Latest news: Brookfield’s $1.93B Atlantis refi; US hotels down; foreclosure on $2B Ritz project

Brookfield $1.93B Bahamas refi. Brookfield has completed a $1.93 billion refinancing of the Atlantis Paradise Island resort in The Bahamas. Over the past five years, Brookfield has invested more than $260 million in the resort, including renovating guest rooms, the Atlantis Casino and several new F&B outlets. Brookfield is planning an additional $475 million in capital improvements over the next five years, which includes a complete renovation of The Cove starting in 2026.

US hotels down last week. The U.S. hotel industry from August 3-9 reported unfavorable year-over-year comparisons, according to CoStar data. Occupancy was 68% (-1% YOY); ADR was $159.61 (-0.6% YOY), and RevPAR was $108.47 (-1.6% YOY). Among the top 25 markets, San Francisco reported the largest increases: occupancy (+12.8% to 81.5%), ADR (+8.3% to $210.29) and RevPAR (+22.2% to $171.38). Houston recorded the steepest drop in occupancy (-27.5% to 55.3%) and RevPAR (-34.6% to $61.38), largely due to the elevated displacement demand period that followed Hurricane Beryl in 2024. Analyst Patrick Scholes of Truist Securities said last week’s numbers reflect continuing trends with luxury up 2.4% YOY and the rest of the segments down, including economy down 5.7% YOY.

$2B Ritz-Carlton project foreclosure. An affiliate of New York City-based Madison Realty Capital has filed a notice of trustee’s sale of the $2 billion Ritz-Carlton Paradise Valley and The Palmeraie residential development in Paradise Valley, Arizona amid a legal battle. A public auction is set for November 12 at the Maricopa County Superior Court Building in Phoenix. The foreclosure is the latest escalation of a legal dispute between Madison and Scottsdale, Arizona-based Five Star Development. For years, Five Star’s 122-acre development has been beset by financing issues and legal issues. The project includes the hotel, 80 condominiums and 32 single-family homes as well as retail.

Hilton debuts in the Virgin Islands. Hilton is debuting in the U.S. Virgin Islands with the opening of the 126-key Hampton by Hilton St. Thomas. The hotel is owned by St. Thomas-based Haven Development and managed by Hotel Equities. Hilton currently has about 50 hotels in the Caribbean. Hampton by Hilton has more than 3,100 open hotels with over 800 hotels in its pipeline in over 40 countries and territories.

MMI returns to Memphis. Ridgeland, Mississippi-based MMI Hotel Group is returning to the Memphis market to manage River Inn of Harbor Town and its dining outlets.

EVT rebranding in Melbourne. Sydney-based EVT has entered into a management agreement to operate and rebrand the former Radisson on Flagstaff Gardens, Melbourne, Australia. EVT will renovate the 184-key hotel, F&B outlet and public areas and rebrand to Rydges Flagstaff Gardens upon completion in 2026.

Middle East construction pipeline up. The hotel construction pipeline in the Middle East reached an all-time high 650 projects with 161,574 rooms through the second quarter, according Lodging Econometrics. The pipeline is up 7% by projects and 10% by rooms year-over-year (YOY). Projects currently under construction stood at 337 projects/86,447 rooms, up 12% by projects and 7% by rooms YOY. Projects scheduled to start construction in the next 12 months stood at 147 projects/45,457 rooms, up 31% by rooms YOY. Projects in the early planning stage stood at 166 projects/29,670 rooms, up 2% by projects YOY. The luxury chain scale achieved all-time high of 196 projects/43,942 rooms. For the first half of the year, the Middle East opened 14 new hotels/4,327 rooms. LE is forecasting an additional 89 new hotels/19,269 rooms to open throughout the remainder of the year for a total of 103 new hotels/23,596 rooms to open by year-end 2025.

Chedi to debut in Japan. Dubai-based Chedi Hospitality is entering the Japanese market with The Chedi Niseko - an alpine development of a boutique hotel in Niseko. Is it scheduled for completion in June 2029 and marks the brand’s re-entry into Asia.

Hilton adds in Manila. Hilton and Manila, Philippines-based Ayala Land Hospitality are partnering on the 400-key Canopy by Hilton Makati in Manila. The hotel is scheduled to open in 2026 as part of the One Ayala development. Canopy by Hilton has more than 40 open hotels open across 14 countries and territories and more than 40 more in the pipeline.