Latest news: JRK buys in Puerto Rico; Banyan Tree rebrands; UK deals down

JRK acquires dual-branded property in PR. Los Angeles-based JRK Property Holdings has acquired a dual-branded 275-key Hyatt property in San Juan, Puerto Rico from the Puerto Rico-based PRISA Group for an undisclosed amount. The property within the Puerto Rico Convention District includes a 149-room Hyatt Place San Juan and 126-room Hyatt House San Juan. Both properties have had recent renovations and benefit from their proximity to the 600,000 sq. ft. convention center and 476,000 sq. ft. Distrito T-Mobile arena.

Fattal to Paris. Israel’s Fattal Group has entered France by acquiring from Tikehau Capital the 59-room Prélude Opéra boutique hotel in Paris. The price was not disclosed. The previous operator, Welfi Hospitality Management, did a complete renovation of the property in 2020. Fattal has more than 270 hotels in 20 countries.

Banyan Tree rebrands. Singapore-based Banyan Tree Group is changing its name to Banyan Group and reiterated a pipeline of 19 new properties and residences that will debut this year in locations like Cambodia, China, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam and Mexico. Banyan said in the first nine months of 2023 its hotels achieved higher RevPAR (up 44% compared to the same period in 2022 and up 27% compared to the same period in 2019). The company said through nine months in 2023, residence sales reached 90% of its 2022 total. Banyan said China has been a strategic driver for the company with a 49% increase in RevPAR through nine months in 2023 compared to 2022. The company has doubled its brand portfolio since 2019 and currently has 12 brands, 75 hotels and resorts and 14 branded residences across 2022.

UK deals down 57%. There were £2 billion in hotel transactions in the U.K. in 2023, down 57% from the 10-year average, according to property adviser Knight Frank. Q4 transactions were the highest, totaling £615 million in deals and representing 31% of total transactions. Knight Frank said annual investment in the U.K. declined for the third straight year because of the current credit mark, elevated costs and widening bid-ask spreads. The investment volume was down 37% from the previous year. Excluding the COVID-impacted year of 2020, investments were at their lowest since 2012. Foreign investments in 2023 totaled over £760 million, 39% of the total deal volume, while activity from continental European investors was up 40% in 2023 to over £350 million.

Weekly U.S. performance decreases. U.S. hotel performance from December 31 to January 6 decreased from the previous week, while year-over-year performance improved, according to CoStar. For the week, occupancy was 46.8% (down 0.7%), ADR was $152.17 (up 7.2%) and RevPAR was $71.28 (up 6.4%). Among the top 25 markets, New Orleans saw the largest YOY increase in each of the top metrics (occupancy 61.2%, up 36.5%; ADR $211.90, up 43.5%; RevPAR $129.62, up 95.9%) because of the Sugar Bowl, FAN EXPO New Orleans and Mardi Gras parades. New York City posted the second highest gains in ADR ($260.35, up 33.6%) and RevPAR ($189.85, up 49.9%), while Las Vegas and Dallas saw the steepest RevPAR declines ($124.81, down 38.3%; and $49.03, down 18.6% respectively).

Zeus adds hotels in Italy, Greece. Athens-based Zeus International Hotels and Resorts has acquired hotels in Milan, Italy and Thessaloniki, Greece from Athens-based PRODEA Investments for an undisclosed amount. The purchase of the 207-key Dolce Milan Malpensa and the Lazart Hotel, which is a member of the Trademark Collection by Wyndham, is part of a strategic shift for the company into buying privately owned hotels in Greece and Europe.

Scarlett, Everwood partner. Chicago-based Scarlett Hotel Group and Orlando-based Everwood Hospitality Partners have formed a strategic partnership to combine their resources in hospitality investment and management. The hotel management side is merging under the Scarlett brand, while the investment side will combine under the Everwood brand and change its name to Everwood Capital Partners. Everwood will focus on investment, asset management, development and capital deployment. The combined firm will oversee 17 hotels across the U.S. with several properties in the pipeline.

Denver hotel sells. Florida-based Chatham Lodging Trust has sold the 180-key Hilton Garden Inn Denver Tech Center to an undisclosed buyer for approximately $18 million. An approximate $6 million renovation of the property was planned for 2023 but not completed due to the pending sale. Chatham owns 38 hotels across the U.S.

JLL optimistic on select-service, extended-stay outlook. JLL released its “U.S. Select-Service and Extended-Stay Hotel Trends and Outlook 2024” report. Its key findings include that there is an optimistic outlook for the sectors because of a growing consumer base; more customers are being captured in primary markets, signaling a supply shift; and select-service and extended-stay hotels form a larger portion of total U.S. hotel liquidity because of rising yields and better operating performance. The study also said the sectors have been more attractive for lenders because of the lower cost to build and durable profit margins. Click here to download the report.

IHG’s 700th hotel in China. IHG Hotels & Resorts has opened its 700th hotel in greater China. IHG opened its first hotel in China in 1975 with the Holiday Inn Golden Mile Hong Kong and just celebrated its 600th hotel opening a year and a half ago. The company also introduced "The IHG Greater China 700 Club" of recently opened hotels across its brand spectrum. The group includes: Regent Shanghai on The Bund, InterContinental Wuxi Taihu New City, Kimpton Qiantan Shanghai, The Xanadu Guangzhou, Vignette Collections, Hotel Indigo Wuxi Taihu New City, HUALUXE Sanya Yalong Bay Resort, Crowne Plaza Jinan Runhua, voco Changsha Airport, EVEN Zhongshan City Center, Holiday Inn Chengdu East and Holiday Inn Express Shanghai NECC.

Radisson expands in UK, India. Brussels-based Radisson Hotel Group is expanding its portfolio with new openings in the UK and India. The 150-key Radisson RED Twickenham, situated at Twickenham Stadium (one of the world’s largest rugby stadiums), is set to open in 2024 with a full rebrand to Raddison RED in 2025. Radisson also announced the opening of Park Inn by Radisson Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh, India. The company partnered with Usharani Developers on the property.

Palace Resorts changes name. Miami-based Palace Resorts has changed its name to The Palace Company, according to an announcement on January 9. The company has four brands: Palace Resorts, Moon Palace Resorts and Baglioni Hotels & Resorts, which it acquired last year. Baglioni has properties in Rome, Florence, Apulia, London and the Maldives.

Lemon Tree adds in India. New Delhi-based Lemon Tree Hotels is opening in 2025 the 75-key Lemon Tree Hotel Meerut in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Last month, Lemon Tree signed two new Indian properties: the 60-key Lemon Tree Hotel, Mussoorie, which will open in 2025, and the 80-key Lemon Tree Hotel, Kundapura, which will open in 2027.

Archipelago adds Kenyan resort. Jakarta-based Archipelago International integrated the Ocean Beach Resort in Kenya into its ASTON Collection Hotels portfolio on January 1. The 35-key resort is located on the sandy beach dunes in Malindi.

Coury names new COO. Dallas-based Coury Hospitality has promoted Andrew Casperson to chief operating officer. Casperson joined Coury last year as the executive vice president of operations.

Mission Hill promotion. Denver-based Mission Hill Hospitality has promoted Mike Wilbert to senior managing director and head of acquisitions. Wilbert joined the company when it was launched in March 2021 and previously worked for Tishman Hotels, Apple Hospitality REIT and HEI Hotels & Resorts.