LOEWS UNVEILS UNIVERSAL HELIOS GRAND HOTEL OPENING DATE: Loews Hotels & Co, co-owner and operator of the hotel portfolio at Universal Orlando Resort, has unveiled the opening date of its third hotel in Universal Epic Universe. Universal Helios Grand Hotel, a Loews Hotel will open on May 22, 2025 and start taking reservations from October 22, 2024. Bringing the Orlando hotel portfolio to 11 properties, totaling 11,000 rooms, Universal Helios Grand Hotel will offer 500 rooms with views of the Universal Epic Universe, along with an exclusive separate entry into the theme park for hotel guests. Loews is also preparing to open Universal Stella Nova Resort and Universal Terra Luna Resort in 2025. The addition of Universal Helios Grand Hotel also brings three reimagined hotel categories to Universal Orlando Resort — the Signature Collection, Prime Value Hotels and Value Inns and Suites. Loews has been expanding its portfolio beyond Orlando. Earlier this year, the company opened the $550 million, 888-room Loews Arlington Hotel and Convention Center, marking its second hotel in the Entertainment District of Arlington, Texas.
IHG’S REGENT BRAND RETURNS TO THE AMERICAS: The Regent brand, part of IHG’s luxury and lifestyle portfolio, has returned to Los Angeles with the opening of Regent Santa Monica. The beachfront resort revitalizes the Regent brand and is Regent’s first flagship hotel in the Americas. Originally located in Beverly Hills, the brand has returned in a location close to the Santa Monica Pier. The hotel features 167 rooms and suites (including a 3,200-square-foot presidential suite and a two-story two-bedroom oceanfront suite), four restaurants, a 10,000-square-foot Guerlain spa, an elevated pool deck overlooking the Pacific Ocean, a fitness center and expansive meeting spaces. The hotel’s design was led by Chantell Walsh of Strategic Hotels & Resorts, alongside design firms, AvroKO’s San Francisco studio, with Wimberly Interiors designing the interiors.
U.S. PERFORMANCE UPDATE: The U.S. hotel industry reported positive YOY comparisons, helped by the calendar shift in Columbus Day/Indigenous Peoples Day, according to CoStar’s data through October 12.
- Occupancy: 70.3% (+2.4%)
- ADR: $166.88 (+1.4%)
- RevPAR: $117.28 (+3.8%)
Among the top 25 markets, New Orleans reported the largest performance gains across each of the three key performance metrics: occupancy (+20.1% to 75.6%), ADR (+13.1% to $194.70) and RevPAR (+35.9% to $147.18). The market’s performance was driven by the Water Environment Federation’s Technical Exhibition and Conference. Atlanta saw the second-highest lifts in occupancy (+15.6% to 77.5%) and RevPAR (+20.6% to $102.59), due to displacement demand from Hurricane Milton. The steepest RevPAR declines were seen in Oahu Island (-10.3% to $218.20) and Tampa (-9.8% to $88.67), the latter due to the impacts of Hurricane Milton.
KEMPINSKI RESIDENCES IN AZERBAIJAN: Kempinski Hotels has signed an agreement to manage branded residences in Azerbaijan. Located in Baku, Kempinski Residences Bayil Bay will offer 37 private homes. The project has completed construction and is currently under finalization on Seafront Boulevard. Being developed by Azerbaijan-based Baku City Residences, the property will offer residences across five categories and will have private terraces. The building will include a fine dining restaurant with outdoor terraces overlooking the Bayil Bay, three floors of luxury retail, a private lounge area with meeting spaces, gym, spa and a video conferencing room. The hotel’s architectural design was led by Italian architect Mauro Lipparini.
