The latest news on global development and M&A activity.
Hyatt acquires soft luxe platform. Hyatt Hotels Corp. plans to acquire Mr & Mrs Smith, a
London-based travel club platform that provides direct booking access to a curated
and growing collection of over 1,500 boutique and luxury properties. Hyatt will
acquire 100% of the asset-light platform for an enterprise value of £53.0
million in cash consideration. The deal gives World of Hyatt members more
global luxury options, including in more than 20 countries where there are
currently no Hyatt hotels such as Fiji, Croatia, Iceland and Anguilla. Following
the projected second quarter closing, Hyatt plans to unveil direct booking
access to properties within the Mr & Mrs Smith platform through Hyatt’s
distribution channels. Also, more than 100 Mr & Mrs Smith colleagues are
expected to join Hyatt’s Commercial Services team, including Tamara Lohan who
will serve as Mr & Mrs Smith CEO, reporting to Mark Vondrasek, Hyatt’s
chief commercial officer. James Lohan will serve as Mr & Mrs Smith chief
creative officer.
Aman adds in KSA. Aman has announced two projects in the Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia in partnership with Diriyah Co., including the 78-key, 34-residence Aman
Wadi Safar near Riyadh and the 120-room Janu Diriyah, located within close
proximity to the Unesco Heritage Site of At-Turaif close to the historic city
of Riyadh. The Janu-branded hotel is set to open in 2026 and no date was given
for Aman Wadi Safar.
Crescent grows in Oklahoma. Crescent Hotels & Resorts has added the Shangri-La
Resort & Marina in northeast Oklahoma to its Latitudes: Lifestyles by
Crescent collection. The 119-room hotel is located at the tip of Monkey Island
on the shores of Grand Lake O' The Cherokees.
Green brand grows in UAE. Eco-conscious, Dubai-based Earth Hotels will open the first
of its GCC-based properties in Q1 of 2025, the 265-key Earth Shore, Marjan
Island in Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates. The first opening by Earth
Hotels will be the Earth La Revolucao in the UNESCO heritage city of Porto in
Portugal in late 2024, closely followed by Earth Shore, Marjan Island.
Additional expansion within the United Arab Emirates and KSA is planned over
the next two to three years.
2022 Euro deal volume. According to the annual HVS European Hotel Transaction report,
transactions for 2022 totaled €13.3 billion, an 18% fall on the previous
year, although the average achieved price per room rose 13% to €235,000 on the
back of price rises in portfolio transactions. Single asset transactions totaled
€8.8 billion for the year, a drop of 14% from 2021. The UK was again the
most liquid market during 2022, while Spain retained the second position and
France replaced Germany as the third-most-active investment location. European
buyers accounted for more than 76% of all single asset transactions, with net
acquisitions of €1.1 billion. Portfolio sales declined 25% during 2022
with total volume at €4.5 billion, although the average price per room was
42% higher. Real estate investment companies were the most active buyers and
sellers by total volume in 2022, while institutional investors were the largest
net buyers, acquiring €2 billion more assets than they sold.