Hilton Grand Vacations' Quarterly Earnings Beat Rivals

The DJIA plunged 647 points while Nasdaq was down 263, the S&P 500 fell 80 points and the 10 year treasury yield was up .03 to 4.15%. Lodging stocks were lower. HGV was one of the only gainers, up 7% while MCG was down -12%, SOND fell -10%, VCSA was down -9% and SLNA was down -8%.

Hilton Grand Vacations clearly had the best report of the timeshare group with their 3Q results, with a solid beat of estimates. HGV also significantly raised FY22 guidance and since it was more than the beat, it shows they are seeing 4Q results coming in better than they had expected.

STR reported US hotel RevPAR rose 21.1% year over year for the week ended 11/5. When compared with the week in 2019, RevPAR was up 1.1%.

According to the recent Hotel Construction Pipeline Report for Canada by Lodging Econometrics, LE analysts report that in the third quarter of 2022 the total construction pipeline in Canada stand at 263 projects/34,825 rooms. At the Q3 close, projects presently under construction in Canada stand at 54 projects/6,9784 rooms. Projects scheduled to start construction in the next 12 months are at 105 projects/14,270 rooms. Projects in the early planning stage stand at 104 projects 13,571 rooms. In the third quarter, Canada has 20 new project announcements with 1,463 rooms. At the end of Q3 2022, renovation totals stand at 48 projects/5,808 rooms and conversion totals stand at 56 projects/6,505 rooms. Ontario is the most active province for pipeline projects in Canada at Q3 2022, with 148 projects/20,396 rooms. Next is British Columbia with 47 projects/7,239 rooms and Quebec with 20 projects/2,633 rooms. The top cities in Canada’s hotel construction pipeline, at the Q3 close, are Toronto with 62 projects/9,147 rooms, Vancouver with 19 projects/2,694 rooms, and Montreal with 15 projects/2,140 rooms. Marriott International leads the top hotel companies in Canada’s construction pipeline with a record high project count of 73 projects/9,977 rooms, followed by Hilton Worldwide with 64 projects/7,824 rooms, and InterContinental Hotels Group with 43 projects/4,426 rooms. The top brands in the pipeline are Hilton’s Hampton by Hilton brand with 25 projects/2,872 rooms, IHG’s Holiday Inn Express with 21 projects/2,257 rooms, and Marriott’s Fairfield Inn with 18 projects/1,678 rooms. Other noteworthy brands in the Canadian hotel construction pipeline are Home2 Suites by Hilton with 17 projects/1,821 rooms, TownePlace Suites by Marriott with 17 projects/1,811 rooms, and Hyatt Place with 10 projects/1,612 rooms. In the first three quarters of 2022, Canada has 19 new hotel openings accounting for 2,015 rooms. LE’s forecast for new hotel openings predicts another 12 hotels/1,778 rooms will open in the last quarter of 2022, bringing the year-end total to 31 new hotel openings with 3,793 rooms. 2023 is forecast for 37 new hotel/4,036 rooms expected to open, and in 2024 LE analysts anticipate that 42 new hotels, accounting for 4,042 rooms, will open and come online. 

JLL’s Hotels & Hospitality Group released its second annual Hotels Global Asset Management Report outlining tips for profitability and minimizing operational risks. The four recommendations for hotel owners when planning their 2023 budgets include: Transform labor strategy to attract and retain top talent. Push rate judiciously and keep disciplined cost management solutions employed during the pandemic. Understand the evolving nature of lodging demand and intentionally drive ancillary revenue to optimize profit, and capital expenditures should aim to protect market share and enhance property value. Global economic headwinds have had a limited negative impact on hospitality fundamentals across most major markets in 2022. With corporate and group travel approaching pre-pandemic levels, hotel owners and operators who embrace creative solutions to attract demand, and maintain high service levels, while managing labor issues and high operations expenses, stand to benefit from the industry’s ongoing recovery. 

Six weeks after Hurricane Ian made landfall in Lee County, Florida, more than half, 56.4%, of the county’s guest rooms, a total of about 8,135 room, have been opened. 

