MARRIOTT’S TRIBUTE PORTFOLIO ARRIVES IN KOREA: Tribute Portfolio, part of Marriott Bonvoy’s portfolio of more than 30 hotel brands, has opened its first hotel in Korea with the opening of The Link Seoul, a Tribute Portfolio Hotel. Located in the Sindorim district, the hotel is close to the city’s Gocheok Sky Dome, a famous concert venue. The new hotel incorporates modern Scandinavian design, fashion and art with traditional Korean elements. The hotel has 141 rooms, including 16 suites and a presidential suite, across 19 floors. Amenities include an all-day dining restaurant, a pub, lounge bar, café and bakery and several meeting spaces. Event spaces include a 760-square-meter ballroom and two smaller meeting rooms.
HELIX HOSPITALITY ACQUIRES MARRIOTT HOTELS IN ALABAMA: Helix Hospitality, the Chicago-based hotel investment and management company, has acquired two Courtyard by Marriott hotels in Alabama. The two hotels, located in Hoover and Huntsville, join Helix’s portfolio of 13 properties across the Southeast and Midwestern U.S. The Courtyard in Hoover was recently renovated and features onsite dining, a fitness center, an outdoor pool and 1,274 square feet of social space. The Huntsville Courtyard hotel is situated a mile from the University of Alabama Huntsville Campus and eight miles from NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. The hotel has a living room-style lobby, outdoor courtyard and pool, as well as an onsite restaurant.
LEFAY GROUP ADDS RESIDENCES TO ITALY RESORT: Lefay Resorts & Residences, the Italian luxury wellness group, is expanding its residences portfolio with five new villas at the Lefay Resort & Spa Lago di Garda. Located above the village of Gargnano on the shores of Lake Garda, the resort opened in 2008. The new sky pool villas are currently under construction and will be delivered by summer 2025. The homes have three categories — two-bedroom villas and one each three-bedroom and penthouse villa. Each unit will have a private garden and a heated infinity pool. Residence owners will be able to access the resort’s services, which include the 46,000-square-foot spa, pools, fitness center, restaurants, lounges and common spaces.
IHCL EXPANDS PORTFOLIO IN H1 2024 WITH 35 SIGNINGS: Indian Hotels Co. Ltd. (IHCL), the Indian hospitality company, has accelerated its portfolio expansion in the first six months of the year, with 35 signings and 12 openings, taking its total portfolio to 345 hotels with a pipeline of 115 more properties. In H1 2024, the group ventured into new markets with a Taj-branded hotel in Patna, Bihar; SeleQtions-branded property at Mahabaleshwar, Maharashtra and a Ginger hotel at Nagpur, Maharashtra. IHCL also added to its footprint in cities, such as Srinagar, Gangtok, Udaipur, Jamshedpur, Coimbatore and New Delhi. Beyond India, IHCL expanded its presence across the Indian Subcontinent and the Middle East, with signings in Bhutan and Bahrain. The hotel group will also be developing a 200-key hotel in Ranchi, Jharkhand under its Taj brand.
