Latest news: St. Regis to Hawaii; Intercontinental back to Philippines; ALH adds 1,000 rooms in Texas

Marriott, KWHP adds St. Regis in Hawaii. Marriott International has signed an agreement with Memphis, Tennessee-based Kemmons Wilson Hospitality Partners (KWHP) to bring the 146-key The Resort at Kapalua Bay, a luxury oceanfront resort located on Maui’s northwest coast, into the St. Regis brand. Marriott has assumed management of the hotel’s operations and it will remain open during renovations. Following completion, the property will join the St. Regis portfolio in 2027. The resort is set on approximately 25 acres of oceanfront and situated within the larger Kapalua Resort community. Marriott has around 30 open properties and six in the pipeline in Hawaii.

Intercontinental returns to the Philippines. IHG Hotels & Resorts is bringing back one of its luxury brands to the Philippines with the signing of the 212-key InterContinental Manila. Scheduled to open in 2032, the hotel will mark InterContinental’s return to Manila after more than 15 years. The InterContinental Manila will be located in Bonifacio Global City (BGC), also known as Global City or The Fort, a 240-hectare master-planned district in Manila. The hotel will join a global portfolio of more than 240 InterContinental hotels and resorts worldwide, alongside a growing pipeline of two properties for the brand in the Philippines and 104 hotels in the pipeline globally.

ALH adds 1,000 rooms in Texas. Houston-based American Liberty Hospitality (ALH) has expanded its third-party management into Central and South Texas, adding a portfolio of 1,000 rooms. The new portfolio is split between full-service and focused-service properties and features Marriott, Hilton, IHG and independent brands, including Estancia del Norte San Antonio, Staybridge Suites San Antonio Downtown Convention Center, TownePlace Suites by Marriott San Antonio Universal City/Live Oak, among others.

$30.6 loan for Big Bend portfolio. Four Yucca, LLC and its development partner, Austin-based Byways Hospitality, have secured a $30.6 million multi-tranche capitalization for the acquisition and restoration of the West Texas Big Bend Historic Hotel Portfolio. The portfolio consists of three assets: the 28-key Holland Hotel in Alpine, the 30-key Hotel Limpia in Fort Davis, and the 21-key Maverick Inn in Alpine, representing 79 guestrooms, two restaurants, two bars, and more than a century of operating history in the Texas Big Bend region. The capital stack includes Historic Tax Credit (HTC) equity generated from qualifying historic designations of the hotels with a USDA Business & Industry (B&I) guaranteed loan serving as the anchor senior debt facility, and PACE financing tied to qualifying improvements at the properties.  CooperWynn Capital secured the financing.

Hilton adds in Australia. Hilton is partnering with Singapore-based Invictus Developments to debut the Motto by Hilton brand in Australia with the signing of the 152-key Motto by Hilton Sydney City Centre. This is Hilton’s seventh brand in Australia and the hotel is scheduled to open in late 2027. There are currently 10 Motto by Hilton properties in urban locations around the world and the Australian expansion is part of a pipeline of 23 additional properties.

LBA adds 2 in Mississippi. Dothan, Alabama-based LBA Hospitality has expanded its management portfolio with the addition of two Mississippi properties: the Hilton Garden Inn Biloxi and the Hilton Garden Inn Hattiesburg.

CoralTree adds in Utah. Englewood, Colorado-based CoralTree Hospitality has added its fourth property in Utah with 402-key Pioche Village Park City. The residential resort is located near the Deer Valley East development and will join the CoralTree Residence Collection, a portfolio of vacation rentals and residential resort communities.

Aspen GM arrested. Henning Rahm, general manager of the Little Nell Hotel from July 2022 until late last fall, was arrested last week on a felony theft charge arising from an internal Aspen One investigation that shows he misused more than $400,000 in corporate funds for personal gain, according to a story on the Aspen Daily News. Rahm, 45, was released from custody after posting a $25,000 cash bond. A bond hearing in his case has been scheduled for April 20 in Pitkin County District Court. He had worked for Aspen Skiing Co. and Aspen One, which became SkiCo's parent company in 2023, since 2011. Aspen One terminated him last fall following its investigation.