Marriott International, Inc. announced its expansion into apartment-style accommodations with the launch of Apartments by Marriott Bonvoy, seizing upon growing consumer interest among families and friends seeking more space for stays, propelled by blending work and leisure travel, and the desire among younger travelers for wider accommodations options. Marriott is building upon its 26 years of experience with Marriott Executive Apartments, its service-apartment brand in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America. With the introduction of Apartments by Marriott Bonvoy, the company expects it will enhance portfolio growth globally and bring the serviced-apartment concepts to the U.S. and Canada. Marriott plans to introduce Apartments by Marriott Bonvoy in the upper-upscale and luxury segments, distinguished from Marriott’s existing extended-stay brands by not providing certain traditional hotel services such as food and beverage, meeting spaces, and retail.

Place Projects and NDT Development’s 2,000,000 million square foot project in West Palm Beach’s Nora District will include a prominent New York hotelier. According to the Wall Street Journal, Richard Born, known in New York as the man behind BD Hotels, is among the principal investors. Born will design the project’s 175-key hotel to mimic the aesthetics of a New York establishment, rather than give it a South Florida vibe. Place Projects and NDT’s plan will cost roughly $1 billion, and its first phase, including 13 buildings and 150,000 square feet of retail, bars and restaurants, is expected to break ground next month. 

Marriott’s Aloft Hotels will open its latest property in Arlington, Texas. Owned and managed by Stonewood Hotels, the Aloft Dallas Arlington hosts some of the brand’s signature staples including Re-fuel by Aloft, the Re:mix lounge with billiards and live music, and the WXYZ bar. Additional hotel amenities include 750 square feet of adaptable meeting space, Re:charge, and a large backyard with a splash pool and recreation area. 

IHG Hotels & Resorts announced the launch of voco Chicago Downtown and Holiday Inn Chicago Downtown - Wolf Point following the hotel’s grand opening last week. Located in the city’s River North district, the property marks voco hotels’ first location in Chicago and sixth in the U.S. Previously a Holiday Inn, the newly opened hotel underwent a full transformation to become IHG’s first dual-branded voco hotel and Holiday Inn Property. The new dual-branded hotel occupies 10 floors and 521 rooms of a historic building. The significant renovations include the ground floor lobby, and public spaces on the 15^th floor featuring a soaring atrium, modern event spaces and a new signature restaurant. The hotel boasts nearly 25,000 square feet of meeting space and a heated indoor pool and a fitness center,

WaterView Casino and Hotel in Vicksburg, Mississippi has undergone a complete renovation to become the newest member of the Trademark Collection by Wyndham hotel chain. The property includes a full-service casino with hundreds of slots and table games, as well as a full sports book. Scheduled to transition later in November, the six-story, 122-room hotel features a number of upgrades including all-new furniture, televisions, refrigerators, a renovated pool/spa area, and an updated restaurant.

The Dream Hotel project in Downtown Memphis, Tennessee is moving forward and construction could begin in late summer or early fall of 2023, according to developer Tom Intrator. A Downtown Memphis Commission board voted to extend the closing period for a previously granted 20-year payment-in-lieu-of-tax incentive for the project and approve a 5% sales tax surcharge to help fund the projects. The Memphis City Council will also have to approve the surcharge Plans for the hotel, at the site of the shuttered royal Furniture store, have changed somewhat since it was first brought forward in 2019. The total structure will now be 19 floors and will have 181 hotel rooms and 10 apartment units. The apartments were added so the development would be considered mixed-use, a legal requirement for the surcharge. The hotel will also feature a three-meal restaurant and coffee shop, a signature restaurant, a lobby bar, a pool and pool bar.

Tao Group Hospitality is looking to open its first-ever Tao-branded resort in Orlando, Florida in 2025, bringing its signature dark and vibey spaces to an entire hotel. The hotel will also include a Tao Asian Bistro, a rooftop experience, suites, a meeting space, a fitness facility and more. The new hotel will open in the O-Town West development, a 350-acre mixed-use community development.

