Tag: hyatt

Hyatt to Operate 2 of Hesperia’s Hotels in Madrid & Barcelona

7 March 2019 – Expansión

After breaking off its alliance with NH last year, following that firm’s takeover by the Thai Group Minor, Hesperia is now joining forces with Hyatt. The US hotel giant is going to take over the operation of the two jewels in Hesperia’s crown: the Hesperia Madrid and the Hesperia Barcelona Tower. Hyatt will operate the two 5-star properties on a franchise basis under its Hyatt Regency brand from Q4 2019.

This deal forms part of a broader strategic approach by Hesperia, which has also teamed up with Apple Leisure Group for the management of four of its holiday hotels.

Original story: Expansión (by R. Arroyo)

Translation: Carmel Drake

NH Breaks with AMResorts After Minor’s Entry

28 August 2018

The alliance to incorporate the subsidiary of Apple Leisure is frustrated in the middle of the Thai firm’s takeover bid.

The strategic alliance between the NH Hotel Group and the US-based Apple Leisure Group to jointly operate holiday hotel complexes in Europe, announced last May, has ground to a halt in the middle of the Thai group Minor’s takeover bid for 100% of NH.

Market sources explain that Minor’s participation in the firm, where it already controls 44.75% of the capital, has brought the alliance, which should have been signed at the end of last July, to an abrupt end.

The agreement involved the arrival of AMResorts, one of the subsidiaries of the US holding company, in Europe and opened the door for NH to expand in the holiday segment together with the North American company. The alliance was another step in the relationship that AMResorts had maintained with NH since 2011 when both companies established a similar model to operate three complexes in the Dominican Republic.

Under the agreement, currently halted, AM Resorts would have been in charge of brand management and the marketing of the resorts, while NH would maintain operational management. The first complexes in Europe were scheduled to open during 2019.

The American group planned to market three hotels with the AMResorts brand in Lanzarote, Fuerteventura and Mallorca from 2019. These hotels are owned by Hesperia and are managed by NH.

“The resorts will be brand conversions of existing hotels, which will be remodelled to adopt the standards of the AMResorts brands with which they will operate,” the companies indicated at the time.

Also, the alliance envisaged a greater partnership when evaluating “additional opportunities for conversions and new constructions,” that would allow the expansion of AMResorts in Europe and NH to extend its footprint in vacation resorts.

However, Minor’s participation in NH has put an end to the agreement.

The Thai group controls 1,75516,807 shares of NH, equal to 44.75% of the share capital of the Spanish firm and has launched a takeover bid for the rest, although it intends to control between 51% and 55% of NH and keep the group listed.

Alternatives

After the takeover by Minor, NH contracted Bank of America Merryl Lynch to evaluate the offer and look for alternatives.

So far, no white knight has appeared at NH’s door, except for Hyatt, which, despite having expressed interest in the Spanish network, has ruled out a counter-takeover bid, believing that the operation has little prospect of success with Minor controlling more than 44% of its capital.

The Thai group’s bid was accepted by the CNMV on July 19. After the approval of its shareholders and once the market’s supervisory body approves the deal, Minor expects to complete the transaction in October 2018.

Original Story: Expansion – Rebecca Arroyo

Translation: Richard Turner

 

Elliott & Minor Enter the Bidding for HNA’s Stake in NH

30 May 2018 – Expansión

The bidding to acquire the stake owned by the Chinese holding company HNA in NH is entering the home stretch. The Asian giant has set this week as the deadline for the receipt of binding offers for its 29.5% stake in NH, which will be diluted to 25.5% following the execution of the hotel chain’s convertible bonds that are currently in circulation.

The investment funds that have made it to the final round are Lone Star, which has joined forces with the US hotel chain Hyatt to launch its offer, as well as Apollo and Elliott, who have also expressed their interest. Meanwhile, Starwood Capital and Blackstone, which both analysed the operation, have been excluded from the process.

