FCM Hotel Insights: March 2018

Accor Hotels sells property portfolio to fund acquisitions

Multinational hotel company Accor has sold a majority stake in its property business to several large institutional investors, including Singapore’s GIC sovereign wealth fund, the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund, Credit Agricole Assurances and Colony Northstar Inc. The value of the sale is nearly $5.4 billion, which the French-based hotel operator plans to use to fund a $1.65 billion share buyback over the next two years as well as new acquisitions to the group to strengthen its position in the increasingly competitive global hotel marketplace. 

Hyatt adds Luxury Oasis Rentals to Loyalty Program

Oasis Rentals have been added to the Hyatt loyalty scheme, one year after the debut of the World of Hyatt loyalty program. The Oasis brand was acquired by Hyatt in August of last year and has over 2,000 locations globally where World of Hyatt loyalty members can both earn and redeem points. Members staying at an Oasis home rental will get five base points per dollar they spend on eligible nights, as well as the earning nights towards qualifying for higher rewards tiers. Elite members, on the other hand, will also earn bonus points on Oasis spending and be eligible for late check-out. With this announcement, Hyatt joins Wyndham as one of only two large hotel operators allowing members to use and accrue loyalty points at rental accommodations.

HNA sells Hotel Assets

Chinese conglomerate HNA is divesting its stake of Park Hotels & Resorts Inc, whose portfolio includes the Hilton San Francisco Union Square and the New York Hilton Midtown. HNA acquired the $1.4 billion dollar share of the Hilton spin-off as part of a buying spree last year which also saw it acquire a quarter of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. and Hilton Grand Vacations Inc from Blackstone Group for $6.5 Billion. However, as debt and investment regulations in China are tightened, HNA is being forced to sell some of its recently acquired empire.

New Loyalty Program from Mandarin Oriental

International luxury hotel brand Mandarin Oriental has unveiled a new ‘Fans of M.O.’ loyalty program. The new scheme will offer members a number of perks at any of the brands 28 locations around the world, including early check-in, late check-out, breakfast, dining credits, spa access, room upgrades, laundry services and more. At this stage, however, there is no plan to offer free nights as part of the program. Members will not be divided into tiers, and rewards will be open to all participants.

Thompson Hotels opening Washington D.C. Location

The Yards, a 48-acre development on the Anacostia river in the U.S. Capitol, will soon be the home of a new 225-room Thompson Hotel. The Thompson D.C. will feature views of the National’s Park baseball stadium on one side and the Navy Yard neighborhood on the other, and is schedule for opening in early 2020 according to a recent announcement from Thompson. The hotel will take architectural cues from the area’s historic past, incorporating patterns from naval structures and dark brick to differentiate itself in the Washington market. The Yards is also expected to house nearly 3,400 residential units and 400,000 square feet of restaurant and retail space, with the hotel located north of the already opened Yards Park on the Anacostia waterfront.

Carlson Rezidor Rebrands, introduces new line, overhauls loyalty program

Global hotel group Carlson Rezidor will now be known as the Radisson Hotel Group after a rebranding effort that went into effect on March 5, consolidating its properties behind its best known brand. As part of the refresh the company is converting some of its Park Inn branded properties to Radisson while moving several Radisson Blu locations into a new ‘Radisson Collection’ brand. This new offering will also incorporate the hotels from the Quorvus Collection, a soft-brand that started in 2015 but has since been slow to expand. The new Collection properties are geared towards the high-end market, prioritizing luxurious furnishings and amenities. The Club Carlson loyalty program is being likewise rebranded, now replaced with Radisson Rewards, with lower requirements for members to advance to higher rewards tiers. The rebrand will effect the group’s 1,100 existing hotels, as well as the 300 currently in development, with plans announced to rebrand or reposition more than 500 over the coming years.