A Sad Sack of Lodging SPACs Struggling as Public Companies

In an amazing recovery from over 700 points down, the DJIA ended the day down only 280 points while Nasdaq rallied to end up 6. The S&P 500 fell 27 points and the 10-year treasury yield plunged another .15 to 4.01%. Lodging stocks were lower but the real damage was on the four names we call the “new age” lodging stocks.

Vacasa’s stock price plunged well into penny stock category, joining Sonder, before recovering somewhat, ending the day down -25%. VCSA reported 4Q results which were ahead of expectations but their 2023 outlook was described as a “transition year”, a lower than expected outlook. Management seemed a tad defensive, saying what is happening to them, the “transition” is an industry function. Skift, parent company of this publication, described it as properties abandoning its platform, something the CEO of VCSA argued that their homeowners were actually outperforming rivals on. Here is what investors need to know. VCSA’s stock has gone from $9.38 to $0.88, SOND has gone from $5.11 to $0.76 and SLNA went to $49.49 on that ridiculous first day of trading and hit a new low today of $1.50. MCG has been the best performer of the “new age” companies in the group, only going down to $3.08 from $9.63 and currently trading in between there. Clearly these stocks were mispriced by their bankers/advisors and one would think if they had a lot of value or were special, they would have suitors already. Right now, the crystal ball suggests delistings or reverse splits after they eventually get notifications that their stock prices are not high enough to maintain listing standards. VCSA hit a new low, losing a quarter of its remaining value today, SLNA fell -16% to a new low, MCG was down -8% and SOND fell another -4%.

Braemar Hotels & Resorts and Ashford Hospitality Trust both issued press releases, clarifying that their cash holdings are safe. BHR said 60% of their cash is in short term US Treasury Securities while AHT has 42% of their cash in Treasuries. AHT has 27% held at FDIC Insured Cash Sweep accounts at commercial banks and 30% relates to property-level operating cash deposited with commercial banks designated as G-SIB by the Financial Stability Board. BHR has 18% at commercial banks in Insured Cash Sweep accounts and 16% related to property-level operated cash deposited with commercial banks designated as G-SIB.

STR reported US lodging data for the week ended 3/11. US hotel RevPAR was up 11.1% year over year. When compared with the same week in 2019, RevPAR was up 8%.

DelMonte Hotel Group acquired the Moxy Chattanooga Downtown, located in the Southside neighborhood of Chattanooga, Tennessee. The four-story, 108-room boutique hotel features Bar Moxy, a lounge and outdoor patio, a fitness center and customizable meeting space.

St. Regis Hotels & Resorts announced the opening of The St. Regis Kanai Resort, Riviera Maya in Mexico. Owned by Grupo Alhel the resort boasts 124 guestrooms and 19 suites, eight culinary venues, The St. Regis Spa, and over 50,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor event spaces across six meeting venues.

IHG Hotels & Resorts announced the first destination in the Americas for the re-imagined Regent Hotels & Resorts, on the spectacular beachfront of Santa Monica, California. Poised to open in late 2023, following a complete transformation, Regent Santa Monica Beach will feature sumptuous and tranquil rooms and suites, unforgettable epicurean experiences, a stunning beachfront pool deck with multiple pools and a destination spa and wellness center. The hotel will be transformed into Regent Santa Monica Beach in partnership with its ownership group, Strategic Hotels & Resorts.

Stellar Hospitality is proposing to build a Staybridge Suites hotel in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The developer is asking the planning commission to approve a waiver that would reduce the required parking from 83 to 44 parking spaces for the five-story, 111 guestroom property.

Peachtree Hospitality Management entered into agreements with TEKMAK Development Company to provide third-party management services for a portion of its hotel portfolio. PHM will assume operations of the SpringHill Suites Dallas Rockwall on Aug. 1, 2023, and is slated to manage two under-construction hotels, a dual-branded TownePlace Suites by Marriott and Fairfield by Marriott in Paris, Texas, and a TownePlace Suites by Marriott in Forney, Texas. 

Ennismore announced the signing of a Mondrian Hotels & Residencesdevelopment in Tulum, Mexico with Inzigna Capital. Mondrian Tulum Hotel & Residences will open in 2025 and be the second Mondrian in Mexico. The property will be an impressive 64-guestroom hotel with four F&B outlets, a spa, fitness center, outdoor pool and several other amenities. The residential project will comprise 151 units.

OYO is planning to add over 100 hotels in the U.S. in 2023, nearly double the number of hotels the company added to its portfolio in 2022. This expansion strategy will focus on adding more hotels in the states of Oregon, Washington, Texas, Oklahoma, Georgia and Florida. Texas continues to be the largest and fastest growing market for OYO in the U.S., while it also has sizable concentration of hotels in Oregon, South and North Carolina, Florida and Georgia. 

HVS Brokerage & Advisory announced the sale of the 57-key Howard Johnson by Wyndham Houma located in Houma, Louisiana. The property was purchased by Agha Holdings from KAK Enterprises.

PMZ Realty Capital LLC arranged acquisition financing for the Courtyard by Marriott Austin - University Area located in Austin, Texas. The $20.75M non-recourse acquisition loan with a flexible floating rate priced over SOFR was provided by a portfolio lender to cover 73% of the overall total project costs. The nine-story Courtyard by Marriott Austin-University Area features 186 guestrooms, twelve suites, two meeting rooms totaling 1,342 square feet of meeting space, a fitness center, business center and pool.

CitizenM secured a dual currency sustainability-linked loan totaling 480 million from HSBC, ABN AMRO Bank and Aareal Bank. The funding was provided equally by ABN AMRO Bank, Aareal Bank and HSBC, with HSBC UK acting as facility agent and HSBC Continental Europe acting as a sustainability linked loan coordinator. 

Personnel Moves

Marriott International’s Board of Directors announced two new directors, Lauren R. Hobart and Grant F. Reid, to be independent directors of the company. Ms. Hobart serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of DICK’s Sporting Goods. Mr. Reid is the former President and CEO of Mars Incorporated. 

Mint House announced the appointment of Christian Lee as Chief Executive Officer. Lee previously served as Chief Financial Officer of Transfix. Prior to that, Lee served as Managing Director of WeWork Asia. 

First Hospitality appointed Walter Peseski as vice president of business development. In his new role, Peseski will be responsible for leading the company’s external business development efforts and driving the growth of its third-party management services business. Peseski joins First Hospitality from Aimbridge Hospitality, where he served as senior director. Prior to that, he held multiple leadership positions at Quorum Hotels and Resorts. 

Arch Amenities Group announced the appointment of Davey Friedman as vice president of real estate and business development. Friedman will be responsible for growing the company’s services in the West. Prior to Arch, Friedman was a real estate broker and manager of a family real estate office.

Europe Highlights

Yotel plans to debut its Yotelpad brand in Europe with the opening of Yotelpad London Stratford in Q4 2023, following a long-term management agreement with owner, Silver Mascot Limited. It will be Yotel’s seventh property in the UK and third in London. Yotelpad London Stratford will feature 62-PADs, a Grab & Go, laundry facilities and ample storage space. The new-build property will also be home to a food & beverage and retail space due to open in 2024.

Radisson Hotel Group announced the opening of Hotel YAC Paris Clichy, a member of Radisson Individuals, the Group’s first Radisson Individuals property in Paris. Following an extensive renovation, the hotel welcomes guests with its magnificent rooftop, lush garden, beautiful patio, and 75 renovated guest rooms, an indoor pool, sauna and fitness center.