Rosewood Hotels & Resorts Expands Branded Residences in High-Demand Markets

The DJIA rose 127 points while Nasdaq was up 177, the S&P 500 rose 34 points and the 10-year treasury yield was down .07 to 4.74%. Lodging stocks were higher. SOND was up 6%, SHCO and INN were both up 5% on the day.

STR reported US lodging data for the week ended September 30. US hotel RevPAR was up 5.4% with rates up 4.6%. Group RevPAR rose 14.6%.

According to CoStar, more than 50% of Rosewood Hotels and Resorts’ existing portfolio and development pipeline include a branded residence. Rosewood Hotels & Resorts has 14 Rosewood Residences open and operating that are situated within or directly adjacent to a hotel or resort. Eleven residences are currently in the pipeline. Rosewood Hotel Group doesn’t have a preference between developing a stand-alone residence or one with a hotel, but a stand-alone allows the brand to enter in more “real estate markets” that aren’t necessarily a great fit for a hotel. In the past year, the company announced its new stand-alone residences include the Rosewood Residences Kamala in Phuket, Thailand; Rosewood Residences Naples in Naples, Florida; Rosewood Residences Lido Key in Sarasota, Florida; Rosewood Residences Hillsboro Beach in Hillsboro Beach, Florida; and Rosewood Residences Beverly Hills in Beverly Hills, California. Key components that Rosewood looks for in a branded residential deal are alignment with the development partners, a robust real estate and hotel market that needs luxury accommodations, and interest in the market form current owners. Currently there isn’t a large supply of branded residences in Europe and Rosewood sees plenty of opportunity there in urban centers. The challenge, however is dealing with a larger amount of older buildings that come with zoning hurdles. The average development timeline for an existing building is two years, while a greenfield development can take up to five. Rosewood will continue to focus on expanding in Asia and North America, and there is an untapped potential for the brand in South America. 

Dimension Hospitality outlined plans for the company to enter a new period of growth fueled by technology and new leadership following the passing of company founder, Sam Friedman. Greg Friedman, CEO of Dimension Hospitality announced Joe Viglietta joined the team as Chief Operating officer just prior to Sam passing. Viglietta looks to separate Dimension from the crowded field of competitors and sees talent development and new technology as ways of maximizing return on investment for owners, service levels for guests and professional opportunities for associates. The $1 million technology investment includes tools that touch every department and provide financial transparency for owners. The $1 million technology investment includes tools that touch every department and provide financial transparency for owners. The suite of technology upgrades includes: a sales tool that identifies new sources of business in the earliest stages of the selling cycle. An integrated financial management systems that provides forecasting and budgeting data as well as daily insights. Channel and revenue management tools to achieve higher asset value and greater revenue generation efficiency. An all-in-one cloud-based HRIS system designed to enhance associate engagement. A labor management system that helps hotels control the most variable and controllable operating expense, and a mobile tipping platform that enable guests to leave housekeeping tips by using a QR code. 

O’Reilly Hospitality announced that after a long string of construction delays, the Moxy hotel in downtown Springfield, Missouri will have a soft opening in late February. Located in the historic Medical Arts Building, the eight-story hotel will have 98 rooms, a rooftop bar and restaurant and an additional food and beverage concept in the basement. The hotel will host a grand opening a few months after the soft opening.

The Norfolk Airport Authority board of commissioners voted unanimously to move forward with negotiations to build a Courtyard by Marriott hotel adjacent to the Norfolk International Airport main departures terminal building located in Norfolk, Virginia. Construction is anticipated to take 18-24 months. The authority selected ORF Hospitality Partners to begin negotiations on the project. Concept plans call for 168 rooms and a rooftop bar. The developer would lease the airport-owned land for the hotel. The ORF Hospitality Partners design was among three proposals the authority received. 

Zachry Hospitality secured a construction loan and will soon break ground on a Hilton Curio Collection Hotel in downtown San Antonio, Texas. The hotel will include 200 guestrooms, onsite restaurant, café space, rooftop bar, an underground speakeasy, terrace pool with cabanas, spa, fitness center, retail outlets, public garden, ballroom and meeting spaces. CBRE worked with Zachry Hospitality to provide the loan from Nuveen Green Capital.

Hotel Ava, an upscale hotel in Paso Robles, California, has continued with construction. The new project opening date is spring or summer of 2025. Hotel Ava will be four stories tall with 151 rooms, 172 parking spaces, six storefront spaces and three onsite restaurants. 

The Fives Hotels & Residences announced the addition of its new boutique hotel in Riviera Maya, Mexico, The Beachfront by The Fives Hotels. Opening in spring 2024, the new adults-only boutique property will feature 50 guestrooms, a signature bar, gourmet restaurants, and more.

DeCorp Properties submitted a proposal for a 35-story hotel tower with over 460 rooms to be built in the Granville Entertainment District in downtown Vancouver. It will be a redevelopment of the one-story Cold Tea restaurant. According to the applicant, this single hotel project will double the existing number of hotel rooms on the Granville Strip. It also ties in with Vancouver City Council’s direction to encourage hotel development along the Granville Strip as a key component of the city’s 18-month-long Granville Street planning process, which is expected to conclude in the second quarter of 2024. 

