Latest news: Equinox adding Nashville; Noble buys 16; Peace Hotel becoming Raffles

Equinox coming to Nashville. A pair of Boston-based companies, The Congress Group and Taurus Investment Holdings, are developing a new Equinox hotel in Nashville as part of a three-tower development, according to the Nashville Business Journal. The development will include the 245-key Park Place Equinox as well as a 239-unit luxury condo tower and a 480-unit apartment building. The Equinox brand is based in New York City and is led by former Four Seasons Hotels and Resort COO Chris Norton. It currently only has one hotel in New York but said it plans to open 33 locations globally in the next decade. 

Noble buys 16 Woodspring. Noble Investment has acquired 16 Woodspring Suites long-term extended-stay properties through two portfolio transactions. Noble said that the portfolio totals just over 1,900 rooms across nine states. “As affordability challenges and workforce mobility reshape how people live, work, and stay, we’re scaling a high-margin, service-light platform that delivers brand-backed reliability without the burden of traditional leases,” said Ben Brunt, Noble’s managing principal and chief investment officer.

Accor, Jin Jiang collab in Shanghai. Accor and China’s Jinjiang International Group will convert the Peace Hotel in Shanghai to the Raffles Peace Hotel Shanghai by 2027. The landmark hotel built in 1929 by Sir Victor Sassoon as the Cathay Hotel became a part of Fairmont Hotels & Resorts in 2010 and will remain open during the transformation. Most recently, Raffles debuted in Sentosa, Singapore, and will open in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia later this year.

Negative outlook for international US inbound. The negative outlook for inbound travel to the US remains, according to the latest data from Oxford Economics. The report expects a decline of 8.7% in U.S. international arrivals for the year overall (compared to a 9.4% decline in its March forecast), with visitation from Canada (-20.2%) and Western Europe (-5.8%) showing the sharpest declines. The report forecasts international visitor spending to fall by $8.5 billion (-4.7%) relative to 2024. The findings show a pullback in Canadian travel to the U.S., with a 35.2% April decline among Canadian land visitors returning from trips to the U.S. and a 19.9% drop in air visitors. During March and April, combined, inbound travel to the U.S. from overseas origins (international minus Canada and Mexico) declined 1.6% compared to last year. Air bookings as of April show continued weakness and 10.8% fewer flights have been booked to the U.S. for the May to July period year-over-year.

New CEO for Vail Resorts. Broomfield, Colorado-based Vail Resorts announced that former and current executive chair Rob Katz has been named CEO. Katz succeeds Kirsten Lynch, who has stepped down as CEO and as a director of the Board. Lynch will remain in an advisory role for an interim period to facilitate a smooth transition.

PM Hotel Group adds in Virginia. Chevy Chase, Maryland-based PM Hotel Group has added management of the 39-key Hotel Burg, a new luxury boutique opening in August in Leesburg, Virginia.

Meyer Jabara adds in Florida. Danbury, Connecticut-based Meyer Jabara Hotels is adding the 87-key Hilton Garden Inn Tampa Northwest/Oldsmar to its management portfolio. This is Meyer Jabara’s first hotel in the Tampa Bay market and its fifth in Florida.

RFR sells in Tel Aviv. New York City-based RFR has sold the 120-key The Jaffa Hotel in Tel Aviv to an undisclosed buyer for $123 million ($1.03 million per room), equivalent to approximately €108.6 million (€905,000 per room). RFR acquired the site in 2006, developed the hotel, and opened it in 2018.

First Tapestry in Hawaii. The 368-key Ambassador Hotel of Waikiki, Tapestry Collection by Hilton on the island of Oahu, has joined Hilton as Hawaii's first Tapestry Collection property. The Ambassador is newly renovated and operated by Highgate.

New Abu Dhabi boutique firm. The financier behind Singapore-based SC Capital Partners is backing a newly established boutique advisory firm headquartered in Abu Dhabi that focuses on real estate, including hotels, according to Mingtiandi. Elaeo Partners has won the support of SC Capital Founder and Chairman Suchad Chiaranussati and Andrew Pettit, co-founder of London-based fund manager Revcap, as the firm seeks to profit from the growing stream of cross-border institutional capital flows between Asia, Europe and the Middle East.