Viceroy Palm Springs to become an Avalon Hotel
The Viceroy Palm Springs, a signature name among the valley’s luxury boutique hotels, is changing brands to become an Avalon Hotel.
Proper Hospitality, which also recently announced it assumed management of the Avalon Hotel Beverly Hills, will begin management of the Viceroy property on April 7.
“These hotels hold a special place in my heart, as well as a unique place in the market. They are truly hidden gems with great histories and promising futures,” Brad Korzen, Proper Hospitality co-founder and chief executive, said in a statement Wednesday.
ALIS Award Winners Announced
Most Noteworthy Hotel Investment Deals and Executives Honored at ALIS
Los Angeles, CA, January 27, 2015 – Executives and companies responsible for the most influential hotel industry deals in 2014 were honored with prestigious ALIS awards at the Americas Lodging Investment Summit (ALIS) awards luncheon today. Nominees are considered for the awards based on outstanding business performance in various industry sectors and determined by ALIS sponsors and delegates. This year’s winners are:
REI to open flagship store at Uline Arena
The site of the Beatles’ first U.S. concert is about to become a destination for the District’s climbers, campers and cyclists.
REI, the specialty outdoors retailer, on Wednesday announced plans to open a sprawling store inside Uline Arena in the District’s NoMa neighborhood. The 51,000-square-foot location is scheduled to open in late 2016. It will be the company’s fifth flagship store and its first in the District.
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Parade of New Lifestyle Hotels Continues in 2015
A rendering of the Bisha Hotel in Toronto which is slated to open next year as part of Loews’s OE Collection of lifestyle hotels INK Entertainment
Last year was the Year of the Lifestyle Hotel, with Marriott, Hilton and InterContinental among the many players introducing new brands or making acquisitions in this hot market segment.
After less than a month, 2015 looks on pace to surpass it.
Viceroy Hotels’ Founder to Launch New Proper Hotels Brand
With the rise of so-called urban “innovation districts” rearranging so many downtown cores so quickly, there’s been a lack of hotel product to keep pace that aligns with the startup and creative professional crowds swarming to them.
Launching today, Proper Hotels is a new lifestyle hospitality brand that will attempt to bridge the luxury mindset of a brand like Viceroy Hotels with the quixotic underground spirit of ones like Ace Hotel or 21c Hotels. Opening first in San Francisco’s Mid-Market neighborhood at the end of 2015, Proper is the brainchild of CEO Brad Korzen, the founder and former CEO of Viceroy Hotels.
Douglas Taps United Bank, EB-5 To Finance Spec Office Project
A veteran Washington, D.C., developer has raised financing for a speculative office building project near Ford’s Theater with a $44.5 million construction loan and $9 million obtained through a federal program that allots visas to foreigners who invest in U.S. development projects.
Douglas Development Corp. has already started building the 93,000 square foot tower at 1000 F Street. The building is considered speculative because Douglas is moving ahead with very little preleasing.
Say Hello to Canopy by Hilton
Hilton Worldwide today announced the launch of Canopy by Hilton, a new hotel brand that redefines the lifestyle category around the mindset of today’s leisure and business travelers. Christopher J. Nassetta, president and CEO of Hilton Worldwide, unveiled the Canopy by Hilton concept to nearly 1,900 owners and development representatives at Hilton Worldwide’s Global Partnership Conference in Orlando, Florida.
Immigrant Investors: A New Source of Real Estate Capital
When the Athia family arrived in Washington, D.C., during the 1990s, they gained entrée to the local motel industry through connections from their native India. What began for them as front desk check-ins and the cleaning of motel rooms in suburban Maryland has grown into Baywood Hotels, a successful family-run hospitality development firm that has completed more than 70 hotels nationwide.
Marriott Marquis Washington, DC Now Accepting Applications for Hundreds of Job Opportunities
The Marriott Marquis in Washington, DC, the city’s soon-to-be-largest hotel, has officially started accepting applications for hourly employees as of Thursday, February 20. Opening on May 1, over the course of the year Marriott Marquis Washington, DC will provide hundreds of job opportunities, in housekeeping and front office, culinary, restaurants, engineering, loss prevention, and more.
D.C. in the running for USA Today’s ‘Best Convention City’
The contest will name the best convention city based partly on an online vote, which will be open to the public through March 10. The cities were selected based on four criteria: the convention center itself, the city’s offerings, the proximity of hotels and restaurants to the convention space and travel ease, convenience and costs.