Latest news: Six Senses to Pennsylvania; more SLH at Hilton; big travel tech merger

Six Senses in Pennsylvania. IHG Hotels & Resorts is opening a Six Senses luxury resort and branded residence complex at the confluence of Western Pennsylvania’s Allegheny and Clarion rivers. The Six Senses RiverStone Estate will have 77 rooms and 40 branded residences and is scheduled to open in 2028. The property will occupy nearly 1,200 acres and is anchored by a three-story stone mansion carefully restored by the estate’s former owner, the late Dr. Art Steffee. This marks the latest growth for the Six Senses portfolio across North America. In August, IHG and Six Senses announced the signing of a new mountain resort in Telluride, Colorado.

More SLH properties on Hilton site. Hilton is expanding its global luxury portfolio with 102 boutique SLH properties available for booking on September 17 through Hilton’s direct channels. This marks the completion of onboarding nearly 400 SLH properties to the Hilton partnership.

Travel platform launched. San Francisco-based venture capital firm Thayer Ventures and San Francisco-based Derive Ventures have formed the Thayer Investment Partners (TIP), a new platform for innovative startup companies. Thayer Ventures' Chris Hemmeter and Derive's Founders Tyler Carrico and Mike Scott will serve as managing partners for the new platform, which expects to launch a new investment fund in the coming weeks. Previous funds launched by Thayer Ventures and Derive Ventures, respectively, will continue to be managed as they have been since inception and new funds will be managed under the combined TIP leadership.

Pacific adds in Phoenix. Irvine, California-based Pacific Hospitality Group is partnering with Morristown, New Jersey-based Berger Holdings and Kissimmee, Florida-based JWG Investments, an affiliate of Sunbelt Holdings, to open for its newest independent lifestyle hotel under the Meritage Collection in Phoenix. The 236-key hotel is scheduled to open in fall 2026. The construction financing for the project is being provided by First Watford City, North Dakota-based International Bank and Trust.

S4 Global Investments adds in Florida. Port Charlotte, Florida-based S4 Global Investments has acquired 101-key Suburban Studios Fort Myers in Florida from an undisclosed buyer for an undisclosed amount. Hunter Hotel Advisors assisted with the transaction.

New LivAway Suites in Utah. Bellevue, Washington-based West77 Partners and Lehi, Utah-based LivAway Suites are developing a new 126-key LivAway Suites extended-stay hotel in Vineyard, Utah, which will be the brand’s third location in the state. LivAway Suites said it plans to break ground on over 50 hotels across the U.S. by the end of 2026.

Wyndham debuts new Super 8 design. Wyndham Hotels & Resorts has unveiled its next generation guestroom design for its Super 8 by Wyndham hotels. The company said the INNOV8TE 2.0 design package combines stylish upgrades with increased operational efficiency and is available for hotel owners across the U.S. and Canada. This is the 50^th anniversary for Super 8, which has more than 2,600 hotels worldwide.

SLS Hotels debuts in Europe. Los Angeles-based SLS Hotels & Residences is debuting in Europe with the 471-key SLS Barcelona in Spain which is scheduled to open in December. The hotel has six distinct restaurant and bar concepts, three pools, a spa, and extensive events space. SLS is part of Ennismore, which formed in 2021 and is a joint venture with Accor.

Holiday Inn debuts in Pakistan. IHG Hotels & Resorts is debuting the Holiday Inn & Suites in Pakistan by signing a franchise agreement with Islamabad-based MGC Developments to launch 150-key Holiday Inn & Suites Islamabad DHA II. The hotel is scheduled to open in August 2028 and will join IHG’s portfolio of more than 1,000 operational Holiday Inn hotels globally. IHG currently has 193 hotels operating across nine brands in South West Asia, Middle East and Africa with a pipeline of 160 hotels due to open in the next three to five years.

Accor adds in Africa. Accor is opening its first M Gallery hotel in sub-Saharan Africa with the 105-key Gem Forest Hotel Nairobi - MGallery Collection in Kenya. Nairobi, Kenya-based Jit Group owns the property.

Centara adds in Thailand. Bangkok-based Centara Hotels & Resorts has signed a hotel management agreement with the 39-key Varivana Resort Koh Phangan in Thailand. The resort originally opened in January 2020.

Archipelago adds in Philippines. Jakarta, Indonesia-based Archipelago International has partnered with Philippines-based Cebu CFI Community Cooperative to bring two hotels to the Philippines in Taft, Manila, and Caretta, Cebu. The Taft property will have 207 rooms and the hotel in Caretta will have 216 rooms.