Maintenance Engineer

IHG signs 24 Holiday inns in Greater China. Today at 6:00 AM PDT Skift take. The hotels span cities and markets, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhanjiang, Yinchuan, Hulunbeir, Nanchang, and Yichang. Plus, more hotel deal and development news from APAC. Savills Hotels said branded residences are playing an increasingly prominent role in Vietnam's premium property market. It noted an increasing number of branded residence developments being launched in partnership with international hospitality operators, including Marriott, IHG, and Hyatt. The projects account for 60% of the future development pipeline, compared with just 28% of existing branded residence supply. The shift highlights the growing influence of global operators within the sector and reflects changing development patterns, with new projects increasingly concentrated in major urban markets such as Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, and Da Nang, rather than traditional resort destinations. Several local residential developers are also said to be considering branded residences as a new approach to the premium segment. The market is expected to add 40 branded residence projects to its planning and development pipeline, underscoring the sector's growing momentum and long-term potential, according to Savills. It believes buyers today are placing greater emphasis on amenities, brand affiliation, lifestyle experience, and service standards. Compared with Thailand, Vietnam's branded residence market remains at a relatively early stage of development. With the affluent and ultra-high-net-worth population and continued recovery of international tourism, Savills expects the market to see a growing number of developments launched in partnership with international brands, particularly across major urban centers and established resort destinations. IHG Hotels & Resorts, Pro-invest Group, and operator Connect Hospitality announced the opening of voco Queenstown, marking the completion of the repositioning of the former Holiday Inn Express & Suites Queenstown into IHG's premium upscale voco brand. The conversion was first announced in February 2026 and is a strategic move to align a centrally located, high-performing Queenstown asset with a premium brand proposition, further capitalizing on strong market conditions in one of New Zealand's most sought-after visitor destinations. This is New Zealand's second voco hotel and involved the refurbishment of 227 guestrooms and suites led by Space Studios and a full redesign of the lobby and food and beverage spaces. Mozzarella & Co is the new restaurant and bar, and a notable feature of voco Queenstown is the introduction of the Resident Host, a new front of house role that combines concierge, porterage, and guest services into a single, highly visible point of guest connection. SkyCity Entertainment Group announced it has entered into a non-binding heads of agreement for the sale of the property's luxury The Grand Hotel. SkyCity said this is part of the group's "Asset Monetisation Programme" and it expects to receive cash proceeds from the sale by the end of this year. The sale is subject to the negotiation and execution of binding sale and purchase documentation upon satisfactory completion of due diligence, and is expected to be conditional on consent from the New Zealand Overseas Investment Office. The proceeds will be used to repay debt and provide the company with greater financial flexibility to navigate current market conditions. Investment firm Forsyth Barr valued the Grand Hotel at around US$117 million in its sum-of-the-parts valuation but said there could be upside to that valuation. If this sale, plus the sale of an office building and investment properties near the casino, goes forward, SkyCity will exceed its NZ$200 million asset sale target. FUTA Land Real Estate Joint Stock Company, a unit of Phuong Trang Group, and Hilton Hotels officially signed a cooperation agreement to develop Hilton Garden Inn and Hampton by Hilton branded hotels in Vietnam. The signing included management contracts for three hotels - Hilton Garden Inn Mui Ne, Hampton by Hilton Da Nang Vo Nguyen Giap, and Hampton by Hilton Da Nang Pham Van Dong, the first projects implemented within the framework of cooperation between the two parties, laying the foundation for FUTA Land's strategy to develop a system of internationally branded hotels. Hilton Garden Inn Mui Ne is the first Hilton-branded hotel in the Mui Ne - Phan Thiet area. The project is expected to add to the supply of high-quality accommodation. FUTA Land is the first investor to bring the Hampton by Hilton brand to Vietnam, with plans to develop two of them. The Sheraton Saigon Grand Opera Hotel has launched Level 