Kempinski Debuts in North America

The DJIA rose 314 points, the Nasdaq was up 161, the S&P 500 rose 46 points, and the 10-year treasury yield was up .08 to $4.71%. Lodging stocks were higher across the board.

Morgan Stanley made some changes to its coverage of hotel names. While maintaining their Overweight ratings, MS upped Hyatt’s price target to $138 from $132, Hilton to $182 from $170, Marriott to $232 from $225, and Wyndham to $87 from $82. While they maintained their Equal Weight rating on Park Hotels, they lowered their price target to $12 from $13. MS upped their price target on Choice Hotels to $139 from $137. They maintained their Underweight rating on Pebblebrook Hotel Trust while upping their price target to $12 from $11.

A Milwaukee news source reported that Marcus Hotels & Resorts’ first Chief Investment Officer, Tiffany Leadbetter Donato, hopes to expand the division’s portfolio. Donato started the role with the hotel division of Marcus Corp on September 5th, with her responsibilities being to grow the size of Marcus Hotels & Resorts’ portfolio. While they have a strong presence in the Midwest, with 16 hotel and resort properties in eight states, including three in Milwaukee, Donato thinks they can have more geographic and customer-based diversity.

The legendary Hotel del Coronado, part of Curio Collection by Hilton, announced plans to restore and revitalize the hotel’s historic Victorian building with a more than $160 million investment, marking the next and final phase of Blackstone Real Estate’s more than $550 million development plan. The upgrades will encompass all Victorian guestrooms, suites and event spaces with a targeted completion date of Spring 2025. Located in Coronado, California, the hotel offers five distinct neighborhood experiences, event venues, a new comprehensive retail experience, an expanded fitness center, multiple dining outlets, and a spa and salon.

The 515-room Salt Lake Marriott Downtown at City Creek announced the completion of the first phase of a multi-million dollar renovation. During this phase, the top-to-bottom project focused on completely revitalizing all guestrooms, hallways and bathrooms. The hotel, located in Salt Lake City, Utah, is owned by DiamondRock Hospitality Company and operated by HEI Hotel & Resorts. With phase one complete, work will begin on phase two of the renovation, which will focus on updating the lobby, restaurant, bar and meeting spaces with a projected completion of fall 2024. Salt Lake Marriott Downtown at City Creek boasts nearly 24,000 square feet of meeting and event space, a bar and lounge, a main restaurant, a full-service Starbucks and concierge lounge and a fitness center.

The Molina Family has converted the Ritz Carlton in Cancun, Mexico, into the first Kempinski hotel in North America. Claudia Molina, who represents the family of investors that owns this property, announced that Grupo Posadas will be in charge of its commercialization.

Pebblebrook Hotel Trust executed a contract to sell the 221-room Hotel Zoe Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco, California, for $68.5 million to a third party. The sale is targeted to be completed later in the fourth quarter of 2023. Proceeds from the sale of Hotel Zoe Fisherman’s Wharf will be used for general corporate purposes, including reducing the Company’s outstanding debt and repurchasing the Company’s common and preferred shares.

An affiliate of Egeria Group has acquired The Whitney Hotel Boston on Beacon Hill for $57 million from Related Fund Management. The Whitney opened in 2019 as a luxury 65-room boutique hotel with a ground-floor restaurant and café.

The Windjammer by the Sea at North Beach, in Hampton, New Hampshire, has been transformed by its new owner, Alex Choquette. The 935 Ocean Beachside Inn had its soft opening this summer following a more than $1 million upgrade. Choquette bought the hotel from the Pouliot family.

A popular hotel has filed for bankruptcy just two years after opening. Located in Silverthorne, Colorado, The Pad is struggling to pay $16.7 million in debt. Owned by Rob and Lynne Baer, the hotel is a hybrid hotel and hostel. The Pad was sued by BRMK Lending, which claimed it hadn’t been repaid the $12.9 million it loaned to the hotel. Prior to that suit being filed, the former operations manager at The Pad also sued the Company.

The 130-room Plains Hotel in downtown Cheyenne, Wyoming, has been put up for sale with an asking price of $5.85 million. The property is owned by Astrid and her Company, Astride A Star LLC.

North Bridge, in collaboration with Lantern Real Estate Advisors, facilitated a $50 million C-PACE refinancing for the Residence Inn Berkeley in California. The property and its development were spearheaded by Pyramid Global Hospitality.

Andaz Turks & Caicos at Grace Bay is on track to open in late 2025. The property represents the maiden voyage of Hyatt into the Caribbean but also the premier of Andaz-branded residences in the region.

Europe Highlights

Elegant Hotel Collection has entered the luxury soft brand market, launching with 25 luxury hotels and targeting 50 properties globally by summer 2024. The independently-owned flag will expand on a curated, invitation-only basis, creating a luxury community where individual hotels receive tailored service. All Elegant properties have been selected to embody the five elements of the Elegant brand - Hospitality, Authenticity, Inclusivity, Innovation, and Sustainability - echoing the demands of today’s luxury travelers. Founding members of Elegant Hotel Collection include: Home House, London; Rosselli AX Privilege, Malta; the Exclusive Collection (Pennyhill Park, South Lodge, Lainston House, The Manor House, Royal Berkshire and Fanhams Hall); Sunborn Hotel, Gibraltar; Paresa Resort Phuket, Thailand; La Sultana Oualidia, Morocco; Cresta Palace Hotel, St Moritz; and Stapleford Park.

Hilton has confirmed a franchise agreement with TFG Hotels to develop Canopy by Hilton Warsaw. Opening in 2025, the newly developed hotel will be Hilton’s first lifestyle hotel in Poland. The 170-room hotel will be managed by TFG Hotels.

Accor has reportedly put up for sale assets in Europe and Latin America to raise about €2 billion to help reduce its debt. Bloomberg reported that AccorInvest Group SA has hotels under the Sofitel brand in Paris for sale to repay creditors, as well as five ibis hotels in the U.K., portfolios of assets in Germany and Latin America, a hotel in the Netherlands and a Sofitel in the central and eastern Europe region. Sources added that Accor will also talk to lenders to amend the terms and extend the maturity of €4 billion of debt coming due in 2025.

Knight Frank has been appointed to sell the 274-bedroom Leonardo Hotel, the former Jury’s Inn hotel - at St James Gate in Newcastle city center. The vendor is seeking offers over £31.8m for the hotel, which is let to Leonardo Hotel Management Ltd. for the next 14.4 years. The site was one of 35 UK and Ireland Jury’s Inn hotels to be rebranded under the Fattal Hotel Group-owned Leonardo banner last year when it also underwent a major refurbishment.

Hotel owner Fiona Newton has appointed Graham + Sibbald to market The Heathmount Hotel in Inverness, UK. The property is a pub, eight-bedroom hotel, and restaurant.

Safestay agreed to acquire a freehold property in the center of Edinburgh, Scotland, which until a few years ago operated as a hostel, for cash consideration of GBP4.3 million. Arranged over 6 floors, the first three floors previously operated as a hostel, whilst the upper three floors are let to two tenants until 2038, generating GB133,000 in rent per year. The building requires general refurbishment to make it ready to re-open in advance of the key summer market next year. Once completed, the hostel will offer 225 beds in a variety of room combinations, some with ensuite facilities.