Analysts Favor Hotel Brands Over Airbnb

The DJIA rose 27 points while Nasdaq was up 71, the S&P 500 was down 12 points, and the 10-year treasury yield was up .08 to 4.03%. MAR was up about 1.45% at the close.

Barrons.com published a story, quoting analysts as saying travel is entering a new phase, and investors should pick Hilton and hotel peers over Airbnb. It had very interesting timing given Dow Jones’ recent story about how one of ABNB’s founders has been selling most of his stock, ABNB continuing to hit new highs despite all that, and Marriott and Hilton leading the charge of C-Corp lodging stocks, also to new highs. The article quoted Melius’ analysts as saying the asset-light/fee-based model by hotel brands is a more resilient revenue stream and more defensive relative to other travel sectors. They also expect the international expansion to make up for any real or imagined concerns about the impact of any slowness in bank financing for new hotels. Melius has Buy ratings on HLT, MAR, and Hyatt. They have Hold ratings on ABNB and Expedia.

Marriott International followed Hilton’s lead with a beat, raise and increase in capital returns. For MAR, the strong report was also led by international strength. Even without the new MGM deal, MAR’s pipeline grew quarter-to-quarter. Including MGM, the pipeline in 547,000 rooms. 203K rooms were under construction at the end of 2Q.

MCR has acquired two hotels in Phoenix, Arizona, the 169-room Holiday Inn Express & Suites Scottsdale – Old Town and the 121-room Hampton Inn by Hilton Phoenix – Biltmore, located in prime, high-barrier-to-entry submarkets. With the acquisition of the hotels, MCR has nine hotels in Arizona.

Hilton announced the opening of The Bankers Alley Hotel Nashville, Tapestry Collection by Hilton. The property, formerly the historic Gray & Dudley Building, was converted to a 124-key boutique lifestyle hotel in 2017, comprised of 110 guest rooms and 14 suites. The hotel has an on-site art museum which serves as a unique v