One of Europe's largest hotel groups, Meliá Hotels International, plans to expand its presence in several U.S. gateway cities over the next several years, according to Travel Weekly, M&C's sister publication. Excluding Puerto Rico, Meliá currently has three hotels in the United States: upscale Meliá properties in Orlando and Atlanta, and its midprice Tryp brand - for which it sold franchising rights to Wyndham - in New York City. Meliá plans to establish a stronger presence in New York, Miami and Los Angeles, all markets with strong inbound traffic from Europe and Latin America, where the company is more of a household name. Construction soon will begin on a 313-room hotel in midtown Manhattan under its upscale lifestyle Innside brand; that property will open in 2016.TagsHotels and Resorts