Spain-based Meliá Hotels International is expanding into the Arab States of the Gulf with the Meliá Hotels & Resorts brand’s first property, Meliá Dubai. Located in Bur Dubai, the 164-room hotel is within easy reach of Dubai’s main shopping and commercial districts.

Riu Hotels & Resorts opened its fourth Cancun property on May 4, representing an investment of $140 million. The Riu Palace Peninsula, which was announced in February, will offer a beachfront location and will become the company’s fourth hotel in the destination.

The majority of South and Central American cities tracked by STR Global, which recently announced global hotel performances for March, continued to report revenue-per-available-room (RevPAR) improvements for the first quarter 2012 compared to the same time last year.