Harrah’s New Orleans Hotel & Casino, in the process of being converted to Caesars New Orleans, held the topping out ceremony yesterday for the new 340 room Caesars New Orleans hotel tower. The rebranding and renovation will cost $435 million and include a Nobu restaurant and Nobu-branded hotel. The Caesars New Orleans Nubu-branded hotel is going to be 54 hotel rooms, 42 of which are standard rooms and 12 that are suites. Summer 2024 is when they expect the full renovation and expansion to be completed.

The Las Vegas City Council is set to consider a proposal for a mixed-use project in the city’s Arts District. According to the application documents filed with the city, the 83-foot tall building would include 97 hotel rooms, 279 apartments, commercial space and a plaza. The applicant for the project is multifamily developer Mojave Group. The application didn’t include what company would manage and operate the hotel portion of the project.

Preliminary work has begun on the construction of a 120-room Beaufort hotel as part of an expansion of the nearby Beaufort Inn in the city’s historic district. 303 Associates is moving ahead now with a half-million dollars in utility work to prepare for construction of a three-story, 120-room hotel with a rooftop bar and other amenities. The hotel is one of several projects totaling more than $75 million that 303 Associates has planned in downtown Beaufort, South Carolina. The others are: a 496-space parking garage; 19 two-bedroom, two-bath apartments; 3,600 square feet of additional meeting space as an expansion of Tabby Place; and the addition of a 14-bedroom cottage at the Beaufort Inn. A specific timeline for construction of the hotel isn’t clear because of legal challenges that remain.

Hersha Hospitality Trust set November 8, 2023 as the date for the special meeting of shareholders to approve the previously announced acquisition by affiliates of KSL Capital Partners, LLC. Subject to shareholder approval at the special meeting, Hersha anticipates that the transaction will close in the fourth quarter of 2023. 

Cushman & Wakefield brokered the sale of a 107-room Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott hotel asset in Phoenix, Arizona. The property sold to Moonstar Hospitality LLC for $18 million. Cushman & Wakefield’s Hospitality team in Phoenix represented the seller, MIG Real Estate.

Personnel Moves 

Marriott International appointed Louise Bang as their new Chief Sales and Marketing Officer for the Caribbean and Latin America. Bang, who until now served as Regional Vice President of Sales and Distribution for the region, will be taking over for Diana Plaza-Trowbridge, who was promoted to the role of Senior Vice President and Global Brand Leader, and will now oversee Marriott International’s Select Service brands globally. In her new position, Bang will be responsible for driving growth and revenue for the region and will lead consumer-facing strategies, including the disciplines of sales, marketing, public relations, brand management, and the Marriott Bonvoy loyalty program.

JLL announced the appointment of Patrick Saade as Head of the JLL Hotels & Hospitality Group Global Hotels Desk. The Global Hotels Desk specializes in coordinating international capital by connecting interested investors with Hotels & Hospitality assets and portfolios for sale. 

CoralTree Hospitality announced that Michael Cuthbertson has joined the company as senior vice president - residential management. The move comes as CoralTree recently announced the expansion of its residential resort and vacation rental portfolio in Colorado and Hawaii. CoralTree is transitioning more than 1,000 resort rental residences and 27 homeowner’s associations in Vail, Snowmass Village and on three Hawaiian Islands - Kauai, Maui, and the Island of Hawaii. CoralTree parent company Lowe recently acquired Hyatt Hotel Corporation’s residential resort management business. The management business, currently known as Destination Residential Management, will be rebranded by Lowe and CoralTree. Most recently, Cuthbertson was area vice president of Destination by Hyatt where he oversaw the residential management portfolio across Hawaii and Colorado. 

Hotel Investor Apps appointed Candra Valley as Regional VP of Sales - West. Prior to joining HIA, Valley was ERP Sales Executive at Repay. With the addition of a dedicated West Coast representative, HIA is focused on expanding its services of enterprise-level accounting and advanced business intelligence.

Merete Hotel Management appointed Tim Smith as the new Vice President of Operations and Jill Brewster as the new Regional Director of Sales. As a member of Merete’s Executive Team, Smith will play a critical role as Merete expands their management portfolio and continues a long tradition of award-winning hotel operations. Brewster will be responsible for sales and marketing efforts at seven Merete managed hotels in Oregon and Washington.

Accor appointed Julie White as Chief Commercial Officer for Europe and North Africa region. In this new role, White will be responsible for leading Accor’s regional commercial team with responsibility for driving the business revenue strategy for the company across markets. White joins Accor from Wyndham Hotels & Resorts where she held the position of Vice President Commercial for Europe, Middle East, Africa, and Eurasia.

Europe Highlight

Accor announced the expansion its portfolio in Italy with the signing of a new franchising contract with Mondello Palace Hotel Srl, to reopen the Mondello Palace Hotel, in Palermo, under the Movenpick brand. The hotel is currently closed for a complete renovation of the interior and exterior spaces. Scheduled to open in the third quarter of 2024, the property will feature 80 rooms including 14 suites, an extensive conference area, a restaurant, bar, spa, 2 paddle courts and outdoor pools. With this signing, the Accor Group consolidates its presence in the region of Sicily, particularly in Palermo, bringing the number of hotels, with different brands, in the Sicilian capital to four.