Concord Hospitality Prepares to Expand in 2023

The stock indexes finally found their way higher with the DJIA up 342 points, Nasdaq up 84, the S&P 500 rose 30 points while the 10-year treasury yield broke through 4% to close up .08 at 4.07%. Lodging stocks were mixed. Earnings from SOHO had a positive response, up 5%. Earnings from SLNA and SOND had the opposite effect with SOND now a penny stock, down -13% to a new low and SLNA down -7%, also to a new low. MCG, the only new age name in the group that had been solid the past few weeks, recovered more than half of its morning losses but still ended the day down -6%.

Choice Hotels International announced the board of directors approved a 21% increase in the quarterly cash dividend on their common stock. The quarterly dividend rises to $0.2875 per share from $0.2375.

Concord Hospitality is preparing for a year of expansion in 2023 as the company recounts 2022 milestones and projects significant growth for the year ahead. In 2022, Concord Hospitality reported a total of 66 successful transactions including 12 new hotel openings, an additional 15 third party management contracts and 10 newly-opened branded restaurant and rooftop bar concepts. Concord saw an additional 18 hotels that had a change of ownership where Concord was retained to stay on as the management company. The company’s hotel revenues grew to $981 million with comp hotels seeing a 41.6% RevPAR growth over 2021 and the overall portfolio surpassing its 2022 revenue budget by 8.2%. Food & Beverage operations delivered revenues at over $125 million, a 25% growth over 2021. 

AC Hotels by Marriott has opened its newest property in St. Petersburg, Florida, AC Hotel by Marriott St. Petersburg Downtown. The new 8-story AC Hotel comprises 172 guest rooms, a dozen of them suites; 1,800 square feet of meeting and event space; a fitness center; outdoor pool; signature AC Kitchen and an AC Lounge; and an eighth floor rooftop restaurant and bar. Located in the waterfront arts district, AC Hotel St. Petersburg Downtown is the hospitality portion of Ascent St. Petersburg, a mixed-use project developed by Greystar Real Estate Partners and Concord Hospitality that also comprises a 36-story luxury apartment tower and 5,500 square feet of retail space. OTO Development purchased the hotel from the project’s developers, Greystar Real Estate Partners and Concord Hospitality. Hodges Ward Elliott brokered the sale. 

Evermore Orlando Resort and Conrad Orlando are now accepting reservations for stays beginning from February 5, 2024. Developed by Dart Interests, the 1,100-acre resort complex is located in Orlando, Florida. The Evermore resort complex is a comprehensive redevelopment of the former Villas of Grand Cypress Golf Resort. Evermore will open with nearly 1,500 bedrooms spread among an array of stay experiences. The expansive resort property will open with 69 houses ranging in size from five to eleven bedrooms, 206 four-bedroom flats, and 41 two and four-bedroom villas. Conrad Orlando will offer 433 rooms, including 51 suites and 10 spacious family suites. Amenities include a tranquil spa with an outdoor water garden, private pool area with splash pad, private cabanas, fitness center, arrival/departure lounge and numerous dining options, including a signature rooftop experience. Guests staying at Evermore and Conrad Orlando will enjoy an expansive 20-acre tropical beach complex surrounding Evermore Bay. The surrounding beach areas will feature zero-entry swim areas, bars, cabanas, private fire-pits and an aquatic adventure area. Other amenities include a lively food hall, gourmet market, casual resort restaurant, a two-story Boathouse for weddings and private events, the famed Scottish Links course, along with a newly reconfigured 18-hole course that will open with the resort. The entire resort complex will offer event professionals over 150,000 square feet of indoor/outdoor event space with Conrad Orlando boasting over 65,000 square feet of event space including 19 meeting rooms.

A new hotel is set to go up near Railroad Square Art District, in Tallahassee, Florida, in the next few years. A 109-room Homewood Suites by Hilton will sit on a 1.5-acre plot of land at the northeast corner of Railroad Avenue and the FAMU Way roundabout. 

IHG Hotels & Resorts finalized the conversion of a new Holiday Inn hotel in Tuxpan, Mexico. The project includes a renovation of the hotel’s 137 guest rooms, reconcepting of its onsite food and beverage options including the opening of two new restaurants, and the expansion of onsite collaborative space to include 15 meeting rooms. Also the home of the Tochpan Convention Center, the Holiday Inn Tuxpan - Convention Center features a large outdoor pool, a fitness center and business center. The newly converted hotel is owned and managed by Lara’s Family. 

