Latest HITs: Minor grows Avani; Marriott strong in Vietnam; The Pig adds 2

Graduate hooks Austin project. AJ Capital Partners, Nashville, Tennessee, has acquired a property in downtown Austin and a mile for the University of Texas, which will be home to the Graduate Austin. The planned 18-story hotel is expected to open in 2025. The Burt Group will serve as codeveloper of the project alongside the AJ team. There are currently 33 open Graduate Hotels properties across the U.S. and U.K., and three additional properties in various stages of development in Auburn, Alabama; Dallas, Texas; and Princeton, New Jersey.

Vignette to UK. IHG Hotels & Resorts will bring its Vignette Collection to the UK with the signing of The Halyard at Ropewalks Liverpool, Vignette Collection, in partnership with Molo Hotels. The hotel will open later this year under a franchise agreement with Molo Hotels and will be operated by Lighthouse Hotel Management. The 133-key hotel is set in the historic Ropewalks district in the heart of Liverpool. The signing follows signings for the brand across Europe, including in Reit un Winkl, Germany and Budapest, Hungary, and the opening of the first European Vignette Collection hotel in Porto, Portugal. More than 100 properties globally are anticipated to join Vignette Collection over the next 10 years.

Minor grows Avani. Bangkok-based Minor Hotels is expanding its Avani Hotels & Resorts brand by converting five NH hotels in Europe – one in Spain, two in Italy, one in Germany and next year, one in the Netherlands. Coinciding with the European expansion, Avani will also launch in Central and South America with hotels to be added in Mexico and Colombia. The first addition will see Avani make its debut in Spain in June, with the rebranded 101-key Avani Alonso Martínez Madrid Hotel. In Italy the brand will launch with the rebranding of two hotels – first the 65-key Avani Palazzo Moscova Milan Hotel in June, followed by the 144-key Avani Rio Novo Venice Hotel in the summer. Later in the year Avani will also debut in Germany with the rebranded Avani Frankfurt City Hotel with 256 keys. Avani will enter the Netherlands in Q2 2024 with the launch of a 163-key hotel in Amsterdam: the rebranded Avani Museum Quarter Amsterdam Hotel. Later this year will see the launch of the 140-key Avani Cancun Airport Hotel in Mexico in Q3, followed in Q4 by the 66-key Avani Royal Zona T Bogota Hotel in Colombia. Launched in 2011, Avani Hotels & Resorts currently has 38 properties in 20 countries across Asia, Australasia, the Middle East, Indian Ocean, Africa, and one hotel in Europe in Portugal.

Mövenpick to Jakarta. Accor has increased its footprint in Indonesia with the signing of its second Mövenpick property in Jakarta. Scheduled to open its doors in the third quarter of 2023, the 253-room Mövenpick Jakarta Pecenongan will be the result of a complete renovation. Accor has 130 hotels in Indonesia with a pipeline of 53 projects across the country.

De Vere creates Reserve. U.K.-based De Vere has unveiled its De Vere Reserve concept, a collection of historic mansion house estates and mansion houses situated around the Southeast of England and The Cotswolds. The launch of De Vere Reserve marks the completion of a multi-million-pound investment into the group’s five mansion hotels. Accompanying the launch of De Vere Reserve is an upgrade to the De Vere Estate bedrooms for both leisure and business travelers looking for comfort and convenience at a great price.

Marriott, Vinpearl tie-up. Marriott International has signed agreements with Vinpearl, Vietnam’s largest hospitality and leisure chain, for an additional seven hotels and resorts, comprising more than 2,500 rooms. These seven hotels add to the eight hotels announced in 2022, when Marriott first entered into agreements with Vinpearl. three are conversions that are expected to join the Marriott system later this year. Four new builds comprising more than 1,200 rooms are expected to open by 2028. Marriott currently operates 16 hotels and resorts in Vietnam.

2 more Pigs. U.K.-based The Pig Group, acquired last year by KSL Capital Partners, will add properties near Stratford-Upon-Avon and Tunbridge Wells over the next two years. Opening just south of Stratford-Upon-Avon in 2024 will be The Pig-on the Farm, a mid-16th century stone-built farmhouse set amongst 53 acres of pasture and arable land. The group’s 2025 opening will be The Pig-at Groombridge, a 40-plus-key moated manor house in the village of Groombridge, southwest of Tunbridge Wells.

May Day data. upcoming May Day holiday in China is showing strength and ongoing regional travel recovery, but higher airline prices and air supply constraints appear to be suppressing outbound business. Overseas tour bookings for the upcoming holiday from April 29 until May 3 are up 157% from the beginning of April but still lagging peak travel pre-COVID. For example, in February, more than 150,000 Chinese tourists travelled to Thailand, which is still 85% below February 2019 levels. Trips to Japan and South Korea have only recovered to 5% to 10% of February 2019 levels.