Since the time M2RE Partners won approval from the Sarasota City Commission to demolish a building on Second Street next to the Embassy Suites for an unannounced project, the scope of the development has grown. With the addition of a vacant lot next door, the project at 1225, 1233 and 1243 Second Street is now proposed to be an 18-unit condominium and 109-room hotel mixed-use development.

The Islands Garden mixed-use resort development on Watson Island in Miami, Florida is moving forward with the developer signing a utilities agreement with the county to supply water and sewer services. The project will include 455 hotel rooms, 150 apartments, retail, restaurant and banquet hall spaces, a bar or cocktail lounge, and 50 marina slips. Flagstone Property Group is the project developer.

A luxury resort has reportedly purchased a 236-acre farm in the Hudson Valley to launch its very first location in the United States. The property known as Old Stone Farm was formerly the site of a secret hotel before being sold in 2019. The mysterious Duchess Hotel was a 10-room inn and spa that quietly hosted the rich and famous just outside of Rhinebeck, New York. The farm was just sold for a reported $13.75 million and is said to now be owned by Six Senses.

Developers who are building a Far North Dallas hotel have decided to sell the unfinished property. Construction has been underway on the project north of Galleria Dallas since 2019. The planned 12-story Plush Suites hotel suffered early design delays and the structure is now partially completed. Steelwork has been done for the first eight floors. According to developer Jon Langbert, Williams & Williams Worldwide Real Estate has scheduled a December 15 auction for the partially built tower, with the 10^th floor to be completed before the auction. Plans for the hotel include 295 suites, three retail spaces, full restaurant, bar, rooftop pool and deck, large fitness facility, function roof and dog run, and two floors of underground parking.

Hotels at eight Air Force bases across the county are closing down as military-run lodging continues to struggle to bring in customers after a 2018 policy stripped the inns of taxpayer funding. The hotels set to close are located at Los Angeles Air Force Base, California; Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts; Tinker Air force Base and Vance Air Force Base in Oklahoma; Grand Forks Air Force Base, North Dakota; Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska; Homestead Air Reserve Base, Florida; and Pittsburgh Air Reserve Station, Pennsylvania. The Wingo Inn at Arnold Air Force Base in Tennessee was due to be closed and will no longer be run by the service, but base leadership has decided to keep the hotel open while running operations with the installation’s Outdoor Recreation Staff. The inns being closed have had historically low occupancy during non-COVID years, aging room inventories with high repair costs, or are small operations with fewer than 85 rooms. 

JLL’s Hotels & Hospitality Group has closed the sale of two Marriott-branded Residence Inn hotels totaling 221 keys in the suburban Boston communities of Norwood and Framingham, Massachusetts. JLL worked on behalf of the seller, APEX Capital Investments Corporation, in the sale to JNR Management Inc. JNR has retained the Residence Inn by Marriott brand for both hotels under a long-term franchise agreement with Marriott International Inc. The new owner has plans to renovate the hotels comprehensively including a total refresh in all guest rooms and common spaces; aesthetic updates; bath upgrades in guest rooms and enhancements to the exterior. The hotels will remain open for business during renovations. The portfolio include the 125-key Residence Inn Boston Framingham and the 93-key Residence Inn Boston Norwood/Canton. The properties feature a fitness center, business center and indoor pool.

Personnel Moves

Holiday Inn Club Vacations Incorporated announced that Kumar Rajnish joined the company as its Chief Strategy Officer. In this newly created role, Kumar will oversee corporate strategy and direct business transformation for the company. He will be responsible for refining and driving the company’s growth strategy and leading business transformation initiatives for the organization, including digital. Prior to joining Holiday Inn Club Vacations, Kumar was the Chief Strategy Officer for Kaplan North America.

Scandic Hotels has appointed Therese Cedercreutz as the new Chief Commercial Officer and member of the Group’s Executive committee. Since 2021, Therese has been a member of Scandic’s Board of Directors. In Connection with the appointment, she will leave her Board position as of today and start her new role at the beginning of January after Anna Spjuth who will leave the company in the spring. Her most recent position is senior advisor and management consultant at Miltton Group.