Latest news: PAI Partners acquires Motel One; Tennessee hotel sells; buyer of DC hotel named

PAI Partners acquires Motel One Group. Paris-based private equity firm PAI Partners has entered into a proprietary partnership with a consortium led by Dieter Müller for Munich, Germany-based Motel One Group to support its next phase of international growth. PAI will become the majority owner with a share of about 80% in the operating business. Following the transaction, Müller, founder of Motel One, will remain chairman. Independent of the partnership with PAI, Müller will further develop the previously spun-off real estate arm to support further growth. Motel One operates 99 hotels (28,000 rooms) across 13 countries, including the U.K., France and the U.S. The company’s growth has been further accelerated by the launch of its new lifestyle brand, The Cloud One Hotels, with properties in New York, Hamburg, Düsseldorf, Prague and Gdańsk. The deal is expected to close in the second quarter of this year.

Tennessee hotel sells. A joint venture with New York City-based Pulse Hospitality and Chattanooga, Tennessee-based MD Hospitality has acquired the 76-key Homewood Suites by Hilton Chattanooga-Hamilton Place in Tennessee from an institutional seller for an undisclosed amount. Hunter Hotel Advisors facilitated the transaction.

Combia Sussex acquires in DC. Crestview Hills, Kentucky-based Columbia Sussex is the buyer of the 410-key Westin Washington, D.C., City Center, which Bethesda, Maryland-based REIT DiamondRock Hospitality Co. disclosed it sold for $92 million. The buyer is listed in the deed records as CP Washington DC LLC, which is an affiliate of Columbia Sussex, according to the Cincinnati Business Courier. The LLC obtained a $54.9 million loan from JP Morgan Chase as part of the deal.

IHG adds in Japan. IHG Hotels & Resorts has signed an agreement with Odate Royal Hotel Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tokyo-based FET System Inc., to open a 114-key ANA Holiday Inn Iwate Kitakami in Japan in the third quarter of 2025. This project marks IHG’s second collaboration with FET following the opening of the ANA Crowne Plaza Kumamoto New Sky. The ANA Holiday Inn Iwate Kitakami is currently operating as Hotel City Plaza Kitakami and will undergo an extensive renovation and conversion over the coming months. The hotel will join 12 Holiday Inns open and pipeline hotels across Japan. IHG currently has five hotels under three brands in the Tohoku region.

Van der Valk acquires in the Netherlands. Dutch owner-operator Van der Valk has acquired the 320-key Pullman Eindhoven Cocagne in Eindhoven, Netherlands, from Dutch investor Cocagne Holding, for a reported €70 million, according to HVS. Van der Valk’s portfolio comprises over 100 hotels and restaurants across Europe, North America and the Caribbean.

PPF acquires Hilton Prague. PPF Real Estate, the real estate arm of Czech investment group PPF Group, has acquired the 791-key Hilton Prague in the Czech Republic from the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation (IBRC), according to HVS. It is the largest hotel in the Czech Republic and has received investments of over €50 million in refurbishments since 2018. 

IHG debuts Garner in the UK. IHG Hotels & Resorts opened its midscale conversion brand, Garner hotels, in the U.K. The 80-key Garner Hotel Preston Samlesbury is located in northern England and will be operated by KRO Hospitality. It follows IHG and NOVUM Hospitality’s long-term deal to bring more than 50 Garners to Germany. The hotel joins IHG’s global portfolio of more than 117 open or pipeline hotels since the brand launched in 2023. In Europe, alongside 56 Garner hotels set to open in Northern Europe, IHG has announced the first signings in Turkey and Italy.