Latest news: OHS sells in Florida; HQ adds in Brazil; volunteering at ALIS

OHS sells in Florida. OHS Hotels has sold the 74-room Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, for $11.2 million to KKFL LLC, a California-based private investor group making its first hospitality acquisition in Florida. As part of the acquisition, KKFL LLC has engaged ARK Hospitality for third-party management services. Marcus & Millichap represented the seller, while Colliers International represented the buyer.

HQ deal in São Paulo. HQ Hotels & Residences from sbe has signed a letter of intent for its first property in South America. The HQ Hotel São Paulo will be a 100-room property (including 40 luxury suites) set to open in 2028. It will be constructed by INC Urban Developers, a real estate development initiative by Co-Founders Elcio Filho, Philipe Pinheiro, Filipe Lourenço and Gabriella Gama and co-founder Franco Frugiuele, with development consultant Mariana Heath Imbach, managing partner at Clever Hope LDA. HQ Hotels plans to open 50 hotels globally by 2031, 50% of which will be in the U.S.

Volunteering at ALIS. During the Americas Lodging Investment Summit (ALIS) the Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board, Northstar Travel Group, and the American Hotel & Lodging Association joined forces with delegate volunteers and LA Works to assemble 500 support kits for emergency responders involved in the Los Angeles wildfires, ensuring frontline heroes have the supplies they need. “The sense of community demonstrated by ALIS delegates has never been stronger,” said Jeff Higley, president of The BHN Group by Northstar. “We are proud to be a part of an industry that is standing together to help jump-start Los Angeles’ road to recovery by supporting the local hospitality industry and its many employees. We are honored to support these critical organizations and to provide much-needed assistance to those residents in need of a helping hand.”

Matthews, Tribal Partners deal. Real estate developer Matthews and Toronto-based Tribal Partners have joined forces to create Matthews Tribal for an institutional development and investment platform in North America. Together, the companies have delivered projects across Canada, including mixed-use redevelopment projects. Matthews Hospitality is an experienced upscale hotel developer.

CapitaLand grows in Japan. CapitaLand Ascott Trust (Clas) has acquired two freehold limited-service hotels in Japan – ibis Styles Tokyo Ginza and Chisun Budget Kanazawa Ekimae – for 21 billion yen (S$178.5 million). The acquisition is part of Clas’ portfolio reconstitution strategy to enhance the quality of its portfolio and deliver stable returns to its stapled securityholders, said Serena Teo, chief executive of its managers (CapitaLand Ascott Trust Management and CapitaLand Ascott Business Trust Management). The deal is priced at an 8.3% discount to independent valuation and has a distribution per stapled security accretion of 1.6% on a FY2024 pro forma basis. Meanwhile, the blended net operating income (NOI) yield of the acquisition is 4.3% in FY2024. The purchase was funded by yen-denominated debt, as well as the proceeds from Clas’ divestment of four properties in Japan, adopting a natural hedge against currency fluctuations. It divested Infini Garden, a rental housing property in Fukuoka, and three hotels in Osaka – Hotel WBF Honmachi, Hotel WBF Kitasemba East and Hotel WBF Kitasemba West. Teo noted that the FY2024 NOI yield of the two hotels is 230 basis points higher than the blended exit yield of about 2% for the four previous divestments in Japan.

B Corp status for One Aldwych. One Aldwych hotel in London’s Covent Garden has become B Corp. certified, the first and only luxury hotel in the city to achieve this recognition and one of only 18 within the accommodation sector across the U.K. Being a B Corp business marks 26 years of One Aldwych’s commitment to reducing its social and environmental impact. It has overhauled its supply chain with a focus on long-term relationships with like-minded, and where possible, local suppliers and producers. Each year One Aldwych aims to reduce its energy usage by 5% through more responsible use of gas, water and electricity. The hotel’s commitment to charity is a quiet, yet active story, with donations and projects spread across a variety of sectors including supporting seriously ill children through Roald Dahl's Marvellous Children's Charity and London’s homeless through The Connection at St. Martin’s.