Latest news: Atlantis to Hawaii; CBRE raises GDP forecast; new look for HI Express EMEAA

Atlantis resort in Hawaii. The first Atlantis resort in the U.S. is coming to Hawaii after a California company purchased two oceanfront parcels for $216 million, according to Travel Weekly. The resort would be built on a vacant 26.3-acre plot of land next to Aulani, A Disney Resort & Spa on the west side of Oahu. The other Atlantis resorts are in the Bahamas and Dubai. Arcadia, California-based Newage Ko Olina purchased the land, along with a second 17.3-acre oceanfront parcel, from China Oceanwide, according to Pacific Business News. The resort will have 500 rooms and 500 condos, and the timeline for building the hotel is roughly five years.

CBRE raises GDP forecast. CBRE raised its 2025 GDP forecast by another 10 bps to 2.4% as part of its “U.S. Hotels State of the Union” report for January. The company also said despite falling rates, the number of CMBS loans has remained roughly the same. November 2024 RevPAR increased 0.6%, slightly below the YTD average of 0.8%, and short-term rentals continued to take share from hotels, with demand growing 5.1% compared with a 0.8% increase in hotel demand. October’s total hotel revenues were above the 2.1% YTD trend. The report said hotel wage growth slowed to 3.1% in October 2024, from 5% in October 2023, despite an increase in job openings per hotel.

New public design for EMEAA Holiday Inn Express. IHG Hotels & Resorts has debuted a new Holiday Inn Express public space design for hotels in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Africa (EMEAA) launching later this year. Holiday Inn Express Next Generation 5 will make its debut in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia when Holiday Inn Express Riyadh opens its doors in 2026, with 10 projects in the U.K. and Continental Europe confirmed as early adopters and a further 20 in the pipeline. Holiday Inn Express has 3,206 open properties and 340,054 rooms worldwide, with 644 properties in its pipeline.

Davenport adds in Spokane. Spokane, Washington-based Davenport Hotels will debut the 48-key The Louie Davenport Hotel in Spokane in March. The new boutique property was formerly the Davenport Lusso hotel and had a multi-million-dollar renovation, rebrand and name change. The Louie will honor the legacy of Louis “Louie” Davenport, the visionary hotelier whose influence shaped Spokane’s iconic hotel scene in the early 20th century.

IHCL reports strong earnings. Indian Hotel Co. Ltd. (IHCL) announced 29% revenue growth and 32% EBITDA growth as part of its third-quarter earnings for India’s largest hospitality company. IHCL said it’s had 11 consecutive quarters of record performance, with the hotel segment reporting revenue growth of 16%, resulting in an EBITDA margin of 40.9%. IHCL CEO Puneet Chhatwal said the company set a new growth benchmark with 55 signings and 20 openings through the first three quarters of this financial year, with 85% of these signings being asset-light.

Lemon Tree adds in India. New Delhi, India-based Lemon Tree Hotels has signed a new property, the 46-key Lemon Tree Hotel Valsad, Gujarat. The property will be managed by Lemon Tree Hotels subsidiary Carnation Hotels and is scheduled to open in 2029.