Melia’s contemporary city-centre Innside brand, which it acquired in 2007 has signed its first hotel in the UK. Construction is set to begin on the four-star, 208-bedroom Innside Manchester Hotel during the second half of 2012. The hotel will form part of the new multi-use First Street North development. Innside by Melia currently operates nine properties in Germany and one is set to open in Barcelona.

The Rezidor Hotel Group and Al Jassim Group have announced a 2015 opening for the Hotel Missoni Doha (Qatar). The luxury lifestyle hotel will be exclusively designed by Rosita Missoni and feature approximately 200 rooms and 70 serviced apartments. The hotel will be built along the C Ring Road in the heart of Doha, just 10 minutes from the International Airport. The extensive food and beverage outlets will comprise Hotel Missoni’s signature restaurant “Cucina” with a traditional yet creative Italian menu, a second all-day-dining restaurant, Bar Missoni, a pool bar and a lobby lounge. Guests will benefit from an 800 square meter Spa- and fitness area, an outdoor swimming pool, approximately 1,500 square meter conference- and banquet facilities including ball room, and a business centre. Hotels Missoni are operated in Edinburgh and in Kuwait; further properties are under development in Oman, Turkey, Brazil and Mauritius.

Rezidor also announced this week the rebranding of the 583-room Ramada Plaza Doha Hotel into a Radisson Blu Hotel in the third quarter of 2012.

Even more Qatar hotel news: the June, 2013 scheduled Nikki Beach Resort & Spa, The Pearl-Qatar has already won an AAA five-star diamond award as best design for a boutique beach resort in the Middle East. That is slightly odd for a hotel which even has opened yet. Designed by the award winning Singapore-based ECO ID Architects with interior design by Gatserelia Design, the Nikki Beach is a $45m boutique beachfront resort with 47-luxury villas and spa suites. The development will include Satine, a pan Asian specialty restaurant, NikkiSpa by Espa, Envy, the Ultra VIP lounge, a signature Nikki Beach Club with private plunge pools, a Tone Fitness Center and many other guest amenities.

HotelChatter reports that an offshoot of the Soho House Group will open in Chicago’s West Loop/Fulton Market area inside a vacant warehouse. Soho House would install about 50 rooms, a signature restaurant and a rooftop pool.

Our December 26 report on the Clark Hotel in Los Angeles suggesting that King & Grove was to be the new operator of New York’s Chelsea Hotel was right. This month comes the news that King & Grove are also taking over the management of the brand-new opened Hotel Williamsburg in Brooklyn, New York. The Chetrit Group, owner of the Clark Hotel and the Chelsea Hotel is close to an agreement buying the Hotel Williamsburg, currently operated by Graves Hospitality from Minneapolis.

The ill-fated Cipriani hotel project in Miami Beach finally is getting afoot. Only no longer under the Cipriani name, but under its original name, The Saxony. Argentine hip hotelier Alan Faena of Buenos Aires’ Faena Hotel fame is taking on the project. A condo tower by star architects Foster and Partners is being added and the Faena Saxony Hotel as it is called now is “coming soon” we see at the Faena website.

The Spanish mission styled 97-room Canary Hotel in Santa Barbara, now with The Leading Hotels of the World, is being sold to Kimpton Hotels for $40m.

The Soho House Group, London, announced on Friday that it sold a majority stake to Ronald Burkle’s privately held investment firm Yucaipa Companies, Los Angeles.

Soho House, which specializes in luxury private members’ hotels and clubs, will utilize the capital influx to expand internationally. It already has nine locations in the U.S. and Europe.

The New York Times reported on Friday from an anonymous source familiar with the matter that Burkle had purchased a 60% stake for about £250 million (US$383 million).

Mr. Burkle is no stranger to the hospitality industry with investments in Morgans Hotel Group and the Sydell Group (see this blog December 2, 2011).

Two name changes this week. Still the same management, but the Diva Resort in the Maldives is now Lux* Maldives and the The Tides Riviera Maya is now Viceroy Riviera Maya (see the blog item January 12).

Two prestigious city palaces on Vienna’s Schubertring will be transformed into the The Ritz-Carlton, Vienna and will open in the second quarter of this year. Schubertring is part of the Ringstrasse which encircles the old town of Vienna and houses the Vienna State Opera and the Museum of Fine Arts. Ritz-Carlton, Vienna will have 202 five-star rooms.

