IHG Opens Its Newest Hotel Indigo in New York

The DJIA ended the day down 142 points, falling after the Fed press conference after raising rates again. Nasdaq was down 86, the S&P 500 fell 24 points and the 10 year treasury yield was unchanged at 3.50%. Lodging stocks were modestly lower. AINC was down -8%, SLNA was down -7% but VCSA rose 5%.

Citigroup cut their ratings on Hilton and Marriott to Neutral from Buy. They cut their target price on HLT to $148 from $150 while MAR’s PT was upped to $175 from $170. Citigroup also raised their rating on Playa Hotels to Buy from Neutral, raising their price target to $8 from $7.25.

STR released US lodging data for the week ended 12/10. US RevPAR was up 16.7% year over year while RevPAR was up 13.7% versus the same week in 2019.

Rockbridge and AMS Hospitality, in partnership with GWC Capital, announced the groundbreaking for the 131-room Residence Inn in downtown Eagle, Idaho. The hotel will feature over 3,000 square feet of meeting space, pool, outdoor space and a fitness center. The hotel will complement nearly 300 premier apartment units and town homes, commercial space and a public park all within the Molinari Park master development. 

The Tamarack Casino in southwest Reno, Nevada will add a 128-room Residence Inn by Marriott. Mike Pegram and other part-owners of the Tamarack also are in negotiations to add a similar Marriott property in the Carson Valley.

Excel Group completed the acquisition of the 150-key Hampton Inn & Suites in Yonkers, New York. The property is located in the center of a mixed-use complex that includes two major hospitals, medical offices, corporate offices, industrial manufacturing and retail outlets.

IHG Hotels & Resorts announced the opening of its newest Hotel Indigo in New York City’s Financial District. The 180-room hotel offers an on-site bar and restaurant, a fitness center and a boardroom. The Hotel Indigo NYC Financial District is owned by Trinity NYC Hotel LLC and managed by Providence Hospitality.

In yesterday’s coverage on Kimpton’s first on-campus hotel we made a mistake on the number of hotel rooms. The Forum Hotel at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business in Charlottesville, VA will open in spring of 2023 with 198 rooms and 10 suites, not the 98 rooms we reported yesterday.

Uncommon Hospitality announced their newest project, the Longfellow Hotel, opening in Summer 2023 in Portland, Maine. The Longfellow will be a five-story, boutique property with 48 rooms, a lobby bar and café and Asteria, a Wellness Spa.

Hospitality Ventures Management Group has added the 111-room Darwin Hotel, in Atlanta, Georgia, to its portfolio of third-party managed hotels. HVMG oversaw the complete rebranding and renovation of the former independent hotel. The 4-story, upper midscale property is the only hotel in Atlanta with a dog park, offers a variety of specialty themed suites and provides a rotating pop-up chef program. Additional amenities include a gift shop, craft bar, conference room and a fitness room. Navin Patel and his two sons, Shyam and Sagar Patel, purchased the property in 2016. 

In Miami Beach, Florida, the Tides South Beach Hotel is headed for a foreclosure auction after the owner lost an $82.2 million foreclosure judgment. SHEDDF3 VNB LLC, an affiliate of Safe Harbor Equity, won the judgment against CG Tides and Meyer Chetrit. The lawsuit concerns the 45-room historic hotel at 1220 Ocean Drive; the properties at 1201, 1121, and 1225 Collins Avenue; and a parking garage at 1155 Collins Avenue. All of those properties are scheduled for foreclosure auction on January 17 through the court’s online bidding system. The loan was originally for $45 million by Ocean Bank in 2014 and assigned to the affiliate of Safe Harbor Equity in 2021, the same year the foreclosure lawsuit was filed.

After operating under Marriott’s Tribute Portfolio since its opening in 2017, Nashville’s Noelle hotel will become an independent hotel, effective December 21. Conversions for the transition began in early 2022 as the hotel’s contract with Marriott International was set to expire. The 224-room hotel is owned by Rockbridge Capital and managed by Makeready. Noelle has a speakeasy, rooftop bar and lounge; a restaurant, and lobby bar and lounge.

PREIT received approval from the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors for the development of 460 apartments and a 165-room hotel in Springfield, Virginia. PREIT’s overall vision is to transform Springfield Town Center into a vibrant, multi-use hub and take advantage of its unrivaled location to create the preeminent family entertainment destination in the Washington, DC market. As part of this transformation, LEGO Discovery Center has officially broken ground with an opening planned for summer 2023. The mall's diversified tenant mix includes traditional retail, full-service dining destinations, entertainment, fitness and other value retail offerings. 

