LOS ANGELES-ALIS has announced the finalists for its 2013 hospitality awards, which honor the top executives and companies in the hospitality industry. The awards ceremony will take place January 28 at the JW Marriott during the ALIS conference.

In the development category, ALIS has nominated the Hyatt Place and the Fairfield Inn & Suites in Chicago, the Courtyard and Residence Inn in New York and the Langham Chicago. Developed by White Lodging and Friedman Properties, the Hyatt Place and Fairfield Inn opened in June 2013 and has 664 rooms. The 639-room Courtyard and Residence Inn opened in December 2013 in Central Park, and is the tallest stand-alone hotel in the country. Finally, the 316-room Langham Chicago was designed by Mies Van Der Rohe in July 2013 in the former IBM Building.

For transaction of the year, the nominees are Rockpoint Group and Ohana Real Estate's $185-million sale of the 354-room Bacara Resort and Spa, Carey Watermark Investors' $133.8-million acquisition of Hawks Cay Resort and Ashford Hospitality Trusts' $90-million purchase of the Pier House Resort & Spa.

ALIS's remaining categories are merger of the year and financial advisor of the year. BRE Select Hotels Corp.'s acquisition of Apple REIT Six for $1.2 billion, Hyatt Hotels Corp.'s $325 million investment in Playa Hotels & Resorts and Ashford Hospitality Trusts' launch of Ashford Hospitality Prime for existing stakeholders, which had an aggregate value of $1 billion are among ALIS's nominees for merger of the year; and Jacques E. Brand, co-head of corporate finance at Deutsche Bank, Mark E. Schoenholtz, managing director of Eastdil Secured and John Strauss managing director at Jones Lang LaSalle are among the nominees for financial advisor of the year.