The Peninsula, Hong Kong, one of the world’s iconic hotels will be refurbishing all of its 297 rooms. The two-phase operation already started in the Peninsula Tower, so not to disturb the guests in the original Peninsula building, and will be finished by August 2012. The last phase, that of the original Peninsula, will last untill early 2013.

China’s HNA Group has given up bidding for Indian’s DLF Group Amanresorts portfolio, Reuters reports. DLF Group was seeking bids in the range of $4m. Reports say that biddings came not higher than $3m-$3.15m and DLF is stalling the sale.

Hotelier Andre Balasz of The Standard Hotels, The Mercer and Chateau Marmont fame also lost out on his bid to acquire New York’s Temple Court Building. The 1883-vintage, nine-story palace at Beekman Street  near NYC’s City Hall, encloses a breathtaking, glass-topped central atrium and is ringed on each floor by Victorian iron balustrades. The building was vacant for a decade, but became the talk of the real estate world after the owners removed the drywall and uncovered the majestic interior. The building is to be turned into a 200-room hotel. Balasz is said to have lost his $5m deposit after struggling to get the project financed.

What is opening in New York is the Out NYC, the city’s first gay-oriented hotel. The hotel’s website is taking reservations from March 1 and the renderings look very good indeed.

After it was forced to shut down a decade ago, the 1875 Grand Hotel in Birmingham (UK) may once again rise to its iconic status as Birmingham’s premier hotel. Property company Hortons has revealed plans it will reopen the Grand as a five star, 152 room hotel  before Christmas 2013, if plans are approved by the Birmingham City Council.

In London, Edinburgh-based Apex Hotels will open its third London property on April 1 (no joke) on famous Fleet Street. The 184-room Apex Temple Court will be located in a 12th century building which Apex acquired from professional law association Honourable Society of the Inner Temple.

It is rumoured that Dubai-based Jumeirah Group is close to signing a management agreement with Turkish business woman and entrepreneur Demet Sabanci Centindogan for its first hotel in Turkey: the Pera Palace Hotel in Istanbul, which was acquired by Ms Çetindogan at the end of last year. The 115-room property is Turkey’s oldest hotel; it opened in 1895 to provide luxury accommodation to travellers after the city became the last stop on the legendary Orient Express. In April 2008, the hotel closed for a US$30 million restoration project and reopened in September 2010.

In Miami Beach Kimpton Hotels has (re)opened the Surfcomber Hotel. Kimpton brands itself as a boutique operator. With 186 rooms we think the Surfcomber is a bit to big to be boutique, but goodlooking it certainly is. With size comes a range of five-star facilities and a location right on the beach on South Beach’s Collins Avenue.

DLF to HNA. Indian real estate giant DLF is finalizing its sale of the Amanresorts group to China-based HNA Group. HNA is reported to be one of the five bidders for the 25-unit ultra-luxury group and is expected to pay $449 million for it. Aman is a household name in the boutique hotel operators market and considered a real trophy assett.

Scandic, the Nordic countries biggest hotel operator has been opening some very interesting hotels lately in Stockholm and Oslo. Maybe Stavanger, Norway, will be on the list to in 2013 when a second Scandic is open, a 210-room “architectural unique” property near the city centre.

For the W Jakarta we will have to wait untill 2015. Located in the Ciputra World Jakarta 2 mixed-use complex, the W Jakarta will feature the well-known W Hotels amenities. It will have 300 rooms and will be Starwood’s 12th W hotel in the Asia-Pacific region and 60th worldwide.

Hyatt announces the opening of the Hyatt Capital Gate Hotel, Abu Dhabi. Already declared by Guinness as the world’s leanest building with its  18 degree lean – more than four times that of the world-famous Leaning Tower of Pisa. The Hyatt Hotel occupies levels 18 (where the ‘twist’ starts) to 35. The hotel’s ‘sky lobby’ is suspended 80 metres above the ground on the 18th floor, offering panoramic views of the city. The spa and fitness centre on the 19th floor will include a swimming pool which cantilevers from the side of the building with 270- degree views of the surrounding horizon. Due to unique shape of the tower, each room on the floors above will have a different shape and orientation. There’s a restaurant serving Easter Mediterranean specialties, a lounge for drinks and snacks and on the ground floor a restaurant catering to the adjacent exhibition center offering a unique à la carte menu that revolves around small baked pastries with sweet or savory fillings. Shown here is the Capital Gate Tower (on the left), exhibition center and Aloft Hotel (on the right). See the Aloft profile for another image and nighttime angle of the Capital Gate Tower.