The offers from the funds fall in the range of between €5.50 and €6.00 per share, according to market sources. Yesterday, NH’s share price closed at €6.39. Other sources explain that the funds have signed a standstill with the company so as to not exceed 20% in NH following the operation and whereby avoid having to launch a takeover bid for 100% of the entity at a low price.

These funds have also been joined by the Thai hotel chain Minor, which last week acquired €30 million of Oceanwood’s shares, representing 8.6% of NH, for around €190 million. The agreement includes a pact whereby the manager concedes Minor the right to exclusively negotiate the purchase of the rest of its stake in NH, which, after the bond conversion, will amount to 9.5%.

If it were to acquire all of HNA’s stake, Minor would clearly exceed the 30% threshold that would oblige it to launch a takeover bid for the entire company. In that scenario, the Thai group, whose shares are traded on the Hong Kong stock market, would have a number of alternatives: sell some of its stake on the market, buy fewer shares from HNA or request permission from the shareholders to launch a takeover bid (…).

Original story: Expansión (by Rebeca Arroyo)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Madrid Gets Ready for the Opening of 2,000 Luxury Hotel Rooms

7 January 2018 – Expansión

The hotel market in Madrid is enjoying a happy time. After years as the ugly ducking of Europe’s capitals, with barely any major luxury brands operating in the city, 2,000 luxury rooms are scheduled to open in the city centre over the next two years. “Spain had a very moderate number of five-star hotels in comparison with other global capital cities. Nevertheless, the Town Hall of Madrid implemented a strategic plan for tourism, which boosted the image of the city as a global destination and that attracted international companies, which are taking the city to their own tourist clients”, says Javier García-Mateo, Partner in Financial Advisory at Deloitte.

“The existing luxury hotel stock comprises around 5,000 rooms and over the next few years, another 2,000 rooms will be added, of which 1,000 will be new and the rest will be in renovated properties”, adds Félix Villaverde, Manager at Deloitte Financial Advisory.

The first hotel already opened over Christmas: the US hotel chain Hyatt Hotels has returned to Madrid, specifically, to the heart of the city with the opening of Centric Gran Vía Madrid, a five-star establishment with 159 rooms – including 16 suites (…). With an investment of €30 million, Hyatt has returned to Madrid, after leaving the management of another five-star hotel in the capital in 2009: the Villamagna.

During the first quarter of 2018, another five-star establishment is expected to open. In this case, it will be the chain VP in Plaza de España. It will contain 214 rooms, spread over 17 storeys, following an investment of €90 million (…).

Projects on the lookout for a brand

Some of the other new projects planned for this year in the luxury hotel market in Madrid have not yet been defined. They involve plans for the former Hotel Velázquez and the property owned by the fund KKH in Plaza de las Descalzas.

Last May, the Salazar family sold the Gran Hotel Velázquez for around €60 million. Now, the new owner, the real estate group Didra, is looking for a hotel partner to operate the renovated property. In the case of KKH’s property in Madrid, the negotiations are more advanced. The former headquarters of the Monte de Piedad de Madrid is being renovated to open a five-star hotel and a dozen brands have expressed their interest in operating it. The Park Hyatt, The Peninsula and Saint Regis, from the Starwood group, are the favourites in the running, according to sources in the sector (…).

In addition to these projects that still need to be defined, in 2019, several luxury establishments are due to open, including, the first Four Seasons Hotel in Spain, which will open in the Canalejas complex with more than 200 rooms.

Moreover, a four-star, but nevertheless high-profile, hotel is being created by the Mallorcan chain RIU, which will restore Edificio España, in disuse for a decade, to open a modern urban hotel with 650 rooms.

Meanwhile, Marriott Starwood, the largest hotel chain in the world, has teamed up with the Indian investor Harry Mohiani to open a five-star hotel in the former Hotel Asturias, in the same square as the Four Seasons (Canalejas). That property will have 160 rooms (…).

Prices

The opening of these new luxury hotels will have an impact on room rates, which already saw a significant increase in this niche last year.

