BANYAN GROUP EXPANDS IN VIETNAM: Banyan Group has expanded its footprint in Vietnam with the opening of Angsana Quan Lan in the Bai Tu Long Bay. The resort features 156 rooms and suites with views of the Gulf of Tonkin, the northwest portion of the Vietnam Sea. The property also has three dining venues, a spa, rooftop mini-golf course and a coastal zipline. All rooms have a freestanding bathtub and a private balcony with either garden or sea views. Banyan Group’s portfolio includes more than 80 properties, more than 60 spas and galleries and 14 branded residences in over 20 countries. The group has 12 brands, including the flagship Banyan Tree.
UNITE HERE ENDORSES KAMALA HARRIS: UNITE HERE, the hospitality worker’s union, has endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for President in the 2024 election. In a statement, the union said Harris has “consistently demonstrated her unwavering commitment” to working people and the labor movement. As the vice president, Harris has been instrumental in saving the pensions of one million union members and retires, securing 100% free COBRA healthcare for laid-off workers during the pandemic and ensuring pro-union National Labor Relations Board and General Counsel, UNITE HERE said. She also delivered remarks at the union’s constitutional convention in June. Terming former President Donald Trump’s leadership as “disastrous,” UNITE HERE said its members cannot “afford to go back” to another Trump presidency as it would mean four “chaotic years of defending against his attacks on unions, working people, immigrants, women and others,” UNITE HERE President Gwen Mills said in the statement. The second Trump administration aims to crush labor unions and hurt working families, Mills added. As part of its canvassing effort and show of support for Harris, the union said it is mobilizing its members to knock on more than 3.2 million doors in Nevada, Arizona, Pennsylvania, Ohio, North Carolina and Michigan.
MARRIOTT ADDS TO GREATER CHINA PORTFOLIO: Marriott International will be launching W Hotels to Hangzhou. Marriott has signed an agreement with Zhong An Commercial Group, part of China New City Group, to open W Hangzhou. Slated to open in 2031, the hotel will be located in Qianjiang Century City, Hangzhou’s developing new CBD, on the east bank of the Qiantang River. Designed by architectural firm Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates, the hotel will occupy the top 24 floors of a 24-meter building that will be part of the IOC complex. W Hangzhou will offer 270 rooms, with half of the rooms offering river views, along with two signature restaurants and a bar, a pool, fitness center, spa, four meeting rooms and ballrooms. Marriott’s portfolio in Greater China includes more than 70 luxury hotels.
GRAND HYATT SCOTTSDALE’S UPCOMING OPENING: Hyatt Regency Scottsdale Resort & Spa at Gainey Ranch, Ariz. is set to open early October, following a $115 million renovation and rebrand to Grand Hyatt. This will be the first Grand Hyatt-branded property in Arizona. The reimagined luxury resort will open with 496 renovated rooms, six dining venues in partnership with Chef Richard Blais, 10 pools (including a 10-acre destination pool complex) and a refreshed spa. The hotel will open a fully refurbished meeting space, which includes a 14,000-square-foot ballroom and 52,000 square feet of indoor/outdoor function space. The resort’s grand ballroom will open in January 2025, which will have expanded to nearly triple its existing size. In total, the resort will offer a combined 90,000 square feet of indoor/outdoor function space, including 35,000 square feet of outdoor space and an additional 10,000 square feet of pre-function space. The resort’s design was led by WATG and Phoenix-based Hale Collective. Guests can also access the adjacent 27-hole Gainey Ranch Golf Club.
