Latest news: APAC investment off 23%; CIM closes $73.5M in loans; St. Regis to Turkey

APAC hotel investment declines. Capital deployed in the first half of 2025 in Asia Pacific represented a 23% decline compared to the same period in 2024, according to JLL, reflecting a more cautious environment amid ongoing global macroeconomic uncertainty. Investment in Thailand hotels totaled $301 million (THB9.8 billion) in the first half of 2025, with expectations for that amount to exceed $650 million by year’s end, according to JLL. More broadly, JLL said hotels in Asia Pacific generated $4.7 billion in revenue during the first half of 2025, with investors focusing more selectively on established hospitality markets. Notably, 84% of transaction volume occurred in just five countries. Japan continued to lead regional hotel investment with $1.5 billion in transactions, followed by Greater China ($744 million), Australia ($664 million), Singapore ($546 million), and South Korea ($504 million). Collectively, the other markets across the region accounted for $758 million, or 16%, of hotel investment volume. 

$73.5M loans closed. Los Angeles-based CIM Group, through its CIM Real Estate Debt Solutions business, recently closed loans totaling $73.5 million for two Hilton-branded hotels. On behalf of a CIM-managed fund, CIM Group closed a loan to a joint venture between affiliates of New York City-based Certares Management and New Orleans-based HRI Hospitality for the acquisition and renovation of the 252-key Hilton New Orleans/St. Charles Avenue and to a joint venture between Westlake Village, California-based Whitman Peterson and Raleigh, North Carolina-based Concord Hospitality to refinance the 327-key Alloy King of Prussia (a DoubleTree by Hilton) Hotel in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania.

First St. Regis in Turkey. Marriott International has signed an agreement with Ankara, Turkey-based Kuzu Group to bring a luxury resort and branded residences under the St. Regis brand to the secluded enclave of Kazikli Cove in Bodrum, Turkey. The beachfront hotel is scheduled to open in 2030. The signing of the 138-key The St. Regis Karya Cove Resort, Bodrum, marks Marriott’s 100th hotel in its operating and pipeline portfolio in Turkey. The Residences at The St. Regis Karya Cove Resort, Bodrum, are expected to comprise 221 luxury apartments and villas.

Park Hyatt Vienna sold. The Park Hyatt Hotel in Vienna, Austria is being sold by Innsbruck, Austria-based Signa to be sold for over €330 million euros to an unnamed Spanish investor. Signa, which is insolvent, is said to have invested around €250 million in the conversion of the former Länderbank headquarters into a luxury hotel with 104 rooms and 42 suites. Eastdil, BNP Paribas and EHL helped broker the sale.

Hilton luxury, lifestyle milestone in APAC. With recent openings in Hong Kong, Qingdao and Osaka, Hilton has surpassed 160 trading hotels across its luxury and lifestyle categories in Asia Pacific. Hilton said it expects to grow its supply by at least 50% more in luxury and lifestyle in the years ahead. This year, Hilton has added more than 100 future luxury and lifestyle hotels to its development pipeline. Around the world, Hilton expects to add three new luxury and lifestyle hotels per week in 2025, bringing 150 more hotels into its luxury and lifestyle portfolio this year.

$35M renovation of historic hotel. Puerto Rico has launched a $35 million project to restore and reopen the historic Hotel Ponce Intercontinental, which will return under Marriott’s Tribute Portfolio brand as The Continental Hotel, according to the Caribbean Journal. The project will renovate the original structure, preserving its tropical modernist design while adding new, modern elements. Plans call for 148 rooms in the main building, a new structure featuring 32 swim-out suites, 20 villas, and a convention center. Once the renovations are complete, The Continental will be the second-largest hotel in Puerto Rico’s southern region.

Arora, Deva acquire in London. A joint venture between two U.K.-based companies, Arora Group and Deva Capital, has acquired the 630-key Novotel London West in Hammersmith. It is Arora’s second London deal, taking its portfolio to more than 20 hotels and 8,000 rooms.

150th Fairfield in China. Marriott International announced that the Fairfield by Marriott has reached a milestone of 150 combined open and pipeline hotels in Greater China. After opening its 50th hotel in Greater China in 2024, the brand has grown by more than 50% in just over a year, with another 50-plus hotels expected to open within the next two years. In the first seven months of 2025, newly signed Fairfield by Marriott projects increased 75% year-over-year, with upcoming projects set to bring the brand to Shanghai’s Xuhui District, Beijing Capital Airport, and Shenzhen’s Qianhai area.

IHG’s first dual-brand in Australia. IHG Hotels & Resorts has opened its first dual-branded hotel in Australia with the opening of the 179-key Hotel Indigo Melbourne Little Collins and the 273-key Holiday Inn Melbourne Bourke Street Mall. The openings are part of an eight-year development in the reimagined Melbourne Walk precinct and on the doorstep of Bourke Street Mall.