Hotels Change Hands, Brands Enter New Markets

The DJIA fell 614 points while Nasdaq was down 138 and the S&P 500 was down 62 points. The 10 year treasury yield was down .16 to 3.38%, a drop of more than 4.5% on the yield. Lodging stocks were mostly lower. VCSA was down -12%, SOND was down -8% but MCG was up 5% on the Buy rating below.

Roth initiated coverage on Membership Collective Group with a Buy rating and $7 price target.

Northland Capital Markets initiated coverage on Selina Hospitality Group with an Outperform rating and $4.50 target price.

The scheduled auction of the downtown Hilton Hotel Minneapolis, previously slated for Friday, has been postponed. Haberhill LLC and Walton Street Capital acquired the Hilton for $143 million in 2016. In April 2020 the owners stopped making their scheduled monthly payments on a $180 million loan from JPMorgan Chase Bank. As of March 2021, the hotel owners owed more than $201 million on the loan. Trimont Real Estate Advisors is the special servicer for the loan. The planned auction of the 826-room Hilton has been high-profile because it is the largest hotel in the state and an anchor in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota. 

HEI Hotels & Resorts has assumed management of the 326-room Westin San Antonio North Hotel in San Antonio, Texas. Owned by L+R Hotels, the Westin provides nine meeting rooms that comprise nearly 25,000 square feet of meeting and event space, multiple food and beverage facilities and indoor and outdoor pools. A comprehensive renovation of the hotel is in the planning stages with completion anticipated in late 2023.

CBL Properties and Vision Hospitality Group, Inc. announced plans to develop a 139-room Element by Westin at Mayfaire Town Center in Wilmington, North Carolina, marking the brand’s entrance into the Wilmington market. Construction on the project is expected to begin soon with an anticipated opening in spring 2024. 

Naman Hotels is planning a Hilton-branded hotel in Charlotte, North Carolina. Naman Hotels purchased the land for $1.2 million in November, which will become a 148-room Homewood Suites by Hilton that will replace an existing hotel next door that is being repurposed into multifamily housing. The hotel will have meeting spaces, an outdoor pool, community space with grills and a fire pit, a fitness center and on-site laundry. Construction on the $32 million project will begin later this year and is scheduled to deliver in early 2025.

Sandpiper Lodging Trust completed the acquisition of five operating hotels from affiliates Sandpiper Hospitality III, LLC and Sandpiper Hospitality IV, LLC that operate under the WoodSpring Suites brand. These five properties are located in White Marsh, MD; Greenbelt, MD; Virginia Beach, VA; and two in Baton Rouge, LA.

Pineapple Hospitality announced the launch of Staypineapple Hotels Inc. Staypineapple Hotels Inc. will take over the management of all 10 Staypineapple hotels across the United States, as well as open the doors for third-party licensing and property management. Staypineapple Hotels Inc. will provide access to its staypineapple.com website, complete with an online booking engine. Additionally, hotel owners interested in capitalizing on Staypineapple’s business management suite will be given access to a best-in-class operations system, central reservations department, corporate sales and marketing ream and all other components of the company’s operating business.

Downtown Minneapolis’ new boutique hotel, Hotel Indigo by IHG, will have all of its 218 rooms open by the end of this week. Hotel Indigo is replacing the former Crowne Plaza hotel space that is located in the Northstar Center. The Hotel Indigo renovation and opening is part of a major renovation of the Northstar Center, which is turning an aging block of properties into the hotel along with newly renovated office space, apartments, retail uses and more. Wilson Street Hotel Group owns and redeveloped the hotel. In addition to guest rooms, the hotel has a workout facility, business office, small conference room and more. Still under construction in the hotel is a new restaurant and bar. Placemaker Hospitality is running the new restaurant. The hotel Indigo is Great Lakes Management’s first project in Minneapolis and will be IHG’s first Hotel Indigo flagged in the city.

IHG Hotels & Resorts announced the opening of its newest Holiday Inn Express & Suites hotel in Glen Rose, Texas. Owned and operated by P-N & K Hospitality LLC, the Holiday Inn Express & Suites Glen Rose offers 71 guest rooms and 900 square feet of meeting space.

Hyatt plans to create hotels and resorts in two destinations on Mexico’s Caribbean coast, Tulum and Isla Mujeres, with about 5,000 rooms together. Some of the properties will be part of Hyatt’s Inclusive Collection of all-inclusive resorts. Hyatt also pledged to participate in social projects for its workers and employees. 

Almost two years after Heritage Equity Partners filed for bankruptcy on its flagship development, The Williamsburg Hotel, the property has been sold at auction for $96 million. Quadrum Development Corporation won the 147-room hotel in Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. The proceeds from the auction will likely go toward Heritage’s debt on the hotel, amounting to between $50 million to $100 million. Heritage defaulted on its $68 million loan on the property from Benefit Street Partners in 2019.

