U.S. Hotel Industry Reported Higher Performance in March

The DJIA ended Friday with a gain of 22 points while Nasdaq was up 13, the S&P 500 rose 4 points and the 10-year treasury yield was down .03 to 3.57%. Lodging stocks were lower with AINC and VCSA both hitting new lows. SOND was the big percentage gainer, up 8% but that was not even a gain of $0.04 in share price.

The U.S. hotel industry reported higher performance from the month prior, according to March 2023 data from STR. March 2023 (percentage change from March 2019): Occupancy: 65.3% (-4.0%); ADR: $158.17 (+19.1%); and RevPAR: $103.35 (+14.4%). Among the Top 25 Markets, Tampa experience the highest occupancy level (84.0%). Markets with the lowest occupancy for the month included Minneapolis (53.3%), Detroit (58.6%) and Philadelphia (58.6%). San Francisco reported the steepest decline in occupancy when compared with 2019 (-17.1%). 

LBA Hospitality completed an extensive revitalization project of the Courtyard by Marriott Houston NASA/Clear Lake, in Houston, Texas. The four-story, 124-room hotel unveiled updates to the furniture and finishes throughout the guestrooms, public spaces and meeting rooms. Amenities at the Courtyard by Marriott Houston NASA/Clear Lake include an outdoor pool, fitness center, three meeting rooms with a combined 1,600 square feet of functional space, a Market and the Bistro. The hotel is owned by Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. and managed by LBA Hospitality.

Palm Holdings announced the opening of the newly renovated Courtyard by Marriott Kitchener located in Ontario, Canada. The 12-story hotel features 172 rooms, multiple restaurants, meeting facilities and an extended fitness and pool program. 

Hilton Burlington Lake Champlain will soon expand amenities and receive a new name: Hotel Champlain. Rooms in the Burlington, Vermont hotel were renovated during the past two years and now its lobby, fitness center and exterior will get facelifts. The rebrand will transition the 258-room hotel into Hilton’s Curio Collection. Summer renovations will also add a new coffee shop and remodel the hotel’s current restaurant. The hotel will put solar panels on its roof to power their meeting spaces. Exterior renovations will include new signage, a new porte-cochere and drive and an outdoor sculpture gallery with fire pits and new furniture. 

Hyatt Hotels Corporation announced the official opening of Hyatt Regency Mexico City Insurgentes, marking the sixth Hyatt Regency hotel in Mexico and the second in Mexico City. The 24-story property features 201 guestrooms and suites, three curated food and beverage outlets, a fitness center, the Regency Club Lounge and 4,628 square feet of event space.

The Sirata Beach Resort, in St. Pete Beach, Florida, is exploring adding two new hotel buildings to its site and renovating the original hotel. One building would add 290 rooms and the other would add 130 rooms. The building set for south of the hotel will include a parking garage while the proposed north building would have a parking garage, meeting space and a ballroom. Columbia Sussex bought the Sirata in December for $207 million.

The Miami Beach Historic Preservation Board approved a planned $60 million revamp of The Confidante Miami Beach hotel. The renovations are part of a proposed rebranding by Sunstone Hotel Investors. The 339-room hotel would be renamed the Andaz Miami Beach. The applicant is seeking to reconfigure the existing pool deck, which will include relocating an underutilized 1930s historic home to the southeast corner of the property. It will be used a part of a beach club and outdoor lounge. The developer wants to reactivate the building’s entry as the main hotel entrance leading to a new second floor lobby. According to plans, it would partially demolish the interior second-floor Crown Lounge and two hospitality suites in order to repurposed the space as a new second lobby, bar and lounge. 

Taylor Hospitality has taken over management of the two South Branch Inn hotels located in Moorefield and Romney, West Virginia. The South Brand Inn Hotels will be undergoing an extensive multimillion-dollar interior renovation to embrace the West Virginia Scottish Highlands Heritage. The South Branch Inn is an independent boutique hotel operation owned by Sam and Kelly Williams.

LivAway Suites broke ground on its newest location in West Jordan, Utah, one of multiple groundbreakings taking place across the nation in the coming months. 