“Revenue per room (RevPar) in the five-star segment in Madrid has grown by 6.4% p.a. in recent years, almost four times more than the average in other European centres, due not only to the increase in rates but also the better performance in terms of occupancy rates”, say sources at Deloitte.

“The arrival of new luxury operators in Madrid will drive up the price of five-star hotels in the city. In fact, after carrying out comprehensive renovations, we have already seen examples of hotels that have increased their rates by 50%. The most exclusive hotels will charge €750 per night during certain periods of the year”, they add.

Original story: Expansión (by Rocío Ruiz)

Translation: Carmel Drake

VP Finalises Opening of Flagship Hotel in Madrid’s Plaza de España

24 November 2017 – Expansión

The hotel chain, VP, which is going to debut its Design brand in Madrid in Plaza de España in January, is looking to export its model to other European capitals.

Five years after its arrival in Madrid’s Plaza de España, with the purchase of the buildings at numbers 3, 4 and 5, VP is putting the finishing touches ahead of the inauguration of what will be its flagship property in the capital: the VP Plaza España Design.

“Design is the new collection that VP is launching with Hotel Plaza España in Madrid and we hope to expand it to other European capitals soon”, explains Pedro José Alonso, the Director of the Hotel, speaking to Expansión.

This establishment has been built on the foundations of several buildings that were illegally occupied for years and which once housed offices, an aparthotel and the headquarters of Telefónica. VP purchased the assets in 2015, from the liquidated real estate company Monteverde, for €22 million.

After demolishing the old buildings and constructing the new property, work that was carried out by the construction company Tilmón, the family group is now preparing to unveil its flagship hotel, planned for the middle of January, to coincide with the tourism fair (Fitur). “It has been a pharaonic project. We have incorporated some very exclusive designs that we have had to import from other countries and as a result, the construction work has been delayed by a few months”.

The Hotel VP Plaza España Design will have 214 rooms of different kinds spread over 17 floors, as well as a spa, gym, its own car park and a sky bar with 360º views. Moreover, it will have a restaurant on the ground floor leased to Grupo Larrumba. Both the sky bar, Ginkgo, and the restaurant, Botania, will be independently accessible to facilitate entry for clients not staying at the hotel.

This hotel wants to become a benchmark for MICE tourism (meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions) and will have 1,400 m2 of space for events. “Madrid needs infrastructure in the heart of the centre for this kind of tourism. The existing supply is located on the outskirts”.

Alonso explains that the hotel, which will employ 150 people, will provide a distinctive artistic and decorative offer with works from Pere Grife and Jan Hendrix.

Regeneration of the area

A few months after the debut of the hotel, the Town Hall of Madrid will begin work to regenerate Plaza de España, which is expected to start in the spring of 2018. “Plaza de España has been a black mark (on the landscape) for several years. I am delighted about the project and we form part of this regeneration work”, he says.

Moreover, the facelift of the central square will happen at the same time as the arrival of large domestic groups such as RIU and international players such as Hyatt and Four Seasons: “Their arrival is excellent news for Madrid. Those brands attract their own tourism; they help us to specialise and raise the bar”.

In terms of prices, Alonso says that rooms will be offered from €220 up to “as much as the client is willing to pay”. And he adds; “Madrid is a city that deserves to have different prices to those on offer until now, which were beneath it. In our case, we have a great building, an excellent location and a commitment to service and people. That will allow us to charge prices commensurate with those of a five-star hotel.

Original story: Expansión (by Rebeca Arroyo)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Hyatt To Open Its New 5-Star Hotel In Madrid In December

6 November 2017 – Cinco Días

Nine years after it stopped managing Hotel Villa Magna, the North American hotel chain Hyatt, is finalising its return to Spain and will benefit from first-mover advantage in the battle between the luxury hotels in Madrid. It will be the first to open, but close behind it will be followed by the five-star Four Seasons hotel in Canalejas, the four-star RIU hotel in Plaza de España and the five-star Starwood hotel in the former Hotel Asturias.

