Hospitality Pulse: Hotel and Resort Industry News for Nov. 17, 2015

Marriott CEO: Merger Will Spur Investment In the wake of Marriott International's $12.2 billion acquisition of Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Marriott CEO Arne Sorenson said he believes the company "can do better by being bigger." Source: USA Today

Iberostar Opens 11th Cuban Property Iberostar Hotels & Resorts has opened its latest hotel in Cuba, unveiling the 482-room five-star Iberostar Playa Pilar in Jardines del Rey. Source: Breaking Travel News

San Diego Marriott to Offer Thanksgiving Buffet The San Diego Marriott Del Mar's Arterra restaurant will serve a Thanksgiving buffet on Nov. 26, while the hotel will offer a $25 credit to guests booking a stay this holiday season. Source: San Diego Marriott Del Mar

SeaWorld Eyes New Resort Hotel SeaWorld Entertainment Inc. has entered an agreement with Evans Hotels Group with the intent of exploring development of a resort hotel on land it currently leases in San Diego. Source: San Antonio Business Journal

Prior to Monday's mega deal with Marriott, Starwood expanded its partnership with Design Hotels, allowing select member hotels to be booked through Starwood websites, mobile apps and its network of customer contact centers...Read more from HotelsMag.com.

Austin, Texas' hotel scene continues to expand with the opening of the 319-room Hotel Van Zandt, a Kimpton Hotel...Read more from Meetings and Conventions. 

Despite the prevailing assumption, research from Bank of America suggests that an Airbnb booking is more expensive than a typical hotel stay in the U.S...Read more from Business Insider. 

Plans are underway to develop four historic buildings in Topeka, Kansas, into a 79-room boutique hotel and restaurant...Read more from Cyrus Hotel. 

Diminished tourism to Rwanda has resulted in dozens of hotels having been put up for auction over the past two years...Read more from Quartz.

At least four people sustained non-life-threatening injuries Monday afternoon when wind gusts blew construction materials off of the Diplomat Resort & Spa Hollywood in southern Florida. An investigation into the incident is underway...Read more from NBC Miami.

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