The DJIA fell 85 points while Nasdaq was up 15, the S&P 500 fell 6 points and the 10-year treasury yield was down .05 to 3.93%. Lodging stocks were mixed. AHT was down -5% while SLNA traded down to a new low.
The earnings parade continues with REITs dominating the past 24 hours. PebbleBrook Hotel Trust reported 4Q results that matched their pre-announcement but gave 1Q guidance that was softer than expected. PEB has been changing things back and forth, keeping analysts on their toes. Their pre-announcement in late December roiled the REIT sector but then an update in January gave a slightly better look. Now the 1Q guidance is well below expectations. Analysts did focus on the $83 million worth of common shares PEB has repurchased since November as a positive surprise. Apple Hospitality reported results in line with estimates but gave 2023 full year guidance which was modestly below expectations. Analysts were actually taking a positive view since they are one of the very few to give full year guidance and were taking this to mean margin pressures may not be as bad as feared. That being said, it was not lost on them that APLE expects expense growth of 5.6%-7.6% while RevPAR growth is expected to only be 3% to 7%.
Sunstone Hotel Investors results came in slightly ahead for 4Q with an extra $10 million insurance gain also put in there. SHO bought back shares, totaling 5.2% of the shares outstanding from 2022 to now.
Park Hotels reported strong results even with San Francisco continued weakness. PK said group revenue is back to 83% of pre-pandemic levels. Between the dividend reinstatement and share repurchases of $30 million already this year, the sale of the Hilton Miami Airport is all showing positives for cash flow and debt repayment. PK guidance was considered by most to be conservative, although it looks more like cautious with a wide range.
Travel + Leisure Co also reported 4Q results, reporting somewhat in line but giving guidance for 2023 that was above expectations. It wasn’t all positive as 1Q guidance was below consensus for full year 2023 was above. TNL bought back $108 million worth of stock in 4Q and slightly raised their dividend.
Pebblebrook Hotel Trust continues to sell off its Portland, Oregon hotels. The latest deal is the $45 million sale of the 151-room Heathman Hotel. The buyer was not disclosed and the transaction is expected to close within the first quarter of 2023. Once the Heathman sale closes, Pebblebrook will be left with two other downtown hotels, the Nines and Hotel Zags, in its Portland portfolio.
STR reported US lodging data for the week ended 2/18. US RevPAR was up 13.5% year over year. When compared with the same week in 2019. RevPAR was up 13.8%.
CoStar said that, according to data collected by analytics firm Placer.ai, U.S.convention-center attendance in January was 25.3% lower than pre-pandemic January 2020 levels. That gap was smaller in December, when attendance was down 14.2% from pre-pandemic levels.
Wyndham Hotels & Resorts announced the rapid expansion of its groundbreaking BOLD by Wyndham program. In just over six months, the program has signed deals for 18 hotels across the U.S., including 10 under its newly launched ECHO suites Extended Stay by Wyndham brand. BOLD by Wyndham, which stands for Black Owners and Lodging Developers, was established to engage and advance Black hoteliers by addressing the unique challenges faced by Black entrepreneurs through the scale, relationships and resources of Wyndham. The program is built around two key pillars: promoting hotel ownership as a vehicle for potential wealth creations and accelerating the path to hotel ownership.
North Rock Hospitality Group announced the March 1, 2023 opening of the Residence Inn by Marriott in Rochester, Minnesota. The new extended-stay hotel will offer 92 suites, the RI Bar, an oversized pool and hot tub.
Standard International’s deal to acquire another Downtown New York City hotel has set a post-pandemic record. The boutique hotel chain purchased the 97-key Sixty Soho Hotel, located at 60 Thompson Street, for $106.9 million from the Pomeranc family’s Sixty Collective. JLL brokered the sale on behalf of the Pomeranc’s hospitality firm. The Sixty Soho Hotel marks Standard’s third boutique hotel in Manhattan.
The Radisson hotel in Branson, Missouri is coming under a new name after being purchased by Danner Enterprises. Re-branded as the Thousand Hills Resort Hotel, the 472 room property will be the biggest hotel in the Branson area following a series of renovation and improvements. The upgraded facility will feature a renovated restaurant and bar, along with indoor attractions for guests.