The hotel will be located in the heart of Gran Vía, will have 159 rooms (of which 10% will be suites with views over the iconic street) and will be very focused on tourists with a high purchasing power. Gonzalo Maggi, Director of the hotel, highlights that it will be the first hotel to operate under the Centric brand in Europe. “The main features of the brand including being at the centre of the action. We are targeting clients who want to explore, get to know the city and discover new things and who want to use the hotel as a launch pad for their stay”, says Maggi, who admits that the building work is being accelerated to ensure that the hotel will be ready to open in December to take advantage of the Christmas rush.

Maggi defines the client that his hotel is targeting as “lifestyle”, which serves, in his opinion, to differentiate its offer from those of the other operators that are going to compete with Hyatt. “We are going to target people who place a lot of importance on design, fashion, the people they share space with and the gastronomy they seek. We are going to position ourselves in the high-end segment. Of the scale of traditional five-star hotels, we are going to aim a bit lower, but in the highest range of the new establishments”, he says. Another feature of the chain is the food. “We are going to have a music studio in the hotel lobby specialising in vermouths, a restaurant with international food and a rooftop bar, which will open in the first quarter of 2018”, he says (…).

The Director of the Hyatt Centric forecasts that to start with, 40% of the hotel’s clients will come from the USA, where the brand has been established for 60 years and is very well known. The rest will come mainly from three European countries (France, Germany and the UK) as well as from certain Asian countries. Maggi does not rule out that the hotel will also spark interest in the domestic market, despite its high prices, given its good location.

The director of the hotel highlights that Spain represents a very interesting market, as shown by the opening of the Park Hyatt in Mallorca a year and a half ago, although he is sure that the main opportunities are in Madrid and Barcelona (…). Asked about the hotel moratorium, he says (…) “as soon as they let us build there, we will launch ourselves into that market. It is a fantastic city and has a great deal to offer”, he says.

Original story: Cinco Días (by Carlos Molina)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Hyatt Wants To Grow In Spain & Places Its Focus On Madrid & Barcelona

24 October 2017 – Expansión

All of the stars are aligned for Hyatt’s return to Madrid. After almost a decade away, the US chain will return to the capital at the end of the year, with what will be its second hotel in the country, following the opening of Park Hyatt Mallorca in June 2016. What’s more, it is looking for new opportunities to strengthen its presence in the country, according to Gonzalo Maggi, Director General of Hyatt Centric Gran Vía Madrid.

For its debut in the capital, the luxury hotel group has chosen the building at number 31 on Madrid’s iconic Gran Vía. The building is owned by the Mexican family group Exacorp, and used to house the legendary Zahara coffee shop and the famous lottery office of Doña Manolita.

“Hyatt wants to continue investing in Spain. We do not have any specific projects under consideration at the moment, but we are looking for opportunities to continue growing in the country”, said Maggi, who mentions Madrid and Barcelona as the places where the group is placing its focus when it comes to strengthening its presence.

At the end of July, the multi-national owned 731 hotels around the world, and it has opened one hundred establishments in the last year alone.

In terms of Madrid, the chain, which managed Hotel Villa Magna for almost two decades until 2008, has this market on its radar. “We think that it is a very important city in Europe. Since we left Madrid, we have been trying to return, but we weren’t able to find any project that was worth it until now”, he said.

“Hyatt has 13 brands and we are considering which ones fit with this market. In addition to Centric, the Regency brand could suit the city”, he added.

With its arrival on Gran Vía, Hyatt will be the first in a long line of international luxury chains, such as Four Seasons and the Aloft and W brands – from Starwood – , that are going to arrive in the centre of Madrid over the next few years: “One of the advantages we have over the competition is that we are going to be one of the first to arrive on Gran Via in the five star segment. Our product will be distinctive all by itself. It will serve as a starting point for visitors to explore the city and as an icon for leisure in the local market”.

Timetable

The Hyatt Centric Gran Vía, with 159 rooms, will open its doors in December and will have 88 employees. The establishment will have a rooftop terrace, which will be inaugurated a few months later, probably in the spring of 2018.

