Hilton and Hyatt Get Analyst Thumbs-Up

The DJIA fell 361 points while Nasdaq was down 157, the S&P 500 fell 52 points, and the 10-year treasury yield rose another .04 to 4.22%. Lodging stocks were lower. BHR traded down to a new low.

Bernstein downgraded their rating on Marriott International to Market Perform from Outperform. They raised their price target to $218 from $204. Bernstein also upped their price target on Hyatt to $147 from $136 and Hilton to $161 from $152. They maintained their Market Outperform rating on H and Market Perform rating on HLT.

B.Riley cut their rating on Braemar Hotels & Resorts to Neutral from Buy. They also cut their price target to $3.50 per share from $7.  

The Baird/STR Hotel Stock Index rose 8.2% in July, with the global hotel brand stocks leading the way. The Hotel Brand sub-index was up 9% from June, while the Hotel REIT sub-index was up by 5.3%.

Marriott International’s Delta Hotels by Marriott brand announced its first hotel in NY City. The new Delta Hotels by Marriott New York Times Square is located at 340 West 40th Street in Times Square. The hotel has 310 guest rooms, a hotel lobby bar, a full-service restaurant, a premium fitness center, hydration stations on each floor, and a fully stocked Delta Pantry in the lobby.

The Courtyard by Marriott Gainesville in Gainesville, GA, has opened its doors. This is Gainesville’s largest hotel, anchoring the mixed-use development, The National. The hotel is a revival and redevelopment of Gainesville’s long-vacant First National Bank by developer and owner Capstone Property Group LLC. The 77,000-square-foot property has 130 rooms and five spacious suites across seven stories. Amenities include a fitness center, flexible work and gathering spaces, and an expansive outdoor terrace with comfortable seating and bar service. The hotel includes the Courtyard brand’s signature Courtyard Lounge and Bistro. McKibbon Places was tasked with overseeing the development and construction of the project while McKibbon Hospitality is operating the hotel and The Vault at The National, the new conference and event space neighboring the hotel. Courtyard Gainesville marks McKibbon’s 100th hotel and is in the town it got its start nearly 100 years ago.

Loews Hotels topped out its $550 million, 888-key hotel near the home of the Dallas Cowboys and Texas Rangers this past week. They also purchased the 311-room Sheraton Arlington Hotel, about a mile away, where they plan to build another hotel and a parking garage. The Loews Arlington will feature an artificial beach, two pools, and five restaurants anchored by restaurateur Benjamin Berg’s Soy Cowboy. The hotel and convention center will open on February 15th. The hotel has booked 150,000 room nights with five months to go before the opening.

NexPoint Hospitality Trust announced that its NHT Nashville LLC subsidiary has entered into an agreement for the sale of its Holiday Inn Express hotel property in Nashville, TN. NF V Acquisitions signed the deal for the purchase and, at closing, is expected to pay $120 million in cash for the real and personal property. Completion is expected in the third quarter of 2023.

The Ramada by Wyndham Topeka Downtown Hotel and Convention Center was sold on July 31st by Jim Parish, who had owned the hotel for 20 years. Nayan Patel is the new owner. Patel owns Horizon Edge Hospitality, a Holiday Inn franchise with a hotel in Rochester, NY. The Ramada will undergo a renovation as well as a name change. The plan is for the Ramada tower to become a Wyndham Garden Hotel. The three-story building in front of the tower will become a Hawthorn Suites. The transition is expected to take several months.

The Ascend Hotel Collection from Choice Hotels International has added the Graystone Lodge in Boone, NC, to its domestic portfolio. The 101-room boutique hotel is one of seven added to the collection in the second quarter.

Construction is nearing completion on the Warren Street Hotel in Tribeca in NYC. The 135-foot tall structure will span 44,000 square feet and yield 69 guest rooms operated by Firmdale Hotels and the 150-seat Warren Bar and Restaurant, a drawing room, orangery, and a private event space. The Warren Street Hotel will feature 57 individually designed bedrooms and suites and 12 exclusive residences.

