Choice Hotels Makes Hostile Bid for Wyndham

The DJIA was up 13 points, but the Nasdaq was down 34, the S&P 500 was down half a point, and the 10-year treasury yield jumped .14 to 4.85%.

Lodging stocks were mixed. The big winner, obviously was Wyndham, up 9%, while Choice Hotels was down -7%. Ashford Hospitality was the other mover of note, up 8% on the day.

Choice Hotels went public with an offer to acquire Wyndham Hotels and Resorts. The offer was described as $90 a share, $9.8 billion including Wyndham debt, but since it is only $49.50 a share in cash and 0.324 shares of CHH stock for each WH share owned, the real value is more or less, depending on CHH stock. In this case today, with CHH stock going down on the news, it was less. CHH’s press release sounded like one of frustration, making it public that they were in negotiations with WH, but then they were ghosted by them. In other words, CHH was going hostile. Late morning, WH shares were halted for the company to make an announcement that they rejected the offer, for a bunch of reasons, including the risk of getting CHH stock, their belief that it would take a year to get antitrust approval and they felt it undervalued WH stock. Trust us when we say this is not over because by going public, CHH sort of backs themselves into a corner to go proxy-fight if WH doesn’t come back to the table. CHH said the $90 offer (before CHH stock fell) was their best and final offer. We will see if that is true. We did a Skift podcast on this topic, and it is supposed to be available Thursday so we will let you know on that.

A total of 558 deals were announced in the travel and tourism sector globally during the first three quarters of 2023, a decline of 33% compared to the same period in 2022, according to GlobalData. An analysis of GlobalData’s Financial Deals Database also revealed all the deal types under coverage, and most of the key markets recorded a considerable year-on-year decline in the announcement of deals during Q1-Q3 2023 compared to Q1-Q3 2022. For instance, mergers and acquisitions deal volume for the travel and tourism sector declined by 34.6% during Q1-Q3 2023 compared to the same time in 2022, while the total number of private equity deals and venture financing deals were down by 29.2% and 28.4%, respectively.

North America witnessed a decline in deals volume by 43.9% during Q1-Q3 2023 compared to the same period in the previous year, while Europe, Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Africa, and South and Central Americaregions experienced decline of 39.7%, 12.7%, 16.7%, and 25% respectively.

Similarly, key markets such as the US, the UK, South Korea, France, Australia, Japan, the Netherlands, and Canada recorded year-on-year decline in deals volume by 44.4%, 40%, 12.5%, 25.9%, 53.5%, 23.5%, and 35.3% during Q1-A3 2023, respectively, compared to Q1-Q3 2022. Meanwhile, China emerged as a notable exception and experienced growth in deals volume by 21.9% during Q1-Q3 2022 compared to Q1-Q3 2022, whereas deals volume for India remained at the same level.

According to The Points Guy, Marriott Bonvoy members will need to wait a few more months before they can start earning and burning points at their favorite MGM Resorts property. Marriott and MGM were expected to launch their extensive partnership spanning loyalty, online betting and even hotel branding this month, but the specific start date wasn’t clear. This was jeopardized when MGM faced an unprecedented cyber attack last month. The companies issued a joint statement indicating the partnership will now launch sometime in early 2024. While neither company commented on a specific reason for the delay, the need to push the deal back by a few months isn’t exactly a shock, and MGM’s cyber security threat is only part of the equation. The cyber security attack ate into valuable time that would be necessary to close the partnership between MGM and Marriott. While MGM and Hyatt’sdefunct partnership was more of a loyalty tie-up, the Marriott link-up is expected to be a significantly deeper relationship with connections to the BetMGM online gaming and betting platform, as well as what essentially amounts to the creation of a new brand, the MGM Collection with Marriott Bonvoy, along with select MGM Resorts properties going into other Marriottbrands such as the Luxury Collection, the Autograph Collection and the Tribute Portfolio. It takes time to integrate properties onto any kind of new platform, even a soft brand like the MGM Collection. Bellagio Las Vegas will belong to Marriott’s Luxury Collection under the new partnership, while Aria Resort & Casino and The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas will be included in the Autograph Collection. Park MGM Las Vegas will join the Tribute Portfolio.

Paulsen Puerto Rico shared its $511 million growth plan with the Puerto Rico Tourism Company. The expansion plan includes hiring a renowned international chef, changing the flag from Marriott Renaissance to Autograph at La Concho Resort, and opening Tekka Bar, a prestigious restaurant in Las Vegas. Additionally, they will continue to innovate in the hotel condominium model with Ocean Drive Residents by St. Regis and Vanderbilt Residences.

The shuttered Hampton Inn & Suites Milwaukee Downtown has sold to EMA Hospitality for $6 million. According to a deed in lieu of foreclosure posted by the Wisconsin Department of Revenue, the property was owned by EB Group and transferred from Wisconsin Avenue Partners LLC. The former 138-room Hampton Inn & Suites Downtown was managed by Kinseth Hospitality.