The owner of the building, which used to be leased as office space, spent €30 million renovating the asset, which Hyatt wants to turn into a flagship property for its Centric brand in Europe. The hotel’s features will include a vermouth bar, Ondas, with a design that imitates that of a music studio, and an Ice and Coal restaurant, with a local gastronomic offering.

Original story: Expansión (by Rebeca Arroyo)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Cordish, the Last of the Big Failed Real Estate Projects

07 August 2017

Eurovegas, Operation Campamento, the Four Seasons of Barcelona and the Hyatt hotel project in the Torre Agbar are some of the most famous unsuccessful investments in Spain.

They were destined to occupy prominent positions in the ranking of mega real estate projects but were doomed to failure, even before starting out. Failure to comply with regulatory requirements, bureaucratic obstacles and clashes with the relevant authorities have been some of the factors that have caused the failure of multi-million-dollar investments planned by, among others, the North American group Cordish, the Chinese giant Wanda, the American magnate Sheldon Adelson and projects by the multinationals Four Seasons and Grand Hyatt in Barcelona.

The last project to flounder has been Cordish’s. The Baltimore-based group wanted to build a leisure and gambling complex in the Madrid municipality of Torres de la Alameda. But the Madrid Autonomous Community has rejected the proposal under the Integrated Development Center (CID) not once, but twice, considering that the project will not impact the economy, employments levels and culture sufficiently, while also questioning the project’s feasibility.

Cordish’s truncated plan joins Eurovegas, the ill-fated gambling complex that American Sheldon Adelson intended to build in Alcorcón, the Gran Scala fiasco in the Los Monegros desert and the mirage of The Kingdom of Don Quixote in Ciudad Real.

Another of investor that has accumulated bad experiences in Madrid is the Chinese giant Wanda, which owns 20% of Atletico Madrid. The conglomerate, led by the tycoon Wang Jianlin, announced three years ago its intention to invest at least 3 billion euros in a high-end complex with up to 15,000 luxury dwellings in the former Campamento barracks in Madrid owned by the Ministry of Defence. In addition, the urbanization plan included a commercial complex, theme parks and casinos. The Chinese group, however, gave up its plans when faced with land prices it considered exorbitant. Months later, another of Wanda’s star projects in Madrid went up in smoke. The group, which had bought the Edificio España from Santander for 265 million in 2014, decided to put it on sale after disagreements with the Madrid City Council, which required the conservation of the front and side facades, as established by the law on protection of historic buildings.

Vetoes

Hotel investments have suffered a setback in Barcelona as well. Suspended licenses have caused large international chains to withdraw from their projects in the City of Barcelona.

In particular, the arrival of the hotel brand Four Seasons in Barcelona was truncated by a municipal veto. KKH Property Investors paid 90 million euros for the Deutsche Bank building, located at the intersection of Barcelona’s Avenida Diagonal and the Paseo de Gracia. KKH was seeking the demolition of the building, to subsequently build a larger building, to be run by Four Seasons. But the project collided with the then activist Ada Colau, who turned the rejection of the project into one of her electoral promises. Her election to the Barcelona City Council in the summer of 2015 cut short KKH’s plans, which has chosen instead to rehabilitate the old office building and convert it into high-end residential housing. Four Seasons, which will land in Madrid in early 2019 at the Canalejas complex, is still looking for locations in the city.

Another of the big international hotel chains that could have come to Barcelona was Hyatt. In 2013, fund manager Emin Capital, led by Andorran Jordi Badia, announced that it had bought the Agbar Tower for 150 million euros and was preparing to convert it into a luxury hotel that would be managed by the US hotel chain. Three years later, the project had still not been approved and the asset was finally sold to Merlin Properties, which will maintain it as an office building and hope that it will become the headquarters of the European Medicines Agency (EMA).

