Latest news: Choice, AAHOA aid for Cali; Stanley makeover; $68M refi in New Jersey

New Choice campaign for Cali wildfires. Choice Hotels International has launched a new campaign benefitting the American Red Cross relief efforts to help people impacted by the 2025 California wildfires. Choice Privileges members’ donations to the Red Cross will now be eligible for a match from Choice Hotels of up to $25,000. Additional donations may come from Choice Hotels associates and matching through Choice Gives, the company’s corporate charity donation matching program.

AAHOA launches Initiative for California wildfires. The AAHOA (Asian American Hotel Owners Association) has announced the launch of the Hope & Haven: California Wildfire Recovery Initiative, which will support communities devastated by the ongoing wildfires in California. The program includes a room-night donation program.

Historic Colorado hotel will get makeover. Colorado is moving forward with its plan to purchase The Stanley hotel in Estes Park, Colorado, according to the Denver Post. The Colorado Education and Cultural Facilities Authority approved issuing up to $475 million in bonds for the eventual purchase of the hotel, which will have a substantial makeover. The proposed funding for the project is about $415 million, but that amount isn’t finalized. The funding will help fund a $61 million addition to the 65-key hotel, a new covered entryway, lobby and an events center. The Stanley Hotel inspired the Overlook Hotel in Stephen King’s 1977 novel The Shining and its 1980 film adaptation.

2 new Wyndham Reside properties in DC. Wyndham Hotels & Resorts is partnering with Reside to open the two new Washington D.C. properties under the ‘Reside, a Wyndham Residence’ line. Building on the successful launch of the first residence-style accommodations earlier this year, the two new properties, the 81-key Reside Navy Yard and the 67-key Reside NoMa mark the latest milestone in the 10-year tie-up between Wyndham and Reside.

$68M refi in New Jersey. Mineral Resort & Spa and its partner Wild Turkey Golf Club reportedly have secured $68 million in refinancing debt from Deutsche Bank for the 485-room Crystal Springs Resort near Hamburg, New Jersey. The nonrecourse loan has a sub-300 spread over SOFR. Newmark advised on this transaction. 

Ashford Trust says RevPAR increased in Q4 YOY. Dallas-based REIT Ashford Hospitality Trust reported early Q4 results of 66% occupancy, ADR of approximately $190 and RevPAR of approximately $126, which represents a 3% year-over-year increase from Q4 2023. Ashford Trust said October RevPAR was approximately 4.5% higher than a year ago. Hotel Investment Today spoke with president and CEO Stephen Zsigray recently about moving on from COVID debt, transitioning from selling to acquiring assets and the lessons he’s learned six months into the job. As previously announced, the REIT also said it will close its offering of Series J and Series K non-traded preferred stock on March 31.

Historic Miami hotel redevelopment. Aventura, Florida-based Keyah Real Estate Group has won approval from the City of Miami Beach Planning Board and will next be reviewed by the Historic Preservation Board to redevelop the Haddon Hall Hotel in South Miami Beach, including the addition of adjoining construction for a new 262-room hotel.

Ritz-Carlton Budapest closes. The 200-key Ritz-Carlton, Budapest, has officially ceased operations and has been rebranded by its owner, Al Habtoor Group, as Al Habtoor Palace Budapest. Originally constructed as an insurance company headquarters, the landmark building was transformed into a luxury hotel under the Le Méridien Hotels & Resorts brand in 2000 before Ritz-Carlton took over its management.

Bob W adds 3 in DACH. Tallinn, Estonia-based Bob W has signed a long-term lease agreement to convert two former hotels and an aparthotel in Munich, Germany, into Bob Ws as it accelerates its expansion across the DACH region. The 71-key Bob W Münchner Freiheit, the 56-key Bob W Munich Old Town and the 71-key Bob W Munich Schwabing will bring the total number of the operator’s buildings in Germany alone to 15, adding 198 units and a total of 3,948 sqm to Bob W’s portfolio. The lease agreements were brokered by Miles Knoll from the Hotel Services Team at BNP Paribas Real Estate GmbH and Prof. Dr. Clemens Engelhardt of Trustberg advised Bob W.

Amex-GBT-CWT deal blocked? The Justice Department’s Antitrust Division has sued to block American Express GBT’s proposed $570 million acquisition of CWT, saying that combining the travel management companies would harm competition for business travel services among multinational clients. According to a story in Travel Weekly, the lawsuit contends that Amex GBT, CWT and their investors were aware that combining the TMCs would reduce competition. The lawsuit identifies Amex GBT, CWT and BCD Travel as the three largest companies competing to serve multinational corporations. Smaller TMCs like Flight Centre Travel Group and Corporate Travel Management “do serve some global and multinational customers,” the suit said, “but none have the available scale and capacity to replace the competition that CWT provides.”

IHG adds in Puri. IHG Hotels & Resorts has signed a management agreement with Ananya Group (Prabhukrupa Estates & Properties) to develop a Holiday Inn hotel in Puri, India. The 100-key Holiday Inn Puri is scheduled to open in late 2028. IHG currently has 46 hotels operating across five brands in India, with a pipeline of 58 hotels due to open in the next three to five years.

Criterion partners with Opportunity London. London-based Criterion Capital is partnering with Opportunity London to attract £100 billion in capital investment for London’s low-carbon real estate, energy, and infrastructure sectors.