Hotel Openings

🏕 Pan Pacific Hotels Group (PPHG) to open its seventh hotel in Malaysia, the 368-room Gurney Bay Hotel, A Parkroyal Hotel, in Penang on September 1. The hotel, formerly Gurney Bay Hotel, will undergo phased renovations and is located near George Town, a UNESCO World Heritage site. The Penang 2030 Vision-influenced Gurney Bay lifestyle area surrounds the property, offering coastal and city views. With an all-day dining restaurant, various amenities, and a 550-person ballroom, it aims to attract guests amid the region's tourism growth. Penang's economy grew by 13.1% in 2022, and the Penang International Airport, set to be Malaysia's second largest, is expanding to a 12 million annual passenger capacity by 2028, supporting the tourist influx. PPHG manages over 50 properties globally and is expanding in Southeast Asia, with three new openings in 2023 and Malaysia targeting 36.5 million tourists by 2026.

🏕 Anantara Hotels & Resorts to open new Anantara Ubud Bali Resort on October 1, featuring 85 suites, pool villas, and 15 residences. LBA Hospitality and 3H Group acquire Hyatt Place Tampa Airport/Westshore, details undisclosed. IHG's dual-hotel deal in Quang Binh, Vietnam, includes 68-villa voco Quang Binh Resort and 232-room Crowne Plaza, opening in 2025. Generator and Freehand Hotels hit record EBITDA of $42.2 million in H1, targeting $95.8 million by year-end, marking an 18% and 22% year-over-year increase, respectively.

🏘 Melissa and Tanner Cummings, co-founders of Cypress Resort, discussed their innovative luxury nature resort on Aug. 23, 2024. They highlighted the resort's "thin spaces" concept (03:30), their focus on luxury for quality and service (06:11), and the use of crowdfunding to engage future guests (13:56). The episode delves into serving guests authentically (18:21) and shares details on the resort's groundbreaking, opening, and participation opportunities (23:58).

🏨 In Arlington, Texas, Valencia Hotel Group partners with Division Hotel Management LLC to transform the former Caravan Motel into Caravan Court, opening in 2026 with 145 rooms, 7 suites, and a preserved 1960s Caravan Motor Hotel sign. Marriott celebrates its 9,000th property, The St. Regis Longboat Key Resort, boasting 168 rooms, 26 suites, and 69 residences in Longboat Key, Fla. U.S. hotel performance sees mixed year-over-year (YOY) stats with occupancy at 66.9%, ADR at $156.35, and RevPAR at $104.54. Houston leads with occupancy up 34.3%, ADR up 14.5%, and RevPAR up 53.8%. Pennyweight Hotel Boston, Curio Collection by Hilton, with 112 rooms, set to open this month in Boston’s West End.

🌈 In 2025, Universal Orlando Resort will open the 500-room Universal Helios Grand Hotel, a Mediterranean-inspired Loews hotel, at Universal Epic Universe. The hotel will feature a dedicated theme park entrance, entertainment-themed rooms like the How to Train Your Dragon Kids’ Suites, three dining venues, a rooftop lounge with 360-degree views, a zero-entry pool with underwater speakers, and Early Park Admission benefits. Universal Epic Universe will also include multi-sensory environments with five themed worlds. This will bring Universal Orlando's hotel count to 11, totaling 11,000 rooms.

🏨 NH Hotels to open NH Maldives Kuda Rah Resort on September 1 in South Ari Atoll, Maldives, featuring 51 suites and villas, 25 minutes from Male by seaplane. ECHO Suites by Wyndham launches second U.S. location in Plano, Texas, with plans for 25 more. Hotel Engadinerhof in Pontresina, Switzerland, acquired by Lang & Schwander, to undergo renovations until 2026. Driftwood Capital provides $12.1M loan for refinancing 714-key, five-hotel portfolio in Utah, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and Texas.

🏨 Marriott to boost inventory by over 9,000 rooms by end of 2024, with 1,500+ future rooms. New "Sonder by Marriott Bonvoy" collection targets younger travelers, offers apartment-style and boutique hotels in cities. Partnership includes Marriott earning royalty from Sonder's room revenue.

🥞 Milkshake Concepts, founded in 2015 in Dallas, operates eight brands, with Serious Eats most recently opening Aug. 2 in Grand Prairie. Vidorra, launched in 2018, aims to open 10 locations by 2026, including a Nashville venue post-Grapevine launch. Currently, there are Vidorra locations in Dallas' Deep Ellum, Addison, and Grand Prairie, with Rockwall and Grapevine next. CEO Imran Sheikh cites a multisensory experience for Vidorra's success, planning a total of nine DFW locations by 2026, while also considering expansion into Houston, Austin, Denver, and Phoenix/Scottsdale.

🏦 Graduate by Hilton launched Graduate Princeton in Princeton, N.J., marking the first opening since Hilton's acquisition. The hotel, situated on Nassau Street, is housed in a 1918 dormitory converted into a 180-key boutique hotel with 6,000 square feet of public space. The project is a collaboration between AJ Capital Partners and Stonehill Taylor. Princeton has been a target for Graduate Hotels for a decade. Graduate Princeton is the first new hotel in the town in 90 years and features interiors with Princeton University references, including a Gothic-inspired lobby and a restaurant named Ye Tavern. Earlier in the year, Hilton acquired Graduate Hotels for $210 million from AJ Capital, with over 35 hotels currently open or planned near educational institutions in the U.S. and U.K.