Latest HITs: Highgate grows in SF; Aimbridge adds Terrapin; Wyndham Alltra in Vietnam

ESA adding 8 in Florida. Extended Stay America has entered into an agreement with Chicago-based BASK Development for eight new Extended Stay America Premier Suites located throughout major markets in Florida. . BASK operates throughout the United States, with 30 hotels under management and an additional six under construction. Extended Stay America currently has 36 Extended Stay America Premier Suites open and operating throughout the United States.

Radisson grows in Pakistan. Radisson Hotel Group has signed with J7 Group to develop two new hotels in Islamabad, Pakistan. The Radisson Blu Hotel & Residences, Islamabad, and Radisson Hotel Islamabad Multi Gardens are set to open in the next three years. The 432-room Radisson Blu Hotel & Residences, Islamabad, will be part of a mixed-use development near Islamabad International Airport. The 165-room Radisson Hotel Islamabad Multi Gardens will be part of the fascinating J7 Emporium mixed-use complex.

Hay Creek expands. Hay Creek Hotels and Restaurants has expanded their presence in the northeast with the announcement of three management deals.  Now with over 30 hotels and resorts under agreement, the company has relocated their corporate headquarters to Denver, Colorado, New York City, and Medellin, Colombia to service the needs of their owners and partners across the country and beyond to Central America. Being added to the portfolio is the 143-room The Grand Summit at Attitash in Bartlett, New Hampshire; the 109-room Hotel Canandaigua, a new build Tapestry by Hilton branded resort located on the northern shore of Canandaigua Lake in the Finger Lakes region in New York; and the Brookmere Hotel, Saratoga Springs, New York, at transformation by Spring City Development of the now closed Longfellows into Brookmere, an upper upscale hotel with 88 rooms and suites, slated to open in mid-summer 2024.

Aimbridge takes Terrapin properties. Third-party management giant Aimbridge Hospitality has assumed management of 71 hotels in the upper midscale and upscale segments previously operated by Houston-based Terrapin Hospitality. With over 8,100 rooms in 21 states, the hotels join Aimbridge Hospitality’s Select Service Division. As part of the transaction, Aimbridge Hospitality will build on its existing relationships with Waramaug Hospitality and Terrapin Investments—two owners in the Terrapin Hospitality portfolio and active investors in the hospitality space. The portfolio Aimbridge Hospitality manages on behalf of Waramaug and Terrapin Investments will increase to 42 hotels from 12 prior to the transaction, and the parties have concurrently entered into a long-term strategic development relationship that is anticipated to generate incremental unit growth as early as the first half of 2023. Terrapin Hospitality Founder and CEO Tony Sherman will continue to serve as an operating partner to Aimbridge Hospitality moving forward.

Highgate, Flynn take SF hotel. New York City-based Highgate and Flynn Properties, a San Francisco-based owner have acquired of The Huntington Hotel in San Francisco’s Nob Hill neighborhood. The duo stated it intends to restore and elevate the property via a comprehensive renovation of its public areas, including the Big 4 Restaurant, as well as guest rooms and the spa, and reopen the property in 2025. Highgate reportedly took over from Deutsche Bank New York Branch a delinquent $56.2 million loan on the hotel, which went into default last year. Los Angeles-based Woodridge Capital bought the 136-room hotel in 2018, paying $51.9 million, according to real estate documents.

Mondrian to Abu Dhabi. Ennismore has announced the first Mondrian hotel project in the United Arab Emirates – the 221-room Mondrian Abu Dhabi, a collaboration with the Al Hazoom Group in the heart of the city and set to open in 2024. The project, which includes 80 serviced apartments, six restaurants and bars and a lagoon with ocean views, has broken ground and will join the Mondrian portfolio consisting of seven operating hotels.

Brisbane sale. Pellicano Group has sold the 132-key Quest Woolloongabba aparthotel in Brisbane, Australia to Singapore based real estate investment company Invictus Developments for AU$43.8 million. The property benefits from a 12-year WALE by income, with 94% generated by a lease to Quest. Sam McVay of McVay Real Estate, who negotiated the off-market sale stated, “Hotel investment volumes topped AU$2 billion in the last 12 months and we’re seeing record levels of buyer demand for Australian hotels.”

Wyndham yacht in Vietnam. Wyndham Hotels & Resorts will launch the first Wyndham Alltra in Asia Pacific under a partnership with Vietnamese private yacht manufacturer, Alliga Eternity Company Ltd. The Wyndham Alltra Cat Ba superyacht will have 300-cabins expected to open in June 2026. The yacht will include eight F&B outlets, a series of meeting rooms, swimming pool and gym. Wyndham said it will continue to explore potential properties to sign with Alliga. Already in the works, Alliga also plans to build a second superyacht resort in Nha Trang, central coastal city of Vietnam.

Hotel Equities aligns for growth. Hotel Equities (HE) and National Hospitality Services (NHS) formed a strategic alliance with NHS’s portfolio of 38 hotels integrating into HE’s management platform. Terms of the deal were not announced but the combined portfolio now includes approximately 300 hotels and resorts throughout the United States and Canada. NHS’s nearly 1,200 associates will bring HE’s total to more than 9,000. The deal gives HE added depth in the Midwest.

ARTOTEL grows in Indonesia. Indonesia’s ARTOTEL Group has acquired operator Milestone Pacific Hotel Group (MPHG), which has six brands – namely Maxone, Nite & Day, Zia, Ruma Ruma, Marc, and One of a Kind. MPHG manages 45 hotels located in several provinces and second-tier regions in Indonesia. The hotels managed by MPHG target the middle and economy-class markets. The deal gives ARTOTEL more than 100 hotels in its system after managing only 17 properties in 2020. It has another 50 new hotel projects that will fall under ARTOTEL Group management from the first quarter of 2023 to 2025.