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ATLANTA-BASED BANYAN Investment Group, led by Rakesh Chauhan and Andy Chopra as managing partners, is rebranding as Satori Collective, an investment management firm focusing primarily on hotel property investment. Its subsidiary Banyan Tree Management also has become Aperture Hotels. Satori and Aperture will work independently of one another. The awakening Satori focuses on investment into select-service, upper select-service extended-stay and lifestyle hotel properties, according to the company. It concentrates on investment in growth corridors located in top MSAs across the U.S. which have established hotel demand generators such as tourism, corporate group travel, state capitals, conference universities, healthcare, heavy manufacturing and military. "Satori is a Buddhist term meaning 'awakening and deep understanding,' which is how our team approaches commercial real estate investment," Chopra said. "With more than 140 years of combined investment experience in virtually all markets and segments, our team has an unparalleled understanding of both the environment and the marketplace. We realized that our true, core business is real estate investment, so we have renewed and doubled our focus on raising and deploying capital in pursuit of consistent, risk adjusted returns while allowing our former management platform to stand on its own and pursue additional third-party management business opportunities."

VERAKIN CAPITAL, A real estate investment group, exceeded its $350 million investment milestone in the first quarter of this year. The company has made collective investments in three hotel properties that are currently in various stages of development; the Moxy in downtown Atlanta, Georgia; Hampton Inn/Home 2 in downtown Nashville, Tennessee; and Courtyard by Marriott in Pittsburg, California, the company said in a statement. Verakin, led by partners Rupesh and Bimal Patel and Hiten Suraj, is the lead developer of the Courtyard by Marriott, while the company is co-investing in the other two projects alongside RevPar Development and Emerge Hospitality Group, according to the statement. RevPar Development is a privately-owned hotel development and management company on the East Coast, while Emerge Hospitality Group is a family-owned and -operated hotel ownership, development and management company. "We are developing both on our own behalf and in joint ventures with like-minded investment groups," Rupesh Patel said. "We are seeing that newer hotels and brands are faring better than their older counterparts as travel rebounds in many markets and segments. To help satiate our investment growth appetite, we will continue to seek best-in-class partners, such as RevPar Development and Emerge Hospitality Group, who have proven track records as credible institutional investors, developers and operators." The Moxy hotel in downtown Atlanta, will feature 181 rooms spread across 13 floors and is scheduled to open mid-2026 before the FIFA World Cup. The centrally located hotel will cater to both business and leisure travelers and will offer three food and beverage options, including a roof top bar and lounge with views of the Mercedes Benz Stadium.

Nearly six months after opening its doors, the Aloft Mooresville in Mooresville, North Carolina, made it official. Maya Hotels, led by co-founders J.D. Deva and Baldev Thakor, held its grand opening for the property on May 28. Local officials, including Mayor Miles Atkins, Mayor Pro Tem Lisa Qualls, Commissioner Thurman Houston, and Commissioner Gary West, attended the event at the 128-room hotel that actually opened in December. There was live music and special cocktails at the hotel bar. "Our first hotel in Mooresville was over 25 years ago and our belief in the potential of this area has not wavered since. The Aloft Mooresville is our fifth hotel investment in this town, and we could not be more excited," said Deva, CEO of Maya Hotels The hotel provided 50 new jobs for the area. "This celebration is the culmination of a very long and rewarding journey," said Thakor, vice president. "We feel that this brand is a perfectly unique addition to Mooresville, offering an upscale venue for guests and members of the community to have fun and unwind."

APERTURE HOTELS AND Satori Collective have completed a multi-million-dollar renovation of Homewood Suites by Hilton Atlanta/Perimeter Centre in Atlanta. This revamped hotel will cater to extended-stay guests, the companies said in a statement. Aperture Hotels focuses on hotel management, while Satori Collective is a commercial real estate investment firm. The renovation involved improvements to the hotel's public spaces, guest rooms, fitness center, meeting facilities, and exteriors, the statement added. "With the conclusion of this comprehensive, multi-million dollar renovation, the Homewood Suites by Hilton Atlanta/Perimeter Centre has achieved 'like-new' status, effectively becoming the newest extended-stay hotel in the Atlanta Perimeter submarket," said Charles Oswald, president and CEO of Aperture Hotels. "This year continues to provide strong growth for Aperture. In addition to overseeing renovations, we have added six new properties to our portfolio of third-party managed hotels and have several more exciting properties in the immediate pipeline."

