL has maintained a majority stake in MCK since 1999, increasing its stake to 76% by the end of 2024.

Ascott accelerates Oakwood signings. Ascott Ltd., the lodging business unit 100% owned by Singapore-based CapitaLand Investment, has accelerated the expansion of its Oakwood brand, signing 16 new properties in 2024, a 30% increase over the previous year. This includes a crop of four Oakwood Premier signings since the brand’s update of Oakwood in early 2024. The recently signed Oakwood Premier properties include Oakwood Premier Adelaide, Oakwood Premier Luohu Shenzhen and a new property in Bali. In Singapore, the Oakwood Premier brand returns with Oakwood Premier Draycott Singapore, located in the Orchard Road area.

Daiwa adds in Japan. Tokyo-based Ichigo Hotel REIT Investment has appointed Osaka-based Daiwa House as the property management company for The OneFive Marine Fukuoka in Japan, a hotel asset the REIT acquired in December.

Whitbread is adding 1,000 rooms in the UK. Whitbread, the parent company of the UK’s largest hotel brand, Premier Inn, has added more than 1,000 new rooms to its growing UK network since March 2024, the start of the FY24/25 financial year. Over the past 11 months, Whitbread has opened seven new Premier Inn and hub by Premier Inn hotels.

IHCL adds in Surat. Indian Hotel Co. Ltd. (IHCL) partners with Dashrath Desai to sign a new hotel in Surat, India under the Vivanta brand. Located opposite Surat International Airport, the 125-key Vivanta Surat will be IHCL’s 29th hotel in Gujarat including 10 in its pipeline.