Latest news: Ashford Hospitality Trust sells two; Raines adds 16 in Texas; Pendry expands in Mexico

Ashford Hospitality Trust sells two more hotels. Dallas-based REIT Ashford Hospitality Trust has announced the sale of the 90-key Courtyard by Marriott Hartford Manchester in Manchester, Connecticut, for $8 million to an undisclosed buyer. The REIT also announced it has signed a definitive agreement to sell the 193-key One Ocean Resort & Spa in Atlantic Beach, Florida, for $87 million to an undisclosed buyer. The two hotels were part of the 12 that AHT announced it was putting up for sale in February as the REIT looks to pay off debt due in January 2026. The Courtyard property has a mortgage loan with an outstanding balance of approximately $5.6 million, and all remaining proceeds from the sale will be used to pay down the REIT’s strategic financing. The sale of the One Ocean property is expected to be completed in June.

Raines adds 16 hotels in Texas. Florence, South Carolina-based hospitality management, development and investment company Raines has entered into a joint venture with Dallas-based Atlantic Hotels Group to add 16 properties to its management portfolio and expand its operations into Texas. The new additions to Raines’ portfolio include Hilton, Marriott and IHG hotels in the Dallas-Fort Worth and Waco markets. The hotels include Aloft Dallas Love Field, Comfort Suites DFW N/Grapevine, Element Dallas Downtown East, Home2 Suites by Hilton McKinney, Hampton Inn & Suites Dallas-The Colony, Hampton Inn & Suites Dallas-DFW Airport North-Grapevine, Hampton Inn Waco, Holiday Inn Express & Suites North Dallas at Preston, Holiday Inn Dallas – Garland, Holiday Inn Express & Suites Waco South, Homewood Suites by Hilton Dallas The Colony, Residence Inn Dallas at The Canyon, SpringHill Suites Dallas McKinney/Allen, TownePlace Suites Dallas DeSoto, TownePlace Suites Dallas Lewisville and TownePlace Suites Waco South. Raines’ management portfolio now includes 56 hotels. The company has established a Dallas office which shares space with Atlantic and will serve as a launchpad for further growth in the region. 

IHG adds 9 in Portugal. IHG Hotels & Resorts has signed nine hotels across Portugal, adding 976 rooms to the country’s pipeline. The signings include the 141-key Kimpton Lisbon, the 80-key Hotel Indigo Albufeira and the 127-key Hotel Indigo Faro, as well as six signings across the Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express brands in Lisbon, Portimão, Porto, Evora, Braga and Beja. IHG operates 20 open hotels in Portugal across seven brands, with 15 in its pipeline.

Pendry Mexico City

Pendry adding in Mexico City. Irvine, California-based Pendry Hotels & Resorts is developing the Pendry Mexico City and Pendry Residences Mexico City, which will open in 2026. The project broke ground earlier this year and will be a joint venture between Grupo TGT, Grupo MRP and Central de Arquitectura. The property will feature 114 rooms and 20 residences.

Travelodge adds 5 in Spain. Travelodge is opening five new Travelodge hotels in Spain (totaling 635 rooms) in Alicante Puerto, Barcelona del Valles, Madrid Alcala de Henares, Malaga Aeropuerto and Murcia. The hotels opened on May 31 after their recent acquisition from Louvre Group. In addition, Travelodge the company has identified 20 targets for potential growth in the country, including Barcelona, Madrid, Valencia, Alicante, Bilbao, Cádiz, Málaga, Palma Mallorca, San Sebastián, Seville, Benidorm, Córdoba, Gerona, Granada, Las Palmas De Gran Canaria, Santiago de Compostela,  Santander, Tarragona, Valladolid and Zaragoza.

Sekisui House sells in Osaka. Japan-based Sekisui House REIT has sold the St. Regis Hotel Osaka to an undisclosed buyer for JPY 21.35 billion, according to HVS. The 160-key property has six food and beverage outlets and event meeting space.

Two Hyatt Houses sold. Singapore-based ARA US Hospitality Trust has entered into conditional purchase and sale agreements through its wholly owned subsidiary ARA USH Chicago to sell two Hyatt House hotels to Old Bridge, New Jersey-based GHM Properties for $31 million, according to HVS. The two properties are the 131-key Hyatt House Philadelphia Plymouth Meeting in Pennsylvania and the 127-key Hyatt House Shelton in Connecticut.  

C-PACE financing for Houston hotel. Lone Star PACE administers Texas’ Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) program and said it facilitated $46.6 million in C-PACE financing for a new mixed-use development near Houston’s Buffalo Bayou Park. A loan of more than $31 million was administered for The Thompson, a 172-room luxury hotel in the project, and another loan of more than $15 million was issued for an adjacent 53,000-sq. ft. retail pavilion. Lone Star PACE partnered with lender Nuveen Green Capital to administer the financing.

Aimbridge names new CFO. Plano, Texas-based Aimbridge Hospitality has named William Davenport as its new CFO, effective July 8. Davenport was most recently CFO of Dallas-based restaurant chain Velvet Taco and was CFO at Dallas-based Topgolf before that. He’s also had senior financial roles at Haggar Clothing Co., Neiman Marcus Group, Brinker International and KPMG Peat Marwick. 

BWH growth in the Middle East. BWH Hotels is growing its portfolio in the Middle East as the company will bring eight new hotels and one new branded residence in the region into its portfolio of brands, with more in the pipeline. The signings include the 150-key Best Western at Taysir Hotel Makkah, 150-key Best Western Plus at Taysir Hotel Makkah, 150-key Best Western Premier at Taysir Hotel Makkah, 48-key BW Signature Collection Jeddah, 91-key Best Western Makarim Palace Rabigh, 120-key Shades, Aiden by Best Western, 200-key Executive Residency by Best Western, Al Shafa Hotel Jeddah, 420-key Best Western Kindah Hotel Makkah and 560-key Best Western Plus Madinah Hotel. The company said The Executive Residency, Al Shafa Hotel Jeddah, the Best Western Kindah Hotel Makkah and the Best Western Plus Madinah Hotel will be directly managed by BWH.

Minor adds two in Sri Lanka. Minor Hotels has added two properties in Sri Lanka and is introducing its NH Collection Hotels & Resorts and NH Hotels & Resorts brands in the country. Minor will manage the two properties, the 219-key NH Collection Colombo Hotel and the 166-key NH Bentota Ceysands Resort, following an agreement with Softlogic Holdings, the properties’ owner.