Latest news: Straten buys in Arizona; good week for US hotels; Four Seasons adds in KSA

Straten acquires in Arizona. Phoenix-based Straten has acquired Holiday Inn Phoenix – Chandler in Arizona for $9 million from Scottdale, Arizona-based Caliber. The loan proceeds will allow Caliber to acquire the property and complete an extensive change-of-ownership PIP. Arriba Capital facilitated the transaction.

US hotels up last week. The U.S. hotel industry from December 28 - January 3 reported positive year-over-year comparisons, according to CoStar data. Occupancy was 50.5% (+4.4% YOY); ADR was $175.47 (+3.4% YOY) and RevPAR was $88.65 (+7.9% YOY). Overall U.S. performance was driven by strong leisure demand during the holiday period. Among the top 25 Markets, Minneapolis saw the largest increase in occupancy (+14.9% to 42.7%), Miami reported the highest jumps in ADR (+17.1% to $383.32) and RevPAR (+26.4% to $337.51). Tampa registered the steepest drops in occupancy (-15.2% to 65.8%) and RevPAR (-19.4% to $112.70), while Atlanta posted the largest ADR decline (-8.3% to $98.19).

Four Seasons adds in KSA. Diriyah Co. has signed a joint development agreement with Midad Real Estate Co. to build the Four Seasons Hotel and Private Residences Diriyah in Saudi Arabia. The development is projected to cost $827 million (SAR 3.1 billion) and will include 159 rooms and an undetermined number of residences.

More details on Gencom acquisition. Gencom financed its recent purchase of the 115-key Ritz-Carlton Coconut Grove in Miami with a $62 million loan from Banco Inbursa, according to The Real Deal. Gencom announced the acquisition from Hersha Hospitality Trust late last year. A Gencom-led joint venture originally acquired asset in 2011 and in 2017 sold a majority stake on the property for a reported $24.63 million to Hersha.

a&o adds in UK. a&o Hostels, Europe’s hostel chain with 30,000 beds under management, has acquired two hotel assets in Manchester, U.K., from Ares Real Estate funds and EQ Group. The four-story adjoining properties were previously operated under a franchise agreement with Accor, trading under its budget and mid-market hotel brands ibis and Novotel. Following an £8.2 million refurbishment, the project will total 303 rooms and 1,218 beds have a mix of private rooms (30%), family rooms (30%) and dormitories (40%).

Meliá adds resort. Palma de Mallorca, Spain-based Meliá Hotels International is adding the Holiday World Resort complex to its portfolio. Located in Benalmádena on the Costa del Sol, the three hotels and premium apartment complex that make up Holiday World Resort will become part of Meliá's offering in Málaga as of next March. The Holiday World Resort is owned by Grupo Peñarroya and includes three 4‑star hotels, Holiday World Polynesia, Holiday World Riwo, and Holiday World Village, totaling 864 rooms. With this addition, Meliá increases to 22 the number of hotels operating or under development in the province of Málaga.

Swiss-Belhotel adds in Africa. Swiss-Belhotel International has signed a management agreement with Albushra Real Estate Ltd. for The Gama by Swiss-Belhotel, Kilimani, Nairobi, marking the debut of its newest brand concept and underscoring the group's strategic expansion across Africa. Scheduled to open within the next 12 months, the 155-key The Gama by Swiss-Belhotel, is located in Kilimani, Nairobi.

US travel lost $6.1B in shutdown. The recent federal government shutdown, the longest in U.S. history, caused more than $6 billion in economic losses for America’s travel system, according to research by Tourism Economics for the U.S. Travel Association, which said that the loss was driven by “workforce strain, operational slowdowns and suppressed demand.” The analysis also determined that, on average, the U.S. saw 88,000 fewer trips per day.