Latest news: Another Florida Hyatt could sell; second Echo Suites; US flat for July

Blackstone tied to Florida deal. Blackstone is in talks to acquire the 286-key Hyatt Regency Clearwater Beach Resort and Spa on Florida’s Gulf Coast from Houston-based Westmont Hospitality Group for around $200 million, according to a report in Bloomberg. The report said a transaction hasn’t been finalized yet and both parties didn’t comment for the story. Westmont paid about $121 million for the hotel in 2016. Last week, the Hyatt Regency Orlando sold for $1.07 billion.

Second Echo Suites opens. Wyndham Hotels & Resorts has opened its second Echo Suites extended-stay hotel in Plano, Texas, after opening its first in Spartanburg, South Carolina, in July. The ECHO Suites Extended Stay by Wyndham Dallas Plano/Frisco is owned by Topeka, Kansas-based Gulf Coast Hotel Management and is one of 25 Echo Suites hotels that Gulf Coast Hotel Management plans to open in the coming years. Wyndham has nearly 270 Echo Suites in its pipeline, with several hotels scheduled to open in the next few months.

US hotels flat in July. U.S. hotels reported mostly flat performance comparisons year over year in July, according to CoStar data. Occupancy was 68.8% (down 0.5%), ADR was $161.69 (up 0.5%), and RevPAR was $111.18 (flat). Among the top 25 markets, Oahu Island in Hawaii experienced the highest levels in each of the three key performance metrics: occupancy (up 4.5% to 88.3%), ADR (up 1.4% to $310.46) and RevPAR (up 5.9% to $274.13). The markets with the lowest monthly occupancy included Phoenix (56.9%) and New Orleans (58.9%).

Sonesta incentive program. Newton, Massachusetts-based Sonesta announced a new program that provides a 2% incentive to franchisees who utilize Sonesta’s procurement program for purchasing needs. Owners will receive the 2% incentive based on their spending with Sonesta-contracted suppliers under the Avendra program and other Sonesta-negotiated contracts. The incentive will be paid quarterly as a credit on franchise fee statements. Sonesta says the program is the industry's first comprehensive program of this scale.

Banyan debuts in Japan. Singapore-based Banyan Group is debuting its flagship Banyan Tree brand in Japan with the grand opening of the 52-key Banyan Tree Higashiyama Kyoto in the heart of Kyoto’s historic Higashiyama Ward.

Keshav adds in Georgia. San Diego-based Keshav Management acquired the 78-key Residence Inn Macon in Georgia on August 8 from an institutional seller for an undisclosed amount. Hunter Hotel Advisors represented the seller.

Landmark relaunches in NJ. Plainfield, New Jersey-based Landmark Hospitality is relaunching the former Grand Summit Hotel in Summit, New Jersey, as The Albion Summit. The 156-year-old boutique hotel will be the first in Landmark’s newly established The Albion Hotels collection.

Grenada recovers quickly. The Grenada Tourism Authority said visitor arrivals have increased by 10% over 2019 and 5% over 2023 following Hurricane Beryl. In addition, visitor numbers have risen by 20% in Q1 and Q2 compared to 2019 and 18% compared to 2023. Travel intelligence and data analytics company ForwardKeys said in its analysis of the impact of Hurricane Beryl that Grenada “has shown impressive resilience, quickly bouncing back to normal booking levels."

W. Virginia governor fights for Greenbrier. West Virginia Governor Jim Justice, who is running for one of the state’s Senate seats, is in a legal fight over The Greenbrier hotel that he owns before it’s auctioned off next week due to unpaid debts. On Monday, around 400 employees at the hotel received a letter from an attorney representing health care provider Amalgamated National Health Fund saying they will lose coverage August 27 unless the Justice family pays $2.4 million in missing contributions. The coverage would end the day the hotel is set to go to auction, which Justice’s attorneys have asked a judge to stop. Justice bought The Greenbrier out of bankruptcy in 2009. The hotel has hosted U.S. presidents, royalty and a PGA Tour tournament from 2010-19.

Criterion secures conversion financing. London-based Criterion Capital has secured £25 million in financing from the Bank of London and The Middle East PLC for an office-to-hotel conversion in Trafalgar Square in London. The three-year loan facility will aid in the rejuvenation of the upper floors of the Trafalgar Buildings, converting them into Zedwell Trafalgar Square. The project is part of Criterion’s U.K. expansion strategy for Zedwell, which has more than 7,000 rooms in its pipeline.

Japan has record visitors again. In July, Japan set a second straight monthly record for visitors as the weak yen and summer holidays propelled a tourism boom. According to Japan National Tourism Organization data, the number of foreign visitors for business and leisure was 3.29 million, an all-time high for any month and topping the previous record of 3.14 million in June.

Minor Hotels adds in Indian Ocean. Bangkok-based Minor Hotels is opening its first NH Hotels & Resorts branded property in the Indian Ocean on September 1. The 51-key NH Maldives Kuda Rah Resort is located in South Ari Atoll, about 25 miles by seaplane from the capital Malé, and has more than 50 well-established dive sites.