U.S. Leisure Travel Expected to End 2022 14% Higher Than 2019 Levels

The DJIA fell 100 points, Nasdaq was down 92, the S&P 500 was down 25 and the reason for the punch bowl being taken away from the recent rally was the 10 year treasury yield spiking .13 today to 4.13%. Lodging stocks were mixed.

STR said US RevPAR was up 26.7% year over year for the week ending 10/15. When compared with the similar week in 2019, RevPAR was up 12.5%.

A new analysis completed in partnership between the American Hotel & Lodging Association and Kalibri Labs projects U.S. hotel leisure travel revenue to be 14% higher by the end of this year than it was in 2019. Additionally, business travel revenue within the hotel industry is expected to reach 99% recovery by the end of this year. Among the fifty biggest hotel markets in the country, about 80% are expected to exceed their pre-pandemic revenue, though that number lowers to 40% in the business travel category. Miami’s hotel leisure travel revenue is expected to outgrow its pre-pandemic level by 33%, whereas San Francisco is projected to remain just under 19% of its 2019 revenue. 

The Hospitality Asset Managers Association released the results of its Fall 2022 Industry Outlook Survey. Highlighted results include: approximately 60% of respondents believe most of their portfolios will exceed 2022 budgeted RevPAR. Nearly half of participants expect 75-100% of their portfolio to exceed 2022 budgeted GOP. Asset managers currently are most concerned about labor availability, labor costs, and demand. Just under 50% believe industry RevPAR levels as a whole will return to 2019 levels by 2023, while approximately 40% predict it will occur in 2024. Roughly 80% of those surveyed actively are seeking acquisition opportunities.

Marriott International reached an agreement with Hoteles City Express, S.A.B. de C.V. to acquire the City Express brand portfolio, marking Marriott’s entry into the affordable midscale segment with its thirty-first brand. The portfolio is comprised of 152 hotels, including 17,356 rooms across 75 cities in Mexico and three additional countries in Latin America. Upon closing of the transaction, the brand and hotel portfolio will become part of Marriott’s franchise system. Marriott will also acquire the franchise rights to five under-construction projects in the pipeline, representing an additional 676 rooms. Marriott expects to update the brand name with its signature “by Marriott” endorsement. Under the terms of the agreement, Marriott will pay $100 million for Hoteles City’s brand portfolio, City Express, City Express Plus, City Express Suites, City Express Junior, and City Centro; associated trademarks; domains and related intellectual property; the City Premios loyalty program; and other assets and liabilities related to the brand. Stabilized franchise fees are anticipated to be approximately $10 million for the existing portfolio. Marriott expects the transaction could close between the end of 2022 and the first half of 2023.

Banyan Investment Group announced the acquisition of the 213-room Castle Hotel, Autograph Collection by Marriott, in Orlando, FL, for an undisclosed price. The Castle Hotel is across the street from the under-construction Epic Universe, a 750-acre, $1 billion theme park expected to open in 2025.

The Radco Companies acquired Aloft Sugarloaf in Atlanta, GA, a newly developed five-story, 112-key hotel. Additional terms of the deal were not disclosed. Hospitality Real Estate Counselors brokered the sale. The property, which opened three weeks ago, will be managed by Hospitality Ventures Management Group. Located in the Northeast Atlanta submarket, Aloft Sugarloaf features a pool, fitness center and business center. In addition, the new turnkey property will feature other amenities such as the proprietary WXYZ Bar and Re:fuel Café.

A 100-story Waldorf Astoria tower is set to break ground in downtown Miami on October 27. Developers of the proposed Waldorf Astoria Hotel & Residences Miami include PMG, Greybrook, Mohari Hospitality, S2 Development, and Hilton. The tower’s 360 condo residences are 87% sold. In addition to the condo units, the project will include a 205-room Hilton hotel, a restaurant, event spaces, boardrooms, fitness center and spa, and a resort-style pool with private cabanas. The rest of the tower will include amenities for the occupants such as an owner-only lobby and lounge, hospitality suite, billiard room, kid’s club and an elevated residents-only pool deck. 