The Four Seasons Private Residences Las Vegas, with two towers containing 171 homes as well as six private villas in MacDonalds Highlands, is slated to begin vertical construction by the end of the year. The fully serviced luxury residential project was created in partnership with Azure Resort & Hotels and Luxus Developments. The property will be staffed 24 hours a day. It will have media rooms, gyms, a golf simulator and indoor Jacuzzi, a cryotherapy chamber, wine cellars, executive dining rooms and meeting rooms, a pool pavilion, and rental suites for when residents want to host guests. The purchase price of each condo starts at $3.5 million. A combined penthouse could reach up to $45 million.

The Hampton Inn in Jacksonville Beach, FL, sold for $19.2 million. The seller was EHP Jacksonville HOLA LLC, while the buyer was AON HI Jax LLC. The 117-room hotel was built in 2000 and last sold in 2011 for $11.12 million. Also selling in Jacksonville was the Holiday Inn Express & Suites. AON Holiday Jax LLC bought the hotel for $12.1 million from EHP Jacksonville HIX LLC. The 104-room hotel was built in 2003 and last sold for $7.41 million in 2018. Chase Patel, founder of Sage Development Group, is the resident agent listed for both LLCs. The seller is the Naples Hotel Group in Florida.

The Comfort Suites Raleigh Walnut Creek in Raleigh, NC, has sold for $7.72 million. The hotel has 66 guest rooms. It was built in 2001. Oak Hospitality is listed as the buyer. Neel-Kanth LLC sold the hotel. They purchased the property in 2005 for $3.6 million.

Best Western Hotels & Resorts announced the opening of the new Best Western San Bernardino in California. Greens LLC owns the hotel, which has 44 guestrooms.

Cronheim Hotel Capital said they secured a $22 million loan on behalf of LAM Generation to refinance the existing note on the 92-room Fairfield Inn & Suites located at 21 W 37th Street in NYC.

Brookfield Properties refinanced a hotel in Ft. Lauderdale and another in Savannah, GA, with a $220 million loan from Citibank and French investment bank Natixis. The new loan includes $144.1 million for the Hilton Fort Lauderdale Marina, a 594-key hotel on the Intracoastal Waterway. The hotel was acquired by Brookfield in 2018 for $170.7 million. The Westin Savannah Harbor Golf Resort & Spa accounted for the remainder of the loan. Brookfield purchased the 403-room property in 2021 for $78 million.

Concord Summit Capital LLC and Vista Development Ltd said they sourced the final round of construction financing for the $165 million Andaz Hotel and Residences, a five-star condominium hotel development on Grace Bay Beach in Turks & Caicos, which included a combination of a senior loan and preferred equity. The high-end project is the first Andaz branded resort and residential property in the Caribbean. It has two towers with 59 hotel rooms and 73 branded residences.

Melia Hotels International said they will open the Zel Sayulita in Mexico in 2025. The beachfront new build project will have 145 rooms. Also in the pipeline are two ME by Melia hotels, with one set to open in San Miguel de Allende and the other in Sayulita. The ME Sayulita will have 125 rooms and villas to debut by the end of this year. It will offer three restaurants, a pool, gym, spa, beach club, rooftop bar, and pool venue. The San Miguel de Allende sister hotel will house 140 rooms and is on track to open in 2025 with amenities like a spa, gym, rooftop bar, and several dining concepts. Melia said they expect to double their presence in Mexico, from seven to 14 hotels, over the next two years.

Personnel Moves

Aimbridge Hospitality said they named industry veterans Tiffany Cooper and Niall Kelly to its expanding global growth leadership team. Cooper joins as Chief Development Officer - Americas & Caribbean while Kelly assumes the Head of Development - EMEA role. Cooper most recently served as Head of Development, North America and Caribbean for Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants. Most recently, Kelly served as a development consultant to Marriott International. Before that, he was VP of Development-EAME for Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide.

Europe Highlight

Selina Hospitality announced its expansion to the Mediterranean with its newest location in Evia, Greece. Selina Kaminos Evia is described as a wellness retreat offering an escape from the noise, stress, and daily routine. The 105-bedspace hotel has a wide range of budget-friendly accommodation options, including private rooms and apartments equipped with kitchenettes and balconies featuring views of the Aegean Sea.