Latest news: Forte partners; RLJ, Expedia report; Ascott adds in Malaysia

Forte partnership. London-based luxury operator Rocco Forte Hotels and Italy’s Emerald Pine Capital are partnering to acquire and strategically reposition assets in prime gateway and leisure markets in European and the Middle East. The partnership aims to deliver an attractive investment profile, while offering current asset owners a streamlined mechanism to harness rising luxury travel demand. Expansion will prioritize the repositioning of existing inventory alongside the development of new assets. Emerald Pine Capital was founded by Fabrizio Grena and Alessandro Ferrante, who worked together at Goldman Sachs focusing on real estate direct investments, platforms, special situations and loan portfolios, deploying over €10 billion during their 30 years of combined investment experience.

RLJ beats on margins. RLJ Lodging Trust beat the Street on better margins. A weaker top-line was more than offset by better margin performance (hotel-level expenses were down slightly YOY), according to R.W. Baird. RevPAR growth was -2.1%, ADR was -0.5% and occupancy was -1.6%. Total revenues were -1.4%. Performance was negatively impacted by outsized renovation disruption and expected weakness in Austin. RLJ now expects the low-end of the guidance ranges to be the most likely outcome due to a softer than previously anticipated 3Q25 outlook. Its portfolio is being impacted by renovation disruption and tough market-specific comparisons, including in Austin, Texas, as well as in Houston and Tampa, Florida in 3Q25.

Strong quarter from Expedia. Expedia Group bookings up 5% to $30.4 billion in 2Q25, while revenue increased 6% to $3.8 billion year over year. The increase in revenue was attributed to its B2B arm and advertising, which were up 15% and 19%, respectively. Booked room nights were up to 105.5 million, a 7% year-over-year increase, with this metric driven by B2B with strong international performance. Adjusted EBIDTA also increased by 16%. Results were still tempered by softer U.S. travel demand and consumer spending.

China renovation, conversion record. China's construction pipeline stood at 3,733 projects/672,224 rooms at the close of the second quarter, according to Lodging Econometrics, including 2,712 projects/482,138 rooms under construction. Projects scheduled to start construction in the next 12 months stand at 352 projects/62,292 rooms, while 669 projects/127,794 rooms are in the early planning stage. Construction starts in the second quarter stood at 192 projects/30,570 rooms. Combined hotel renovations and brand conversions reached an all-time high project total at 213 projects/38,661 rooms, up 3% by projects YOY. The upper midscale chain scale continues to lead China's pipeline with 1,194 projects/182,541 rooms, representing 32% of all projects in the total pipeline. The upscale chain scale reached an all-time high project and rooms at 1,072 projects/225,407 rooms, up 9% by projects and 3% by rooms year-over-year (YOY).

Ascott adds in Johor Bahru. The Ascott Ltd., the Singapore-based lodging business owned by CapitaLand Investment, has been appointed by Coronade Properties Sdn Bhd (Coronade Properties) to manage the hotel component of the Coronation Square integrated development located in the Ibrahim International Business District (IIBD) within the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ). Operating under Ascott’s flagship namesake brand, the 207-room Ascott Coronation Square Johor Bahru will serve as a flagship hospitality development in the JS-SEZ and is expected to open in 2029. The collaboration represents the first major hospitality partnership since the landmark JS-SEZ agreement between Malaysia and Singapore in January 2025. The project also marks the debut of the Ascott brand in Johor Bahru and will be the sixth Ascott-branded property in Malaysia.

$40M construction loan closed. Sevierville, Tennessee-based Aatmos has successfully closed a $40 million construction loan for the 130-key The Scoundrel, a new Marriott Tribute Portfolio hotel in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Phoenix-based Arriba Capital secured the financing.

Marriott dividend, buyback. Marriott International declared a quarterly cash dividend of 67 cents per share of common stock. The company also increased the authorization to repurchase the company’s Class A common stock by an additional 25 million shares, which are in addition to the approximately 7.4 million shares that remained available as of July 30, 2025. Year-to-date through July 30, the company has repurchased 6.4 million shares for $1.7 billion.

India IPO. India’s Prestige Hospitality Ventures Ltd., the hospitality arm of Prestige Group has secured regulatory approval from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for its proposed ₹2,700 crore initial public offering.  The IPO will consist of a fresh issue of equity shares worth ₹1,700 crore and an offer for sale of shares worth ₹1,000 crore by its parent company, Prestige Estates Projects Ltd. The proceeds from the fresh issue will be used for debt repayment, strategic acquisitions, and general corporate purposes. Prestige owns and develops luxury, upper-upscale, and upper midscale assets. At the start of the year its portfolio included seven operational properties with 1,445 keys, three ongoing projects with 951 keys and nine upcoming properties expected to add 1,558 keys.