The DJIA ended Friday with a gain of 132 points while Nasdaq was up 37, the S&P 500 was up 22 points and the 10 year treasury yield was down another .03 to 3.38%. Lodging stocks were modestly higher although the biggest movers were the new age group, to the downside. SOND fell another -6% to another new all time low while SLNA and SHCO were both down -5%.
Truist gave their latest observations on forward-looking booking and pricing trends for U.S. hotels. Their checks and analysis were generally positive, backing up the positive commentary on recent conference calls. The commentary, Truist’s views and insider activity at the lodging REITs are in the complete opposite direction of the way stock prices are going. Truist said they have seen no noticeable changes to overall corporate booking and pricing trends in the first 10 days following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank. Individual corporate travel bookings continue to very gradually crawl back to 2019 levels, currently down about -8% from pre-pandemic. Truist sees improving occupancy/demand from the Group customer as the greatest driver of 2023 RevPAR growth for US hotels. They said the Group segment was down -15% in occupancy in February versus 2019 and they see it on track to finish flat this year with 2019. The leisure segment remains positive though a bit more of a mixed bag on a year over year basis as they see occupancy going negative for higher end resorts while ADR remains up year over year at least in the mid-single digits. Truist remains more optimistic on global C-Corp lodging stocks than hotel REITs. Their favorite name continues to be Hyatt while RHP is their favorite hotel REIT stock.
Truist made some changes to their price targets and estimates for their coverage following 4Q22 earnings. Choice Hotels price target is now $132, up from $120. They lowered Host Hotels PT to $20 from $21 while keeping DiamondRock Hospitality and Sunstone Hotels unchanged, both at $11.
On March 20, Membership Collective Group commenced trading on the NYSE under its new name and ticker, Soho House & Co Inc. / SHCO. The name change highlights its main global membership business, Soho House, as well as supports its other hospitality, membership, and lifestyle brands, The Ned, Soho Home, Soho Works, Soho Skin, Scorpios, The Line, and Saguaro Hotels, under one new company brand. Soho House & Co Inc. will continue to focus on its membership offerings of physical and digital spaces connecting vibrant, diverse, and creative members globally in unique spaces.
In a joint venture, NewcrestImage and Hospitality Capital Partners have acquired 16 hotels with a total of 2,155 rooms for $137.3 million from Service Properties Trust. The portfolio consists of 13 Courtyard by Marriott hotels and three Residence Inn by Marriott hotels that are located in nine states – Georgia, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, and Virginia. The transactions was handled by CBRE Hotels in Atlanta.
B&D Hospitality announced the opening of Aloft Henderson located in Henderson, Nevada. Managed by Aimbridge Hospitality, the 136-room property features more than 600 square feet of flexible meeting space including four meeting rooms, the WXYZ Bar, Re:Fuel, a fitness center, outdoor pool, lounge area and a self-serve pantry.
KHP Capital Partners purchased the 277-room The Camby Hotel, in Phoenix,Arizona for $110 million. The seller of the former Ritz-Carlton was Host Hotels & Resorts.
A new luxury hotel on the way in the Hall Park development in Frisco, Texas, will have Marriott’s Autograph Collection banner when it opens next year. The under construction, 224-room hotel is part of a $500 million addition to the 162-acre mixed-use project that is Frisco’s largest office center. Developed by Hall Group, The Hall Park Hotel will have an outdoor pool, ballroom, fitness center, restaurant and lounge and a patio overlooking a park. The hotel, which is the first Autograph Collection property in Collin County, will be operated by Coury Hospitality.
The Union Station Nashville Yards Marriott Autograph Collection Hotel in Tennessee is undergoing a guestrooms renovation to be completed in the fall of 2023. The 125-room historic hotel includes two food and beverage offerings and 11,000 square feet of meeting and event space. The hotel is owned by Southwest Value Partners.
Tuscan Village continues to add to its expansive property along Route 28 in Salem, New Hampshire, with more restaurants, retail stores and a hotel planned to open this year. The Artisan Hotel is slated to be the first Marriott Tribute Portfolio hotel in New Hampshire and is considered the centerpiece of Tuscan Village. The 164-room hotel will feature its own restaurants, a rooftop bar and luxury pool, 12,000 square feet of banquet and event space and a full fitness facility.
Aimbridge Hospitality’s specialized Enhanced Select Service operating division is managing the new dual-brand Hyatt House and Hyatt Place Houston Medical Center in Houston, Texas, owned by TMC Hotels LTD and developed by Satya Inc. The recently opened properties include 298 guestrooms, a pool, and over 5,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor event space.
