Briefs: GIC could acquire the Japanese Prince; Aprilose expands outside of London

GIC leader in acquiring assets in Japan: Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC is set to finalize a $1.3 billion deal to acquire around 30 hotel assets (hotels, resorts and golf courses) under the Tokyo-based train operator’s Prince brand Seibu Holdings. GIC reportedly beat out a shortlist of potential buyers that included Blackstone and Softbank-backed Fortress Investment Group. Seibu predicted its operations would lose 14 billion Japanese yen ($121 million) for the 12 months ending March 31, 2022, to mark its second straight year of losses. Seibu’s hotel portfolio includes the 33-story Prince Park Tower Tokyo, the 587-room Prince Hotel Sapporo and the 510-room Grand Prince Hotel Hiroshima.

Aprirose expands outside of London: London-based property investor Aprirose has acquired the Selsdon Park Hotel in Surrey, England from De Vere Hotels for an undisclosed amount. The 200-acre park currently includes a 150-room hotel, meeting and conference facilities, a range of catering facilities, as well as an 18-hole golf course. Aprilose’s dedicated platform for owned and operated hotels currently manages 21 properties under brands such as Delta Hotels by Marriott, Double Tree by Hilton and the Qhotels portfolio, which includes 19 country house, hotel and spa assets. . In 2018, Aprirose also invested in a distinct lifestyle concept, Birch, and continued to support its growth.

Marriott Asia-Pacific Milestone: Marriott International announces that it is aiming for its 1,000th opening in Asia-Pacific by the end of this year. Last year, Marriott signed an average of two new development deals per week in the region, with deals signed in 13 different markets. Greater China accounts for more than half of the company’s planned luxury openings in Asia-Pacific in 2022. Ritz-Carlton Reserve will open its first rare estate in the historic Jiuzhaigou Valley. Other luxury openings expected in 2022 include the JW Marriott Hotel Changsha and the W Macau – Studio City. In South Korea, the JW Marriott Jeju Resort & Spa opens in May. The scheduled opening of the W Sydney in late 2022 will mark the third W hotel in Australia. Westin Hotels & Resorts is set to debut in Yokohama, Japan, and Cam Ranh, Vietnam. Back in China, Four Points by Sheraton has five planned openings in 2022, while Moxy Hotels will open in Suzhou and Xi’an. The AC Hotels brand will debut in Seoul and Melbourne. In Japan, Fairfield by Marriott plans to add six new properties.

Nazarian’s Ghost Kitchen model expands: Sam Nazarian’s C3 (Creating Culinary Communities) has partnered with the Westin Las Vegas Hotel & Spa, operated by Highgate, to assume day-to-day operations of in-room dining and local deliveries. Along with its virtual restaurant brands and shared kitchen models, C3 is also expanding its partnership with the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, awarding the company contracts with nearly 75,000 hotel rooms. It also works with Graduate Hotels, SLS Baha Mar in the Bahamas and SLS Dubai. C3 has over 800 virtual kitchen locations across the US and a listing of over 40 culinary brands. To date, it has served over 2.3 million meals.

Booming UK bookings: New data from ForwardKeys suggests flight bookings to and from the UK have soared following the government’s January 24 announcement that COVID-19 tests would no longer be required for fully vaccinated travelers entering UK. pandemic levels (2019), leaving at 106% and entering at 47%.

Easier for Brazilians to visit the United States: Brazil and its citizens now have a full partnership in the Global Entry program, which will facilitate travel to the United States for business and tourism. It will provide pre-approved travelers from Brazil with an expedited customs process upon arrival in the United States “While this is good news, the Biden administration must also resolve ongoing visa processing issues in Brazil and around the world. “said the president of the US Travel Association. and CEO Roger Dow. “On average, wait times for visitor visas to Brazil are 233 days. Prior to the pandemic, Brazil was the fifth largest inbound market overseas, and it is crucial that visa processing fully resumes so that we can restore this critical source market.