The latest development and M&A news from around the world.
Hilton Head Island hotel sells. The 63-room Best Western
Ocean Breeze Inn Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, has been sold by Hilton
Head Hospitality LLC to an institutional buyer at an undisclosed price. The new
buyer intends to reposition the property as a Spark by Hilton. Hunter Hotel
Advisors facilitated the deal.
DoubleTree to Jeddah. Hilton has signed a management
agreement for a 164-room DoubleTree hotel in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, scheduled to
open next year following an extensive renovation. The hotel is owned by AlAhli
REIT Fund (1), a listed investment fund managed by SNB Capital. In the coming
years, Hilton expects to grow its portfolio in Saudi Arabia to more than 75
hotels across multiple brands. It currently operates 16 hotels in KSA and has
another 51 under development.
Pendry to Barbados. Pendry Hotels & Resorts is
reportedly developing a hotel and residences on the Caribbean island of
Barbados in St. Peter, along the west coast. The first properties outside the
U.S. for Pendry are slated to open in 2026. The resort will take over the
existing Port Ferdinand Luxury Marina & Residences and include 74
oceanfront rooms and suites and 46 private residences.
Mohari acquires Tao. Luxury lifestyle investor Mohari
Hospitality will acquire Tao Group Hospitality from Madison Square Garden
Entertainment Corp. and other limited partners valued at $550 million. The deal
is expected to close in May. Tao currently has more than 80 branded locations
in over 20 markets. With the purchase of MSG Entertainment’s majority interest,
as well as the stakes of additional third-party investors, Mohari will own Tao
Group together with management, including co-CEOs Noah Tepperberg and Jason
Strauss. As a part of the transaction, Tao Group will enter into a multi-year
agreement with MSG Entertainment for ongoing consulting, marketing, and support
services at Madison Square Garden and Sphere in Las Vegas.
Upper upscale development up. The more than 23,000 upper
upscale rooms in construction right now represent 3.4% of the segment’s
existing supply. That is well above the long-term growth average (+2%) in the
U.S., according to new data from STR. Overall, March 2023 data showed 154,284
room under construction (-0.5%); 239,995 in final planning (+34.6%) and 232,517
in planning (-21.6%). After three
consecutive month-over-month increases, the overall number of U.S. rooms in
construction fell slightly in March, which aligns with patterns in previous
years. Among the chain scale segments, luxury shows the highest number of rooms
as a percentage of existing supply.