Insider Buying at Lodging Companies

The DJIA ended Friday with a decline of 385 points while Nasdaq was down 87, the S&P 500 fell 44 points, capping another week of lower equity indexes. The 10-year treasury yield was down .19 to 3.40%. Lodging stocks were lower, once again led by the lodging REITs. INN and AHT both fell -7% and CLDT, VCSA, SVC and PK were each down by -6% on the day. SOHO fell -5%.

JP Morgan gave some takeaways from their recent JP Morgan Gaming and Lodging Forum. Despite the jitters and dire predictions we have been hearing for getting close to a year, lodging demand remains consistent with any concern of deterioration stemming from headline economic risk not yet manifesting in fundamentals. JPM said the leisure segment remains resilient while group continues its recovery momentum. They noted that both Hyatt and Wyndham highlighted exposures to sub-segments less tiled to cyclical demand, indicating some cushion amid the challenged economic backdrop. Consistent with recent earnings commentary, management teams expect Chinese and Japanese consumers will be a tailwind for international travel this year. JPM believes this will provide a boost to occupancy in urban and coastal markets. JPM said management teams discussed the resiliency of timeshare given the recurring nature of maintenance and management fees.

Baird reported on something we touched on recently, insider buying at lodging companies. As we pointed out, Pebblebrook Hotel Trust is seeing the most activity by their CEO, recently spending $1.3 million to buy 90,000 shares. Chatham Lodging Trust’s CEO just bought 10,000 shares and their COO bought, too. Baird also said Apple Hospitality saw a director buy 1,000 shares. Insiders selling is a normal occurrence with Playa Hotels once again in the lead with the usual selling by one director (140,000 shares this time) and two officers selling a total of 47,000 shares.

Baird also said Host Hotels sold the fee simple interest in the 277 room The Camby, Autograph Collection in Phoenix. KHP Capital Partners paid $110 million, with HST providing $84.45 million of seller financing in a transaction that closed last week.

According to a new report, “How Travel Managers Will Succeed in 2023”, from the Global Business Travel Association and Spotnana, a majority of the U.S. corporate travel buyers expect their company’s business travel to ramp up and return to pre-pandemic levels by the end of 2023. Despite concerns about inflation and rising prices, only one in five travel managers say their companies have begun to limit business travel. Some key highlights from the report include: Both travel managers and senior leadership are prioritizing cost savings, but travel managers rank traveler experience higher than executives, making it more challenging to obtain buy-in to focus beyond costs. When asked which tasks they dedicate more time to now compared to before the pandemic, travel managers most frequently cite traveler communications / answering questions and overseeing their travel management company relationship. They also spend more time on data analysis and risk management / traveler tracking. Travel managers must collaborate with a number of stakeholders, the most commonly cited being finance / accounting, senior leadership/C-suite, and risk management/security. Asked about their top travel management company pain points, travel managers most commonly said agents / assistance, data analysis /reporting / dash boarding, and the ability of the travel management company to deliver “customized” travel program. Concerning their primary OBT, travel managers identify end-user/traveler experience, the ability to manage changes or cancellations, and innovation as key pain points.

The Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina, in San Diego, California, announced the completion of its multi-million dollar renovation project. Located in the heart of downtown on the San Diego Bay, the property is comprised of 1,366 re-invented guestrooms and suites. A new addition to Marriott Marquis’ ground floor is the M Club guest lounge. With the resort-style pool as its backdrop, the North Tower Lobby now features hues of blue and green. The former “Bayside Lounge” is now home to the hotel’s on-site Topgolf Swing Suite experience. In addition to the newest additions, Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina also offers guests six different on-site dining options, two outdoor pool experiences, an on-property spa and wellness center, a 446-slip marina, and over 270,000 square feet of meeting and event space.

Mansa Hospitality announced the opening of the new $15 million, 100-room Marriott hotel in Northport, Alabama. Officials broke ground on the property in August 2020 with an opening originally expected in the fall of 2021. First Covid, then supply chain challenges caused the delays.

Tharaldson Hospitality Management announced the Residence Inn Largo Medical Center Drive, located in Largo, Maryland, has completed a comprehensive renovation of its guestrooms and public spaces. The renovation project began in January 2023 and was completed in March 2023. The hotel’s 101 guestrooms have been completely renovated and also feature upgraded bathrooms. The renovation also included the lobby and public spaces of the hotel. The lobby now includes a new business center, a breakfast area, and a 24-hour market.

Kinseth Hospitality and Rise Modular are partnering to build a Home2 Suites in Owatonna, the home to Minnesota’s first modular hotel. Home2 Suites extended-stay hotels by Hilton Hotels feature in-suite kitchens, an indoor pool, a business center and meeting rooms. Rise Modular predicts that construction duration should be about 9 months, with an expected groundbreaking time this spring.

Hyatt Hotels Corporation announced the opening of Hyatt Regency San Luis Potosì, marking the first Hyatt property in the central state of Mexico. The 134-room hotel boasts more than 10,000 square feet of meeting and event space, a 400-person theater space, a full-service restaurant and a cocktail bar.

First Hospitality assumed management and operations of the Hyatt Place Champaign/Urbana in Champaign, Illinois. First Hospitality will also manage Punch!, a bar and lounge located at the hotel. The Hyatt Place Champaign/Urbana features 145 guestrooms, an indoor pool, fitness center, meeting and event space, dining, lobby bar and 24/7 espresso bar.

Red Roof announced the opening of the Red Roof Inn Jasper, Alabama. The hotel offers 58 guestrooms, coin laundry and a seasonal outdoor pool.

Personnel Moves

CoralTree Hospitality announced several key new hires and promotions at the company. Maggy Dunphy joins CoralTree Hospitality in the newly created position of senior director of wellness and spa operations. Dunphy has opened, re-imagined and envisioned spa and wellness programs at resort and city properties for more than 25 years. John Drugan was promoted to regional director of operations, openings and transitions for CoralTree. Drugan most recently was the general manager for CoralTree’s Eddy Taproom & Hotel in Golden, Colorado. In his new role, Drugan will be responsible for overseeing new hotel openings and transitions as well as regional oversight of The Eddy, Galleria Park Hotel in San Francisco and Claridge House in Chicago. Michelle Olewinski joins CoralTree as the newest global sales director overseeing the Midwest region. She most recently was director of national accounts for the Fairmont Hotel in Austin. The home office marketing team recently added Ashleigh Irving, CHDM as marking director for the company. In her new role, Irving provides corporate support for several properties on the East Coast including the new Pier Sixty-Six Resort, which is slated to open in 2024, and Lake Nona Wave Hotel. She also supports several of the residential resorts in the company’s collection such as Suncadia and Sunriver. Irving joined CoralTree from Wild Dunes Resort where she was marketing director. 

Europe Highlights

Savills is seeking a buyer for Tune Hotel, a 3-star Grade II listed boutique hotel in Liverpool city centre. The 100-bedroom asset is being advertised for £5 million and the sale includes a retail unit let to Greggs. The hotel is held on a long leasehold with 150 years unexpired. 

Meridia Capital sold the former Tryp Chamartin hotel, in Madrid, Spain, to Azora for 34.6 million euros. The transaction comprises the 199-room hotel located at Calle de Mauricio Ravel, 10 in the Chamartin District, two commercial premises at 16 Mauricio Legendre Street, and 94 parking spaces at 31 bis of Agustin de Foxa Street. CBRE advised Meridia on the transaction.