Latest news: Bahamas resort’s $827M redo; new Kimpton in Texas; Marriott adds in Costa Rica

Bahamas resort sells for $120M. Miami-based Concord Wilshire Capital has acquired the Grand Lucayan Resort in Freeport, Bahamas, from the Bahamian government for $120 million. The deal includes the 56-acre beachfront resort and the Reef Golf Course. Concord Wilshire plans $827 million in redevelopment, which will repurpose the Grand Lucayan Resort into a 36-acre cruise ship destination resort that could accommodate up to 10,000 passengers daily; a 25,000-sq.-ft, free-standing, indoor and poolside casino; a branded hotel and residential resort containing 350 hotel rooms and 120 residential and timeshare units; a 160-acre new Greg Norman Championship Signature Golf Course; and an 18-slip mega yacht marina.

New Kimpton in Texas. IHG Hotels & Resorts is partnering with Houston-based DC Partners to develop Kimpton’s fourth Texas location. The 210-key Kimpton Fredericksburg will anchor the 22-acre mixed-use development, The Meuse, and is scheduled to open in 2027. The hotel will be 90 minutes from Austin and San Antonio and offer over 18,500 sq. ft. of indoor/outdoor flexible event space. The Kimpton Fredericksburg will join the recently-opened Kimpton Santo Hotel in San Antonio as well as Kimpton Pittman Hotel and Kimpton Harper Hotel, both located in Fort Worth. The Kimpton brand currently has 79 hotels open globally, with 61 projects in the pipeline.

Marriott adds in Costa Rica. Marriott International is expanding its all-inclusive footprint in Costa Rica, announcing plans to convert the Dreams Las Mareas Resort & Spa into a JW Marriott All-Inclusive resort. The property is scheduled to begin its conversion in July and join the Marriott portfolio by next spring. Located in the resort and residential community of Costa Elena, the resort will have 415 rooms and 11 F&B outlets as well as 17 swimming pools, 10,000 sq. ft. of indoor meetings space, a 16,000-square-foot spa and a fitness center. Future development plans also call for potential JW Marriott branded residences on an adjacent site.

LA wage increase could kill Hilton expansion. Los Angeles-based Sun Hill Properties Inc. said it will pull out of a planned $250 million expansion of its 495-key Hilton Los Angeles Universal City Hotel in Los Angeles as well as a room block agreement for the 2028 summer Olympics in Los Angeles if the Los Angeles City Council approved a minimum wage hike proposal, according to a story in the Los Angeles Times. The proposal says hotels with 60 or more rooms will pay their workers at least $30 an hour by 2028, along with a new $8.35 per hour health care payment. The council has already approved the measure, but because the vote wasn’t unanimous, the proposal requires a second vote. Sun Hill CEO Mark Davis told the LA Times before the vote that if the council approves the proposal without significant changes, Sun Hill will “absolutely will be pulling out of the room block for the Olympics” and the the hotel’s investors will also kill the 395-room expansion.

Crescent adds in Hawaii. Fairfax, Virginia-based Crescent Hotels & Resorts is now managing the 299-key The Renaissance Honolulu Hotel & Spa in Hawaii. The hotel is one of Honolulu’s newest luxury hotels, featuring 187 hotel rooms and 112 branded residences.

Consumer sentiment falls again. U.S. consumer sentiment fell to the second-lowest level on record and inflation expectations climbed to multi-decade highs amid growing concerns about tariffs, according to Bloomberg. The preliminary May sentiment index declined to 50.8 from 52.2 a month earlier, according to the University of Michigan. That was lower than all but one estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists. Nearly three-fourths of respondents spontaneously mentioned tariffs, indicating that trade policy continues dominating consumers’ economic views. The topic crosses partisan lines, including a notable share of Republicans bringing it up.

IHG adds in Hotel Indigo in UK. IHG Hotels & Resorts is partnering with New York City-based The Fragrance Group to sign the 153-key Hotel Indigo Torquay in Devon, U.K. The hotel is the 26th open and signed Hotel Indigo in IHG’s UK & Ireland portfolio and is scheduled to open in the second half of 2025.

Hilton’s milestone in KSA. Hilton is partnering with Al Musbah Group to sign the 329-key Spark by Hilton Makkah Aziziyah, which is expected to open later this year and will be the first Spark in the Middle East and Africa. Hilton also said it is set to hit the milestone of 100 hotels trading and in the pipeline in Saudi Arabia this year. With 14 brands trading and in the pipeline, it has announced multiple new signings with plans to add more than 21,000 rooms in locations across the country. Hilton currently operates 20 hotels in the Kingdom, with another 77 properties in the pipeline, accounting for a quarter of branded hotel rooms under construction in the country.

LE: Middle East pipeline up. Through the first quarter, the hotel construction pipeline in the Middle East increased to 634 projects and 158,656 rooms, up 4% by projects and 10% by rooms year-over-year. Through Q1, projects currently under construction stood at 327 projects and 84,434 rooms, up 8% by projects and 5% by rooms YOY, while projects scheduled to start construction in the next 12 months stood at 158 projects and 47,201 rooms, up 19% by projects YOY and 55% by rooms YOY. Projects in the early planning stage stood at 149 projects and 27,021 rooms. New project announcements in the Middle East at the first quarter close stood at 41 projects and 9,068 rooms, while new construction starts stood at 39 projects and 6,910 rooms, up 63% by projects and 21% by rooms YOY. The luxury chain scale achieved all-time high totals with 185 projects and 42,268 rooms, while the upper upscale chain scale also reached record highs with 153 projects and 37,946 rooms. Additionally, brand conversions reached record totals with 55 projects and 12,436 rooms. Saudi Arabia was the leading country with 319 projects and 85,416 rooms — a record high room count, while Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, led markets with 87 projects and 17,519 rooms. During Q1, the Middle East opened 9 new hotels and 2,130 rooms. LE is forecasting an additional 99 new hotels and 23,505 rooms to open the rest of the year. LE analysts are projecting 109 new hotels and 20,806 rooms to open in the Middle East by 2026.

Singapore hotel sells. Singapore-based The Garcha Group has sold the 49-key Duxton Reserve, a 49-key boutique hotel in Singapore, to Singapore-based Lotus One Investment for S$80 million, or about S$1.63 million per key. Lotus One Investment is the investment arm of the family office Lotus Singapore.