IHG and RUI Announce Plans for Yucatan Peninsula

The DJIA was up 418 points while Nasdaq was up 93, the S&P 500 was up 45 points while the 10 year treasury yield was up another .02 to 4.23%. Lodging stocks were mixed. AINC was up 5% while the biggest mover was to the downside with VCSA falling -14%.

Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Airbnb to $105 from $125. MS maintained their Equal Weight rating.

Xenia Hotels & Resorts sold the 115-room Celebration Hotel to Vision Hospitality Group. The Orlando, Florida Marriott-brand hotel sold for at least $19.4 million, based on deed taxes on the public record. The deed shows the deal closed on October 20 with IA Lodging Celebration, an entity tied to Xenia Hotels & Resorts.

According to the property’s website, The Yorktowne Hotel, Tapestry Collection by Hilton in Pennsylvania plans to open on November 17. Yorktowne was closed in November 2016 for major renovations and due to budget problems, the pandemic, supply chain issues, etc, the opening date had been pushed back multiple times. Michael Blum at GF Hotels & Resorts said the hotel had not secured a tenant for the first-floor restaurant, but the hotel can operate as full-service with the on-site chef and kitchen. An update on the restaurant has not been provided. Aside from the restaurant, Yorktowne will include a fitness center, rooftop lounge and guest laundry as well as two retail shops. When the hotel closed, original estimates for total reconstruction were around $30 million. The project is now expected to cost around $54 million when completed.

The owners of San Francisco’s 131-room Buchanan Hotel plan to reopen the property later this fall following a renovation and rebranding into the Kimpton Hotel Enso. Owner KHP Capital Partners withdrew from a plan to sell the property to the city for conversion into permanent housing for people experiencing homelessness. Kimpton will reopen the eight-story property in mid-to-late November. The extensive rework included all 131 rooms, the lobby reception area and outdoor courtyard.

The Radisson Hotel Dayton Convention Center, in Dayton, OH, is closing. Lockwood Asset, the owners of the hotel, is closing for the foreseeable future, according to a statement from Commonwealth Hotels to the Dayton Daily News. There is a lack of funding to repair the hotel and do necessary remodeling. The management company was asked by the owners to step out of the picture, lay off the staff and close the hotel down.

Construction workers at one San Francisco hotel say they’ve worked without pay for months. The Beacon Grand Hotel, formerly the Sir Francis Drake Hotel, is once again open after a major remodel. Now, some of those who labored on that remodel say they’ve done the work, but haven’t been paid for five, seven, and even eight months. At least half a dozen workers have been staying on a non-guest floor while working at the hotel. The workers say because they aren’t getting paid, they’ve lost vehicles, and tools and now have no way to leave or make money on another job. San Francisco’s Office of Labor Standards Enforcement confirmed the agency is investigating what is going on at the Beacon Grand, including on-site visits. The Beacon Grand issued a statement saying the hotel is actively working to resolve an ongoing issue that has arisen between a general contractor, who was engaged in the hotel’s renovation, and one of its subcontractors. Many of the workers live out of state and in some cases are undocumented immigrants.

The Chinese investment firm striving to revive the historic Ambassador Chicago hotel has put the property up for sale. A venture of Gaw Capital Partners has hired hotel real estate brokerage RobertDouglas to sell the 285-room inn. No asking price is listed for the 17-story property, but sources say Gaw may have a difficult time getting bids that exceed the $38.5 million mortgage it borrowed against the property in 2019. A sale close to that dollar figure would be a fraction of the $61.5 million the Gaw venture paid for the property in July 2016, when it was known as the Public Chicago.

IHG Hotels & Resorts announced the signing of its newest Vignette Collection hotel in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. The signing of El Gran Encomendero marks the first for IHG’s Luxury & Lifestyle Collection brand in both Mexico and the Americas region. Scheduled to begin construction in early 2023, the 83-room El Gran Encomendero will anchor a four-story, upscale mixed-use development in Valladolid. The hotel will deliver elegant guest rooms, a restaurant and bar, spa, fitness center and 1,600 square feet of meeting space. Under the ownership of Grupo Alves, El Gran Encomendero additionally will represent the first branded hotel in the Valladolid community amid its retail and tourism renaissance.