After the recent take-over by the Andre Balasz Hotel Group the Cooper Square Hotel in New York City’s East Village is now managed and part of Andre Balasz’ The Standard chain and renamed The Standard East Village – New York.

Rezidor announced the 2014 scheduled opening of the Missoni Hotel on the island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean. It will be the 66th country where Rezidor is present. Missoni Hotels in the collabaration between the Italian fashion house and the Rezidor group, which operates several Carlson brands in the EMEA region under such names as Radisson Blu and Park Inn. Missoni Mauritius will have 80 suites and will be designed in the iconic, colourful style for which Missoni is known. Missoni Hotels in Edinburgh and Kuwait are already open. Oman, Brazil and Turkey are planned.

The Shelborne Hotel in Miami Beach renovated the first 50 of its 200 rooms. And the look mighty fine! When making reservations be sure to opt for one of these Premiere rooms.

Morgans Hotel Group announced its 7th hotel for the Mondrian brand. The 128 room is scheduled to open in 2014 in Istanbul’s, Turkey, old town near such sites as the Topkapi Palace, the Hagia Sophia, the Sultanahmet Mosque (or Blue Mosque), the Grand Bazaar and the 1,500 year-old Basilica Cistern. The hotel is expected to include original food and beverage options, function space, a spa renovated from an existing historic Turkish bath and additional facilities and amenities indicative of a lifestyle hotel. Already this year Morgans announced it has entered into hotel management agreements for Mondrian-branded hotels located in Doha (Qatar), Nassau (Bahamas), and London (UK).

Twenty Five Hours hotels will open its first hotel in Berlin in 2013. 25hours currently operates two hotels in Frankfurt and Hamburg each, one in Vienna and one is coming soon to Zurich. The 149 room project is located in the city centre west of Berlin, right in front of the famous Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church or Gedächtniskirche. It will enter into some stiff competition in a city already full of style and design hotels.

Accor has acquired Australian hotel management company Mirvac Hotels and Resorts for €149 million. Mirvac has 48 hotels (including two owned hotels) across Australia and New Zealand, and the deal brings Accor’s portfolio in these two countries up to a staggering 241 hotels (32,500 rooms). Accor has also paid €46 million for a 21.6% stake in investment vehicle Mirvac Wholesale Hotel Fund (MWHF), which owns seven of the 48 hotels. Additionally, it is also reported that Accor and Singapore-based real estate developer Ascendas plan to jointly acquire Mirvac’s 49.2% stake in MWHF. The deal is expected to be completed in the first half of 2012 and most of the hotels are to be rebranded as Sofitel, Pullman, MGallery, Novotel or Mercure properties. “This operation is a major success in a high growth market,” said Accor’s chairman and chief executive officer, Denis Hennequin. “With our growth strategy which includes both organic growth and targeted acquisitions such as this one, enabled by our excellent financial situation, I am confident in our capacity to reach our objectives,” he added.

The pop-up phenomenon may be old news in retail and restaurants, but temporary hotels is a concept just gaining ground (makeshift bedrooms in Kreuzberg or Nakameguro art galleries excepted). Today the Berlin-based Design Hotels group is staking the first big claim to the trend on the beach in Tulum, Mexico. The company’s founder, Claus Sendlinger, who moved with his family to Tulum last year, is spearheading the opening of Papaya Playa, a spiffed-up campus of cabanas once belonging to three now-shuttered resorts on about a half mile of beachfront land.

He brought in his creative team from Berlin to make simple stylish improvements to the 99 structures — “make it a bit more comfortable but keep the rawness,” he says — leaving about half of them with shared bathrooms, including a clutch of jungle huts with communal bunk beds that rent for $25 a night to the many backpackers, yogis and spiritual nomads who regularly drift through town. But Occupy Tulum this isn’t. There are 40 ocean-facing cabanas with private decks and hammocks, a spa, a boutique, raw food to go from 42°Raw, and a restaurant run by the folks behind Bar 25 andKaterHolzig in Berlin. An international network of D.J.’s and artists will provide weekly entertainment and contribute to monthly full-moon events dreamed up by the Berlin creative agency Mamapapcola. “The fun part is that we brought our friends,” says Sendlinger, who adds that no one’s arm had to be twisted; most of them were already fans of Tulum.

