Hotel Openings

🏨 Latin America's hotel construction pipeline shows an 11% YOY increase in projects and a 10% increase in rooms, totaling 612 projects (97,597 rooms). Under construction: 253 projects (44,319 rooms), up 11% in projects and 15% in rooms YOY. Next 12 months: 187 projects (29,476 rooms), a YOY increase of 18% in projects and 17% in rooms. Early planning: 172 projects (23,802 rooms), up 3% YOY. Key segments: upscale (133 projects/18,807 rooms), upper upscale (101 projects/20,234 rooms), luxury (96 projects/17,154 rooms). Renovations and conversions at an all-time high: 186 projects (29,500 rooms), 30% more projects YOY. Mexico leads with 226 projects (33,599 rooms), followed by Brazil, the Dominican Republic, and Colombia. Top cities: Mexico City, Georgetown, Sao Paulo, Lima, and Riviera Maya. New announcements in Q2: 62 projects (8,740 rooms). 2023 expected openings: 100 hotels (17,555 rooms), with 40 already opened and 60 more planned. 2025 projected openings: 111 hotels (18,816 rooms), and in 2026, 131 hotels (18,293 rooms).

🍻 Honey Spencer, a UK natural wine authority, expanded her career after a 2011 encounter with unpredictable natural wine. She authored "Natural Wine, No Drama" and co-founded Sune, a natural wine restaurant in East London. Sune debuted on the UK's top 100 restaurants list in summer. Spencer and her business partner Charlie Sims opened Sune after experiences, including at Copenhagen's natural wine bars and Noma. Sune emphasizes clean, approachable natural wines, avoiding sanctimonious overtones. Spencer also consults for high-profile restaurants and directs wine programs. Sune, which avoids scaring traditional drinkers, plans a terrace addition and Tuesday openings. Spencer supports decanting natural wines for optimal presentation.

🏢 Bofink Design Studio transformed the 1912 Börshuset cattle-auction venue in Stockholm's Slakthusområdet into a members' club, revealing Jugend-style interior details obscured since the 1980s. The main 140 square meters hall, initially a cattle trading area then a workers' canteen, has been revamped while keeping the building's 3,600 square meters size. Original features like terrazzo floors, wall murals, double-ceiling height, and bullseye-shaped windows were restored. A mezzanine and patinated metal spiral staircase were added to connect the main hall with office spaces, including repurposed old hotel rooms and bank vaults. The industrial heritage of the surrounding meatpacking district influenced the material choices, with plywood panels resembling animal skins. The color palette was inspired by nature, featuring warm browns, tan, and reds, while vintage furnishings highlight the building's past. A House, part-owned by developer Atrium Ljungberg, occupies the revamped space.

🏖 Sonesta Resort Hilton Head Island in South Carolina celebrated the completion of phase one renovations, featuring 340 redesigned guestrooms, during a ribbon-cutting event. Renovations began in December 2023 and introduced upgrades like revitalized bathrooms, coastal-inspired furnishings, and modern amenities such as flat-screen LCD televisions. Phase two, expected to finish by May 2025, will enhance ballrooms, meeting spaces, dining, a new hot tub, an adult pool, private cabanas, and bars. The resort offers 24 room types, including the Palmetto Suite with two private balconies and a jetted spa tub. Situated within the Shipyard community, it allows access to the clubhouse, tennis courts, and six golf courses, and is 8.5 miles from Hilton Head Airport.

🍴 Drew Snaith and Hannah Kowalski will launch their first restaurant, Sesta, in London's Hackney this September, following the closure of Pidgin on 18 August. Sesta, replacing Pidgin, will serve British seasonal ingredients and feature a menu influenced by live fire cooking, British, European, and Southeast Asian cuisines. The founders previously worked together at Brunswick House and Pidgin. The team includes sous chef Ben Ing and general manager Majalis Lundstrom Celedon. Sesta will source produce from Shrub, connecting to Sussex farms. The menu will change seasonally and offer dishes like Doddington cheese scone with rarebit and cured mutton bacon ribs. Natural wines, particularly French, will be curated by Kowalski, while Celedon will craft cocktails with house-made spirits. The 26-cover restaurant will later add counter dining and display local art.

🏖 SLS Playa Mujeres Cancún, the first all-inclusive SLS-brand and Ennismore's property in the Americas, will open in Mexico on November 1. The resort features 498 guestrooms and suites across 16 categories, with sizes ranging from 539 to 6,000 square feet. The property offers the new Elite category for VIP experiences, 18 restaurant and bar concepts, and 24,000 square feet of event space with seven rooms. SLS currently operates seven hotels and has five more, including SLS Barcelona, planned to open in 2024.

🍕 Led by Rik Campbell and Will Bowlby, Kricket to open a new restaurant in Shoreditch at the former Apothecary East site on Charlotte Road. Kricket's fourth London venue opened this month in Canary Wharf, the first since 2018. Shoreditch's all-day dining from 9am to 5pm and drinks-snack menu post-5pm. The site includes Kricket's first private dining room, aiming to attract customers throughout the day for various activities. Kricket's breakfast menu to compete with Dishoom's Indian breakfast success, featuring items like egg bhurji, 'full Kricket', and Bombay toastie. The original Kricket site launched in Pop Brixton in 2015, becoming permanent in Soho in 2016.

🏡 Post Company and Lázaro Rosa-Violán renovated a 17th-century convent into Locke de Santa Joana hotel in Lisbon, Portugal, blending historic architecture with modern design. The hotel, Locke Hotels' largest with 370 units across nine floors, showcases archways, pillars, and mouldings alongside contemporary furniture and Portuguese materials like Rose Aurora stone and local limestone. Communal spaces reflect Lisbon's terracotta and mosaic aesthetic, with the hotel also featuring ceramics and textured fabrics to highlight its historic roots.

🏖️ Rosewood Hotels & Resorts to open Rosewood Exuma in the Bahamas in 2028 on a 124-acre private island in Exuma archipelago. The luxury resort will feature 33 suites, six dining venues, a 20,000 sq. ft. Asaya spa with six treatment rooms, an outdoor sports center, and two marinas for yachts up to 150 feet. Sustainable initiatives include only 25% island development and solar powered energy. Rosewood currently operates 34 properties in 21 countries.

🍣 Hank’s Seafood Restaurant, established for 25 years in Charleston, S.C., expanded with Hank's Low Country Seafood & Raw Bar in Columbus, Ohio. Chef Frank McMahon oversees the culinary team for both Makeready hospitality group venues. Dinner starts at $29, and a new lunch menu launched in June, offering a 45-minute, three-course meal for $35. Signature dishes include she-crab soup and shrimp & grits. Columbus was chosen due to its growth and previous customer familiarity. The new space, designed by Home Studios, features a dining room for up to 158 guests, communal tables, and a private dining area.