SONESTA INTERNATIONAL HOTELS will franchise 114 hotels it currently manages, following their sale by Service Properties Trust or SVC. The Massachusetts-based REIT plans to sell 14,925 keys across 28 states for $850 million in 2025 to repay debt. The trust plans to sell 31 Sonesta Select, 44 Sonesta ES Suites and 39 Sonesta Simply Suites, which will convert from Sonesta-managed to franchised properties upon sale. Following the deal, Sonesta will manage 39 full-service, 14 extended-stay and six select-service hotels owned by SVC, which will retain a 34 percent stake in Sonesta, SVC said in a statement. "Given the slow recovery of our hotel portfolio, along with our capital improvement program and deteriorating leverage metrics, we believe it is prudent to reduce the distribution to increase SVC's liquidity and enhance financial flexibility," said Todd Hargreaves, SVC's president and chief investment officer. "The reduction from the previous level will preserve about $127 million in liquidity annually. We also plan to sell 114 hotels to generate additional liquidity and focus the Sonesta portfolio on full-service and select focused-service hotels. These sales are expected to reduce capital expenditures and leverage, improve portfolio performance, and position the portfolio for the long term."

U.S. HOTEL INVESTORS are growing more optimistic, with 94 percent planning to maintain or increase investments this year, up from 85 percent last year, according to a recent CBRE study. Key drivers include improved return expectations, distressed opportunities and favorable pricing. CBRE's U.S. Hotels Investor Intentions Survey shows only 6 percent of investors plan to reduce allocations, down from 16 percent last year, amid slowing RevPAR growth and cost concerns. "We anticipate an acceleration in hotel investment activity in 2025, as investors are eager to seize new buying opportunities amid increasingly favorable economic conditions," said Bill Grice, CBRE Hotels' president of the Americas. "With ample liquidity accessible through the debt capital markets, investors are targeting assets that offer substantial in-place cash flows and are actively seeking value-add properties that can be repositioned to yield above-market returns."

ATLANTA-BASED PEACHTREE Hotel Group recently acquired the Canopy by Hilton Atlanta Midtown hotel in Atlanta. The company's affiliate Peachtree Hospitality Management will operate the property. The 176-room, 15-story Canopy is a lifestyle hotel that opened in 2018 in Midtown Atlanta, according to Peachtree. The area has the largest concentration of arts and cultural attractions and businesses in the Southeast. "Midtown Atlanta is one of the hottest markets in the country right now, and we are excited to be able to make this investment in our backyard," said Brian Waldman, Peachtree's chief investment officer. "The Canopy Atlanta Midtown fits our investment criteria of investing in premium-branded hotels in growing submarkets with strong demand drivers." Nearby are the Atlanta Arts MARTA station, Museum of Design Atlanta, Savannah College of Art and Design and the Breman Jewish Heritage Museum. Other attractions include Pershing Point Park, Ansley Park and Piedmont Park, along with companies such as NCR, Norfolk Southern, Microsoft, Anthem and Google.

NEWCRESTIMAGE RECENTLY FINALIZED its purchase of the LaQuinta Inn & Suites Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, the final part of the company's acquisition of four LaQuinta-branded hotels in a joint venture between Highgate and Cerberus. The company closed on the other three hotels in the deal in August. The 281-room, 10-floor hotel, which will be managed by Highgate Hotels, along with the other hotels in the deal, will add 696 rooms to NewcrestImage's portfolio. The other hotels are the LaQuinta Inn & Suites Irving DFW North in Irving, Texas; LaQuinta Inn & Suites Anaheim in Anaheim, California; and LaQuinta Inn Phoenix North in Phoenix. "These four hotels symbolize our company's strategy of investing in properties and in markets that are well-positioned for long-term growth and prosperity," said Mehul Patel, managing partner and CEO of NewcrestImage.

REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT management firm Noble Investment Group partnered with Host Hotels & Resorts to tap and expand travel, leisure and hospitality opportunities, a statement said. As part of the initiative, Host will invest $150 million as a limited partner in an existing Noble investment vehicle and provide Noble with first-look at select-service and extended-stay hotel opportunities sourced through Host's channels. Host also will become a minority investment partner in Noble's fee-based asset management business, according to Noble's press release. "As we continue to expand our institutional investment management platform, this strategic partnership further augments Noble's ability to develop, source, and execute innovative growth strategies in travel, leisure, and hospitality," said Mit Shah, Noble's CEO. According to the statement, the partnership will combine Noble's operational expertise and development acumen with Host's scale, market insights, data analytics, and breadth of resources. They aim to source differentiated investment strategies including property technology solutions, development, and alternative lodging.

Red Roof Inn Charlotte-Airport in Charlotte, North Carolina, and Red Roof Inn Doswell-Kings Dominion in Doswell, Virginia, are now open. Shree Shradhaa Saburi LLC, led by Kiran Patel, owns the 108-room Charlotte property. SJ Hotel LLC, led by Nilang Maniarah, owns the 108-room Doswell hotel. Shree Shradhaa invested $700,000 in renovating the Charlotte hotel, while SJ Hotel spent $1.2 million in renovations of the Doswell property, Red Roof said in a statement. Both hotels are pet friendly. The Charlotte hotel is near the U.S. National Whitewater Center, Charlotte Convention Center, NASCAR Hall of Fame, Billy Graham Library, Harvey B. Gantt Center, Atrium Health Carolinas Medical Center, Carolina Raptor Center, Charlotte Douglas International Airport and Gastonia Municipal Airport, the statement said.