Winston Hotels, which late last year completed an extensive redevelopment of the Riverview Towers, in San Antonio, Texas, into a pair of hotels, has put the real estate on the market through CBRE. Winston Hotels LLC purchased the Riverview Towers with plans to develop an AC Hotel by Marriott and an Element by Westin in the existing structure. This was followed by the Covid-19 pandemic. In December, Winston hotels wrapped up work on the Riverview Towers conversion with the opening of the Element hotel. By then, its investment in the dual hotel project had exceeded $100 million.

A joint venture led by Trinity Investments has arranged a $750 million refinancing of the existing $650 million loan for the Grande Lakes Orlando Resort. The refinancing follows the completion of Trinity’s $118 million renovation and repositioning plan for the resort. The property was refinanced with a floating rate CMBS loan. Located in Orlando, Florida, the 1,592-key resort, anchored by The Ritz-Carlton and JW Marriott, features an extensive array of amenities, including spa treatments, championship golf, gourmet dining, and world-class pools with new deluxe cabanas.

Hyatt Hotels Corporation announced its Wellbeing Collective, a collection of Hyatt properties around the globe offering tailored wellbeing experiences to meet the specific needs of travelers. At launch, the Wellbeing Collectiveboasts 30+ hotels globally wit plans to expand in 2024. Examples of the Wellbeing Collective across the Americas region include: Andaz Maui at Wailea Resort, Wailea, Hawaii; Alila Marea Beach Resort Encinitas, Encinitas, California; and Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort and Spa, Cedar Creek, Texas.

BWH Hotels continues expansive growth of its 19 distinctive brands throughout the third quarter. From luxury to premium economy accommodations, the brand added new properties to its global portfolio throughout key markets in Asia, Europe, North America and South America. Travelers can enjoy the increased presence of BWH Hotels properties in Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, France, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, the U.S., and Vietnam. BWH Hotels has maintained its success through the first three quarters of the year and plans to utilize this momentum to further its growth ahead of 2024. These latest properties join more than 4,300 hotels in over 100 countries and territories around the world.

Red Roof announced the opening of the Red Roof Inn Carson – Wilmington, California, following a nearly $700,000 renovation. Located off the Pacific Coast Highway, the Red Roof Inn Carson – Wilmington is a 22-room hotel offering a snack center, and free coffee in the lobby. Owned by Bakor Investment PCH LLC, renovations included updated landscaping, new windows, new bedding and artwork, updated flooring, new lobby furniture, a new coffee bar, and new paint throughout the property.

Marc & Rose Hospitality is reintroducing The Inn at Laguna Beach as Casa Loma Beach Hotel. Featuring a collection of 70 rooms in Laguna Beach, California, the luxury boutique hotel will remain open throughout the renovation, with the first set of new guest rooms scheduled to debut before the end of the year. The property offers a lobby bar and lounge, an outdoor pool and communal meeting spaces.

The first hotel on the campus of a Maine college now has a name, a website and plans for opening this spring. The 95-room boutique inn is called Hotel Ursa, and is taking shape at an estimated cost of $28 million, inside and near Coburn Hall and Homes Hall at the University of Maine in Orono.

Construction began in September 2022, with joint-venture backing from Radnor Property Group and Harrison Street. The property is operated by Olympia Hotel Management. Slated to open sometime in the spring, Hotel Ursa will offer 30 guestrooms in Coburn Hall, 7 in Holmes Hall and 58 in the modern addition, dubbed Polaris Hotel. Also in the works is a café-bar, dubbed MajorMinor.

Loden Hospitality announced the opening of Rhode’s Motor Lodge, in Boone, North Carolina, following a renovation and revitalization of the former Greene’s Motel. The new 54-room hotel features a covered front patio with a fire pit and communal seating; a restaurant and bar; and a second outdoor patio.

Deepak Ohri has stepped down as CEO of Bangkok-based Lebua Hotels, Ohri shared with Skift what’s next: an entrepreneurial venture that will debut in Napa Valley in the U.S. The Napa Valley project is expected to feature 15 to 20 villas, a fine dining restaurant and an intimate bar. The venture is designed to cover three areas: wine tourism, art and design districts, and coffee plantations. A majority of the properties (6) will be wine-focused, two will be dedicated to art and design, and two more will center around coffee plantations.

Mumford Company completed a flurry of deals to close a robust third quarter of 2022. In the last few weeks, the firm closed several deals representing a broad range of property types throughout the United States. Some of the recent transactions include: Tru by Hilton Rockwall Dallas in Rockwall, Texas; Sleep Inn Lake Wright – Norfolk Airport in Norfolk, Virginia; Quality Suites, Lake Wright, also in Norfolk, Virginia; and The Natural Bridge Historic Hotel & Conference Center located in Natural Bridge, Virginia.

Personnel Move

Vail Resorts announced Chief Marketing Officer Ryan Bennett will leave the company, effective October 20th, as the ski resort operator prepares for its peak season. According to the Company, his departure will be treated as an involuntary separation, but he will receive severance benefits and his annual cash bonus for the fiscal year that ended July 31.

Europe Highlight

Whitbread unveiled its first-ever all-electric Premier Inn, located in Swindon, England. The £17 million hotel is powered entirely by renewable energy. The five-story, 195-room hotel will operate without a connection to a main gas supply, instead, heat pumps and solar panels will turn heat and natural sunlight into power.