Briefs: Kingdom Completes Sale of Four Seasons; first Vignette Collection in Asia

Kingdom finalizes the sale of its stake in Four Seasons: Kingdom Holding Co., of Saudi prince Alwaleed, in Riyadh, has reportedly finalized the sale of a 23.75% stake in Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts to Cascade Investment, led by Bill Gates, for $ 2.21 billion. The transaction represents an enterprise value of $ 10 billion for Four Seasons and Kingdom will remain a 23.75% investor in the group. Avington of London acted as Kingdom’s exclusive financial advisor on the transaction.

Turnstone acquires The Shire Woodstock: Turnstone Ventures, San Mateo, Calif., Announced the acquisition of the 50-bedroom Shire Woodstock in Woodstock, Vermont. The company hired New York-based Life House Hotels to manage the property, marking the hotel operator’s first hotel in Vermont and 20^e hotel in New England. The hotel will operate “as is” under its current brand and will later be reinvented as a boutique hotel. The deal was marketed by Earle Wason and Joe Cardillo of Wason & Associates, Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

IHG and Siam Sindhorn launch the first collection of vignettes in Asia: IHG Hotels & Resorts and Siam Sindham Co. Ltd. have teamed up to launch Asia’s first Vignette Collection hotel in Bangkok. The 393-room Sindhorn Midtown will join IHG’s newest Luxury & Lifestyle collectible brand in March. The two companies previously collaborated for the opening of Kimpton Maa-Lai Bangkok in 2020, which introduced the IHG boutique brand to Southeast Asia. IHG plans to open its second Vignette Collection hotel in Pattaya and hopes to add 100 Vignette Collection hotels around the world in 10 years. IHG currently has 29 hotels across eight brands in Thailand with 34 properties in the pipeline.

Greek hotel loans sold: Eurobank and Piraeus Bank have sold their c. 135 million euros of credit exposures in G. Kipriotis & Sons SA Athens, Greece, to funds managed by HIG Capital. AXIA Ventures Group acted as exclusive financial advisor to the banks in connection with the transaction. The banks’ overall credit exposures have been secured by the hotel assets of G. Kipriotis & Sons, which include a 1,500-key complex in three 4-star and two 5-star hotel assets on the Greek island of Kos.

Sterling acquires the Tucson City Center hotel: Sterling Real Estate Partners, Scottsdale, Arizona, has acquired the 278-room Tucson City Center hotel in Tucson, Arizona, in an off-market deal for an undisclosed price. The company plans to convert the seven-building hotel into a 210-unit apartment complex. Sterling will become a Choice Hotel franchisee and has appointed Ledgestone Hospitality to operate the four-story building as a hotel, while the adjacent buildings will be converted into apartments. The hotel site has also been approved for 154 additional units which will be developed at a later date.

Jaipur hotels are reporting cancellations: Hotels in Jaipur, India are reporting an increase in the number of cancellations as the number of COVID cases rises in the country, with cancellations reaching 30-50% across the city. The hospitality industry is basing its hopes on an investor summit, for which more than 800 rooms were booked in the city on January 24 and 25. With winter being a prime time for weddings in India, hotels have reported that while several weddings have been postponed, others will. take place with a reduced number of guests in accordance with government guidelines.

Summit finalizes the acquisition of Embassy Suites: Summit Hotel Properties, Austin, TX, has completed the acquisition of the 120-key Embassy Suites by Hilton Tucson / Paloma Village in Tucson, Arizona for US $ 25.5 million through its joint venture with GIC. The joint venture acquired the property with a combination of cash and an assumed loan which has a balance of approximately US $ 13.3 million. The Company expects the hotel to generate net operating income for fiscal 2022 of between 7% and 7.5%. The Summit-GIC joint venture also owns the Homewood Suites by Hilton Tucson / St. Philip’s Plaza University, located less than three kilometers from the Embassy Suites.

Opening of Bedford by Martha Stewart in Las Vegas: Bedford by Martha Stewart, a restaurant concept designed by lifestyle icon Martha Stewart and Marquee Brands, will open in Paris Las Vegas in the spring. The 194-seat restaurant will offer a glimpse into how Stewart lives and is inspired by his farm in Bedford, New York. Stewart and his team have developed seasonal menus for dinner, weekend brunch and holidays.

The meeting industry stabilizes: Although group meetings in the United States in December 2021 were down 16.8% from November, the change is in line with normal seasonal trends, according to monthly meetings and events data from Knowland. While the average number of attendees decreased by 101 in December 2021 from 140 in December 2019, the average space moved closer to 2019 (2,363 square feet in December 2019 versus 2,254 square feet in December 2019). The top five growing markets were Seattle, Oahu Island, Grand Rapids, Tucson, and Chattanooga. The corporate sector accounted for 64% of meetings and events activity, with technology and healthcare leading the largest industry groups.