GUJARAT JHM HOTELS, owned by the Rama family along with U.S.-based Auro Hotels, recently signed a memorandum of understanding with the government of Gujarat to develop the JW Marriott Surat Resort & Spa in Surat in the state of Gujarat, India. It is GJHM's third Marriott hotel in the city after the Surat Marriott Hotel and the Courtyard by Marriott Surat. The upcoming property will feature more than 300 guestrooms and villas, according to a joint statement by GJHM and Auro Hotels, according to a release on the Press Trust of India website. "This transformative project, backed by more than $120 million (Rs 1,000 crore) investment, aims to create jobs for 800 individuals, offer crucial infrastructure for the city's growth, and establish Surat as the commercial capital of Gujarat," said D.J. Rama, director of GJHM and president and CEO of Auro Hotels. "Aspiring to be a 'Smart City,' this strategic investment underscores Gujarat JHM's commitment to fostering inclusive development. Surat is poised to emerge as a beacon of urban advancement, seamlessly combining financial strength with technological innovation."

WYNDHAM HOTELS & RESORTS and lifestyle hospitality developer sbe launched a new soft brand during the American Lodging Investment Summit in Los Angeles last week. Temporarily dubbed "Project HQ Hotels & Residences," the new brand aims to attract younger travelers looking for an experience. Project HQ is meant to represent sbe's "smart lifestyle" hotel category that is designed to draw in Millennial and Gen Z guests by providing memorable experiences at more affordable rates, according to Wyndham. The name is based on the idea that Project HQ hotels, which will be affiliated with Wyndham's Registry Collection Hotels, will serve the guests' headquarters in the heart of cities where they are located. Project HQ hotels will include pre-approved FF&E packages, supply chain, technology integrations, OS&E packages and programming to monetize otherwise underutilized spaces of the property. Led by Sam Nazarian as chairperson, sbe provides F&B packages that include Casa Dani from Chef Dani García; MXO, a Mexican Steakhouse by Chef Wes Avila; and Katsuya by Chef Katsuya Uechi.

NEWCRESTIMAGE AND HOSPITALITY Capital Partners have acquired 11 hotels in seven states with a total of 1,551 rooms in a joint venture. Al Calhoun and Mark Fair at CBRE in Atlanta handled the transaction. The properties are 10 Courtyards and one Residence Inn in Georgia, Massachusetts, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas and Virginia, according to NewcrestImage. Dallas-based NewcrestImage owns more than 70 hotels across the country with almost 8,000 rooms. Since its founding in 2013, the company has completed more than $3 billion in transactions involving almost 275 hotels with almost 30,000 hotel rooms in 130 communities across the country. "Our company has a strong appetite for solid investment opportunities," said Mehul Patel, NewcrestImage managing partner and CEO. "These properties and markets offer attractive potential for both profits and appreciation value." HCP and its principals Keith Mishkin and Primo Parmar have owned nearly 50 hotels in the western U.S., including The Saguaro Scottsdale in that Arizona city's historic Old Town area. Other projects include 25 golf courses through their associated company, Parks Legacy Project.

DALLAS-BASED NEWCRESTIMAGE plans to acquire 45 hotels from a private investment firm. The portfolio includes approximately 3,300 rooms in 11 states, but other terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The hotels include 35 Marriott International-branded, seven Hilton-branded, two Choice Hotels International-branded and one Radisson Hotels-branded properties. They are in Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota and Texas, according to NewcrestImage. "The current financial environment makes it very attractive to buy rather than build, and this group of fine hotels in high-traffic locations provides us with an exceptional opportunity to immediately start generating significant revenue, profit, and return on investment," said Mehul Patel, NewcrestImage managing partner and CEO.

FRESH FROM SELLING off much of its portfolio, NewcrestImage recently agreed to purchase nine hotels in Arizona from G6 Hospitality, six branded Motel 6 and three branded Studio 6. The company expects to close the transaction in early March. The six Motel 6 properties Dallas-based NewcrestImage will purchase are: Mesa North, 152 rooms Phoenix West, 148 rooms Phoenix Tempe, 131 rooms Scottsdale South, 100 rooms Mesa South, 91 rooms Phoenix Airport, 61 rooms The three Studio 6 properties being acquired are: Tempe, 151 rooms Phoenix Deer Valley, 142 rooms Tucson East, 121 rooms "Acquiring properties, along with developing new hotels, are our two primary investment strategies for achieving growth in 2022," said Mehul Patel, chairman and CEO of NewcrestImage. "We look forward to creating fresh opportunities for these nine Arizona hotels in keeping with our operating philosophy, abilities, and track record." Arizona is an attractive market because its hotel occupancy is robust and above the national average," Patel said.

