Four Seasons wins luxury hotel deal in India

The agreement underlines the expansion plans of the Canadian-based group in India’s fast-growing but severely underdeveloped hospitality sector. A Four Seasons hotel is scheduled to open this year in Bombay, the commercial capital. The DLF-backed venture will create a 230-room, five-star hotel at the golf club in Gurgaon, a booming satellite city to Delhi. Top-end international hoteliers including Shangri-La, Marriott, InterContinental and Hilton, already have a presence in India but the market is dominated by local operators Indian Hotels, owner of the Taj brand, and EIH, which runs the Oberoi chain.

Investment Firm Commits $50 Million to Expand Super 8 Hotels in China

Wyndham Hotel Group, a subsidiary of Wyndham Worldwide Corporation , of Parsippany, N.J., today announced that Aetos Capital, LP has committed to invest up to $50 million in Tian Rui Hotel Corporation, master franchisor of the Super 8(R) brand in China, to accelerate its hotel development efforts. Wyndham Hotel Group's Super 8 brand, one of the largest economy hotel chains in the world, was introduced to China in 2004. Tian Rui Hotel Corporation has opened 49 Super 8 hotels in China, representing more than 4,700 rooms, and has signed agreements to develop an additional 67 hotels. The Super 8 brand already is among the largest economy chains in China.

Grande Asset plans B6.7bn Pattaya project

A hotel chain to operate the hotel part with 350 rooms will be finalised within a month. Hilton, Movenpick and Raffles were candidates, said Mr Pongphan, chairman of Apex Development Plc (APX). White Sand Beach would be located on a 56-rai site, comprising a hotel worth 1.6 billion baht and residential projects worth 5.14 billion baht, which would be launched for sale in mid-September.

Hotel portfolio sale includes Albuquerque property

Equity Inns Inc. is acquiring a portfolio of eight hotels that includes a Residence Inn in Albuquerque for about $90.5 million. Equity, based in Germantown, Tenn., is a hotel real estate investment trust. The hotels in the portfolio include four Residence Inn by Marriott properties in Spokane, Wash., Shreveport, La. and Kansas City, Mo., in addition to Albuquerque. It also includes two Courtyard by Marriott hotels in Reno, Nev., and Shreveport, as well as a Fairfield Inn and Suites in Reno and a Fairfield Inn in Shreveport.

Dubai plans $5.1 billion investment in MGM casino

The Dubai government said Wednesday that it would invest about $5.1 billion in MGM Mirage, giving the Las Vegas casino company a partner as it expanded into real estate.
Gambling is banned in the United Arab Emirates and Gulf states, including Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, because it contravenes Islamic Shariah law. Kirk Kerkorian, who owns 54 percent of MGM Mirage, wants to develop more hotel, housing and entertainment complexes to reduce the dependence of the company on gambling. Dubai, flush with cash from an oil-fueled economic boom, has announced plans this year for at least $13.5 billion in acquisitions.

Hotel Palomar in San Francisco Sold

“The Hotel Palomar is one of the leading hotels in San Francisco,” said Arthur Buser, president – lodging capital markets–Americas for Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels. “The hotel’s location at 4th and Market places it in the vibrant South of Market district – which is rapidly becoming the new heart of San Francisco – and a few blocks from the popular tourist hub of Union Square. The development of Westfield’s nearby retail megaplex, the San Francisco Centre, and a number of luxury residences is evidence of the influx of notable, high-end development right in the Palomar’s neighborhood.”

Hyatt on Square to be purchased

A California real estate investment firm with an appetite for urban real estate has closed on the purchase of the 26-story Capitol Square office building in Columbus with plans to buy the neighboring hotel next month. Hertz Investment Group, based in Santa Monica, Calif., paid about $40 million for the 494,484-square-foot tower at 65 E. State St. It also plans to buy the 400-room Hyatt on Capitol Square. The price of that transaction hasn't been disclosed.

