Latest news: First pure Waldorf residences; Hiltons trade in Portugal; Wyndham enters Barbados

First pure Waldorf residences. Developer Related Group and Merrimac Ventures have signed a deal with Hilton to develop Waldorf Astoria Residences in South Florida’s emerging market of Pompano Beach. Directly overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, Waldorf Astoria Residences Pompano Beach marks the brand’s first-ever foray into purely residential concepts and its official entrance into Broward County. Sitting on a two-acre oceanfront site, Waldorf Astoria Residences Pompano Beach spans only 92 residential units and offers design, spearheaded by Nichols in collaboration with KORA, BAMO and Enea Landscape Architecture. Among the most prominent examples of nods to the Waldorf Astoria name is the tower’s Peacock Alley, a homage to the F&B spaces that grace many Waldorf Astoria properties around the world.

Arrow Global acquires in Portugal. U.K.-based investor Arrow Global’s Capital Elements company has reportedly acquired the business that owns the Hilton Vilamoura – Cascatas Golf Resort & Spa and Vilamoura Garden in Portugal, which total 294 rooms. The seller is listed as Grande Buganvília – Projectos e Acttividades Hoteleiras e Imobiliárias Turísticas, S.A., which was owned by Flitptrel Portugal, S.A. Earlier this year, Capital Elements purchased for €250 million Saviotti – Empreendimentos Turísticos, which owned the eight Dom Pedro hotels and five golf courses. The Arrow Group is reportedly also in the process of purchasing for €100 million from King Street Capital Management and Kronos the luxury resort Palmares Ocean Living & Golf, located in Lagos, Portugal, in the Algarve. In Vilamoura, Arrow Global has a large real estate investment underway in the Algarve with the Vilamoura World project, where €400 million have already been invested and a further €500 million is planned for development.

Stunning Mideast growth. Middle East hospitality and residential projects are booming with consultancy Knight Frank reporting $1.9 trillion in investment is currently underway, with Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt accounting for 90% of the total investment. The report stated that the KSA leads the regional investment chart with projects worth $1.2 trillion. The UAE and Egypt followed suit with $300 billion and $200 billion earmarked, respectively. HVS has stated that the number of quality hotel rooms in the region grew fivefold from about 100,000 in 2010 to 540,000 in 2022, with occupied room nights growing from 27 million to 135 million. An additional 180,000 keys are expected to enter the region over the next five years, which is forecast to increase occupied room nights to 184 million by 2028.

8M Real Estate sold. Ashish Manchharam has reported sold his stake in 8M Real Estate in Singapore to Hong Kong-based majority shareholder Crane Capital. He is stepping down as CEO. The real estate investment company’s portfolio has grown to 70-plus assets worth about S$1.4 billion in Singapore. These comprise mainly conservation shophouse properties in the Boat Quay and Chinatown historic districts. The portfolio also includes assets in Dickson Road in Little India, Jalan Besar and Holland Village. About half of the portfolio’s floor area is leased out for food and beverage (F&B) and retail use. The rest is for office, hotel and residential uses. The portfolio includes three boutique hotels operated by Ascott under The Unlimited Collection brand. A fourth hotel, 21 Carpenter, is set to open at the end of this year.

Wyndham enters Barbados. The Wyndham Grand brand is now taking reservations for its newest resort, the 422-room all-inclusive Wyndham Grand Barbados, Sam Lord’s Castle Resort & Spa. The property was developed by Barbados Tourism Investment and will be managed by Wyndham Hotels & Resorts. The secluded, ocean-front hotel marks Wyndham Hotels & Resorts’ entrance into Barbados and will begin welcoming guests beginning October 12. A  formal grand opening is expected in early 2024. The all-new construction resort includes 37 suites and at peak operation will offer more than 10 dining venues.

Accor to Kyrgyzstan. Accor has signed a deal SK Development to open the first Swissôtel in Kyrgyzstan, which will be located on the shore of Issyk-Kul, one of the largest lakes in Central Asia and scheduled to open in 2026. The new Swissôtel will be built near the Kosh-Kol village and located on the territory of Kyrgyzstan's first international golf resort with an 18-hole course, a Golf Academy and extensive infrastructure. The year-round resort with a total area of 105 hectares will offer 110 rooms and apartments of various categories.

Accor adds in Hungary. Accor is expanding in Hungary by signing a deal with Xanga Investment and Development Group, one of the largest investment and development groups in Eastern Hungary, to develop an ibis Styles at Debrecen Airport. Scheduled to open in 2025,  the newly built property will offer 73 rooms and 20 apartments.

Limestone buys in Madrid. Zug, Switzerland-based Limestone Capital has acquired from Hotel Investment Partners (HIP) the 88-room Hotel Axel on Calle de Atocha, Madrid. HIP is the owner of resort hotels in Southern Europe owned by Blackstone-managed funds. This marks Limestone's second hotel acquisition in Spain. “We are deeply committed to the growing hospitality sector in Europe and actively exploring numerous avenues for value-add acquisition and growth,” said Limestone CEO Benjamin Habbel.

Good YOY performance in US. As expected because of the Jewish holidays, U.S. hotel performance for September 24-30 was lower than the previous week, but year-over-year comparisons were improved, according to CoStar data. Occupancy was 66.7% (+0.8% YOY); ADR was $157.89 (+4.6% YOY); and RevPAR was $105.31 (+5.4% YOY). San Francisco/San Mateo experienced the largest year-over-year increases in occupancy (+10.9% to 83.2%) and RevPAR (+22.6% to US$215.61). Washington, D.C. also eclipsed 20% in RevPAR growth (+20.3% to US$154.13). Oahu Island (+10.3% to 79.0%) and Minneapolis (+10.0% to 67.1%) were the other two markets to report double-digit occupancy growth. New York City once again posted the highest jump in ADR (+13.7% to US$342.45). Atlanta saw the steepest declines in occupancy (-6.4% to 64.6%) and RevPAR (-7.7% to US$79.56).

W adds in UK. Marriott International has signed an agreement with Relentless Developments and Salboy Ltd to bring W Hotels to Manchester, England, within the city’s new St Michael’s 180,000 sq ft mixed-use development. Slated to open Q1 2027, W Manchester, with 162 rooms, will be the brand’s third property in the UK, with sister property, W Edinburgh set to open Q4 2023.

Swissôtel adds in Turkey. Accor and Fenix Companies Group will introduce the Swissôtel Antalya Kalkan in Turkey in 2025, marking the brand’s debut in the country. The hotel will boast 245 rooms and include a 900 sq m fitness and spa zone with a fitness center, beauty lounge, yoga space, sauna, steam chamber, traditional Turkish bath, and massage suites. Swissôtel has 34 existing hotels across 20 nations and another 33 in the works.

JLL leadership. JLL has appointed Patrick Saade head of the JLL Hotels & Hospitality group Global Hotels Desk, which specializes in coordinating international capital by connecting interested investors with Hotels & Hospitality assets and portfolios for sale. Saade has spent 13 years with JLL.