Latest news: HKH refi in Georgia; G6 renovation in Vegas; Trump aims at federal travel

HKH refinance in Georgia. Georgia-based HKH LLC and its joint venture partner, Los Angeles-based Oaktree Capital Management, have secured a $12.5 million refinance for a Spark by Hilton property in College Park, Georgia. The proceeds of the deal will also fund a renovation. This is the second deal for the $250 million joint venture. Peoria, Arizona-based Avana Companies provided the financing.

G6 adds in Las Vegas. Carrolton, Texas-based G6 Hospitality is partnering with Los Angeles-based S.R.E Enterprises for a renovated 295-key Motel 6 hotel near the Las Vegas Strip in Nevada. The property, which is scheduled to open in May, will be one of the largest in the company’s history. The exterior-corridor property will undergo renovations and have private access to the Oyo Hotel and Casino.

Executive order on federal employee travel. President Trump’s latest executive order takes aim at federal employee travel, directing government agencies to prohibit travel without written and approved justification for the trip, according to Travel Weekly. The directive requires that federal agencies, with assistance from Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), build a system that records approval for federally funded travel for conferences and other nonessential purposes. Once in place, the agency head “shall prohibit agency employees from engaging in federally funded travel for conferences or other nonessential purposes unless the travel-approving official has submitted a brief, written justification for the federally funded travel within such system.” 

HEI adds in Texas. Norwalk, Connecticut-based HEI Hotels & Resorts has added Tapatio Springs Hill Country Resort in Boerne, Texas, to its management portfolio. Owned by L&R Hotels, the 111-key Tapatio Springs Hill Country Resort opened in 1981 and represented the first golf resort and conference destination in Texas. HEI owns or operates more than 100 independent and branded hotels and resorts throughout the U.S.

Economy extended-stay starts 2025 strong. Economy extended-stay hotels are leading the sector’s strong start to 2025, according to research from The Highland Group. When directly compared to the corresponding classes of all hotels, the ADR and RevPAR increase in extended-stay hotels in January 2025 and January 2024 were almost all higher. The exception was economy extended-stay hotels which reported 4.9% RevPAR growth, slightly under the 5% gain STR/CoStar estimated for all economy class hotels. Both were among the hotel industry’s strongest-performing segments in January. “January was another very good month for extended-stay hotels, with positive change in RevPAR in nine of the last ten months, and the economy segment continues to lead  RevPAR growth,” said Mark Skinner, a partner at The Highland Group.

Ashford Trust reduces board. Dallas-based REIT Ashford Hospitality Trust said its board has approved board and management compensation reductions as part of its broader GRO AHT initiative. Compensation for board members was reduced by 50%, and the board has been reduced from nine members down to seven. Additionally, incentive awards granted to executive management and other associates have been reduced by more than 50% relative to recent years. Ashford Trust expects these changes to result in more than $11 million in incremental EBITDA.

Meliá adds in Italy. Palma, Spain-based Meliá Hotels International has signed a new project in Italy on one of Venice’s barrier islands. Italy-based SoGes Group Spa will operate the hotel under the Meliá Hotels & Resorts brand. The 60-key Meliá Venezia Lido will enjoy a prime location in the heart of Lido di Venezia. It will be housed in a 1920s building undergoing extensive renovations and is scheduled to open this summer.

CDL board dispute update. The main reason for the ongoing dispute at City Developments Ltd. (CDL) is “a very serious issue of corporate governance” involving Catherine Wu, Kwek Leng Beng’s adviser, Group CEO Sherman Kwek in a statement on Thursday (Feb 27) evening. He cited Wu as an official advisor to the board of Millennium & Copthorne Hotels (M&C), a wholly owned and principal subsidiary of CDL and “interfering in matters going well beyond her scope.”