Global hotels to mushroom in India

A booming tourism industry in the country has prompted over a dozen global chains -- including the Hilton, Accor, Marriott International, Berggruen Hotels, Cabana Hotels, Premier Travel Inn and InterContinental Hotels group -- to announce plans to set up over 350 five-star, four-star and budget hotels and 50 villas. The plans would roughly translate into 65,000 additional hotel rooms -- a quantum leap, considering that over the past decade the total number of hotel rooms in all categories has only grown 10 per cent to about 92,000 rooms.

Major hotel deal in the works

Norwegian Property, an Oslo-based real estate firm that's been on an enormous expansion drive the past year, has launched a bid to take over a large portfolio of hotels operated by Scandic, Choice and Rezidor in Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark. A successful takeover of Norgani Hotels would make Norwegian Property the largest stock listed real estate company in all the Nordic countries, with more than 130 properties valued at nearly NOK 31 billion (about USD 5.4 billion).

Spa industry witnesses global growth

WIth the current focus on holistic remedies, organic produce and botanical beauty products, it’s no surprise that interest in spa treatments is on the rise. Everyone from harried executives to housewives is eager to try anything that keeps them looking younger and feeling better. It is the perfect time then to take the plunge into the spa and wellness industry, one of the hottest personal-service businesses around.

Dow Hotel buys San Antonio spa

The acquisition follows closely on the heels of Dow's purchase of the 369-room Doubletree Hotel Chicago O'Hare - Rosemont on Aug. 2. Dow bought the hotel in a joint venture with Prudential Insurance from an affiliate of Lowe Enterprises, a Los Angeles-based real estate company. The Radisson Hill was built in 2002 and has 10,000 square feet of meeting space.

Disney, local investor profit from Amalfi Hotel flip

Seven months after buying the 215-room hotel at 20 W. Kinzie St., the Cataldo-Disney venture has sold to a fund managed by Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers LLC. The purchase price is $29 million, or 12% more than in December, when Cataldo-Disney bought the hotel from Skokie developer Alter Group, according to the real estate transfer taxes paid as a part of the two transactions.

Millennium & Copthorne open new property in Chengdu, China

The Millennium & Copthorne group have announced a new project which will see another property in China with the development of the Millennium Chengdu. Set to open in mid-2008, the Sichuan five-star hotel plans to be home to 362 rooms, and will contribute to the group’s plans to expand its presence in Asia.

Condos, hotel planned for prime Buckhead spot

Condos and a stylish boutique hotel will be built in the center of Buckhead where partiers used to whoop it up into the wee hours of the morning. Barry Hotel Partners and Starwood Capital Group Global LLC on Friday will jointly announce plans to develop 1 Hotel & Residences, a brand that's new to Atlanta. Barry also is developing Allen Plaza, a nine-block area downtown. Carter developed the Mall of Georgia in Buford and is shepherding The Streets of Buckhead's retail development. The Streets of Buckhead eventually will have hundreds of condos and hotel rooms, plus office and retail space, according to Carter's plans.

B.C. hotel chain bought for $1.2B

VANCOUVER - Vancouver-based Canadian Hotel Income Properties Real Estate Investment Trust, which owns 32 hotels across Canada, has been sold to B.C. Investment Management Corp. for $1.2 billion. B.C. Investment Management, a Crown corporation that manages pension funds for about 400,000 B.C. residents, will pay $19.10 for each CHIP REIT unit - a 34-per-cent premium over Tuesday's closing price. That works out to a cash payment of about $983 million, and the deal also includes the assumption of about $218 million worth of debt.

Morgan Stanley Buys into German Hotel Company

Acting through its Special Situations Fund III, Morgan Stanley Real Estate will soon make a move in the German hospitality market with the acquisition of a 35 percent interest in Motel One Management GmbH, the holding company for Motel One properties and operations. Morgan Stanley has committed to purchasing existing shares from Motel One AG, which will hold on to a 65 percent equity stake in the budget designer hotel company. Headquartered in Munich, Motel One operates 17 hotels with an aggregate 2,300 guestrooms.