Latest news: Novum adds Garners; big deal in Thailand; China's record pipeline

Novum opens 3 Garners. IHG Hotels & Resorts opened its first three midscale Garner conversion in Europe with NOVUM Hospitality. IHG and Novum Hospitality have opened Garners in Hamburg, Elmshorn and Augsburg. The three hotels join IHG’s global portfolio of over 90 opened open or pipeline Garner hotels since the launch of the brand in 2023. The properties were converted from Novum Hospitality’s Yggotel, Select Hotels, and Novum Hotels brands, and follow an announcement between IHG and Novum Hospitality of a long-term agreement to bring more than 50 Garner hotels to the country, in addition to over 50 Holiday Inn – the niu brand collaboration hotels and 12 Candlewood Suites hotels.

Thailand’s biggest single transaction. Thai developer Property Perfect has sold the Hyatt Regency Sukhumvit in Bangkok for 5.055 billion baht (US$155 million). The property owned by Grande Asset Hotels & Property represents Thailand’s largest single asset hotel transaction on record. The sale is part of the company’s strategic plan to strengthen its financial position and reduce debt. The company still owns four other hotels, including the Royal Orchid Sheraton Hotel, The Westin Grande Sukhumvit, Sheraton Hua Hin Resort & Spa, and Sheraton Hua Hin Pranburi Villas.

China record project count. At the end of the 3Q24, China’s hotel construction pipeline reached a record high project count of 3,853 projects with 703,312 rooms, up 4% by projects and 3% by rooms year-over-year (YOY).  There were 2,793 projects/505,106 rooms under construction, a cyclical peak, and up 5% by projects and rooms YOY. LE analysts expect new hotel openings in China to rise in 2025, with 1,101 new hotels with 176,140 rooms forecast to open in 2025. In 2026, analysts expect another 799 new hotel openings with 150,069 rooms to open. Projects scheduled to start construction in the next 12 months stand at 348 projects/60,095 rooms, down a slight 2% by projects and 8% by rooms YOY. Projects in early planning are up 1% by projects and down 1% by rooms YOY, reaching 712 projects with 138,111 rooms. The record-high project and room counts in the total pipeline can be attributed to the continued growth of the upscale and upper midscale chain scales, both of which hit record highs this quarter. Brand conversion totals in China increased 12% YOY by projects and 20% YOY by rooms, with 174 hotels/29,893 rooms. Construction starts also increased in Q3, rising 8% YOY by projects and 10% by rooms, to close the quarter at 241 projects/39,138 rooms.

Corum buys Tribe in Milan. Foruminvest has sold the 240-room Tribe Milan Malpensa to the French institutional investor Corum Asset Management for an undisclosed amount. Foruminvest said it aims to become a major player in the European hotel sector with the new developments of a Ruby hotel in Rotterdam and an ultra-luxury hotel on Lake Como, Italy.

Whitbread grows in Edinburgh. Whitbread has agreed terms with Riverstone Hotels for a new 200-room Premier Inn hotel at Edinburgh Airport. A planning application to the City of Edinburgh Council will be submitted in the New Year. This news follows the announced largest Premier Inn in the north of England at Manchester Airport, which will create a 276-room hotel adjacent to the terminal serving the U.K.’s third busiest airport.

Ascott grows in Vietnam. The Ascott Ltd. has entered a strategic partnership with Van Phu Invest’s Vlasta – Sam Son – to manage Lasong Hotels & Villas Sam Son in the Thanh Hoa province of Vietnam. It marks the debut of The Unlimited Collection brand in Thanh Hoa province, as well as Ascott’s second property under the brand in Vietnam. The property will be developed in two phases. Phase 1, launching on April 1, 2025, will introduce 68 rooms and 20 villa units in Zone 1 of the Vlasta - Sam Son development. Phase 2, scheduled for completion by May 2025, will add 198 additional luxury units in Zone 2. Including this property, Ascott now has more than 9,000 rooms across 36 serviced residences and hotels in key locations in Vietnam.

Big quarter for Melia. Spain's Melia Hotels reported a 40% rise in third-quarter net profit on Monday, attributing the bigger than expected increase to a strong summer season as it reaped the benefits of its investments in luxury rooms in holiday resorts. Melia said net profit for the three months totaled 74.9 million euros ($80.06 million) with revenue rising 2.7% to 584 million euros as the number of foreign tourists in Spain this summer reached a record high. Quarterly revenue per room rose 11% from a year earlier and is expected to keep growing by double digits for the remainder of 2024. Good sales are anticipated for the Canary Islands winter high season and at hotels in cities such as Madrid and Palma de Mallorca, while geopolitical tensions in Europe and the Middle East have had little impact on business. The company is set to open 10 new luxury hotels in China, Milan, Malta, Albania, Spain and Cuba in the coming months.

SAMHI grows in Hyderabad. India’s SAMHI Hotels Ltd. has signed a long-term variable lease for a 170-175-room upper upscale hotel in Hyderabad, which will be managed by a large international operator. The hotel will be completed through the conversion of an office building located on the main arterial road of Hitec City, the largest office micro-market in Hyderabad. The company already owns and operates four hotels with 8781 rooms in Hyderabad across segments. Based FY24 financials, revenue from leased assets contributed 13% to SAMHl’s total revenue. This transaction will help us in achieving the target of 20%-plus revenue contribution from leased asset.

IHG adds in India. IHG Hotels & Resorts has signed a management agreement with Peachery LLP to launch Holiday Inn Ujjain, a major Hindu pilgrimage center in India. Scheduled to open in 2028, the hotel will feature 100 rooms, including 10 suites, and will offer a range of dining option, a banquet hall and five meeting venues. IHG currently has 46 hotels operating across six brands in India and a pipeline of 58 hotels due to open in the next three to five years.

Dalata’s 6^th in London. Ireland’s Dalata Hotel Group has exchanged an agreement for a 25-year lease for a new 4-star Clayton hotel to be developed on the Tower 42 Estate in the City of London.  Due to open in the second half of 2028 subject to planning approval, the full-service Clayton hotel will include 154 rooms, a restaurant, bar and gym. Dalata opened four new locations in the U.K. this year, including the Maldron Hotel Shoreditch, which opened in August. This new hotel will bring Dalata’s operating presence in London to 1,030 rooms across six hotels.