The island of Grenada will soon be home to two new hotel projects, Grenada Prime Minister Dr. Keith Mitchell announced in the 2015 budget address. Work is about to commence on two new projects, Mitchell said: the Silver Sands hotel and the Riviera.

The region’s hotel occupancy grew by 4.1 percent, the single-biggest improvement of any month since December 2013, a sign that the industry could be picking up steam ahead of the 2014-2015 winter tourist season. The region’s hotel occupancy grew by 4.1 percent.

Melia Hotels International announced that it will open and manage the newly constructed Melia Costa Hollywood Beach Resort in the Hollywood-Fort Lauderdale area of South Florida in 2015. The new Melia Costa Hollywood will overlook Hollywood Beach.

InterContinental Hotels Group has signed a new-build, 199-room Crowne Plaza hotel in Medellin, Colombia. The Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts brand is one of the fastest growing hotel brands in the world, with nearly 400 hotels open across more than 60 countries.

CND has learned that RIU Hotels & Resorts has reached an agreement with the owner of the Riu Playa Turquesa –the Grupo de Turismo Gaviota- to put an end to the management contract of that resort located in the province of Holguin in eastern Cuba. The contract will expire on November 30.

A long-dormant Caribbean island is getting a major development boost. USVI Governor John de Jongh has approved a lease agreement for the Water Island Development Company for the redevelopment of the former Water Island Hotel property as a boutique resort.