BLVD Hospitality, in partnership with ESI Ventures, announced the April 3 re-launch of The Georgian hotel located in Santa Monica, California. The property offers 84 keys, Gallery 33, The Writer’s Room, The Library, a restaurant, dedicated retail area and a Gymnasium.
IHG Hotels & Resorts celebrated the launch of the voco brand in Latin America at the voco Guadalajara Neruda, the first hotel for the emerging brand in Mexico. Owned by Grupo Hotelero Luna Azul and operated under Monby Hotels, the new 104-room hotel features an onsite restaurant and an open-air, rooftop bar.
Pueblo Bonito Golf and Spa Resorts will unveil its new luxury brand with the opening of Pueblo Bonito Vantage San Miguel de Allende, slated for mid-November. Pueblo Bonito Vantage San Miguel de Allende, Mexico will comprise 111-guest rooms and suites in one wing and 45 privately-owned villas and multi-bedroom condominiums in another. The hotel will also offer banquet spaces, a rooftop bar and terrace, a restaurant, and a full-service spa with single and double treatment rooms, a wellness center, fitness center, beauty salon, bridal suite and retail shop.
An iconic downtown Atlanta, Georgia building is now a member of the Historic Hotel of America program. The Ellis Hotel is one of 11 Georgia places that are now included in the registry run by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Other hotels that have been granted the designation include The Georgian Terrace, Hotel Indigo Atlanta Midtown and The Candler Hotel Atlanta.
Hard Rock International announced the appointment of Colleen Brzozowski, CIS, CITP as regional director global sales – Midwest. In her new role, Brzozowski will be responsible for building awareness for the iconic Hard Rock brand, developing relationships with key meeting and incentive clients and agencies in her region, ultimately driving business to the global portfolio. Prior to joining Hard Rock, Brzozowski held the role of Director of Venue Sales at Sodexo Live!.
The Paramount Lodging Advisors team announced Ray Regan as their newest associate. Ray is joining fellow PLA team member, Michael Sheppard in the New Mexico office and will be focusing on the southwestern region of the United States.
Whitbread has made two senior appointments to its UK property team as it invests to deliver its strategy of growing Premier Inn and hub by Premier Inn across the UK and Ireland. Georgina Powell has joined the team as a Project and Program Manager working on Whitbread’s new-build hotel developments in London and the south of England. Powell brings 17 years of construction and project management experience to Whitbread from roles at Costa Coffee, Whitbread Property and in private practice. Neil Haskins, who started his career at Whitbread in 1987 before taking up senior roles at Gerald Eve and Merlin Entertainments, has returned to the business to drive the company’s program of hotel extensions across the UK.
Rocco Forte Hotels announced the appointment of Richard Cooke as cluster managing director, United Kingdom, Formerly general manager of The Balmoral Hotels, Richard will now take leadership responsibility for both The Balmoral Hotel in Edinburgh and Brown’s Hotel in London. Richard previously worked as Area General Manager of the Shangri-La Hotels in Toronto and Vancouver.
The Social Athens Hotel, a member of Radisson Individuals, has opened in Kolonaki, the most exclusive area in the heart of Athens. The hotel is the Group’s first Radisson Individuals property in Greece, and its sixth hotel to open in the country overall. The new upscale boutique hotel features 24 guestrooms and suites, a unique outdoor fitness center, and a hip restaurant and bar area.
O by Myconian Collection marked April 21 as its opening date for the season. The first hotel located on the island’s Ornos Bay area and the first beachfront property in the Myconian Collection boasts 65 guestrooms and suites, excellent dining options, O Wellness Spa, a gym room, and an O Concept Store.
TFE Hotels is continuing to ramp up its presence in Europe with the opening of Adina Apartment Hotel Geneva in Switzerland’s very first international hotel hub. Like its sister property Adina Munich, the 140-key Adina Geneva is part of an urban renewal project in, what has now become, the largest private real-estate investment in Switzerland. Developer Claude Berda has spared no expense, investing 1.4 billion Swiss Francs to transform the 11-hectare former industrial site into a modern, mixed-use lifestyle precinct complete with several hotels, retail, restaurants, residential and mixed-use apartments, and vital infrastructure including a school and commercial officers. 10-storys up, the traditional hotel rooftop garden has been reengineered into an entire green roof alive with local flora.
Aprirose acquired the freehold of the Travelodge in Whetstone, in the London borough of Barnet. The asset comprises a 96-room hotel over three floors and a retail unit. The property is let to Travelodge with 18 years left on the lease.