Red Roof announced the opening of the Red Roof Inn Bellflower, California. The Red Roof Inn Bellflower, CA offers 62-rooms, a seasonal outdoor pool, coin laundry and a nearby beach.
A proposal for a new hotel in Santa Monica, California into a single lot between two existing housing projects will be reviewed by the Planning Commission. The 8-story project, at 516 Colorado, would include 74 guest rooms, a ground floor restaurant, outdoor seating area, lobby, guest drop-off area, a rooftop bar and two subterranean levels with a fitness area and business center. No parking is proposed on-site.
Construction work is well underway on the 28-floor building that will house the future hotel Riu Plaza Chicago, with several floors already standing above ground. Set to open in 2024 on East Ontario Street, the 390-room property will boast a sky bar on floor 26.
Twenty Four Seven Hotels promoted Amanda Hawkins-Vogel to the company’s newly created role of chief operating officer. Hawkins-Vogel will provide strategic guidance to all departments supporting the daily operations and help navigate the company through the ever-changing hospitality industry. Previously, Hawkins-Vogel served as senior vice president of operations at Crescent Hotels & Resorts and vice president of operations with Sage Hospitality.
Personnel Moves
Civitas Capital Group announced Marc Rucinski has joined the firm as Managing Director, Head of Capital Markets. In this role, Rucinski will focus on expanding Civitas Capital’s equity and debt investor base across the firm’s target asset classes including multifamily, lodging, and niche opportunistic investments. Most recently, Rucinski was head of capital formation and investor relations at Trinity Investments in Los Angeles.
The Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International Foundation announced the members of its 2023 Board of Directors. The 2023 HSMAI Foundation Executive Committee is as follows: Chair: Michelle Woodley, President, Preferred Hotels & Resorts, second year of a two-year term; Treasurer: Amanda Voss, CMP, Vice President of Sales, MGM Resorts International; Immediate Past Chairman: Agnelo Fernandes, CEO, COTE FAMILY COMPANIES; Executive Director: Robert Gilbert, CHME, CHA. Newly appointed 2023 HSMAI Foundation Board Members: Phill Burgess, CHA, VP Sales and Revenue Strategies, Athena Hospitality; Dawn Gallagher, Chief Commercial Officer, Crescent Hotels and Resorts; Michael Goldrich, CHDM, CRME, Chief Experience Officer, The Hotels Network; Kristi Goshow, Chief Commercial Officer, KSL Resorts; Robert Kwortnik, Associate Professor, Cornell University; Anna Paccone, CHDM, VP Digital/eCommerce, Aimbridge Hospitality; Bernadette Ruby, Division VP North America, Amadeus Hospitality; Chinmai Sharma, CRME, President-Americas, RateGain; and Katarina Stanisic, Managing Director-Marketing, BWH Hotels Group.
Europe Highlights
IHG Hotels & Resorts announced a new signing in London, UK, for its upscale boutique brand Hotel Indigo. Hotel Indigo London K West Shepherds Bush will be one of the brand’s flagship London properties and has been signed in partnership with the Lancaster Landmark Hotel Company. Due to open in Spring 2025, Hotel Indigo London K West Shepherds Bush will be the sixth Hotel in London. The 252-bedroom property will undergo a significant refurbishment and will feature a destination restaurant and bar, a boutique spa with hydrotherapy pool, business facilities and function rooms.
Radisson Hotel Group opens its eighteenth hotel in Poland with its first Radisson Blu Resort in Ostróda. Radisson Blu Resort & Conference Center, Ostróda Mazury features 238 guestrooms, a lobby bar, two restaurants, an aqua park with a sports pool, water slides and a shallow pool, as well as a bowling alley, game room and spa with twelve treatment rooms, a VIP zone and several steam rooms. Radisson Blu Resort & Conference Center, Ostróda Mazury boasts over 2,300 m2 of meeting and event space including an Auditorium Hall, four function rooms, seven conference rooms, and a foyer.