STARWOOD CAPITAL GROUP, a US-based private equity firm, recently purchased10 Radisson Blu Edwardian properties in London, totaling 2,053 rooms, from Edwardian Hotels London, a U.K. hospitality group with Jasminder Singh as chairman. The financial details of the deal remain undisclosed, but a Bloomberg report estimated the transaction at around $1 billion (£800 million). Edwardian Group will continue to manage the portfolio during a transitional period, the company said in a statement. Edwardian Hotels London will retain operational control and continue managing The Londoner Leicester Square, launched in September 2021, along with its two Radisson Collection hotels-The May Fair in Mayfair and The Edwardian Manchester in Manchester. Jasminder Singh is chairman of Edwardian Group. "Following the successful launch of The Londoner and a period of strong trading across the portfolio, this sale represents an opportunity to refocus the group and position it for its next chapter," said Inderneel Singh, CEO of Edwardian Group and son of Jasminder Singh. "Our three landmark properties - The Londoner, The May Fair Hotel, and The Edwardian Manchester - are perfect showcases of our vision for the future, and we remain committed to investing in and delivering distinctive experiences for guests in high-end, purpose-built, city-centre hotels."

THE KABANI HOTEL Group arranged the off-market sale of a 110-room independent hotel in Miami Springs, Florida, for $16.2 million, or $147,272 per room. The 110-room, six-story property, recently updated, is near Miami International Airport and nine miles from Brickell and Downtown Miami. Kabani, led by Ahmed Kabani as president and CEO, and Luis Garino as a partner, brokered the sale of the 1986-built property on behalf of the seller. Despite the current headwinds in the market, such as elevated interest rates and rising insurance costs, we were able to source an international institutional buyer with the capacity to close the deal on favorable terms and aggressive pricing, Kabani Hotel said in a statement.

PEACHTREE GROUP, THE newly formed affiliate of Peachtree Hotel Group created last week to handle its real estate investments, is launching its first initiative, the 1031 Exchange Delaware Statutory Trust program. The company also selected Tim Witt as president over the new program. A DST is a single-purpose entity qualified for Section 1031 real estate exchanges, according to Peachtree. It allows investors to exchange replacement properties without incurring taxable gain on the sale of previously owned assets. Peachtree's 1031 Exchange DST program will invest in institutional-grade hotels in the U.S. through Peachtree Hospitality Management, another division of Peachtree, is expected to operate any properties acquired as part of the exchange. "As we expand our array of high-quality, diversified investment strategies, we wanted to create 1031 Exchange DSTs to provide tax deferral strategies in the hospitality sector," said Greg Friedman, Peachtree's CEO and managing principal. "We anticipate significant growth and appreciation in the hospitality sector, driving values above pre-pandemic levels. Also, real estate offers an excellent alternative investment channel for those seeking an inflation hedge. We strongly believe hospitality is the most investable asset in the market today, and we anticipate being able to achieve outsized returns."

CHOICE HOTELS INTERNATIONAL recently relaunched Radisson Individuals in the Americas as an upper-upscale soft brand targeting full-service, boutique and independent hotels. This is the first time the brand is offered to owners since Choice's 2022 acquisition of Radisson Hotels Americas. The launch marks the company's expansion into the upscale and upper-upscale segments, Choice said in a statement. "Choice is a different company today than we were just a few years ago," said Patrick Pacious, Choice's president and CEO. "We've seen strong interest in our upscale and upper-upscale brands, including Radisson, Radisson Blu, Radisson Red, Ascend Hotel Collection and Cambria. This reflects the strategic investments we've made to provide value to developers looking to grow in these segments." Radisson Individuals is one of the fastest-growing soft brands globally, with more than 30 properties opened since 2020, including 15 franchised by Choice in the Americas, the statement said.

The Aloft Mooresville is open in Mooresville, North Carolina. The boutique hotel is owned by Maya Hotels led by co-founders J.D. Deva and Baldev Thakor. The 128-room hotel is Maya Hotels' fifth property in Mooresville in the last 25 years, including its Tru by Hilton Mooresville opened in August. It is part of the Langtree Lake Norman mixed-use development near Charlotte, North Carolina, with nearby attractions including Lake Norman and Langtree Plantation. Amenities include an indoor pool and a fitness center. "We are incredibly excited to bring the upbeat Aloft brand to the Mooresville / Lake Norman market," Deva said. "We are pleased to grow our relationship with Marriott and to continue our investment into the Mooresville area."