Latest news: Azora acquires Medplaya; $35M sale in Knoxville; first IHG in Iceland

Azora acquires Medplaya. Madrid-based Azora has acquired the hotel group Girona, Spain-based Medplaya, which currently operates 15 hotels in Spain with approximately 4,000 rooms. The transaction includes the acquisition of six owned hotels with over 1,500 rooms in Catalonia and Costa del Sol, as well as the operating company, which manages a further nine hotels. Azora acquired seven hotels from Medplaya in 2019, comprising approximately 1,700 rooms, located in Benidorm and the Costa Del Sol, which Medplaya has since operated under lease agreements. The transaction consolidates the Medplaya group, with the ambition to grow the platform through new acquisitions and third-party management contracts, and increases the total number of hotels under the management of Azora European Hotel & Lodging F.C.R. to 54.

Tennessee hotel acquired. Sachchidanand 1109 LLC, which is registered to Shailesh Patel, a Knoxville, Tennessee-based developer with The 9 Group, has acquired the 130-key Cumberland House Knoxville from PHVIF II Knoxville LLC for $35.14 million, according to The Knoxville News. The 9 Group owns several hotels in the Knoxville area. Cumberland House Knoxville underwent a $12 million renovation in 2020. The renovations switched the hotel from a Four Points by Sheraton to a Tapestry Collection by Hilton. The hotel cost $13 million to build in 2005 and was the first hotel built downtown since the 1982 World’s Fair. PHVIF II Knoxville is an LLC registered to Atlanta-based Registered Agent Solutions.

IHG’s first in Iceland. IHG Hotels & Resorts has signed its first hotel in Iceland for its midscale extended-stay brand Candlewood Suites, with the 53-key Candlewood Suites Reykjavik. Signed as part of an agreement with Reykjavík, Iceland-based Alva Capital, IHG will look to develop up to 500 rooms in the city or wider Iceland over the next three to five years, introducing some of IHG’s leading brands, including Holiday Inn Express and Garner hotels, to the Nordics. The hotel will be converted from a former office building. Expected to open in the near future, the hotel will join 13 open and pipeline properties in the Nordics, including the re-entry of IHG in Sweden last year with the opening of voco Stockholm - Kista, Crowne Plaza Copenhagen Towers in Denmark and the Hotel Indigo Helsinki in Finland.

HE adds in Atlanta. Atlanta-based Hotel Equities has been selected to manage the 182-key Hyatt Regency Atlanta Perimeter at Villa Christina, which is owned by Villa Christina LLC. This is the first Hyatt Regency hotel to join HE’s growing portfolio and will be part of the company’s full-service and resort division of hotels. HE now operates 13 hotels in Georgia.

Avion adds in Memphis. Plano, Texas-based Avion Hospitality has assumed management of the 363-key Hyatt Centric Beale Street Memphis in Tennessee. Formerly dual-branded, the property is owned by Carlisle Corp. and will now fully unified under the Hyatt flag. The repositioning consolidates operations, branding and guest experience into one cohesive hotel while preserving the property’s unique architectural and historic elements. 

Crestline adds in Alabama. Fairfax, Virginia-based Crestline Hotels & Resorts has assumed management of the 154-key Embassy Suites Tuscaloosa Alabama Downtown. The hotel recently completed a refresh to its rooms and 5,618 sq. ft. of event space.  Crestline manages 118 hotels, resorts, and conference centers with nearly 17,000 rooms in 25 states and the District of Columbia.

RIU hotel reopening in Costa Rica. Palma, Spain-based RIU Hotels & Resorts said the 1,041-key Hotel Riu Guanacaste in Costa Rica is set to reopen following a complete refurbishment. This resort is located on Matapalo Beach in Costa Rica and originally opened in 2009 as RIU’s first hotel in the country. Three hundred rooms were added last year.

JW Marriott debuts in Tokyo. The 200-key JW Marriott Hotel Tokyo has opened, which is the brand’s first property in the city. Opened on October 2, the hotel is located within the Takanawa Gateway City development and occupies the 23rd to 30th floors of the south tower.

Oman adding hotels. Oman plans to open 9,600 new hotel rooms by 2030, with 2,600 due for completion by the end of 2025, according to real estate advisory group Cavendish Maxwell. The expansion will increase the country’s existing inventory of 36,000 rooms by more than 25%. Revenue from 3-5 star hotels reached OMR141.2 million ($367 million) in the first half of 2025, up 18.2% compared with the same period last year, the company’s latest Oman Hospitality Market Performance analysis shows. Room revenues contributed OMR83.7 million ($217.5 million), representing a nearly 22% increase.