Skip to content

Search

Latest Stories

Hihotels adds four properties into franchise system

Three Scottish Inns debut in Texas, while Passport Inn opens in Pennsylvania

Hihotels adds four properties into franchise system

HIHOTELS BY HOSPITALITY International, a leader in franchising of conversion and new-build hotels for economy lodging, has opened four properties including Scottish Inns in Austin, Forest Hill and Hankamer, Texas and a Passport Inn in Paradise, Pennsylvania. These properties are owned by Dinesh Patel, Anu Investment Corp., Priteshkumar “Pat” Bhakta and Saraswati Group, Inc., respectively.

The Scottish Inns & Suites in Austin is a former Rodeway Inn and is owned by Dinesh Patel. The 35-room hotel is located in downtown Austin just off Interstate 35 and East Highway 290. It is near the 6th St. Entertainment District and the University of Texas campus, and is near the Austin Zoo and Austin Convention Center, hihotels said in a statement.


The Scottish Inns hotel in Forest Hill, Texas, a 46-room new construction, is owned by Anu Investment Corp. The property is located along Mansfield Highway, just a half mile from I-20 and 10 miles from downtown Fort Worth.

The Scottish Inns hotel in Hankamer, Texas, is a former Palace Inn with 40 rooms, is owned by Priteshkumar ‘Pat’ Bhakta. It is located off I-10 between Baytown and Beaumont, close to the Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge and Trinity River Waterbird Rookery.

Owned by Saraswati Group, Inc., the Passport Inn in Paradise, Pennsylvania, is hihotels’ 20th property in the Keystone State. The 25-room former Rodeway Inn is located along Route 30, less than 10 miles from Lancaster, which is the home of Dutch Wonderland, the Tanger Outlets and Franklin & Marshall College, the statement added.

“I’m very pleased to announce these strategic openings, especially being able to strengthen our presence in the key Texas Triangle of Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth and San Antonio with the additions in Austin and Forest Hill,” said Chris Guimbellot, president and CEO of hihotels. “Adding these four properties continues our smart growth approach of focusing more on hotels that are in good locations, are high quality and have ownership that has a desire to work together to achieve success for both their hotel and their franchise system.”

In May, hihotels partnered with travel app Hopper to give owners of hihotels’ five brands – Scottish Inns, Red Carpet Inn, Master Hosts Inns, Downtowner Inns and Passport Inn – access to Hopper’s proprietary suite of products that assist with conversion, repeat purchases and profitability.

More for you

Peachtree Group loan
Photo credit: Peachtree Group

Peachtree backs $42M loan for AFC deal

Summary:

  • Peachtree provided a $42 million floating-rate loan to Banyan Street Capital for the acquisition and repositioning of Atlanta Financial Center in Buckhead.
  • The deal delivers capital at a reset basis, with comps pricing 98 percent higher, reflecting strong collateral and execution.
  • It recently launched a $250 million fund to invest in hotel and commercial assets mispriced from market illiquidity.

PEACHTREE GROUP PROVIDED its first mortgage loan to Banyan Street Capital for the acquisition and repositioning of the 914,774-square-foot Atlanta Financial Center in Buckhead, Georgia. Peachtree said the office sector is at an inflection point, similar to the retail segment previously.

Keep ReadingShow less
Wyndham & Grubhub Offer Free Delivery to Guests & Staff

Wyndham, Grubhub offer free delivery to guests, staff

Summary:

  • Wyndham Hotels & Resorts is partnering with Grubhub to offer free product delivery to guests and staff at nearly 6,000 U.S. hotels across 20 brands.
  • A Grubhub account is required to activate the complimentary Grubhub+ membership; no credit card is needed and the membership does not auto-renew.
  • Wyndham recently deployed Elavon’s cloud payments interface to more than 6,000 U.S. and Canadian franchisees.

WYNDHAM HOTELS & RESORTS and Grubhub, an online ordering and delivery platform, will offer item delivery to guests and staff with no delivery fees and other benefits. The service is available at nearly 6,000 U.S. hotels across 20 brands, with orders placed through the Grubhub app on-site or by scanning a hotel QR code.

Keep ReadingShow less
U.S. Hotel Construction Hits 20-Quarter Low in June

CoStar: Hotel construction drops in June

Summary:

  • U.S. hotel rooms under construction fell year over year for the sixth straight month in June, hitting a 20-quarter low, CoStar reported.
  • About 138,922 rooms were under construction, down 11.9 percent from June 2024; the luxury segment had 6,443 rooms, up 4.1 percent year over year.
  • Lodging Econometrics recently said Dallas led all U.S. markets in hotel construction pipelines at the end of the first quarter, with 203 projects and 24,496 rooms.

THE NUMBER OF U.S. hotel rooms under construction declined year over year for the sixth straight month in June, reaching a 20-quarter low, according to CoStar. Additionally, more than half of all rooms under development are in the South, mostly outside the top 25 markets.

Keep ReadingShow less
G6 Hospitality Launches 24/7 Guest Support From August 1
Photo credit: G6 Hospitality

G6 launching 24x7 guest support on Aug. 1

Summary:

  • G6 Hospitality will launch 24x7 guest support on Aug. 1, expanding the current 18-hour window.
  • Escalations from phone, email and social media will be handled promptly by trained staff.
  • The service supports G6’s tech and service investments, including the AI-powered My6 app.

G6 HOSPITALITY, PARENT of Motel 6 and Studio 6, will launch a 24x7 customer support service for guests starting Aug. 1. The service extends the previous 18-hour window to full-day availability via phone, email and social media.

Keep ReadingShow less
U.S. travelers using mobile devices to book independent boutique hotel stays with personalized offers and smart tech in 2025

Study: Personalization boosts independent hotel bookings

Summary:

  • Around 95 percent of U.S. travelers are more likely to book independent hotels with personalized offers, according to TakeUp.
  • 59 percent plan more travel in 2025, with 78 percent favoring weekend getaways and 65 percent domestic trips.
  • Top booking deterrents are few reviews at 39 percent, unclear cleanliness or quality at 38 percent and inflexible cancellations at 29 percent.

PERSONALIZED OFFERS BASED on interests would make 95 percent of U.S. travelers more likely to book at an independent hotel, according to TakeUp, a revenue management platform for independent hotels. About 85 percent are open to technologies such as smart check-in, recommendations and AI-based pricing.

Keep ReadingShow less