Latest news: Marriott expands all-inclusive; c-suite moves at Accor; extended-stay data

Marriott expands all-inclusive brand. All-Inclusive by Marriott Bonvoy has officially launched Marriott Hotels All-Inclusive Resorts with what is expected to be the early 2024 opening of the Marriott Cancun, An All-Inclusive Resort. The property will have 450 rooms, nine specialty restaurants, daily pop-up experiences, multiple water features, and a variety of entertainment to support connection and celebrate local culture. Additional Marriott Hotels All-Inclusive Resorts are set to debut throughout 2024 and 2025, including one in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, and the Marriott Djerba, An All-Inclusive Resort – Tunisia.

Exec changes at Accor. Effective January 1, 2024, Gilda Perez-Alvarado and Maxime d'Angeac have been appointed CEO and artistic director of Orient Express respectively. Management of Orient Express will be based in Paris. Perez-Alvarado will remain chief strategy officer of the Accor Group. At the same time, Omer Acar has been appointed CEO of Fairmont, replacing Mark Willis who becomes advisor to Accor Chairman and CEO Sébastien Bazin. Acar will remain CEO of Raffles, based in New York City.

Extended-stay excels in October. Extended-stay hotels in the U.S. had a very good month in October with growth in supply, demand, average rate, RevPAR and revenues exceeding those of the overall hotel industry, according to The Highland Group data. Extended-stay occupancy declined 1% compared to October 2022 but this was smaller than the 1.6% contraction STR/CoStar reported for the total hotel industry. “The long-term correlation coefficient between the annual change in RevPAR for extended-stay hotels and the overall hotel industry is very high and we expect that to continue during the near term,” said Mark Skinner, The Highland Group.

Soft Thanksgiving week in US. As expected, due to the Thanksgiving holiday, U.S. hotel performance for November 19-25 fell from the previous week, according to CoStar. Occupancy was 49.4% (-1.4% YOY); ADR was $138.29 (+0.9% YOY); and RevPAR was $68.32 (-0.6% YOY).  Among the Top 25 Markets, Oahu Island saw the largest year-over-year increases in occupancy (+9.4% to 76.3%) and RevPAR (+16.3% to $227.92). Las Vegas posted the largest ADR lift (+10% to US$158.13). The steepest RevPAR declines were seen in Minneapolis (-18.8% to $38.93) and San Francisco (-11.4% to $65.99).

Minor adding tented camp. Minor Hotels, Bangkok, is creating the Anantara Kafue River Tented Camp suspended 3.5 metres above the ground on the banks of the Kafue River in the center of Western Zambia. Owned by Agro Safari, a division of a Zambian company, and scheduled to open in 2025, the property will have 12 tents, including a 600-square meter Presidential Villa. The camp is bookended by two islands which will accommodate a spa and wellness area with a swimming pool, a restaurant and bar, a lounge and a traditional African boma. Anantara Kafue River Tented Camp. Anantara already has a strong presence in Southern Africa with The Royal Livingstone Victoria Falls Hotel by Anantara in Zambia and two small island resorts in Mozambique. In addition, the group has joint venture ownership of Elewana Collection, a portfolio of luxurious camps and lodges in East Africa.

Columbus hotel trades. The 400-room Sheraton Columbus (Ohio) Hotel at Capitol Square has reportedly been acquired at auction by an LLC linked to Dallas hotelier Joshua Joseph for $9.6 million after being listed for bids starting at $4.2 million. The propert was last purchased by Hotel 75 E State LP in 2016 for $20.9 million, according to records.

WorldHotels growth. WorldHotels has added the 121-room Grand Hotel Karel V in Utrecht, the Netherlands, to the WorldHotels Luxury collection. Amenities include a Michelin-starred restaurant, a brasserie, spa and 10,000 square meters of gardens. The vision of the hotel is to remain focused on the top luxury segment and to operate on a top culinary level.

Kempinski’s 19^th in China. Kempinski Hotels has signed a management agreement for a luxury hotel and residences complex in China’s Xiong'an New Area with the owning company Xiong'an Xiongshang Real Estate Co. Ltd. Located around 100 kilometres southeast of Beijing in Hebei Province, the new Kempinski hotel is scheduled to open its doors by the end of 2026. The property will have 403 rooms and suites as well as 121 residences. It marks the brand’s 19th hotel and residence in Greater China. Xiong'an New Area has seen multiple enterprises as well as Beijing investment companies moving to the region to build a hub for entrepreneurship.

Dusit grows in Malaysia. Dusit Hotels and Resorts has signed a management contract with Malaysian developer Gamuda Land to manage the 280-key ASAI Gamuda Cove – Dusit's first hotel in Malaysia and the first hotel development by Gamuda Land. Slated to open in Q1 2026, the hotel is situated next to the Paya Indah Discovery Wetlands within Gamuda Cove. Spanning 1,530 acres, Gamuda Cove will also include residential and commercial areas to complement a range of eco-friendly tourism attractions. More than 60 Dusit Hotels and Resorts are in the pipeline worldwide.

Goodegg acquisitions. Real estate firm Goodegg Investment, San Francisco, has acquired two hotel assets via its Goodegg Hotel Fund I and Goodegg Growth Fund II, including a Candlewood Suites and Holiday Inn Express in Radcliff, Kentucky, five minutes away from Fort Knox. The goals of these recent acquisitions are to provide first-time and experienced investors with at least $10,000 the opportunity to diversify outside of multifamily and bolster their overall portfolio with strong cash-flowing assets across multiple markets to minimize risk, as well as create balance, and maximize potential returns. Goodegg Hotel Fund I, just like the real estate firm’s Goodegg Diversification Fund II, which achieved an 11.3% investor return in 2022, is designed to acquire prime, select-service hotel assets via a diversified fund. The hotels included are select-service properties specifically geared toward business travelers.

Greek indie adds Minois. Andronis Hotels, a family-owned collection of luxury hotels and villas in Athens and Santorini, Greece, has acquired the 44-suite Minois Hotel Paros, extending its presence to Milos, with a potential upscale establishment tentatively slated to debut in 2025. The hotel will reopen as Andronis Minois in May 2024.