Hotel hot sheet: More and More and More Properties

By Joe Brancatelli

Lest you think the meltdown of the lodging industry would slow the development of new properties, consider this new crop of openings. If there is any bright side to these newbies, consider that several are actually in areas that honestly need new properties. One example: the new Hilton Garden Inn branches in Troy, New York, and Presque Isle, Maine. Then there’s the new 144-room Residence Inn in Yonkers, New York. One property that isn’t opening into a hotel shortfall, however, is the 155-room Aloft, one of Starwood’s new brands, near BWI Airport in Baltimore.

Internationally, two new properties of note: the 272-room InterContinental Kiev in the Ukraine and the 563-room Shangri-La Ningbo in China. Big doings in the luxury segment, too. The 99-room Jefferson in Washington has reopened after a top-to-bottom renovation of the 1923 Beaux Arts building. The Jefferson is about four blocks from the White House. The Hotel Bel-Air will close on September 30 for a renovation that may take up to two years. And Mandarin Oriental is pulling its name off its hotel in Macau, China. The property has been renamed the Grand Lapa. Radisson has planted its flag on the former Red Lion hotel in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.