Latest news: Investment in Concord; public hotels report card; Four Seasons to Africa

Concord partners invest in operating company. Owner-operator of more than 150 hotels, Concord Hospitality, Raleigh, North Carolina, has received investments into its operating company from Whitman Peterson and The Aztec Group, two of its long-term real estate partners who have been instrumental in molding Concord’s strategic direction. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Whitman Peterson Co-Founder and Co-Managing Partner Wes Whitman, said, “We believe Concord is one of the most trusted, vertically integrated hospitality platforms in the industry and is well positioned for significant continued growth and success in the coming years."

Development at Bal Harbour Shops. Whitman Family Development, the family firm which has owned Bal Harbour Shops in Florida for more than 60 years, has filed plans to develop a project encompassing a 70-room upscale hotel and 600 residential units, 40% of which will be designated as workforce housing. The project is made possible through Florida’s Live Local Act, a bipartisan bill passed by the Florida legislature last year in response to the critical need for housing statewide. The law enables developers to unlock additional height and density allowances on commercial properties, so long as 40% of the project is set aside as workforce or affordable housing for at least 30 years. In exchange, local municipalities must approve Live Local projects through an administrative review process.

Global hotel stocks outperform S&P. Global hotel stocks in 2023 — measured by the Baird-STR Hotel Brand Sub-Index — outperformed the S&P 500, according to the analyst. The index gained 44.2% for the year versus the S&P 500’s 24.2% price-only return. The index has outperformed the S&P for the last three years and 11 of the last 15 years. Baird found that IHG Hotels & Resorts’ stock was the best performer (+59% total return) overall while Marriott International’s stock was the best performer on its coverage list (+53%) with  Hyatt Hotels and Hilton Hotels close behind (+44% for each). Choice Hotels International (+15%) and Wyndham Hotels & Resorts (+2%) lagged behind as lower-end chain scale RevPAR gave back some of the pandemic’s early successes and as Choice’s pursuit of Wyndham has become more public and hostile.

New Four Seasons Zanzibar resort. Four Seasons and Dubai-based Albwardy Investment have partnered to open a luxury resort in Zanzibar in East Africa. The 60-key Four Seasons Resort Zanzibar will be the company’s second property in Tanzania and will sit on the beaches of eastern Zanzibar. Four Seasons and Albwardy have partnered on properties in Buenos Aires, South Africa, Vietnam and the Seychelles.

CapitaLand acquires Hotel G. Singapore-based CapitaLand Group acquired the 308-key Hotel G in Singapore from Hong Kong-based Gaw Capital Partners for S$240 million ($180 million). Gaw Capital Partners originally purchased the hotel in 2015 for S$203 million. This move aligns with CapitaLand’s strategy to grow its lodging fee income to S$500 million by 2028.

Ascott signs eight for lyf brand. The Ascott Limited, wholly owned by CapitaLand Investment, has signed eight new properties for its lyf brand. With the growing demand for experience-led social living, lyf has now broadened into a multifaceted hospitality experience with flexible typologies, ranging from coliving accommodation and city hotels to full-service resorts. Currently present in 21 cities with over 5,500 units both operating and in the pipeline, the eight new properties total almost 1,500 units and are scheduled to open over the next four years. The hotels are lyf Bugis Singapore; lyf Brickfields Kuala Lumpur; lyf Georgetown Penang in Malaysia; lyf Canggu Bali in Indonesia; lyf on Sussex Sydney in Australia; lyf Shibuya Tokyo in Japan; lyf Frankfurt in Germany and an additional property in Shanghai. These projects include the first lyf hotels in Bali, Penang, Sydney and Frankfurt. 

Fort Worth hotel explosion injures 21. An explosion on Monday at the Sandman Signature Fort Worth hotel in Texas injured 21 people and is suspected to be caused by a natural gas leak. The explosion blew out at least two floors of the hotel, which opened in March within the historic 20-story W.T. Waggoner Building.

IHG adds voco in Saudi Arabia. IHG Hotels & Resorts will open a voco & Suites Jeddah in Saudi Arabia in partnership with Rusd Group. The 110-key hotel is scheduled to open in September. IHG operates 40 hotels across five brands in the country. 

Marriott adds St. Regis in KSA. Marriott has opened The St. Regis Red Sea Resort in Saudi Arabia, the first private island to open in The Red Sea. The 90-key resort is situated on Ummahat Island in the Al Wajh Lagoon and has access to the newly opened Red Sea International Airport.

New hotel in Stuart. A new hotel will sit on a 1.62-acre site in downtown Stuart, Florida. The project, called Creekside Hotel & Retail, will include a 102-key hotel and a building for retail and a restaurant.

San Antonio hotel sells. The El Tropicano River Walk Hotel in San Antonio, Texas has sold for an undisclosed amount. The 308-key hotel is located in the city’s River Walk district and was sold by El Tropicano Hotel LLC to Trestle Studios, Sopris Capital and The Town Lake Company.

Cheval adds development director. London-based Cheval Collection appointed Taras Ettl as development director as the company pursues more projects outside the U.K. Ettl previously worked for Kingdom Hotel Investments, InterContinental Hotels Group, and Deutsche Hospitality. Last year, Cheval Collection opened its first location outside the U.K. in Dubai and will soon announce a future project in Glasgow.

InterContinental in Auckland. The first InterContinental in Auckland, New Zealand, will open later this month. The 21-story, 139-key luxury hotel will have a rooftop bar, restaurant, and views of Waitematā Harbour.

Rentyle collaborates in Miami Beach. Florida-based Rentyl Resorts is collaborating with DaVinci Hospitality Group and Ferrari Group to brand, develop and manage a historic property that will be turned into a yet-to-be named 44-key boutique hotel in Miami Beach. The hotel will have direct beach access.

New Choice marketing campaign. Choice Hotels International launched its newest multichannel national marketing campaign, its first since fully integrating Radisson Hotels America into its reservations and rewards system. The broadcast ads were written actor Keegan-Michael Key, his partner Elle Key and McKinney, Choice’s creative agency.

New Basq House in Australia. A 32-key Basq House will open next fall in Byron Bay, NSW, in Australia. The boutique hotel will be operated by locally based and independent management firm Jeremy & Jones.

Klarent adds transactions exec. London-based Klarent Hospitality appointed Joe Green as its managing director of transactions to lead the company’s growth plans across the UK and Europe. Green previously worked at CBRE and Amaris Hospitality.

Commonwealth names president. Kentucky-based Commonwealth Hotels appointed COO Jennifer Porter as its new president. Porter will oversee the company’s strategic, operational, and financial operations. Previously, Porter held leadership roles at Winegardner, Hammons/Pyramid Hotel Group and SunStream Hotels and Resorts.

Hunter names new SVP. Atlanta-based Hunter Hotel Advisors is establishing a capital markets team and named Charlie Ryan its first hire. Ryan will be senior vice president of capital markets and will oversee the firm’s debt and capital market activity on a national scale. Ryan previously worked at Sonder and CBRE. 

HHM names new COO. Philadelphia-based HHM Hotels has promoted Dani Elhachem to COO, effective immediately. Elhachem has served in leadership positions at Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Marriott Hotels of Canada and Denihan Hospitality Group. The company also named Mike Murray to the new role of chief business officer. 

MacNaughton names new execs. Honolulu-based MacNaughton Hospitality has named two new executives. John White has joined as director, commercial strategy and Yvonne Gu McDowell is now director, revenue strategy.

Auro appoints two. Greenville, South Carolina-based Auro Hotels has named two new executives. John Krueger will be EVP, investments and development, while Josh Slack will be director of finance.