RIU Hotels & Resorts will open a new adults-only resort in Cancun on November 26. The Riu Palace Kulkulkan will welcome guests with new and upgraded features. Guests will find a new mixologist at the Lobby Bar, a new burger bar at the pool, a new wine menu and upgraded cappuccino bar. The Elite Club by RIU, a new premium service rolling out at its all-inclusive resorts, will launch starting with Riu Palace Kulkulkan.

The Best Western Dry Creek Inn, owned and operated by the Krug family in the heart of Healdsburg, CA, announced the completion of an extensive, multi-million dollar interior renovation of its Villa Toscana building. The 60 villas in the Villa Toscana building are being converted and rebranded into a separate boutique property, The Lodge at Healdsburg | Tapestry Collection by Hilton, which is now accepting reservations beginning in March 2023. The property features a heated pool and hot tubs, a fire pit in the Piazza courtyard, and the hotel’s signature Krug Event Center features 2,146 square feet of multipurpose event space. The Lodge at Healdsburg is the first Hilton property sharing a front desk with Alexander’s Café and Wine bar.

After more than a year of construction, the Tappan Lakeside Resort, in Scio, OH, is ready to open. The family friendly resort is located across from the Tappan Lake launch ramp in Harrison County. Lawton Brock, owner of Brandywine Construction & Restoration, developed the resort with his wife, Kodi. The facility has 16 cabins, a maintenance building where people can check in, and a recreation center with shower houses on the back side, an arcade and a hall for family reunions. The cabins come in three sizes. The property also offers a convenience store which opened in May and is already a success.

HREC Investment Advisors arranged the sale of the 2.6-acre hotel development site in Vista, CA. The site will be developed into a four-story, 121-room hotel. HREC Investment Advisors exclusively represented the seller on this transaction.

Crescent Hotels & Resorts appointed Sherry Serio as Senior Vice president of Sales and Marketing. Sherry’s extensive leadership experience will further serve the latitudes division as she works to spearhead all commercial efforts in addition to managing a region of independent hotels. 

BOA Acquisition Corp announced that BOA stockholders voted to approve the previously proposed business combination with Selina Hospitality PLC at BOA’s special meeting of BOA stockholders held on Friday, October 21, 2022. More than 83% of the votes present at the meeting voted to approve the business combination with Selina, which is expected to close upon satisfaction of all closing conditions. Upon listing, Selina’s common stock and warrants will be trading on Nasdaq under the new ticker symbols “SLNA” and “SLNAW,” respectively.

Europe Highlights

Atlan Holdings Bhd is buying a property in the UK and its asset management company for a total combined value of RM58.83 million. Atlan is purchasing The Cornwall Hotel Spa & Estate located at St Austell in Cornwall, from Belle Isle Property Ltd (BIP). Additionally, Atlan is also buying all of BIP’s existing assets and liabilities related to the operations with an aggregate net asset value of RM107,706, to minimize any disruptions to hotel operations, as well as costs required to furnish the hotel anew. Further, Atlan is also acquiring the management company that has been managing The Cornwall Hotel since 2014. Atlan inked an agreement with Mark Trevor Rudrum to buy Belle Isle Hotels (Cornwall) Management Ltd (BIM) for RM1.33 million. Both acquisition of the hotel, as well as the management company, will be funded via internally-generated funds and/or bank borrowings. 

A budget hotel of the capital has topped out in a prime location in Marylebone, Central London, marking an important milestone in the construction of the new building. The 294-bedroom hub by Premier Inn is one of three new hotels being developed by Whitbread in the Marylebone and Paddington catchment of Central London. When it opens in winter 2023, the hub by Premier Inn on Old Marylebone Road will be Whitbread’s fourteenth hub by Premier Inn hotel to open in London, and the tallest at 13 stories.