Latest news: Ennismore, Hilton growth; research on travel tech preferences

Hilton adding 3 in Portugal. Hilton has announced a management agreement with Feuring Asset Management GmbH to develop an 84-room Canopy by Hilton Lisbon Praça Sao Paulo; the 75-room Duo Hotel Lisbon, Curio Collection by Hilton; and the 157-key Hampton by Hilton Lisbon Baixa in Portugal. The Canopy and Hampton will debut in 2026 and 2025 respectively, while the Curio Collection property is set to open Spring 2024. Hilton currently has nine trading hotels and 11 pipeline hotels in Portugal. Hilton said it has opened approximately 20 hotels in Europe this year, with around 200 hotels are planned in the next three to five years.

Give travelers new tech tools. Travelers are open to incorporating emerging technologies as part of the travel experience, especially for research and planning purposes, according to new research from MMGY Travel Intelligence. In fact, nearly 2 in 3 travelers relied upon emerging technology during a travel experience in the past year. When asked which technologies they feel have the most potential to improve the travel experience in the next five years, travelers’ top three choices were the Internet of Things (47%), Virtual Assistants (41%) and Virtual Reality (17%). Destination marketers were most enthusiastic about Generative Artificial Intelligence (70%), Virtual Assistants (32%) and Augmented Reality (31%).  Just over half of the DMO leaders surveyed said that they are already using Generative AI (56%) in their marketing efforts (most often for content management), and 46% are likely to use the technology to help make marketing decisions in the next year. Three out of every 4 travelers surveyed expressed concern with protecting their personal data and privacy in relation to using new technology.

Ennimore adds Perth. Ennismore is partnering Ark Capital Partners and Kyko Group to bring a 120-room, bohemian chic Hyde-branded hotel to Pier Street in the heart of the Perth, Australia, CBD in 2024. Property development specialists Kyko Group is the investor for the property and is committed to completely transforming the hotel into something never seen before in Perth. New Hyde hotels are currently planned for Queenstown in Australia, London City, and Bodrum in Turkey.

Hilton deals in Melbourne. Hilton has unveiled its first Curio Collection property in Melbourne, collaborating with Vista Hospitality Group for the venture. Slated to be a part of the Curio Collection by Hilton brand by late 2023, Next Hotel Melbourne will be a 255-room luxury hotel located in Melbourne CBD's 80 Collins precinct. It marks the third Hilton in the city.

ITC adds in India. India-based ITC Hotel Group is opening its fourth Storii hotel in the country in Kolkata, West Bengal. The 30-key resort will open in early 2024 in the South City Retreat District. Three other Storii hotels operate in India: Storii Shanti Morada and Storii Moira Riviera in Goa and Storii Amoha Retreat in Dharamshala. This will increase ITC’s footprint in West Bengal to nine, including four hotels currently under construction.

SLS Brickell sells in Miami. Brickell Miami LLC, an affiliate of Dubai-based Constellation Hotel Holdings, has sold the SLS Brickell Hotel in Miami for $55 million, according to several reports. The buyer was 1300 Brickell Miami LLC, an affiliate of Albania-based Kastrati Group. The sale includes the 120,000 sq. ft. hotel and 4,530 sq. ft. of ground floor retail or restaurant space. The property last sold in 2019 for $43 million.

Island Hospitality to manage Tapestry. West Palm Beach, Florida-based Island Hospitality Management will manage the 100-key Inn of Naples Tapestry Collection by Hilton. Denver-based Mission Hill Hospitality owns the property. The boutique hotel is one mile from the beach and minutes from downtown Naples.

DoveHill invests in Philadelphia dual-brand. Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based DoveHill Capital Management is investing in a dual-branded Philadelphia hotel that will be the 20th property in its portfolio. The 207-key Hilton Philadelphia City Avenue and 122-key Homewood Suites Philadelphia City Avenue operate as one property and share 26,000 sq. ft. of meeting space and 1,300 parking spaces. The Hilton was built in 2000 and fully renovated in 2016, while the Homewood Suites was built in 2005 and fully renovated last year. The property has had over $10 million in capital investments since 2015 and will be managed by DoveHill’s hospitality management company, The Wurzak Hotel Group.

HHM has new Chief Investment Officer. Philadelphia-based HHM Hotels has promoted Shawn Tuli to the newly created role of Chief Investment Officer. Tuli has previously served HHM in leadership of the company’s corporate finance and accounting teams. Tuli will focus on investment, third-party growth, M&A, and overall capital allocation in the new role. HHM has 240 hotels in North America.

Patel new VP for PM Hotel Group. Chevy Chase, Maryland-based PM Hotel Group has promoted Sage Patel to vice president of strategic initiatives, investment and feasibility analysis. Patel joined the company in 2018, and in his new role, he will support the company’s strategic growth and assume responsibility for financial analysis and feasibility. PM operates 77 hotels and resorts across the U.S.

Curator Collection adds 3. Bethesda, Maryland-based Curator Hotel & Resort Collection is adding three hotels to its portfolio: Bernardus Lodge & Spa in Carmel Valley, California; The Pierside Santa Monica in California and Salishan Coastal Lodge by SCP Hotels on the central Oregon Coast near Siletz Bay. The 73-key Bernardus Lodge & Spa had a multi-million dollar renovation in 2015. The 132-key Pierside Santa Monica launched in January after a multi-million renovation. The 205-room Salishan Coastal Lodge by SCP Hotels features an 18-hole golf course and was recently named by Travel & Leisure as one of the top 15 resorts in the Western United States. Curator has a collection of small brand and independent lifestyle hotels and resorts worldwide. It was founded by Pebblebrook Hotel Trust, Davidson Hospitality Group, Noble House Hotels & Resorts, Sage Hospitality Group, Springboard Hospitality, and Viceroy Hotels & Resorts.

Pandox new lease for Copenhagen hotel. Stockholm-based Pandox has signed a new lease agreement for its Hotel Mayfair in central Copenhagen with operator Strawberry and the Hobo brand. The 203-key property is in the middle of a renovation and repositioning. Pandox has owned the property since 2010 and operated the hotel since 2020. It will continue to run the hotel until the renovation is complete and the new lease comes into force, which is expected to take place in the second half of 2024.

Aloft in Fort Lauderdale to open. The Aloft Hotel at Fort Lauderdale Airport by Marriott will open on November 10. The 138-key, 14-floor property is located 3.5 miles from the airport and 1.5 miles from the Port Everglades cruise terminals. Florida-based Green Park Management will manage the hotel.