Original Story: ProOrbyt Expansion – Rebeca Arroyo/Marisa Anglés

Translation: Richard Turner

Hyatt Returns To Madrid To Manage Hotel On Gran Vía, 31

10 March 2017 – Cinco Días

Hyatt is returning to Madrid. The hotel chain is coming back to the capital nine years after abandoning its role as the manager of Hotel Villa Magna. This week, the company has announced that it will manage the future hotel whose doors are going to open at number 31 Gran Vía, a property that is owned by the company Exacorp One, itself owned by the Mexican Díaz Estrada family.

The hotel chain will open an establishment there during the fourth quarter of this year, under the Hyatt Centric brand, according to a statement made this week by the firm. As such, it will become the first establishment to bear the hotel chain’s urban brand in Spain.

The future hotel will have 159 rooms, a restaurant called “Hielo y Carbón” (Coal and Ice) and a roof-top terrace, which will open during 2018. Jorge Díaz Estrada, Director of Exacorp, recognises that “the hotel’s central location, combined with its unique design, will attract business and pleasure travellers alike”.

In addition to this property, Díaz Estrada has entered Madrid’s real estate market with a bang in recent years with the purchase of several buildings. The most iconic property in its portfolio is Apple’s current flagship store in Puerta del Sol. In addition, the firm has acquired properties at numbers 25 and 27 Calle Montera.

Meanwhile, Hyatt’s return represents yet another boost for the hotel sector in the city. A real commitment from the international brands, which will be further strengthened by the arrival of Four Seasons in the Canalejas Complex and the W, which Starwood is going to open across the road. These establishments will encourage more international travellers and will, according to sources in sector, favour an increase in average prices for hoteliers.

In addition, a number of Spanish hotel chains have also strengthened their presence in the area in recent times. In this vein, Barceló has opened a hotel in Torre de Madrid, close to where Riu is expected to manage the future hotel in Edificio España. Meanwhile, NH, will open the doors to its new hotel on Gran Vía at the beginning of next year.

Original story: Cinco Días (by Laura Salces Acebes)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Merlin Buys Torre Agbar In Barcelona For €142M

13 January 2017 – Cinco Días

The company General Aguas de Barcelona has sold Torre Agbar to Merlin Properties for €142 million. As such, the project announced by Emin Capital in 2013 to convert the property into a luxury hotel has been abandoned, given the difficulties involved. In theory, the plan was for a hotel to be opened there and managed by Hyatt, but the hotel moratorium imposed by the mayoress Ada Colau made that project impossible, according to sources at the fund.

In the end, Merlin pipped the Andorran investor group Emin at the post and purchased the iconic skyscraper, which will be used for office space. As such, the Socimi will not need to request any change in its designated use. Meanwhile, yesterday, Emin asked the Town Hall of Barcelona to cancel the request it had filed to change the designated use of the building to allow it to open a hotel.

Located at number 211 on Avenida Diagonal, the building designed by Jean Nouvel has become a symbol of the city and marks the entrance to Barcelona’s technological district, 22@. The pace of activity in the office market in the district has caused the number of operations to double in the last two years, establishing it as the city’s business hub.

At 142 m, Torre Agbar is the third tallest building in the city and has a gross leasable area of 37,614m2, spread over 34 floors and an auditorium with capacity for more than 350 people. In addition, it has 300 parking spaces on four underground floors and until July 2015, it housed the headquarters of Aguas de Barcelona.

Merlin – listed on the Ibex 35 – is the largest Socimi in Spain. It has a portfolio of assets worth €9,600 million, following its acquisition of Testa from Sacyr and the integration of Metrovacesa’s portfolio of commercial properties. Its main shareholders include Santander and BBVA, as well as international funds.

The company, led by Ismael Clemente, sold 19 hotels to Foncière des Regions for €535 million at the end of December, given that that type of property does not form part of its strategy. It has announced that it will allocate the resources raised to reducing its debt and to possible acquisitions. It also revealed that it wants to grow its presence in Barcelona, which accounts for just 13% of the value of its portfolio. On this occasion, it has been advised by Savills. (…).

Original story: Cinco Días (by Alfonso Simón Ruiz and Laura Salces)

Translation: Carmel Drake