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KE Hotels buys The Queen Hotel Cheltenham

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UK: Hospitality group KE Hotels has acquired The Queen Hotel Cheltenham from Sutton Hotel Collection, marking its fifth owned property in the UK. 

The 84-bedroom hotel is housed in a Grade II-listed building in the centre of Cheltenham. Built in the 1800s, it sits on a 1.13-acre site overlooking Imperial Square.

Josh Watts, chief operating officer at KE Hotels said: “We’re delighted to welcome The Queens Hotel Cheltenham into the KE Hotels portfolio. To own a hotel of such historic standing in the centre of one of the UK’s most iconic spa towns is a real privilege. We’re excited to work alongside a fantastic onsite team to build on the hotel’s heritage and deliver an exceptional guest experience.” 

Anil Khanna, managing director of KE Hotels said: “This is an exciting time for KE Hotels as we continue to build momentum in our growth strategy. The addition of The Queens Hotel Cheltenham not only strengthens our owned portfolio but also reflects our long-term vision of acquiring and managing distinctive properties in strategic UK destinations. We’re incredibly proud of the progress we’ve made and the team that’s driving it forward.” 

Savills acted on behalf of Sutton Hotel Collection in the deal. James Greenslade, director at Savills hotels capital markets, said: “The Queens Hotel offers significant value-add potential, including lapsed planning consent for a four-storey extension with function rooms and 17 additional bedrooms.

“The sale of this property mirrors the uptick in single asset transactions we are seeing in the market, with single asset transactions totalling £1.35 billion in H1 2025, marking an 8.4 per cent year-on-year increase and 1.7 per cent above the 10-year H1 average of £1.33 billion. We wish KE Hotels every success with their new venture.”

In addition to the Queen Hotel Cheltenham, KE Hotels owns the Hotel Indigo Newcastle, Lindon Lodge Oxford, Moxy Manchester and a collection of eight hotels in California.

It also manages Hampton by Hilton hotels in Birmingham, Newcastle and Sheffield.

Highlights:

• KE Hotels has acquired The Queen Hotel Cheltenham from Sutton Hotel Collection, marking its fifth UK property.

• The 84-bedroom hotel is located in a Grade II-listed building in Cheltenham’s town centre.

• Built in the 1800s, the property overlooks Imperial Square on a 1.13-acre site.



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Oyo Buys Airbnb Management Platform MadeComfy for Over $50 Million

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Indian hospitality company Oyo has bought Australian short-term rental platform MadeComfy in a deal valued at over $50 million. This marks Oyo’s entry into the Australia and New Zealand market, expanding its already global presence and adding to its growing list of acquisitions.

Last year, Oyo acquired the Motel 6 and Studio 6 hotel brands in U.S. from Blackstone for $525 million in an all-cash deal.

A source confirmed to Skift that the MadeComfy acquisition was made in a cash-and-stock agreement through vacation rental platform – Belvilla by Oyo. The approval came through a extraordinary general meeting of Oyo parent Oravel Stays, which passed the deal unanimously.

About MadeComfy

MadeComfy was started in 2015 by Quirin and Sabrina Schwaighofer, a husband-and-wife team to help landlords rent out their properties on sites like Airbnb, Booking.com, and Stayz. The platform not only lists the properties but also helps with things like price changes, guest check-ins, and even arranging photographers and cleaners to make the listings more appealing.

The company has been operating in Australia and recently expanded into New Zealand. It currently manages more than 1,300 properties and works with nearly 100 real estate agencies.

Oyo plans to keep the MadeComfy brand and retain Quirin and Sabrina Schwaighofer as co-chief executives. The goal is to expand across Australia and New Zealand, and potentially into other countries where Oyo already operates.

MadeComfy’s Financials

This is reportedly the second-largest deal in Australia’s short-term rental tech sector. The biggest was when HomeAway bought Stayz for $220 million in 2013. It also beats Next Capital’s $48.2 million purchase of Alloggio in 2023.

MadeComfy had raised around $20 million from investors over the years. These included Commencer Capital and BridgeLane. The company nearly collapsed during the pandemic when travel halted overnight, but it managed to survive and bounce back.

In 2023, a $10 million fundining helped MadeComfy with a tech and analytics upgrade, and supported its expansion to New Zealand.

“Over the past decade, we’ve built MadeComfy into a platform that truly understands the dynamics of short-term rentals in Australia and New Zealand,” Quirin Schwaighofer, co-founder and co-CEO of MadeComfy, said in a release.

“Joining forces with Oyo gives us the global scale and technology muscle to take that vision further, faster.”

Australian law firm Maddocks advised MadeComfy on the deal. “This was a complex, cross-border transaction, and we were proud to see a successful outcome achieved,” said Rahil Patel, corporate partner of Maddocks.

As the travel industry recovers and grows, companies like Oyo are betting that well-run, tech-enabled platforms like MadeComfy will play a big role in the future of short-term stays.



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Delta Says It Will Not Use AI to Target Customers

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Key Points

  • Delta Air Lines clarified it does not use AI to set individualized airfares based on personal data, following criticism from lawmakers.
  • The airline uses AI, via a partnership with Fetcherr, to assist in dynamic pricing for a growing portion of its domestic flights, but claims all fares are determined by market dynamics and are publicly available.
  • Lawmakers and officials have expressed concerns about potential predatory or ‘surveillance’ pricing, prompting Delta to stress its commitment to fair, competitive pricing and data privacy.

Summary

Delta Air Lines has publicly stated that it does not use AI to set individualized prices based on personal customer data, responding to recent criticism and inquiries from U.S. lawmakers. The airline acknowledged using AI technology, through a partnership with Fetcherr, to assist analysts in setting fares for a portion of its domestic flights, with plans to expand this use. However, Delta emphasized that fares are determined by market competition, not personal data, and all prices are transparently published, aiming to dispel concerns about privacy and potential predatory pricing.



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U.S. Dollar Slide Hurts Accor, Minor, and Meliá

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Some of the world’s largest hotel companies saw their earnings dented by currency swings in the first half of 2025, as euro and baht-reporting groups absorbed losses while U.S.-based chains appeared largely insulated from the volatility.

Accor, Meliá Hotels, and Minor International all reported currency-related losses that offset solid operational performance. Meanwhile, U.S.-based Hilton and Wyndham, which report in dollars, did not mention foreign exchange impacts in their earnings calls and appeared shielded from the same pressures.

The U.S. dollar index dropped 10.8% in the first half of 2025 following the Trump administration’s April tariffs and public clashes with the Federal Reserve. The resulting investor pullback caused the dollar to weaken sharply against the euro, baht, and other currencies.

Accor: Currency Among Its Biggest Headwinds

Paris-based Accor repo



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