Sendlinger himself is a longtime blow-in to the area, and he’d had his eye on this piece of land for six years before finally making a deal with its owner. Five years ago, he says, such an arrangement wouldn’t have been possible, but the financial crisis has created more opportunities in the hotel business for those who are “good at moving into a temporary space and creating something. I see this happening more and more.” And if it works this winter, it may become permanent — with some further construction and the help of solar and wind power. What won’t happen is a 500-room tower or luxury condos. “That would kill Tulum,” he says. “We want our kids to have as much as possible the same Tulum as we have.”

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide announced  that it has signed an agreement to acquire 49.8% of the shares of Design Hotels AG from Arabella Hospitality, Starwood’s longtime partner in Germany. Berlin-based Design Hotels, a publicly traded company and provider of distribution, sales, marketing and consulting services for hotels boasts a portfolio of over 200 member hotels in 40 countries. Design Hotels’ collection of hotels are independently owned, but united by a passion for thought-provoking design, aesthetic and service-driven experiences.

The opportunity to acquire a stake in Design Hotels came through Starwood’s relationship with Arabella Hospitality, which recently re-focused its hotel strategy mainly on ownership and asset management and as a result chose to divest its shares in Design Hotels. Starwood continues to manage or franchise 20 of Arabella Hospitality hotels in Europe.

“This is an investment presented to us by a longtime partner,” said Frits van Paasschen, President and CEO of Starwood Hotels & Resorts. “With our own passion for design and innovation, we have long admired Design Hotels, its founder, CEO Claus Sendlinger, and his executive team, who have worked closely with some of the world’s most exciting independent hotel owners to curate a unique collection of hotels around the globe. As a shareholder, we are delighted to have a seat at the table of this dynamic company.”

“Arabella Hospitality has been an enthusiastic shareholder of Design Hotels for a decade. We are extremely pleased to transfer our shares to our long-term partner Starwood, an international player with extensive experience in lifestyle and design-led branding,” said Dr. Klaus N. Naeve, Chairman of the Administrative Board of Arabella Hospitality.

“Having Starwood with its leading global footprint and lifestyle brands as an investor is a further validation that Design Hotels is a strong brand of global relevance as we continue to grow and focus on our niche in the New Luxury hotel segment,” said Claus Sendlinger. “Furthermore, Starwood has a keen appreciation for what makes Design Hotels distinct and special, the creative spirit of our visionary hoteliers.”

According to van Paasschen and Sendlinger, Starwood will not be involved in the day-to-day operations of Design Hotels, nor will Design Hotels participate in any of Starwood’s centralized delivery systems including reservations and Starwood Preferred Guest.

The transaction, which is subject to anti-trust approval in Germany, is expected to close in the first quarter of 2012.

Middle Eastern investor Capital Hill has acquired Morgans Hotel Group London properties The Sanderson (150 rooms) and St Martins Lane (204 rooms) for £ 192 million (£ 542.000 per room). As well as operating the two hotels, Morgans Hotel Group held a 50% stake in the joint venture that owned both hotels. The transaction is expected to be completed before the end of 2011. Morgans will continue to operate the hotels, which are to undergo a £ 20 million renovation, under long-term management contracts.

Meanwhile in Shoreditch, Morgans Hotel Group has got together with Invesco Real Estate  to purchase the 208-room Hoxton Hotel for around £ 70 million. It is reported that the duo have been picked as the preferred bidder for the hotel.

Powerful Multi-Brand Lifestyle Hotel Group Poised for Global Growth

Thompson Hotels, an international collection of 12 luxury lifestyle hotels, and Joie de Vivre Hospitality, the most influential boutique brand in the West, announced they have merged. It is the first step in the creation of a multi-brand lifestyle hotel group with a global footprint. The new group, provisionally called JT Hospitality, will be formally renamed early next year in concert with the completion of a comprehensive joint branding exercise that is currently underway.

