Latest news: Texas firm buys in NYC; two Alamo hotels sell; biz travel up in Q2

MML acquires in NYC. Austin-based MML Hospitality has acquired the luxury Nine Orchard hotel in the former Jarmulowsky Bank Building on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City from DLJ Real Estate Capital Partners for $92 million. New York City-based DLJ purchased the property and a neighboring building back in 2012 for $41 million and made extensive renovations on both properties.

State of Texas buys two hotels. The Texas General Land Office, the Columbus, Ohio-based investment firm Rockbridge and the Alamo Trust purchased the Menger and Crockett hotels in San Antonio. The Alamo Trust stated that the transactions are intended to help protect the Alamo’s historic grounds in downtown San Antonio, as the hotels are being incorporated into the makeover of Alamo Plaza, which has a new visitor center and museum opening in 2027. The hotels stand on land that once formed part of the agricultural fields of Mission San Antonio de Valero, the 18th-century Spanish mission now known as the Alamo.

$79.3M Miami refi. A joint venture between MetLife Investment Management and MDM Group has secured a $79.3 million refinancing for the 357-key JW Marriott Marquis Miami. JLL facilitated the transaction and the loan was provided by Madison Realty Capital and Newbond Holdings’ institutional lending platform, Madison Newbond. The 41-story downtown Miami property recently a $16 million renovation in 2023.

Q2 business travel price hikes. Overall business travel cost increases accelerated in the second quarter, with hotel rates in major cities for business travel expected to rise further in 2026, according to American Express Global Business Travel’s Business Travel Pulse report. The Pulse’s business travel price index—based on data from Amex GBT’s data lake combined with analysis by its consulting team—shows that business travel prices were up 2.6% year-over-year in the second quarter, up from a 0.6% year-over-year increase in the first quarter. The report also highlighted the cities that are projected to see the largest increases in hotel prices in 2026, using its data along with inflation and GDP forecasts from the International Monetary Fund and modeled with open-source software Prophet. In North America, Amex GBT projects the largest increases will be in Toronto (5.8%) and New York (4%). In Europe, Amex GBT projects hotel prices will increase 4.8% year-over-year in Madrid, 4.2% in London, 3.7% in Berlin and 2.4% in Paris.

Accor names CEO for South Asia. Accor has appointed Ranju Alex as its CEO for South Asia (covering India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka). Ranju was most recently the regional vice president for South Asia for Marriott International and began her career with The Oberoi Group in 1993. She has been in several leadership positions with Marriott.

Alyvate partners with Bay Street. Singapore-based Alyvate Hospitality is partnering with Fremont, California-based Bay Street Hospitality VCC as asset manager for select hospitality assets across Southeast Asia. Bay Street Hospitality operates a variable capital company (VCC) structure and targets joint ventures with leading operators and developers worldwide

Miiro adds in Europe. Miiro, the new lifestyle boutique hotel brand from Haryana, India-based InterGlobe Enterprises, is further expanding in Europe with the project December opening of the 64-key Miiro Palais Rudolf in Vienna, Austria. This will be Miiro’s debut in Vienna and the fifth launch in just 16 months. Miiro has hotels in Paris, Barcelona, London and Gstaad, Switzerland and has more in the pipeline for 2026. In addition to Miiro, InterGlobe has hotel properties in Amsterdam, Munich, Prague, Budapest, Hamburg and Melbourne.