Mondrian

Stock market decline: DJIA and Nasdaq both down, S&P 500 fell, causing investor anxiety due to rising interest rates. Hotel acquisitions and auctions: Apple Hospitality acquires Courtyard by Marriott in Cleveland, Sheraton Bucks County Langhorne hotel up for auction, Holiday Inn in Charleston to become Live Oak in Marriott's Tribute Portfolio. Hotel developments: Hampton Inn & Suites in Manistee near completion, Resorts World Las Vegas opens private members' club, Virgin Hotel in Dallas changes ownership, Kona Village in Hawaii opens as a Rosewood Resort.

Hotel industry in China shows strong recovery with a 60.4% increase in RevPAR compared to the previous year, despite a slight decline of -5.5% compared to 2019. Prominent hotel openings and expansions include Hotel Morris Sydney in Australia, JW Marriott Auckland in New Zealand, Hotel101 projects in Metro Manila and Cebu-Mactan in the Philippines, and Mondrian brand's global expansion. Anantara unveils luxurious villas in Qasr Al Sarab Desert Resort in the UAE, while IHG Hotels & Resorts announces the first voco resort in Egypt's North Coast, and Six Senses Amaala prepares to launch a captivating resort in Saudi Arabia as part of the Vision 2030 program.

Marriott International, Sonesta International Hotel Corporation, and Pyramid Global Hospitality , announced plans for expansion and introduced new brands in different locations, including Latin America, Canada, and several U.S. states. Accor highlighted the progress of its branded residences business, with numerous projects under development worldwide, including Dubai, Australia, and South Korea. The Plasencia Group facilitated the sale of The Westin Tampa Bay, and Dan Hansen returned from retirement to lead Hyatt's new mid-market extended-stay brand, Hyatt Studios, with a significant development pipeline.

Chinese domestic tourism rebounds strongly, reaching 119% of pre-pandemic levels during the May Day holiday, while international travel remains slow. Fitch Ratings highlights the encouraging recovery trajectory of the domestic tourism industry, driven by pent-up demand and limited outbound flight options. Despite the increase in domestic trips, spending remains nearly flat due to factors such as low-income travelers, visits to lower-tier cities, and short-distance trips.

The big news was a rumor with the Wall Street Journal reporting Choice Hotels is making a move to acquire Wyndham Hotels & Resorts . Truist upped their price target on Hyatt Hotels to $149 from $145. This follows H’s Investor Day and the tours of Apple Leisure Group resorts. Pebblebrook Hotel Trust gave their monthly update saying for 2Q23, overall demand and profitability trends continue to remain within expectations .

CBRE released its US Hotels State of the Union March 2023 Edition . Key takeaways include February marked nine consecutive months of easing inflation. Baird said that with industry wide March RevPAR being better than expected, it de-risked 1Q23 earnings a bit, and the trade is likely higher into the earnings prints. Jefferies said they continue to believe Host Hotels is best-positioned among peers to generate growth and expanding cash flows irrespective of macro challenges and has yet to receive valuation credit.

Nepal hotels are complaining they are not seeing the deluge of reservations they would expect at this time of year. Asset World Public Company Limited signed a hotel management agreement with IHG to launch the Kimpton Pattaya and further demonstrate confidence in Thailand’s tourism industry. ANA Holdings and IHG ANA Hotels Group Japan signed a comprehensive commercial agreement.

In a day that was everything that was expected, the financial indexes and individual stocks were whipsawed. B.Riley lowered their price target on Ashford Hospitality Trust to $6.50 from $9. They maintained their Neutral rating. Jon Bortz , chairman of Pebblebrook Hotel Trust has been on a bit of an insider buying spree the past few weeks. He has purchased a total of 64,000 shares between 2/28 and 3/9 at prices ranging from $14.30 to $14.67.

H ilton’s Asia Pacific president, Alan Watts , told Nikkei Asia that they expect hotel guest numbers in China to return to their pre-pandemic levels by year-end . The Macau Daily Times said they are being told the recent spike in hotel room prices in Macau is driving international visitors away. SJM Holdings Ltd said they plan to launch the remainder of the hotel room inventory at its Grand Lisboa Palace on Cotai in Macau  within the next quarter.

Baird picked the hotel real-estate investment trust Xenia Hotels & Resorts as their Best Idea for 2023. The Wall Street Journal published a very positive article on Hilton , including an interview with CEO Chris Nassetta . Pyramid Global Hospitality closed the acquisition of the operating division of Provenance Hotels .