“Fifteen months ago we said we would leverage our hospitality platform to nearly double Joie de Vivre’s annual revenues and the number of hotels in the collection within five years”

Thompson Hotels and Joie de Vivre Hospitality are equal partners in the merger, which took effect Oct. 1, 2011, and encompasses hotel-management operations and brands but not real estate assets. With the consolidation, the new hotel group manages 45 properties under the distinctive Thompson and Joie de Vivre brands with combined annual hotel revenues of approximately $500 million. The company will be based in New York City and Thompson Hotels CEO and Co-owner Stephen Brandman has been named CEO. Hospitality veteran John Pritzker, whose private equity firm Geolo Capital acquired a majority stake in Joie de Vivre in June of last year, will serve as co-chairman alongside Jason Pomeranc, the creative vision behind Thompson Hotels and one of its co-owners.

JT Hospitality plans to further expand the two brands domestically and internationally through management contracts, acquisitions and joint ventures. The company, which manages Carmel Valley Ranch and Ventana Inn & Spa, will also add additional luxury resorts and introduce a resort brand. With the merger, the Thompson brand gains access to Geolo Capital’s earlier commitment of a $150 million fund dedicated to hotel acquisitions and co-investments. As a result of the fund, Joie de Vivre has made significant headway on its expansion, acquiring two hotels and a development site in Manhattan, as well as signing up several new management contracts, including hotels in Scottsdale and Chicago, which represent the company’s first forays outside of California.

“Fifteen months ago we said we would leverage our hospitality platform to nearly double Joie de Vivre’s annual revenues and the number of hotels in the collection within five years,” said Pritzker. “By merging with Thompson Hotels we are on track to reach that goal well ahead of schedule. More importantly, the merger will accelerate the growth of both brands, which will benefit from significant capital resources, greater distribution, economies of scale, and collective expertise.”

“It’s exciting to take on the challenge with John of formulating the strategic vision and direction for the new company,” said Pomeranc. “We will be able to take the sensibilities and cultures of the two brands and spread them across different sectors and offer more accessibility with the various price points. Our owners will get the benefits of working with a bigger brand but still get the individuality of an independent.”

Thompson benefits from Joie de Vivre’s dominant West Coast presence and Geolo Capital’s significant investments in Joie de Vivre’s infrastructure and its hospitality investment expertise. Joie de Vivre gains wider exposure and distribution through Thompson’s international expansion in London and Toronto and its strong presence on the East Coast, where the company has five hotels in Manhattan, one in Washington, D.C., and one in Miami.

In addition to geographic diversity, the two brands complement each other in positioning. Joie de Vivre operates 33 properties and is known for casual, eclectic boutique hotels and resorts with inventive design that span the price spectrum from budget to luxury and Thompson operates luxury lifestyle hotels in major urban centers that are design-driven. Both brands are focused on providing guests an immersive experience rooted in each hotel’s unique location.

The new parent company will be formally introduced in the first quarter of 2012 when the global branding strategy is rolled out. JT Hospitality CEO and Co-owner Brandman will oversee the operations and integration of the two companies and split his time between the company’s New York and San Francisco offices. “I look forward to working with the Joie de Vivre team. We will be bringing the two businesses together and intend to be fully integrated within the next three to six months,” said Brandman.

Gary Beasley, who has been serving as interim CEO of Joie de Vivre since September 2010, will return to Geolo Capital to focus on business development for JT Hospitality. The Joie de Vivre brand will continue to be run day-to-day out of San Francisco by Joie de Vivre President and COO Ingrid Summerfield.

Chip Conley, Joie de Vivre’s founder, will retain a significant equity stake in the new company and remain involved as a strategic advisor. “I’m thrilled that with the marriage of JdV and Thompson Hotels the spirit of the Joie de Vivre brand will be growing on a global scale and that the investors and owners who have been the mainstays of our company will enjoy the benefits of the distribution this growth will bring. I look forward to helping in any way that benefits JT Hospitality,” said Conley.

Thompson Hotels Co-founders Michael and Lawrence Pomeranc will each be significant owners in JT Hospitality and continue to develop properties for JT Hospitality as well as sit on the company’s Advisory Board.

“We are extremely excited at the unique opportunities that this merger presents for potential global expansion,” said Lawrence Pomeranc. That sentiment was echoed by Michael Pomeranc, who said “We look forward to continuing the family’s long history of real estate development with lodging projects in exciting new markets.”