23, bringing together meeting, event, and rooftop entertainment venues at its property in downtown Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. The launch marks the hotel's 23rd anniversary, aiming to accommodate growing demand from business travelers, international delegations, and local guests for venues that support multiple functions within a single destination. The high-floor destination comprises a private event venue, Altitude 23, meeting and event space, Summit, and one of Dong Khoi's highest rooftop bars, Hai Bar. Summit has five flexible spaces, with the largest being Grand Summit, combining Summit 1, 2, and 3 into a 197-square-meter space that can accommodate up to 212 guests in theater-style seating, 180 for cocktail receptions or 160 for banquets. The launch of Level 23 marks the hotel's third major development in less than a year, first the Grand Opera Tower with 120 renovated rooms and suites in September 2025, and then in May 2026 the hotel became the first Marriott property to receive LEED Gold Certification. Marriott International is targeting opening Ritz-Carlton and Westin hotels in Kathmandu, Nepal, by 2031, according to Nikkei Asia. It reported the signing of deals for hotels with CG Hospitality in May, with each hotel to house 150 rooms. Marriott has not yet confirmed the report. IHG's Holiday Inn brand recently hosted its Hotel Owner Forum & Signing Ceremony in Beijing, announcing the signing of 24 new hotels across Greater China. The newly signed hotels span key cities and regional markets, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhanjiang, Yinchuan, Hulunbeir, Nanchang, and Yichang, further strengthening the Holiday Inn brand's presence across Greater China. Some of them include Holiday Inn NECC Shanghai, Holiday Inn Shanghai Caohejing, Holiday Inn Beijing Haidian Xibeiwang, and Holiday Inn Shenzhen Dapeng Jiaochangwei. The hotels will have the latest Holiday Inn 3.0 concept, which includes refreshed public spaces and upgraded guestrooms, with the new model designed to support stronger performance across diverse markets. Holiday Inn has 168 open hotels and 106 pipeline hotels in Greater China. Minor Hotels announced the reveal of its final chapter in its year-long evolution of Niyama Private Islands, including the reimagined beach and overwater pavilions. The pavilions are now from 350 to 770 square meters with one, two, or three bedrooms, showing the epitome of Maldives living. Each pavilion includes a living room, dining room, pantry, full-sized pool, and jacuzzi. The Crescent is a quintet of pavilions far out to sea, reached by private boardwalk. Parties of up to 22 enjoy three living rooms, five pools, all with jacuzzis, and a team of thakurus and housekeepers. Besides the refurbishment of Niyama's accommodations, dining was refreshed. Guests can ascend to the treetops at Nest or six meters below the ocean's surface at Subsix with the world's first underwater Nikkei tasting menu. The new thatched-roof Surf Shack is also there to enjoy drinks and fun.

Hilton is bringing a 160-room hotel to Egypt's Ras El Bar. Jul 19, 2026 Jul 18, 2026 Jul 19, 2026 Hilton is bringing Hilton Garden Inn Doray Bay to Ras El Bar, a new 160 room property with MBG Developments, marking the first branded international hotel in this discreet Nile-side town. Jul 19, 2026 At the northern edge of the Nile Delta, where the river makes its final, unhurried surrender to the Mediterranean, sits a town that Egyptians have long kept a secret to themselves. For generations, Ras El Bar has been a laid-back kind of luxury, a resort town where Cairo's writers and intellectuals slipped away each summer for its weathered wooden chalets leaning into a breezy corniche. Here, the singular novelty of two coastlines, the river on one side and the sea on the other, has shaped a rhythm of a summer built entirely around slowing down. There's a literary nostalgia baked into its shores, one that's now starting to draw global attention, with Hilton taking note of its legacy. The group is bringing a 160-key Hilton Garden Inn Doray Bay hotel to Ras El Bar, developed in partnership with one of the leading real estate developers, MBG Developments. The hotel will sit among the very chalets and calm streets that have defined the town's character for a century, a signal that its appeal is no longer confined to the families who have summered there for generations. It joins a small but growing list of international hospitality names beginning to look past Egypt's usual coastal strongholds toward towns that, until now, drew visitors purely by word of mouth. For Ras El Bar, a town that's spent a century as one of Egypt's best-kept summer secrets, Hilton opening might just be the first sign it's ready to be found by everyone else.