RevPAR Up 30% YoY and 13% Vs. 2019

The markets brightened their mood somewhat on Wednesday. The DJIA rose 1.89%, Nasdaq was up 2.05%, the S&P 500 climbed 1.96% and the 10-year treasury yield had its steepest one-day drop since March 2009, settling at 3.72%.

STR reported US lodging data for the week ended 9/24. Hotel RevPAR was up 30.3% year over year while up 13.7% when compared with the same week in 2019.

Dajia Insurance Group Co has put three hotels in the US up for sale, hoping to generate US$1.3 billion to take advantage of an expected surge in leisure travel and resort business. The Wall Street Journal reported Dajia put up for sale the Montage in Laguna Beach, California; the Four Seasons resort in Jackson Hole, Wyoming; and the Four Seasons in Scottsdale, Arizona. BofA Securities and Eastdil Secured LLC are marketing the hotels on behalf of the seller. The three properties are part of Dajia’s Strategic Hotels & Resorts portfolio. Dajia is the company that took over most of the operations of China’s Anbang Insurance Group. They had an agreement to sell the entire Strategic portfolio to South Korea’s Mirae Asset Financial Group back in 2019 but that deal fell through. Dajia is looking to raise $300 million for each of the two Four Seasons’ properties and $700 million from the Montage Laguna Beach.

Excel Group recently completed the acquisition of the 143-key Hilton Garden Inn Dobbs Ferry in New York. The property will be Excel Group’s ninth hotel acquisition over the past 18 months, totaling $250 million in new acquisitions.

Wintergreen Hospitality is planning to break ground on a new Home2 Suites by Hilton hotel in late spring next year, with completion in fall 2024. The hotel will sit right next to the Hampton Inn, in Smithfield, NC, that Wintergreen also owns. The hotel will most likely have 97 rooms and cost between $15 million and $17 million to build.

The RADCO Companies acquired three new hotels in the Gulf of Mexico resort community of Panama City Beach, FL, adding 281 new Marriott and Hilton rooms to the company’s Hospitality Division. The properties include a Home2 Suites, adjacent Fairfield Inn & Suites, and a Hampton Inn. All three hotels will be managed by LBA Hospitality. Hospitality Real Estate Counselors (HREC) served as brokers for the Home2 Suites and Fairfield Inn Properties, with Hunter Hotel Advisors brokering the Hampton Inn deal. One of the properties RADCO acquired opened in 2021, while the other two will require minor renovations. 

Aimbridge Hospitality announced Sacramento’s Citizen Hotel, Autograph Collection has unveiled a multi-million dollar renovation of its 196 guestrooms and suites, along with 9,900 square feet of meeting and event space.

MetLife Investment Management and Granite Properties announced the opening of the Kimpton Shane Hotel at Midtown Union, bringing the three-tower mixed-use development in Atlanta’s Midtown neighborhood to completion. The 14-story, 230-key Kimpton Shane Hotel is operated by Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants and was developed by MetLife Investment Management and AMS Hospitality. Hotel amenities include a restaurant, cocktail lounge, and 6,600 square feet of meeting and event space. The 26-story office tower was developed by MetLife Investment Management and Granit Properties. Amenities include a boardroom, conference meeting facilities, customer lounge, outdoor amenity terrace and a fitness center. The Residential component offers apartment homes with several floorplans, a pool with a poolside bar, conference and co-working spaces, a fitness center, spa, and pet lawn. Overall, the Midtown Union project provides 1,909 structured parking spaces.

Red Roof announced that concrete had been poured and construction has begun on a new HomeTowne Studios by Red Roof in Bradenton, FL. The 124-room hotel is the first new-build property for HomeTowne Studios by Red Roof, which has already converted nearly 70 hotels to the brand. The Bradenton property is owned and will be operated by Dhruv Management. The new hotel is expected to open in 2023 or early 2024.

The proposed 272-room, 19-story high-rise hotel, in downtown San Jose, CA, is moving forward. The hotel project was approved two-years ago by the San Jose City Council but was stalled due to attempts, by the Preservationist Action Council of San Jose, to block the plans. KT Urban is the project developer.

Drury Development Corporation renewed their development for a nine-story hotel in Arlington, TX. Construction will resume next month at their stalled project. Drury anticipates finishing construction and open its doors in 2024. The 268-room hotel will feature top-floor meeting rooms as well as an indoor/outdoor pool with an adjustable glass wall.

BWH Hotel Group announced the opening of its urban, upscale boutique brand, Vib, in Denver’s River North Art District. Vib Denver RiNo offers a rooftop restaurant, a lobby bar, and Heady Coffee Co. The hotel is operated by TWC Management. 

The Best Western Plus in Page, AZ has been acquired by a new joint venture of NewcrestImage, Dabu Hotels, and Countrywide Hospitality. The 130-room hotel will be operated by Terrapin Hospitality.

The city of Xenia, OH plans to take possession of the local Ramada Inn this November, but the hotel owners are arguing the move is bad for Xenia taxpayers and the community as a whole. Last week the city cited the hotel’s failure to renew their lease, years of delinquent lease payments, a history of fire code violations and property maintenance issues in terminating their lease, issues that AK Group Hotels say are “not unusual”, according to a statement. AK Group Hotels, Inc. said the group failed to renew its lease in 2017 due to a clerical error. According to the lease termination notice served on December 13, 2021, the Ramada had defaulted on $17,333 worth of rent payments dating back to 2019. The deadline for those payments was January 31, 2022.

JLL’s Hotels & Hospitality Group closed the $49 million sale of the Hyatt Place Los Angeles / LAX / El Segundo, a 143-key, select-service hotel in El Segundo, CA. JLL represented the seller, Washington Holdings, and procured the buyer, Welcome Group Inc. The hotel was sold unencumbered by management. The Hyatt Place El Segundo features a bar and restaurant, a grab-and-go outlet, fitness center, outdoor pool, and electric vehicle charging stations. In addition, the pet-friendly hotel features a business center and 1,054 square feet of meeting or event space. 

Chief Operating Officer Chett Abramson holds three decades of industry senior leadership experience as he joins Oliver Hospitality. Abrahams’ background will help him navigate Oliver Hospitality’s boutique luxury portfolio to greater financial and operational success. Prior to joining Oliver Hospitality, Abrahamson was the Area Managing Director of New York for Ace Hotels.

DiamondRock Hospitality Company has refinanced its primary unsecured credit facility to further enhance the strength and flexibility of its balance sheet. The Company entered into an amendment and restatement of its existing $750 million credit facility, increasing the total Credit Facility to $1.2 billion and extending the Company’s maturity schedule. The Credit Facility is comprised of a $400 million revolving credit facility, a $300 million term loan with a maturity in January 2026, inclusive of a one-year extension option, and a $500 million term loan maturing in January 2028. The revolving credit facility matures in September 2027, inclusive of two six-month extension options.