In Hutchinson, Kansas, City Hall is declaring victory with a much needed 100-room hotel and convention center. Using existing hotel/motel bed tax funds already accumulated, the developer, Amber Hotel LLC, will get a million dollars upon completion after putting in $18 million in private funding. Amber Hotel LLC will also be paid 3% of the 7% city bed tax for management of the convention center. Construction is expected to start next spring and the new facility should be open by the Fair in 2024 and the 2025 basketball tournament.

SH Hotels & Resorts’ Treehouse Hotels is making its U.S. debut in an unexpected location: Sunnyvale, California, right in the middle of Silicon Valley. The hotel will open toward the end of 2023. The hotel will have 254 rooms, including 21 suites, and will repurpose existing buildings, as well as construct a new six-story building. Amenities include a fitness center, café, beer garden, outdoor games, a pool with cabanas, a hot tub, and a pizza oven. 

JLL’s Hotels & Hospitality Group has closed the sale of Hyatt Regency Jersey City, a 351-key full-service hotel along the Hudson River in Jersey City, New Jersey. JLL represented the seller, a joint venture between affiliates of Veris Residential, Inc. and Hyatt Hotels Corporation. A joint venture between affiliates of Taconic Capital Advisors LP and HEI Hotels & Resorts acquired the property. Hyatt Regency Jersey City offers a Stayfit gym, business center, heated indoor pool and more than 20,000 square feet of flexible meeting and conference space. 

Sonnenblick-Eichner Company arranged the sale of the fee simple interest in the Cannon’s Hotel Development Site in Dana Point, California. The former home of Cannon’s Restaurant, the site is fully entitle and has received California Coastal Commission approval for a 100-room boutique luxury hotel. The property was sold to a private investor.

CBRE Hotels confirmed the sale of the Dunboyne Castle Hotel & Spa, Dunboyne, CO Meath in an off-market transaction. The hotel is being acquired by Davy Real Estate for TMR Hotel Collection for an undisclosed sum. Dunboyne Castle Hotel & Spa offers 145 bedrooms including various suites together with a Mews building with 10 units. The property features the award-winning Seoid Spa with 18 treatment rooms and hydrotherapy pool. Windward Management has been appointed to managed Dunboyne Castle Hotel and Spa by TMR Hotel Collection.

Virgin Hotels announced Martin Sinclair as Corporate Director of Operations, North America. Based in Miami, Sinclair will be responsible for ensuring an enhanced guest experience that provides elevated hospitality services across the entire Virgin Hotels portfolio. He will craft innovative strategies to excel the performance of the Virgin Hotels brand. Prior to Virgin Hotels, Sinclair led teams at ten Four Seasons hotels and resorts in seven countries. 

Personnel Moves

Choice Hotels International, Inc. appointed Sally Bartas to the position of chief talent and culture officer. In this newly created role, Bartas will work closely with leaders across the enterprise to strategically expand Choice’s talent programs and forward-thinking HR strategies, including workforce planning, succession planning and talent management and acquisition. Bartas will also play a key role in guiding Choice’s diversity, equity and belonging initiatives in alignment with the company’s overall growth strategy. Bartas joins choice Hotels from Stanley Black and Decker where she most recently served as vice president of human resources.

Holiday Inn Club Vacations Incorporated announced JP Hurtado joined the company as its Chief Information Officer. In this newly created role, JP will lead the company’s various Information Technology teams. He will be responsible for leading, steering and accelerating the company’s technology strategy and digital transformation. Before joining Holiday Inn Club Vacations, JP was Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer for Dave & Buster’s, Inc.

Europe Highlights

Hilton announced a franchise agreement with Munich Hotel Partners to open Conrad Hamburg, set to become the first hotel in Germany to operate under Hilton’s luxury Conrad Hotels & Resorts brand. Located in the center of Hamburg, the property will undergo an extensive refurbishment before opening under the Conrad brand in 2024. The 238-room hotel will feature 25 suites and 32 residential suites, nine meeting rooms, a lounge bar and restaurant, wellness facilities including a luxury spa, gym and private pool. 

Aimbridge Hospitality will manage The Belsfield Hotel, located in the heart of Bowness-on-Windermere in London, through the Aimbridge EMEA Division. The Belsfield offers five conference suites and an onsite restaurant and brasserie.

The first Radisson RED hotel in the North of England has opened in Liverpool, following an extensive renovation. The 10-story hotel includes 201 guest rooms and suites, a restaurant, a gym, five meeting rooms as well as a more intimate private dining room.