1 Hotels announced the opening of 1 Hotel Hanalei Bay, its flagship nature-and-wellness-focused island oasis overlooking a storied stretch of Kauai’s North Shore in Princeville, Hawaii. The multi-year $300 million transformation of the property includes 252 rooms including 51 suites, Bamford Wellness Spa, Anatomy fitness center, beachfront jungle, indoor and outdoor yoga spaces, seven sustainable food venues and three saline pools. Launching in May 2023 is 1x Vitahealth Medi Spa offering an integrated medicine program powered by an expert team of doctors, registered nurses and nurse practitioners. 

After acquiring the company’s first “luxury treehouse resort” late in 2022, Summit Hotel Properties is expanding its first glamping resort and developing another. The company expects to continue growing though a strategic partnership with glamping resort brand Onera, which includes the right of first refusal for their next 10 projects. The company acquired a 90% stake in a joint venture to buy the Onera Fredericksburg, an 11-unit site in Fredericksburg, Texas, along with an adjacent 6.4-acre parcel for $5.2 million. Along with the announcement of the initial development of its next two Onera-branded projects, the expansion of its Onera Fredericksburg site the company announced a newly funded mezzanine loan for a separate glamping site. 

About a year ago in Minnesota, the Hutchinson City Council approved aid for a project to turn the Jorgenson Hotel into a renovated, upscale, 24-room hotel. Developer Titanium Partners was anticipated to begin work around the fall of 2022. In short, interest rates delayed the $5.8 million renovation project. The Hutchinson Economic Development Authority hopes work will begin on the historic Jorgenson Hotel later this year. New plans for the space include renovations to the top two floors of the building, which have been vacant since 1970. Work may include a new elevator, new windows, exterior tuck pointing and interior build-outs. No additional floors are planned. The ground floor has been renovated.

WaterWalk celebrated the grand opening of its first-ever, next-generation, extended-stay property, WaterWalk Phoenix North Happy Valley. The 126-room property, set directly in the heart of Deer Valley in Phoenix, Arizona, introduces the re-imagined WaterWalk hybrid home approach, providing travelers the best blend of an upscale extended-stay hotel and a place to call home with spacious units that can be personalized. The property includes a modern fitness center, a spacious back patio with lounging furniture and fireplaces, a gated pool and a communal cookout area with grills. The premier flexible lodging brand’s pipeline, which will result in a portfolio that doubles in size over the next 24 months, consists of numerous Gen 2.0 properties being constructed and additional properties under development. 

Personnel Move

ZAC Holdings, LLC announced the promotion of John P. Henry to the position of President and CEO of ZMC Hotels. Mr. Henry most recently served as ZMC Hotels’ Executive Vice President and COO. As ZMC Hotels’ President and CEO, he will have responsibility for strategic leadership as well as day-to-day operations. Financial leadership will continue under the direction of Executive Vice president and Chief Financial Officer, Todd Torvinen, and market leadership will continue under the direction of Senior Vice President of Operations, Casey MacAllister. ZAC is the owner of ZMC Hotels LLC.

Europe Highlights

HomeExchange has acquired its UK-based competitor Love Home Swap. The purchase, which brings together two like-minded communities, aims to offer an accessible, responsible, and authentic travel experience to as many people as possible. The announcement comes on the heels of major growth for HomeExchange, with a new record number of members, up 41% at the start of the year compared to 2022. Following this acquisition, Love Home Swap will continue to operate as usual before integrating into the HomeExchange community later this year. With the HomeExchange acquisition of the assets of the parent company of UK-based Love Home Swap, the new entity will be part of the Tukazza Group created by Emmanuel Arnaud and Charles-Edouard Girard along with HomeExchange and sister brand HomeExchange Collection. 

A major US-based leisure operator has expressed interest in bringing an indoor water park resort to Basingstoke, as one of the first in the UK. The proposed concept of an indoor water park resort will be discussed in a meeting, as Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council’s cabinet considers whether to progress formal negotiations with Great Wolf Resorts to sell Basingstoke Golf Center as a location for the development. The proposed resort could feature a 500-bedroom hotel, an indoor water park, conference facilities, and leisure offerings including mini-golf, mini-bowling, ropes course, games arcade and a selection of restaurants, cafes and bars.