Boutique Hotel News revisits the most notable stories and interviews of 2024.
• Preferred Travel Group outlines net zero goals
Worldwide: Preferred Travel Group has launched its Climate Action Plan which outlines the goal of achieving net zero emissions by no later than 2050.
The plan, created in partnership with Travel Foundation, builds on the company’s signing of the Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism.
Preferred Travel Group aims to reduce its carbon emissions by 50 per cent by 2030, and to achieve net zero by 2050.
Key priorities for 2025 include enhancing emissions tracking and reporting systems for business travel and events, as well as refining travel and event policies to achieve emissions reduction across operations.
• Webinar: How AI will transform the real estate and hospitality sectors
A one-hour webinar looking at the implications of burgeoning AI tech and how it will affect real estate and hospitality, featuring an AI Insight Bot as one of the panellists. Speakers and webinar attendees will be able to ask industry-related questions in real time.
We discovered:
• AI’s perspectives on the real estate and hospitality sectors
• The importance of human input in AI-generated-opinions
• AI’s role in design, marketing, pricing, investment decisions and operations
• Time-saving and efficiency applications of AI in real estate and hospitality
• The future – AI advancements for real estate and hospitality
With thanks to:
• Aida, AI Insight Bot, IHM
• Nikodem Szumilo, Director, The Bartlett Real Estate Institute
• Ian Niblock, Senior Director, Product Development, MRI Software
• David Peller, Board Member / Advisor, Travel & Hospitality Technology Investor
• Hyatt confirms plans to acquire Standard International
Worldwide: Hyatt has confirmed its plans to acquire the lifestyle company Standard International, parent company of The Standard and Bunkhouse Hotels brand, for up to $335 million.
The acquired portfolio will be 100 per cent asset-light and includes management, franchise and license contracts for 21 open hotels with approximately 2,000 rooms.
Hyatt will pay a base purchase price of $150 million, with up to an additional $185 million over time as additional properties enter the portfolio.
In addition to The Standard and Bunkhouse Hotels brands, the portfolio also includes Peri Hotels and The StandardX, which debuted in Melbourne, Australia this August, and the upcoming luxury hotel brand The Manner which launched in October located in Soho, New York. Restaurant and nightlife venues form part of the portfolio too.
Thai developer Sansiri PLC, which acquired a majority stake in Standard International in 2017, will continue to own several properties that will be managed or franchised under the acquired brands.
• Selina falls into administration
UK: The board of directors at lifestyle hospitality company Selina have filed a statement with the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC), stating it “no longer has any reasonable prospects of avoiding an insolvency”.
On 22 July 2024, Selina appointed Andrew Johnson, Samuel Ballinger and Ali Khaki of FTI Consulting LLP as joint administrators, assuming management of the company’s affairs, business and property. Control of the day-to-day business of Selina’s operating subsidiaries remains with the directors and management.
Selina was valued a $1.2 billion in 2021, when it announced the company would go public via a SPAC merger with BOA Acquisition Corp.
According to a document submitted to the SEC, Selina failed to repay a $50 million loan to IDB Invest, and it did not make an interest payment of around $455,000 which was due on 15 July 2024.
Singapore-based Collective Hospitality acquired Selina in August 2024, adding approximately 100 properties across cities in North America, Latin America, Europe, and Asia to its portfolio.
• Pyramid Global Hospitality diversifies into workplace management
US: Management company Pyramid Global Hospitality has launched its PYRAMIDWORKS brand dedicated to managing office communities.
PYRAMIDWORKS will offer a range of management services, including in-office concierge, cultural programming, leadership training, property management, tech support, F&B services and more.
Currently, the brand is being rolled out nationally across the United States. Customers so far include Deloitte, Verizon, Girl Scouts of America, University of Chicago, JetBlue and more.
Ellen Sinclair, creator of PYRAMIDWORKS, said: “With employee satisfaction more important than ever before, a positive culture can differentiate an organisation. Employees are more effective when they are working together in a supportive environment with people around them who celebrate their engagement. We’re creating more than a positive team dynamic – we’re building workplace communities through the principles of hospitality.”
• Kempinski Hotels appoints group CEO
Worldwide: Luxury hotel group Kempinski has appointed Barbara Muckermann as CEO, the first female leader in its 127-year history.
Muckermann most recently led Silversea Cruises (part of Royal Caribbean Group) and brings more than 25 years of hospitality experience to her new role with Kempinski.
Other luxury brands she has worked with includes Loro Piana, MSC Cruises and NCL.
Following Muckermann’s appointment, Kempinski plans to add 34 hotels and residences to its portfolio in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Africa in the coming years. Currently, the brand has 82 hotels in 36 countries in the portfolio.
• Owner of The Lowry to launch lifestyle BTR scheme in Manchester
UK: CDL Hospitality Trusts, which owns five-star hotel The Lowry in Manchester, is set to launch a lifestyle build-to-rent (BTR) scheme behind Manchester Piccadilly station this June.
Marking the first residential venture from CDL, the BTR project – called The Castings – will offer 352 apartments ranging from studio to three-bedroom options.
Amenities include a yoga room, a gym, a games room, private dining space, and a coworking hub. At ground level, three retail and F&B units will service residents and locals.
The Castings community manager, Dave Evans, said: “In just a couple of months, we’ll be welcoming residents into our new community. The focus for The Castings has been to create much more than just apartments; it’s a whole new lifestyle, with the best service and living experience that Manchester has to offer.”
• Hilton to acquire Graduate Hotels brand from AJ Capital
US/UK: Hotel and resort company Hilton has agreed to acquire the Graduate Hotels brand from AJ Capital Partners.
Hilton will pay $210 million to acquire all rights to the Graduate brand worldwide, enter into franchise agreements for all existing and signed properties in the pipeline, and become responsible for the brand’s future development and growth.
AJ Capital will remain the owner of more than 35 operating and pipeline Graduate properties.
The transaction is expected to close in Q2 2024. The Graduate Hotels brand will be co-opted into Hilton’s lifestyle portfolio alongside Canopy by Hilton, Curio Collection by Hilton, Tapestry Collection by Hilton, Tempo by Hilton, and Motto by Hilton.
• Podcast: Checking in with Charlie MacGregor, The Social Hub
BHN editor Eloise Hanson chats to Charlie MacGregor, founder and CEO of The Social Hub, about the impact of changing traveller habits on the group’s expansion and the need for affordable student housing in Europe. They also talk about Jedis, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Charlie’s ultimate dream goal of world peace.
• BT Tower set for hotel transformation after £275 million sale
UK: BT Group, which owns the BT Tower in London, has agreed to sell the 177 metre-tall building to owner-operator MCR Hotels for £275 million.
The BT Tower is a Grade II-listed communications tower located in Fitzrovia, London. Upon completion in 1964, it overtook the Millbank Tower to become the tallest structure in London until 1980, when it was surpassed by the NatWest Tower.
Since 1984, BT Tower has been operated by BT Group, with its top floor regularly hosting corporate and charity events.
As a result of BT Group’s long-term strategy, its media and broadcast division has been migrating its services to a cloud-based platform. The tower has therefore become increasingly obsolete.
MCR said it will “partner with Camden-based Heatherwick Studio to consider how best to reimagine its use as a hotel”.
