Marriott's Stellar Quarter and Optimistic Outlook

The DJIA was down 157 points while Nasdaq was up 68, the S&P 500 was down a point and the 10-year treasury yield was up another .04 to 3.76%. Lodging stocks were higher but it was the dollar amount on the higher priced C Corps that was the story. Marriott was up $6.90 a share, Hyatt was up $4.73, Hilton was up $2.38 and Airbnb is currently surging double digits in after hours trading on their earnings report.

Marriott International followed up Hilton’s solid 4Q earnings report with one of their own, easily beating estimates on solid 4.6% RevPAR growth. MAR said they know that hospitality will not be immune to a recession but also made it clear they haven’t seen any signs of it yet. They bought back $1.4 billion worth of stock in 4Q22 and already bought back $400 million so far in 2023. MAR also noted a 51.6% worldwide RevPAR growth number in January. Remember that number was helped by Omicron last year and China reopening this year.

Long-discussed ideas to convert the century-old Baker Building in downtown Cleveland, Ohio into a new hotel could be close to moving forward. 1900 E Sixth Street, owner of the building, recently applied for tax increment financing through the city of Cleveland. According to the 30-year ITF proposal, project developer NuovoRE would create a 100-room boutique hotel in the vacant building which will be managed by New Waterloo. The estimated $64.2 million project is known as the Fidelity Hotel Project.

21c Museum Hotels will open its tenth hotel this spring, a 10-story lodging in St. Louis, Missouri with artwork in every room and more than 14,000 square feet of museum exhibition space. The 173-room boutique hotel, located in a 95-year old former YMCA building, has begun taking reservations beginning in late June. The new hotel will include an upper-level fitness loft, an athletic and wellness center and a restaurant.

Longitude and Flyover Developments are bringing a unique experience to Branson, Missouri in summer 2023. The Fall Creek Inn & Suites is being renovated into the Ozarker Lodge. The property will be open at limited capacity during the renovation. When the full transformation is complete this summer, the facility will feature 102 guestrooms, a coffee and wine car, a new pool, a play area for kids, and special cedar soaking tubs near Fall Creek.

A new hotel and convention center is making its way to Belle Fourche, South Dakota. Doug Peterson purchased 5.7 acres of land on Cowboy Street from Butte County in late 2022. The convention room will hold 300 people and there will be a smaller meeting room that can hold 50. The hotel will have 72 units and a large indoor pool. There will be an in-house restaurant and a fitness facility. DA Peterson Company, LLC is on its way to breaking ground in the spring.

Steelbound Brewery & Distillery is planning a three year, multi-phase $17.4 million expansion, creating a manufacturing campus while bringing a new hotel and conference center to Ellicottville, New York. In the first phase, Steelbound is looking to convert a commercial complex next to its current facility into an automated production and bottling plant. Work could get underway this year. Steelbound would also expand an 1,890 square foot building to 8,000 to 10,000 square feet, for barrel storage and aging of spirits. Then there is a project that would add 5,000 square feet of space, with a 55,000-pound grain silo and an automated delivery system, enabling the company to purchase and store grain in bulk for brewing and distilling. The company’s owners are proposing to add a 75-room hotel with a 400-person conference center and banquet facility, which would be connected to the brewery and distillery through a sky bridge, which would include an open concept kitchen and dining room. That target date for construction on that part of the project is next year.

Nayara Bocas del Toro in Panama, recently unveiled two, one-bedroom treehouses where you can sleep atop the lush tropical rainforest. The 50-foot suites are the first of five to debut. The boutique retreat has a freshwater pool, a 100-year old Elephant House restaurant and a floating beach.

Personnel Moves

HEI Hotels & Resorts announced Cindy Murphy has been named regional vice president of operations. Cindy will help HEI achieve its growth plans by providing invaluable support the general managers in the field. Prior to joining HEI, Murphy was vice president of operations and head of the Sonesta Select brand for Sonesta Hotels. 

Europe Highlights

In the year-end 2022 Europe Hotel Construction Pipeline Trend Report from Lodging Econometrics, analysts report that at the close of the fourth quarter, Europe’s total construction pipeline stands at 1,711 projects/260,911 rooms. The LE forecast for new hotel openings in 2023 is 424 new hotels to open accounting for 61,534 rooms and 396 new hotels/55,280 rooms to open in 2024. Through the fourth quarter of 2022, 373 new hotels with 55,647 rooms opened in Europe.

European Hotel Pipeline at Q4 Close

European Countries with the Largest Pipelines at Q4 Close

European Cities with the Largest Pipelines at Q4 Close

Companies with the Largest Pipelines in Europe at Q4 Close

Brands with the Largest Pipelines in Europe at Q4 Close

Langham Hospitality Group officially breaks ground on The Langham, Venice, marking the regeneration of the historic former Casino Mocenigo building and Murano glass factory. The hotel includes 133 guest rooms including 30 suites, a restaurant with alfresco and indoor seating together with an exclusive rooftop bar, two events and meetings venues, a private cooking school and a central private courtyard with a pool.

Selina Hospitality PLC announced the opening of Selina Montevideo, the company’s second location in Uruguay. The hotel will ultimately feature a range of common areas, including a restaurant, cinema, communal kitchen and co-working space. The hotel expects to open its wellness area, massage room, library and all bedspaces by June 2023. 

Sardegna Resorts signed agreements with LVMH Hospitality Excellence to manage two of its hotels in Costa Smeralda located in Sardinia, Italy. The LVMH brand Belmond will manage the Hotel Romazzino, which will open for the 2024 season as the Romazzino, A Belmond Hotel, Costa Smeralda. The Hotel Pitrizza will be managed by the LVMH brand Cheval Blanc. The hotel will continue to operate under its current name until 2026, when it will be rebranded as Cheval Blanc Pitrizza, Costa Smeralda, following the completion of the renovation works.

Premier Inn has bought a Berlin development from Project Immobilien Wohnen und Gewerbe. The new hotel being built in the south-east of Berlin comprises 175 rooms and around 50 outdoor parking spaces. Construction is expected to start later this year with the projected completion in 2025.

OYO’s UK operations announced it has added 40 hotels to its platform and doubled its revenue in 2022 vs. 2021. OYO’s network hotels also saw a 50% jump in RevPAR vs. 2021 and a 110% jump in RevPAR vs. Covid (2020). OYO now has 150+ small hotels in over 65 cities in its network in the UK. It has added new hotels in Otterburn, Folkestone, Worcester, Swansea, Crewe, Kidderminster, Solihull, Peterhead & Boston.