News In Brief

 

Biosphere, WTTC to develop hotel sustainability standards (Pixabay) A collaboration between the World Travel & Tourism Council and Biosphere Foundation aims to establish global sustainability standards for the hotel industry by integrating WTTC's Hotel Sustainability Basics verification and the Biosphere methodology. "Sustainability must be viable, understandable and achievable," Dr. Tomas de Azcarate Bang of the Responsible Tourism Institute said, noting that it "requires consensus and harmonization of concepts, steps, and measures, which this agreement seeks to accomplish."  Full Story: TravelPulse (1/18)  Baxter secures $73M loan to build hotel in San Diego Baxter Hotel Group has received a $50.4 million construction loan and a $22.6 million C-PACE loan from Peachtree Group to construct a 16-story Home2 Suites and Tru by Hilton Hotel in San Diego. Work will start this month on the 263-room property, which is expected to take 22 months to complete.  Full Story: Connect CRE (1/18)   $1.2B refinancing loan sought for 3 Hong Kong hotels Sources say Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund and New World Development Co. are seeking a bank to provide a $1.2 billion refinancing loan related to the 2015 purchase of Hong Kong's Renaissance Harbour View Hotel, Grand Hyatt Hong Kong and Hyatt Regency Hong Kong, Tsim Sha Tsui. The companies are asking for three-year and five-year price quotes, with other details yet to be determined.  Full Story: Bloomberg (1/1 More rooms added for Marriott, Hilton With the travel industry continuing to bounce back in 2023, Marriott International and Hilton Hotels & Resorts said they expanded hotel capacity. Marriott increased its net rooms by 4.7% last year, while Hilton added 24,000 rooms in the fourth quarter of 2023.  Full Story: MarketWatch (tiered subscription model) (1/22 Racetrack, casino-hotel proposed for Fremont, Neb. KRG Investment Group is reportedly proposing a racetrack with a casino and hotel for Fremont, Neb., one of seven current proposals for casinos linked to racetracks allowed under state law. The plan must be approved by the Nebraska Racing and Gaming Commission, which will also weigh opposition arguments that any decision should await results of studies on the effects of casinos that are already licensed.  Full Story: Omaha World-Herald (Neb.) (1/19)

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