In Ocean City, MD, the Dunes Manor Hotel is getting a facelift. The hotel is under construction and will fully transform into the Hilton Garden Inn Ocean City Beachfront Hotel by late spring of next year. The Dunes Manor Hotel was purchased by OTO Development in December 2021. According to OTO, the rebounded hotel will have 12 stories and include 170 beachfront rooms, an indoor pool and deck, a café, restaurant and bar, and 3,000 square feet of meeting and event space.

Eastern Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, just got its first new hotel in more than two decades, the addition of Hotel West & Main serving as the final piece of a mixed-use development in Conshohocken, PA. Hotel West & Main, a 127-room boutique hotel operating under the Tapestry Collection By Hilton brand, helps to complete the SORA West development by Keystone Development + Investment. The mixed-use project also includes an 11-story office building and the adaptive reuse of a historic firehouse and a rooftop bar and lounge. The historic firehouse was revamped as part of the project will be connected to the new hotel via a first-floor dining area with an outdoor terrace. The hotel also offers a second-floor gastropub and 4,000 square feet of dining and retail space. 

Vermont’s historic Hermitage Inn, located in West Dover, unveiled a multi-million dollar renovation, ahead of first official foliage and ski season. After closing its doors in 2018 and sitting vacant for three years, Mary Lou Ricci and Tim Hall purchased the property to restore it to its original glory. Following the completion of the renovation, The Hermitage Inn sits on 112 acres of land, dotted with a stocked trout pond, apple orchards, private gardens, trails for hiking and cross-country skiing, and a covered bridge. The property includes 14 guest rooms, an upscale restaurant and adjoining tavern, private wine cellar, fitness center. Spa treatment room, sauna, Jacuzzi and outdoor skating rink.

The SureStay Plus Hotel by Best Western Upland opened in Upland, CA. The hotel features 115 guest rooms, outdoor pool, fitness center, guest laundry, meeting room and business center. 

Wurzak Hotel Group promoted Eric Davies to President, effective immediately. Davies succeeds Jake Wurzak who will now serve as Co-CEO along with Chairman and CEO Howard Wurzak. In his new role, Davies will oversee the company’s day-to-day operations and overall strategic vision. 

Europe Highlights

The Student Hotel has rebranded as The Social Hub reflecting its evolution under its new ownership structure. The management team, together with shareholders APG and GIC, plan to double the number of properties to 50 across Europe. The Social Hub currently has 13 properties, with locations including Amsterdam, Berlin, Bologna, Florence and Vienna. Each one offers a range of facilities including communal areas, student accommodation, hotel rooms, co-working, meeting spaces, gyms, bars, restaurants and events programs. Under its new identity, The Social Hub is going to be expanding its co-working, meeting and community spaces. The company already devotes 15% of its portfolio to this, with plans to double square meter age in future locations, as well as plans to retrofit its current properties in the near future. The new openings in 2022 form part of the first wave in the company’s expansion plan to increase the portfolio by 100%, with 7 more sites already in the pipeline to launch by 2025. As part of the expansion plans, this autumn will see The Social Hub opening two new properties in Spain, the first in central Madrid and the second in Barcelona’s Poblenou district. 

easyHotel has acquired eight franchised Benelux hotels, from Crossroads Real Estate, for approximately 145 million euro. The deal is fully supported by easyHotel’s majority shareholders, ICAMAP and Ivanhoe Cambridge. The eight hotels acquired total 793 rooms, with three hotels in Amsterdam, two in The Hague, one in Rotterdam, one in Maastricht, and one in Brussels. With two further hotels to be added to the Group’s owned/leased portfolio in Dublin in December 2022 and Paris in early 2023, the acquisition underpins significant growth in easyHotel’s owned/leases estate. This will reach 26 hotels, split evenly between the UK and Europe, with the number of owned hotel rooms across the portfolio increasing by 59% to 3,078 rooms.

NH Hotel Group, part of Minor Hotels, announced the opening of the 185-room NH Collection Milano CityLife, the brand’s twelfth hotel in Milan. Located in the CityLife district, the hotel was built on the original structure of the Church of Christ the King. The property is known for its stark white color and 13-story tower. Accommodations include 10 duplex suites built above the central nave and 175 rooms in the tower. Amenities include The District, a rooftop pool and cocktail bar; a private garden; six meeting rooms; a gym; and parking garage with spaces for electric cars.