Latest news: $25M renovation in Alabama; AAA predicts July 4 record; Georgia hotel sells

$25M renovations for Alabama hotel. Columbus, Georgia-based Ram Hotel Management’s $25 million in renovations to the former Bluff City Inn in Eufaula, Alabama, are back on track after major setbacks following COVID. The city owns the building and Ram Hotel Management is converting it into an 85-key boutique hotel called The Former House, which will be branded under a Marriott brand. Ram Hotel Management pursued numerous tax credits to support restoring the historic building. The project was originally announced in 2020 and the renovations are scheduled to be completed in Fall 2026.

Five Star acquires in Georgia. Dalton, Georgia-based Five Star Group acquired the 93-key Courtyard Dalton in Georgia from an institutional seller on June 17 for an undisclosed amount. Hunter Hotel Advisors facilitated the transaction. The hotel was last renovated in 2016.

AAA predicts record July 4 travel. AAA is projecting that 72.2 million people will travel at least 50 miles or more from home over the Independence Day holiday period from Saturday, June 28 to Sunday, July 6. This year’s domestic travel forecast is an increase of 1.7 million travelers compared to last year and 7 million more than in 2019. AAA’s Independence Day forecast includes two weekends instead of one to reflect holiday travelers’ flow better. AAA projects 61.6 million people will travel by car, a 2.2% increase over last year and the highest volume on record. AAA projects 5.84 million travelers will fly to their destinations, which is also a new record and a 1.4% increase over the previous record set last year.

Hyatt layoffs. Hyatt Hotels has laid off 30% of its U.S. guest services and support teams, according to the company. The layoffs happened on June 17 and included roughly 70 employees in Hyatt’s Americas operations center in Marion, Illinois. A Hyatt spokesperson said, when asked by Hotel Investment Today, “We realigned our Global Care Center (GCC) operations in response to the evolving nature of guest inquiries and shifting business needs. With this evolution came a reorganization in our Americas GCC operations with a staffing reduction of approximately 30% across our guest services and support teams.”

Rebel creates new division. New York City-based development and management company Rebel Hotel Co. has launched Renegade Hotels, a new select-service division. It will debut with the transition of the Fairfield Inn Clovis, Comfort Inn Clovis and the yet-to-be-built Hyatt Place Clovis.

Pandox buys more shares of Dalata. Pandox said last week it had acquired, through Pandox Ireland DAC (part of the Pandox Consortium), almost 1.7 million ordinary shares of Dalata Hotel Group for €6.30 per share. This purchase represents approximately 0.8% of Dalata’s issued share capital. Earlier this month, Pandox AB and Eiendomsspar AS made a bid for Dalata that was rejected by the company’s board on June 3 because it said the bid undervalued the company.

KSA tops 100 million tourists. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia had around 116 million domestic and inbound tourists in 2024, a 6% increase compared with 2023, according to the Ministry of Tourism’s 2024 annual report on the tourism sector. Total tourism spending—for domestic and inbound tourism—reached approximately SAR 284 billion, reflecting 11% growth year-over-year. Domestic tourism also experienced solid growth with 86.2 million domestic tourists in 2024, marking a 5% increase compared with 2023 and domestic tourism spending reached SAR 115.3 billion in 2024.

Valor signs 3 in Africa. Atlanta-based Valor Hospitality Partners has signed three new hotel management contracts in Namibia. The three deals are all with IHG Hotels & Resorts to manage three new-build properties in Namibia, namely the Vignette Collection Dunes Resort Swakopmund making its debut in the country, Holiday Inn Walvis Bay and voco Windhoek CBD.

Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection’s new season. Marriott’s Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection has announced its Winter 2026–2027 itineraries, introducing an expanded portfolio of luxury yachting cruises across French Polynesia, Hawaii, and Asia-Pacific aboard the Evrima and Luminara. The season will feature 32 new voyages and will sail from October 2026 through April 2027.