Hotel Openings

☕ Qima Café opened its second site in Covent Garden as the UK's first tree-to-cup café brand, created by DLSM Studio. Building on their 2019 Warren Street café, they source from over 7,000 farmers. The design features terracotta, clay plaster, and marbles, with a central coffee counter and artisanal retail offerings. Covent Garden's flagship café at 21-22 New Row, WC2N 4LA, enhances Qima's reputation for quality coffee, pastries, and sustainability.

🏨 BWH Hotels to open a second Aiden by Best Western hotel in Velbert, Germany, targeting younger audience, set for July 2025. The Aiden by Best Western Velbert will feature 110 rooms, eight meeting rooms, two with roof terraces. It follows the first German location's success and is part of BWH Hotels' expansion, spotlighting the German market's significance and potentially leading to more European projects.

🏠 Marriott International's City Express by Marriott Duluth, 30 minutes from downtown Atlanta, is the first U.S. location, marking the brand's North American midscale segment entry. Over a dozen properties are to open regionally in 2023, following the 2022 acquisition of City Express. The brand offers high-speed internet, complimentary breakfast, 24-hour market, pet-friendly rooms, and fitness facilities. Over 45 signed agreements are in place, with upcoming openings in New Orleans Northeast, Chicago Downtown, Orlando International Drive, and Port Hope, Ontario. Expansion plans include Argentina, Bolivia, Nicaragua, Peru, and Brazil, with eight properties expected within three years. The U.S. and Canada properties will join Marriott Bonvoy's travel program.

🏨 Hilton partnered with Societe Hoteliere Economique D'Investissement de Gerone Nord to launch the first Spark by Hilton in Spain. Located in Madrid, the Spark by Hilton Madrid Alcalá at Albarracín 42, San Blas-Canillejas, will feature 95 rooms and is set to open in summer 2025. Spark by Hilton already operates in the UK, Germany, Austria, and Poland, with France to follow. Carlos Miró sees significant opportunities in Spain's premium economy sector. Hilton is a U.S.-based hotel group with 32 current job offers.

📌 stayAPT Suites signs franchise agreement with Capstone Stay for five new locations in Rossford, Ohio; Evansville, Ind.; Gardner, Kan.; Wentzville, Missouri; and Liberty, Missouri. Initial focus on Rossford and Evansville. Expansion includes a pipeline of 40 hotels set to open by April 2025. Each property features full-size kitchens, living rooms, separate bedrooms, outdoor courtyards with grill stations, fire pits, and on-site fitness and laundry facilities. Partnership leverages Capstone’s modular construction for accelerated growth and streamlined development.

📍 Kimpton Main Frankfurt, part of IHG Hotels & Resorts, officially opened in Frankfurt's "Four Frankfurt" district, honoring the city’s Bauhaus heritage with contemporary design. The architecture firm Waldo Works crafted the hotel’s interior, blending geometric forms and a warm color palette reminiscent of the 1950s. Art curated by Laura Bartlett and works by Monika Gardyla and Ruairiadh O’Connell reflect the local culture and Bauhaus tradition. The hotel features a restaurant and bar, Lazuli, designed with a cruise ship deck ambiance and panoramic views of the skyline.

🏨 Key Facts: IHG Hotels & Resorts to introduce Hotel Indigo in Menorca, Spain by summer 2026. The hotel will be located in Mahón with 75 rooms, featuring local-inspired design, sea-view restaurant, bar, and outdoor pool. Partnered with Senator Hotels & Resorts, this addition strengthens IHG's Spanish presence, totaling 57 operating hotels and 15 more in development. The Hotel Indigo brand emphasizes neighborhood character, contributing to IHG's European expansion.

🏨 B&B HOTELS plans 48 hotel openings in 2024, including 38 acquisitions and 10 new developments across Europe. New openings in Frankfurt-Oder, Hagen, Idar-Oberstein, St. Pölten, Aalborg, Warsaw, Wismar, Bruchsal-Karlsdorf, and Kalisz. Aalborg, Denmark, sees a 101-room hotel opening on November 21, 2024, with amenities like underground parking with EV charging stations. St. Pölten, Austria, welcomes a 105-room hotel near key attractions. In Germany, a new B&B hotel in Homburg will have 102 rooms and 60 parking spaces. Nearly 60 lease agreements signed for 2024.

🍝 Maple & Ash, opened in Chicago (2015) and Scottsdale (2019), saw sales of over $35 million and nearly $24 million respectively last year. A new location launched March 13 at Miami Worldcenter, which spans two stories and 22,000 square feet, set to introduce two more concepts: Eight Bar and The Studio. The restaurant features a menu with a variety of starters, a steak selection with wagyu options at $45 per ounce, and a $225 tasting menu. The drinks menu offers 2,500 wine bottles and cocktails like the IDGAF Old Fashioned with 24-karat gold. Maple Hospitality Group also runs Monarch and Kessaku in Dallas, with plans to expand to the West Coast, Boston, and NYC within 12 to 24 months.

🍴 Cucina Alba, part of Prince Street Hospitality, opened in NYC's Chelsea in summer 2022. Alba Los Angeles opened on February 6 in West Hollywood, marking the company's first West Coast venture. The LA location, designed by GRT Architects, features a 10,000-square-foot space with a 120-guest main dining room, a 14-seat bar, lounges, and a private dining room. Executive chef Adam Leonti showcases Italian cuisine with California ingredients. The bar, led by Truman Flanders, offers over 5,000 wine bottles and a variety of Italian-inspired cocktails. Prince Street Hospitality is also developing a new project in SoHo, Manhattan.