U.S. Hotel Construction Projects Up

Pebblebrook Hotel Trust pre-announced in late June, but it still beat expectations though that was mostly due to higher-than-expected business interruption insurance proceeds. PEB repurchased 3.6 million shares in 2Q for $50 million. Their guidance was pretty much in line.

According to the Q2 2023 United States Construction Pipeline Trend Report by Lodging Econometrics, at the close of the second quarter, the hotel construction pipeline stands at 5,572 projects/660,061 rooms, with projects up 7% year over year and rooms up 6% YOY. Projects under construction currently stand at 1,062 projects/141,681 rooms, up 10% and 8% YOY, respectively. Projects scheduled to start construction in the next 12 months saw an 11% increase in projects and a 12% increase in rooms YOY to stand at 2,232 projects/260,595 rooms at the close of the second quarter. The year-over-year project counts in the early planning stage ended Q2 '23 with 2,278 projects/257,785 rooms, marking the tenth consecutive quarter that the number of rooms in early planning has been over 200,000. Upscale and upper midscale new construction projects dominated the pipeline in Q2, accounting for 62% of the projects and 57% of the rooms in the total U.S. construction pipeline. These two chain scales also represent 63% of the projects and 57% of the rooms anticipated to open through year-end 2023 and are expected to have the highest guest room growth rates through 2025. Announced renovations and brand conversions, combined, reached record-high project counts over the last four quarters, accounting for 1,939 projects/253,473 rooms, with upscale, upper midscale, and economy brands accounting for the majority of these projects at the end of 2023's second quarter. Extended-stay hotel projects have also been on the rise in the U.S. At the Q2 close, there were 2,083 projects with 214,557 rooms in the U.S. hotel construction pipeline. Extended-stay projects account for 32% of projects under construction in the total pipeline, 42% of projects scheduled to start construction in the next 12 months, and 36% of the projects in early planning across the U.S. For 2023, 180 extended-stay projects/18,713 rooms are expected to open. In 2024, 236 projects/24,281 rooms, and in 2025, 319 projects/32,798 rooms are forecast to open in the extended-stay segment. For the entire U.S., 224 new hotels with 27,194 rooms opened during the first and second quarters. LE is forecasting another 384 projects/48,607 rooms to open in 2023 for a total of 608 new hotels/75,801 rooms by year-end, representing a 1.4% increase in new supply for 2023. In 2024, 700 new hotel projects with 79,422 rooms are expected to open, and LE analysts expect 808 projects/87,462 rooms to open in 2025.

Developers are planning a hotel in a commercial park in Walker, Michigan. RDG Walker LLC, Rockford Construction, and Grand Michigan Lodging LLC are seeking final area site plan approval for a new four-story, 103-room Homewood Suites hotel. The site plan includes a hotel with meeting rooms, a pool, and a 110-space parking lot.

A SpringHill Suites by Marriott International is being proposed for O'Fallon, Illinois. Brad McMillin Realty Inc. is seeking approval for the new 103-room, 5-story hotel to be developed on four lots. The hotel will offer meeting spaces, an outdoor pool, and a fitness center.

Rentyl Resorts signed a Full Management Agreement with Largo Resort in Key Largo, Florida. Rentyl will manage the day-to-day operations of the beachfront property.

The first boutique hotel of IHG Hotels & Resorts' Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants brand is set to open in Fall 2023 in Mexico City in Polanquito. Kimpton Virgilio will have 48 rooms, a signature restaurant, and a rooftop bar with a pool. The hotel is owned by ZKC, which is developing the hotel in partnership with VineTower Development, LLC.

Western Canada's first Hyatt Centric boutique hotel will open on Broadway in Winnipeg. The site is undergoing a $38.6 million transformation into a 140-room hotel by The Kothari Group. 

Current plans for the Waterside project in Huntersville, North Carolina, formerly known as Lagoona Bay Resort, are being scrapped. Developer Jake Palillo can't get the support he needs for the current plans, so Palillo and his development team are working on a modified version. The new plan will keep the 8-acre lagoon and the amenities that come with it, including a beach club, fitness center, and restaurants. The revised plan will also have 275 large single-family lots, 140 cottages, and a small hotel with an event center.

TMC Hospitality, in partnership with Simpatica, announced the acquisition of Buttonwood Farm & Winery, a 107-acre vineyard and farm in Southern California's Santa Ynez Valley. TMZ Hospitality plans to welcome new culinary team members and menu offerings to the property's restaurant.

The Colony, in Palm Beach, Florida, will be closed to the public for two months starting Tuesday for general maintenance and the renovation of two of the hotel's villas. Plans call for a September 30 reopening of the historic 89-room hotel. On the maintenance to-do list are replacing part of the air-conditioning system, installing new kitchen equipment, and doing repairs in the hotel's Coral Ballroom. At the same time, two of The Colony's seven villas will be renovated as part of the hotel's ongoing restoration plan.

Mountain Shore Properties received city approval for a new hotel on the Southside of Chattanooga, Tennessee. The 92-room, five-level boutique hotel is slated to start going up next year, opening in 2025. The boutique hotel could end up with fewer rooms, depending on what the development group does with the top floor.

The developer behind a large redevelopment project at the former Avon site near Newark is now proposing to add a hotel to the property in Delaware. Reybold Venture Group filed the plans last week, seeking to replace some of the originally planned retail space with a 111-room hotel. That proposal will now have to go through New Castle County's development approval process. When fully built out, the project will consist of a four-story hotel, 220 apartment units, retail space, office space, restaurant space, exhibit space, and a three-level parking garage spread among 15 buildings.

The vision of Wolverine Interests and the University of Texas at Dallas is to transform a 36-acre tract into a mixed-use complex closer to becoming a reality. Richardson, Texas, officials gave preliminary approval to the Points at Waterview, a transit-oriented development slated for residences, offices, retail, and two hotels. Wolverine owns 15 acres at the development site, while UT Dallas owns the adjoining tract. Renderings of the Points at Waterview show seven building sites and ample open space. Two hotels are envisioned, the Dallas Morning News reported. At full build, the project could include 4,000 residential units, office space, retail space, and 300 guestrooms in each hotel. 

In Thursday's report, we covered the push for the Hotel Fees Transparency Act, which Senators Amy Klobuchar and Jerry Moran are proposing. The NBC News article that covered the story had comments from the American Hotel and Lodging Association that made it sound more like they were against this than for it. The AHLA has advised us that they support the proposal. We are including a statement from AHLA CEO Chip Rogers. "S.2498 is an important bill that will create a single standard for mandatory fee display across the entire lodging ecosystem – from hotels to online travel agencies, metasearch sites, and short-term rental platforms," said AHLA President & CEO Chip Rogers. "We know consumers shop for travel across multiple sites, and this bill is a pivotal step toward creating a more transparent booking process for guests. We commend Senator Klobuchar and Senator Moran for their work on this issue and for recognizing the need to create a level playing field for all types of lodging providers and distributors. We look forward to working with the senators and their colleagues on Capitol Hill on this crucial topic."

Personnel Moves

Berkadia named Andy Wimsatt as Senior Managing Director and Head of Berkadia Hotels & Hospitality. Before joining Berkadia, Wimsatt served as Managing Director at Eastdil Secured.

Highgate announced that Chi Hoon Bang has been appointed as Global Executive, Sales & Luxury Experience for the Hawaii region. In his new role, Bang will be responsible for the overall strategic sales leadership and initiatives for the Asia-Pacific region and luxury leisure segments for Highgate's portfolio in Hawaii. Bang most recently served as the Director of Sales and Marketing for Halepuna Waikiki by Halekulani.