Latest news: Ashford pays off financing; Radisson Berlin rebirth; Schroders adds in Milan

Ashford Trust pays off strategic financing. Dallas-based Ashford Hospitality Trust has fully paid off its strategic financing (which dates back to 2021), including the exit fee. The company also has closed on a $580 million refinance secured by 16 hotels. The previous loans had an outstanding balance of approximately $438.7 million. The new financing is non-recourse, has a two-year term with three one-year extension options and bears interest at a floating interest rate of SOFR + 4.37%. Ashford Trust used approximately $72 million of the excess proceeds to pay off its strategic financing completely. The remaining excess proceeds were used to fund transaction costs and reserves for future capital expenditures.

The Radisson Berlin lobby

Rebirth of Radisson Berlin and its lobby. The Radisson Collection hotel in Berlin has reopened with a new lobby and gastronomy concept two years after the AquaDom accident in December 2022. At 24 meters high, up to 20 meters wide and equipped with almost 2,000 plants, the new vertical garden is the main attraction of the newly opened lifestyle hotel owned by Germany’s Union Investment Real Estate. The natural planting ensures a pleasant indoor climate via the integrated irrigation system and acts like a green air filter that absorbs reverberation and noise. A special highlight is the smart lighting concept, with which the Living Tree can change its appearance and stage moods depending on the time of day and occasion.

Schroders acquires in Milan. London-based Schroders Capital has acquired the 185-key NH Collection Milano CityLife in Italy from Atlanta-based Invesco Real Estate for an undisclosed amount. Invesco bought the hotel in January 2023 for approximately €50 million ($51.86 million). The NH property, part of Bangkok, Thailand-based Minor Hotel Group, was developed from a church and has been a hotel since the 1930s. 

Hilton’s record growth in CALA. Hilton continued expanding at record levels in the Caribbean and Latin America (CALA) in 2024. Hilton has nearly 280 hotels in CALA across more than 30 countries and territories, and a pipeline of over 130 hotels, the largest in its history in the region. The company signed more than 40 new deals in the region in 2024, paving the way for approximately 6,000 rooms of future growth. More than half of its current pipeline is currently under construction.

Star Hotels refinances Maryland hotel. Columbia, Maryland-based Star Hotels has secured a $10.1 million refinance with LMF for the 98-key Hilton Garden Inn in Columbia, Maryland. The loan, which HKS Real Estate Advisors arranged, retires a construction loan and will support the property’s renovations and operations. The hotel is currently undergoing a $1.5 million PIP. 

MGM Resorts Q4 earnings. Las Vegas-based MGM Resorts International had its best full-year consolidated net revenues in its history, driven by record performance from MGM China, as part of its Q4 earnings. CEO Bill Hornbuckle said the company is encouraged by the strong demand in business so far in 2025, and the company saw record revenue in January for its Las Vegas operations. MGM Las Vegas properties reported occupancy up 3% in Q4 year-over-year, while ADR was down 8% and RevPAR was down 6%. 

US down for week. The U.S. hotel industry from February 2-8 reported negative year-over-year comparisons, according to CoStar data. Occupancy was 55.9% (-0.5% YOY); ADR was $156.03 (-2.2%); and RevPAR was $87.22 (-2.7%). Among the top 25 markets, the Super Bowl in New Orleans drove the largest increases in each of the three key performance metrics: occupancy (+13.6% to 74.2%), ADR (+107.1% to $485.52) and RevPAR (+135.2% to $360.46).  Las Vegas saw the steepest performance declines: occupancy (-16.8% to 63.9%), ADR (-54.9% to $183.20) and RevPAR (-62.5% to $117.10) due to unfavorable comparisons after hosting last year’s Super Bowl.

Scandic adds in Germany. Stockholm-based Scandic Hotels Group is expanding its presence in Germany with a new hotel in downtown Berlin. The 214-room hotel, which is currently vacant, will be renovated to meet Scandic’s brand and operational standards. The establishment is in a lease agreement with AXA Investment Managers.

Shatterproof honors Hite, raises $2.1M. Shatterproof, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to improving how the health care system addresses and treats substance use disorders, honored Amanda Hite, president of STR, with its 2025 Shatterproof Hospitality Hero Award. Hite is recognized for her courage and commitment to raising awareness of substance use disorder and ending addiction stigma. More than 70 hospitality companies raised $2.1 million during the event to advance Shatterproof’s work led by Founder and CEO Gary Mendell, a former hotelier (chairman and co-founder of HEI Hotels and Resorts), who lost his son Brian to addiction in 2011.

IHG adds Garner in Rome. IHG Hotels & Resorts is expanding its Garner brand across southern Europe by rebranding a Pacini Group property to Garner Hotel Rome Aurelia. The 58-key Garner Hotel Rome Aurelia will join a robust and growing global pipeline of more than 88 Garner properties and will be one of 30 IHG properties in Italy. The Pacini Group concluded renovations in January of what was formerly The Smooth Hotel Rome.

StayCity Group aims to triple size. Dublin-based aparthotel business Staycity Group wants to triple in size over the next five years after receiving a £77 million loan from OakNorth bank. The group has two aparthotel brands, Staycity Aparthotels (seven U.K. locations), and the lifestyle brand Wilde (six U.K. locations). The group operates 6,000 keys across 36 aparthotels across the U.K. and Europe. The loan will support future growth as Staycity looks to expand to 18,000 keys across Europe by 2029.

Meliá investment in the Dominican Republic. Palma, Spain-based Meliá Hotels International has signed an agreement through which the Fondo Cerrado de Sociedades Popular, managed by the fund manager of Santa Domingo, Dominican Republic-based Grupo Popular, has invested $63 million in two of the Meliá’s assets in Punta Cana: Paradisus Palma Real Golf & Spa and ZEL Punta Cana. With this transaction, Fondo Cerrado de Desarrollo de Sociedades Popular acquires 25% of the Meliá subsidiaries that own these hotels.

Mandarin adds in China. Hong Kong-based Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group will manage a new luxury hotel in Suzhou, China, scheduled to open in 2026. The 146-key Mandarin Oriental, Suzhou, is being developed by Suzhou Harmony Development Group, a subsidiary of Sungent Holdings Group, in partnership with Hongkong Land, a member of the Jardine Matheson Group. 

Hook Island renovations. Merewether, Australia-based Epochal Hotels is partnering with Craighall to renovate the 39-key Hook Island eco-lodge in the Whitsunday Islands in Australia. South Africa-based Luxury Frontiers. Epochal and a small group of other investors acquired the leasehold for the property in 2022 with the vision of restoring the resort, which was left severely impacted by tornadoes. The 9.3-hectare eco-lodge will feature 39 cabins, two restaurants, forest eco pools and wellness spaces. It is scheduled to reopen in 2027.