Walt Disney World Resort and Disney Vacation Club are planning to build over 350 new cabins at the Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground, to replace the existing buildings at the Florida resort. The cabins are expected to open in 2024, and the proposal also includes pool and walking trail enhancements and new dining experiences. 

The new Belnem House Boutique Resort has opened on the island of Bonaire. The 14-room resort has a large communal pool, a tropical courtyard garden and a mix of poolside rooms, penthouses and suites.

Personnel Move

Croatian-based Jadranka Turizam announced the appointment of Martin van Kan as the CEO and Zoran Pejovic as the Chief Transformation Officer. van Kan’s most recent role was as Area General Manager United Kingdom for IHG. Pejovic has driven numerous luxury projects from conceptualization to communications and global recognition. Under the its new leadership, Jadranka Turizam will continue to build on its impressive portfolio, providing guests with world-class accommodations, facilities and experiences. 

Europe Highlights

IHG Hotels Resorts introduced the Vignette Collection to the UK with the signing of The Halyard at Ropewalks Liverpool, Vignette Collection. The property will open later this year under a franchise agreement with Molo Hotels and will be operated by Lighthouse Hotel Management. The 133-key luxury hotel boasts a restaurant, gym, conferencing facilities and rooftop terrace.

Located across two bays on the lesser-know Maltese island, Six Sense Comino will feature a resort, communal pool and deck area, restaurants and bars and Six Senses Spa. The property features 71 low-rise suites and a collection of 19 standalone retreats offering two to four bedrooms. The target open date has been set for 2027.

Radisson Hotel Group kicked off 2023 with the signing and opening of several landmark properties as it continues its growth and development plan with the expansion of nine brands across EMEA and APAC. During Q1, Radisson Hotel Group opened its fifth Radisson Collection property in Italy as well as its first Radisson Collection property in Lithuania. The Group also signed its second Radisson Collection property Brussels, Radisson Collection The National Hotel, Brussels, its first property in Central Asia, Radisson Collection Hotel, Tashkent, as well as its third in Nigeria. In the DACH region, Radisson Hotel Group has growth plans with the projected opening of four more hotels including Radisson Blue Hotel at Porsche Design Tower Stuttgart and the Group’s second Radisson property in Zurich. The Group started 2023 with the signing of Berlin’s first Radisson Individuals property, the 701-room Hotel Berlin, Berlin, quickly followed by the signing of a Radisson Individuals property at Munich Airport. Also scheduled to open later this year are two of the Group’s new prizeotel properties in Dresden and Dortmundwhich will be joined by another in Qsnabruck signed in Q1 2023. In China, the Group swiftly signed and opened nearly 20 properties. Radisson Blu’s key signing and openings in Q1, including the Group’s eighth hotel in Riyadh, Radisson Blu Hotel, Riyadh Convention & Exhibition Center, as well as Radisson Blue Hotel & Residences, Islamabad. The Group grew its footprint in Thailand to 10 hotels with the signing of its first Radisson RED property in Patong Beach in Phuket, a new Radisson property in Bangkok, the opening of Radisson Resort & Spa Hua Hin, and the signing of the Group’s first Radisson Collection property in Vietnam. 

Native Places announced ambitious growth plans with the opening of five new hotels within the next two years as part of its committed 2025 vision. The expansion of operations with see Native Places open an additional property in London, bringing the total to four apart-hotels in the capital city. New destinations within the UK are also on the horizon with the planned openings in Birmingham, Cambridge, Cardiff, and Oxford being considered. In Q4 2023, Native Places will be launching its seventh apart hotel and fourth property in London, The King’s Wardrobe location, rebranding as Native St. Paul’s.

Tech-powered short-term rental operator Bob W enters the German market with the acquisition of Charly Hospitality. Bob W acquired Charly because the two companies have a similar tech-enabled approach and design ethos, which results in a straightforward integration. Bob W wants to continue to expand quickly across Europe but particularly Germany. It is the largest domestic travel market in Europe, which the company expects will be its largest market by the end of 2023.