Accor’s Optimistic Outlook

The DJIA was up 109 points, Nasdaq was up 83, the S&P 500 rose 21 points, the 10-year treasury yield was down .04 to 3.88% and lodging stocks for the most part were mixed. MCG was the biggest mover, up 7% while SOND was the biggest decliner, down -6. SLNA traded down to another new low.

Marriott Vacations missed expectations with their 4Q report, primarily due to their exchange and rental businesses as their core VOI business outperformed. The problem is 2023 guidance was weaker so that was probably the deciding factor on whether the stock was going to have a tough day or not.

Chatham Lodging Trust reported an in-line 4Q for EBITDA. They did not give 2023 guidance.

Accor reported good results and forecast higher RevPAR for 2023, very optimistic due to the return of the Chinese traveler. Accor said 2022 RevPAR exceeded 2019 (pre-pandemic) levels by 2%.

Urban Catalyst started demolishing the site of its Keystone project, a 176-key Marriott TownePlace Suites. The eight-story hotel is the first extended-stay hotel in Downtown San Jose, California. Vertical construction will start next quarter and the project is slated for completion in the first quarter of 2025.

Huntersville, North Carolina Board of Commissioners approved a rezoning request and special-use permit for Hotel Ventures of Lake Norman Inc. to allow for the development of a 109-room hotel. The project would include two Marriott brands, a Fairfield by Marriott and TownePlace Suites. 

The University of Houston is preparing to unveil its newly renovated and expanded on-campus hotel following a $30.4 million construction project. UH’s Hilton College of Global Hospitality Leadership has scheduled a February 27 ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the reopening of the Hilton-branded facility, the only on-campus, full-service hotel of its kind. The hotel allows UH students to gain experience by staffing and taking classes in an actual working hotel. Updates to the hotel include a new, eight-story tower, which added 70 more guest rooms to the property. The project also included renovation of the hotel’s existing 80 guest rooms, lobby, public spaces and courtyard. Additionally, six of the hotel’s original rooms were converted into administrative offices. As the hotel is part of a public university, the hotel technically is owned by the state of Texas. 

The DoubleTree Rocky Point hotel in Tampa, Florida has sold for $75.9 million. The buyer was Tampa Hotel Operating Company, an LLC belonging to Oliver Cos. 

Continuum Partners LLC sold an interest in the Kimpton Hotel Born, in Denver, Colorado, to Aspen Hospitality. The newly formed joint venture marks the beginning of the hotel’s future conversion to Limelight Denver under the operation of Aspen Hospitality in 2023. The property features 200 guest rooms including 40 suites, all of which will be updated in conjunction with the transition to the Limelight brand. The hotel is also equipped with approximately 14,000 square feet of meeting space and a restaurant offering, which may be re-concepted as part of the conversion. CBRE represented Continuum in the deal.

The Baltimore Peninsula development team, led by MAG Partners, MacFarlane Partners and Method Co., announced plans for a new design-centric, 81-room ROOST Apartment Hotel. The new ROOST Apartment Hotel in Baltimore, Maryland will be located within Baltimore Peninsula, a 235-acre mixed-use waterfront neighborhood. The team, together with its joint venture partners Sagamore Ventures and the Urban Investment Group within Goldman Sachs Asset Management, is scheduled to open ROOST Baltimore Peninsula in Summer 2023. The multi-million dollar project includes a 24-7 concierge, an on-site fitness center, and 20,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor resort-like amenity space including an open-air pool lined with cabanas and an outdoor fireplace centered around a full-service hybrid bar and lounge. Additionally, Method Co. will be leasing out 40 apartment units for long-term residents who will also have access to all of the building’s amenities. 

PEG Companies announced the successful sale of AVIA Sanctuary at Highland Mall, a newly converted apartment community that previously operated as the Habitat Suites extended-stay hotel. Located in Austin, Texas, the property offers 96 units, a clubhouse, inviting spacious lobby, a freshened pool area, a fitness center and workspace areas.

The Drury Plaza Hotel Orlando has officially opened in the Disney Springs area of Lake Buena Vista, Florida. The property features pool-side and lobby restaurants and bars, a fitness facility, lobby business center, a resort-style saltwater pool with splash pad, and a game arcade. The hotel’s anticipated completion date is Spring 2023. When fully complete, the hotel will feature 604 rooms, including 78 two-room suites. This Drury hotel location is the second for the brand in the Orlando area. 

JLL’s Hotels & Hospitality Group closed the sale of two Marriott brand hotels totaling 372 keys along the Hudson River in Weehawken, New Jersey. JLL represented the seller, Veris Residential, in the all-equity sale to Navika Capital Group, LLC. The hotels were offered unencumbered by management. The portfolio includes the 208-key EnVue Autograph Collection Port Imperial and the 164-key Residence Inn Port Imperial. The hotels operate under one building complex at the center of the $4 billion mixed-use development that is in the final phases at Port Imperial. The property features a collective 15,000 square feet of outdoor space, over 27,000 square feet of meeting and conference space and a fitness center. 

Personnel Moves

LivAway Suites, a new economy extended stay hotel brand, announced Robert M. La Forgia as the newest member of the LivAway Suites ownership group and board. La Forgia, principal and CEO of Apertor Hospitality is a veteran of the hospitality and real estate industries. La Forgia is also a member of the RLJ Lodging Trust board of trustees. La Forgia’s extensive industry expertise will help set LivAway Suites on a tremendous growth path and provide strategic direction to enhance the overall platform.

The US Travel Association announced the election of Chris Nassetta, president and CEO of Hilton as their national chair. Nassetta may serve up to two consecutive one-year terms.

Europe Highlights

Fondo Italiano d’Investimento and Eulero Capital agreed to buy a stake in Italian operator HNH Hospitality from the Siparex fund for an undisclosed sum. HNH Hospitality manages 16 hotels, including 13 in major Italian cities, through franchise deals with hotel brands like Hilton, IHG, Accor and Best Western. The transaction marks Fondo Italiano and Eulero Capital’s entry into the tourism sector. 

With the Zleep Hotel Berlin Airport, the Scandinavian hotel brand opens its first hotel in the German capital. Together with the project partners, Project Immobilien Group and Deutsche Hospitality will open the 198-room hotel in the first quarter of 2024. The hotel offers a restaurant, lounge and 55 parking spaces. Currently, the Zleep Hotels portfolio includes 15 hotels in Denmark, Sweden and Spain.