Ouvertures d’hôtels

🎸 Rock in Rio, the world's largest music festival, celebrates its 40th anniversary from September 13 to September 22, 2024. The event will feature over 750 artists, including Ed Sheeran, Katy Perry, and Imagine Dragons. The festival, first held in 1985 with Queen headlining, spans over two weeks in Rio de Janeiro. Organizers expect over 700,000 spectators to enjoy more than 500 hours of live music across seven stages at the seaside location in Jacarepaguá, west of Rio.

🏡 The Thompson Palm Springs, part of the Hyatt group, opened on September 4, nestled in the Design District, blending mid-century modern design with Rat Pack-era elegance. The hotel offers 168 sophisticated bungalow-style rooms, including 18 luxurious suites across several towers, each room featuring a private outdoor space with high-end furniture and greenery. Suites boast private reception areas and exclusive amenities. The design harmonizes mid-century traditional elements with Thompson hotels' contemporary aesthetic.

🏠 InterContinental Hotels & Resorts by IHG is returning to Serbia after 20 years, targeting a 2026 opening for the InterContinental Belgrade. The luxury hotel, developed in partnership with Delta Holding, will feature 203 rooms, including 28 Premium rooms, 15 Junior suites, 2 Superior suites, 2 Executive suites, and 1 Presidential suite with panoramic city views. Located in Belgrade's financial and business center, the District, the hotel will offer amenities such as a rooftop pool, bar, restaurant, wellness center, ballroom, and meeting spaces.

🏖️ IHG Hotels & Resorts partners with Roxy-Pacific Holdings to introduce Vignette Collection in the Maldives. Noku Maldives, Vignette Collection, a 50-key private villa resort on Kudafunafaru Island, joins IHG's portfolio in December 2024 after rebranding. The resort features 30 overwater and 20 beachfront villas, with the smallest being 175sqm, making them some of the largest in the Maldives. Amenities include two restaurants and bars, an outdoor pool, fitness center, spa, retail outlet, and a dive and water sports center.

🏨 The Hoxton hotel will open in Cremorne, Melbourne, featuring 198 rooms and three all-day "Restauration & Bars". Embracing local art, design, and history, the vibrant hotel meets the long-standing demand for a Hoxton in Australia. Sharan Pasricha, Ennismore's Co-CEO, highlighted Melbourne's fit for the brand. The Alfasi Group partners with Ennismore, committing to the heritage of the 560 Church Street location.

🏡 Groupe Galia to open "La Fondation", a multifunctional venue over 10,000 m2, featuring a 5-star hotel with 58 rooms and suites, two restaurants, a rooftop, office space with an auditorium and hanging garden, a sports club with a climbing wall, and a semi-Olympic pool. The Parisian venue's enveloping atmosphere, celebrating creation in all forms, is designed by Robin Standefer and Stephen Alesch of Roman & Williams. "La Fondation" will house 55 rooms and 3 suites across 7 floors, offer cultural programming, and aims to be more than a luxury hotel, but a "residence of free spirits".

🏕 Six Senses Telluride will feature 77 hotel rooms and 24 branded residences, aiming for LEED Silver certification and sustainability at its core. As part of IHG Hotel & Resorts' Luxury & Lifestyle portfolio, it is set to become IHG's first luxury resort in North America's western mountain region. The development led by Matthew Shear and David Jaskel of The Vault Home Collection is focused on delivering an unparalleled outdoor and wellness hospitality experience in Telluride.

🏨 In Bentong, near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the First World Hotel & Plaza expanded to 7,351 rooms, surpassing the Venetian Resort (7,092 rooms) and MGM Grand Las Vegas (6,852 rooms). Awarded by Guinness Book in 2015 with 6,118 rooms, it remained ahead of the yet unfulfilled 10,000-room promise of Saudi Arabia's Abraj Al Bait. Offering rooms at €20 per night, the 3-star establishment provides good value and is owned by Genting, featuring a shopping center and leisure park. No European hotels are in the top 30 worldwide.

🏨 IHG Hotels & Resorts partners with Hai Thanh Hung Investment Joint Stock Company and Vietnam Royal Investment and Construction Co., Ltd (VRIC) in Quang Binh province for a multi-property agreement. The deal includes 68 villas at voco Quang Binh Resort and a 232-room Crowne Plaza Quang Binh City Centre. voco Quang Binh Resort will open next year, joining voco Ma Belle Danang in Vietnam. Crowne Plaza Quang Binh City Centre is set to open by the end of 2025, following Crowne Plaza Phu Quoc Starbay and Crowne Plaza Vinh Yen City Centre. This marks IHG's entry into Quang Binh, home to the UNESCO World Heritage site Phong Nha – Ke Bang National Park.

🏨 Luxury hotel openings in London maintain momentum despite economic slowdown. Goldman Sachs reports a 5% GDP decrease since Brexit in 2016. Summer 2024 saw lower rates but higher occupancy than 2023, according to Whitebridge, Rider Levett Bucknall, and HotStats. The UK's GDP growth in 2025 is projected at 1%, the weakest in the G7, per OECD. New hotels in the first half of the year include Mandarin Oriental Mayfair (55 rooms), Emory (60 rooms), Park Hyatt River Thames (203 rooms), and approximately 5 premium lifestyle hotels like Virgin Hotel Shoreditch (120 rooms). Upcoming 2025 openings are Six Senses Bayswater, Chancery Rosewood, Marriott’s St Regis, and Waldorf Astoria Admiralty.