A St. Louis, Missouri board approved a deal in which a hotel developer will pay the city $750,000 if the company backs out of building two hotels on the former Wells Fargo campus in Midtown. Midas will make the deposit when it applies for the permit to demolish the buildings. If Midas pursues the project, the deposit will apply to the cost of the building permit for the two hotels. Midas and its partner, Green Street Real Estate Ventures, are proposing to build a 170-room boutique Kimpton Hotel and a 129-room Staybridge Suites for about $120 million. 

HCW Development LLC topped out construction of the 11-story, 265-guestroom Caesars Republic hotel in Scottsdale, Arizona. HCW expects construction to continue through the year in preparation for a February 2024 opening. It will features a rooftop pool and lounge and two restaurants. Caesars Entertainment Inc. has the naming rights to the non-gaming hotel. 

Paramount Lodging Advisors announced the sale of a Hilton-branded hotel located in SW Lubbock, Texas, near the South Plans Mall. The full-service, 156-key Embassy Suites features multiple meeting rooms and a restaurant. The new owners are excited to repurpose the legacy hotel to an alternative use in the growing Texas market.

Personnel Moves

JLL’s Hotels & Hospitality Group has appointed Managing Director Andrew Dickey to lead hotel investment sales efforts across the Southeast, Caribbean and Central American markets, effective January 30, 2023. Dickey has 17 years of experience at JLL working on investment sales projects in the Southeast U.S., Caribbean and Latin America. Gregory Rumpel, Senior Managing Director, who currently leads Southeast hotel investment sales, will remain with the firm to focus on key transactions in the region and provide strategic advice to the leadership team.

John Wise joined Marcus Hotels & Resorts as Vice President of Food and Beverage. Wise will lead and elevate the company’s multi-faceted restaurant, bar and group catering programs to deliver dynamic and extraordinary culinary experiences. This includes overseeing all hotel catered events and over 40 signature restaurants, bars and lounges across Marcus Hotels & Resorts’ 16 properties. Wise spent more than 27 years with Bartolotta Restaurants, where he served as director of operations and managing partner of the company’s multi-restaurant operations. 

Driftwood Capital announced that Jay Cooper joined the firm as Managing Director of Development and Construction. In this role, Cooper will oversee all of Driftwood Capital’s new, ground-up hospitality developments and value-add hotel renovations, along with providing commercial construction and development services to other hospitality-driven real estate sponsors. Cooper, who has held senior leadership roles at firms including Kolter Hospitality and Turner & Townsend, brings more than 20 years of experience to his new role.

Coast Hotels limited announced the appointment of David Ferguson as Director of Development. In his new role, Ferguson will focus on growing Coast Hotels portfolio of franchise and managed hotels in North America specifically targeting Canada to support the company’s exponential growth strategy. Most recently, Ferguson served as Director and Practice Co-lead for CBRE Hotels Valuation and Advisory Services group in Canada.

Europe Highlights

Tivoli Hotels & Resorts continues its expansion in Europe, announcing the brand’s upcoming debut in the Netherlands. The Tivoli Doelen Amsterdam is scheduled to launch in March, after the re-brand of the NH Collection Doelen. Tivoli Doelen will offer 81-keys, a lounge and bar area, and a restaurant. Currently with a portfolio of 16 properties in four countries, Tivoli Hotels & Resorts is owned by Minor Hotels and managed by NH Hotel Group in Europe.

In 2022, Radisson Hotel Group continued its drive forward its ambitious expansion plan to be one of the top three hotel groups in the world with its portfolio of nine distinct brands and its growing resorts portfolio. The luxury lifestyle Radisson Collection brand had an exception year of openings in 2022 with the introduction of six new hotels. In 2023, the Group is looking forward to new additions including Radisson Collection, Santa Sofia Milan, Radisson Collection Royal Astorija Hotel, Vilnius, Radisson Collection Resort, Galle in Sri Lanka, and Cour des Loges Lyon, A Radisson Collection Hotel. Radisson RED celebrated several milestone openings in 2022. Radisson said they continue to be the fastest growing upscale brand in EMEA in the industry. Radisson Blu continues to be the largest upper upscale band in Europe. Radisson Individuals expanded with over 20 properties. In India, Radisson Hotel Group launched its first Radisson Individuals Retreats with the opening of Rakkh Resort, a member of Radisson Individuals Retreats. Following the opening of three new prizeotel properties in 2022, the Group will focus on expanding its signature midscale lifestyle brand further in 2023. Resorts have become increasingly relevant to the business, owners, and guests. The Group welcomed additions to its 130 strong Resorts portfolio. 2022 has been a strong year for Radisson Hotel Group in Asia Pacific with 40% more signings in the region compared to 2021. In China, Radisson Hotel Group signed and opened 80 hotels and anticipates further strong growth with the reopening of the market, as it aims to double its Chinese portfolio over the next five years. Radisson Hotel Group entered a strategic alliance in India with Ruptub Solutions Private Limited to add 150 hotels to its portfolio under the midscale brand, Park Inn & Suites by Radisson and signed its first property in Q4.