Marriott Is Upgrading Caribbean Properties

The DJIA rose 2 points on Friday while Nasdaq was up 12, the S&P 500 was up 6 and the 10 year treasury yield remained around 4.44%. Lodging stocks were higher. HLT traded up to another new high. The biggest mover was to the downside with SOND down another -10%.

UBS cut their price target on Host Hotels & Resort to $18 from $20. They maintained their Neutral rating. Evercore ISI Group cut their rating on Airbnb to In-Line from Outperform with a price target of $136 per share. BofA Securities downgraded Marriott Vacations to Underperform from Neutral. They massively slashed their target price to $65 from $125.

Xenia Hotels & Resorts said their Board of Directors authorized the repurchase of up to an additional $100 million of the company’s outstanding shares. XHR had approximately $164 million remaining under its total repurchase authorization as of November 16.

Renaissance Hotels from Marriott International debuted its fifth property in New York City, Renaissance New York Harlem Hotel. The property boasts 211 guestrooms and suites, a dynamic culinary offering operated by Silk Hospitality Group and 9,000+ square feet of full customizable event space. Renaissance New York Harlem Hotel is owned by Lam Generation and managed by Real Hospitality Group.

TPG Hotels & Resorts announced the renovation of the Renaissance Boca Raton hotel, located in Boca Raton, Florida. The renovation focused on modernizing the guest rooms, guest corridors, 15,000 square feet of conference and meeting spaces, club lounge, the new Meat Market restaurant, fitness center and public spaces, along with the addition of an expansive new 30,000 square foot resort-style pool deck and a dedicated WET by Mean Market tiki bar.

Premier announced it will lead the interior design, procurement, and project management of the Crowne Plaza La Concha Hotel in Key West, Florida which has been rebranded to Autograph La Concha Key West. Premier will be working in partnership with sister company, Remington Hospitality, who will be managing the property, which is slated for completion in early 2024. Premier will be responsible for the comprehensive transformation of Autograph La Concha Key West’s lobby, bar, and restaurant, as well as upgrading the exterior, modernizing guestrooms and guest bathrooms, refreshing corridors, and rejuvenating the pool and fitness center. As part of the renovation, the previously underutilized spa will be converted into premium rooftop suites.

Aqua-Aston Hospitality announced a new hotel opening in Tempe, Arizona adding to its management portfolio. The new dual-branded property is being developed by EKN Development and is accepting reservations for stays in early 2024. The four-story. 148-key Fairfield Inn and TownePlace Suites by Marriott is situated in the heart of the Phoenix metro area. The property offers 83 comfortable Fairfield Inn rooms and 65 extended-stay TownePlace Suites, over 3,000 square feet of meeting space, a market, onsite laundry, a restaurant and bar, fitness center, business center, an outdoor pool and hot tub and a covered pool deck.

First Hospitality has assumed management of Hotel Indy in Indianapolis, Indiana, marking the company’s first hotel with owner group KennMar. Hotel Indy features 90 keys, two restaurants and 1,200 square feet of meeting space.

The Faust Hotel, located in New Braunfels, Texas, is set to close its doors this week for a six-month, $1 million full remodel.

Springboard Hospitality announced the addition of Hotel Erwin in Los Angeles, California to its growing portfolio. Situated on the world-famous Venice Beach Boardwalk, the 119-room hotel features the High Rooftop Lounge, Venice Way Pizza in its lobby, and Erwin’s General Store.

Pearlstone Partners LLC is looking to build a hotel in Austin, Texas. Plans call for the project to be 35 stories and includes multiple floors of dedicated parking that will be capped by an observation terrace as well as for public art space and a ground-floor space to be used for a restaurant.

Palisociety announced the opening of The Palihouse in Hyde Park Village in Tampa Bay, Florida. Hyde Park is the 19th location for the group and the fifth to open for Palisociety in 2023. The property will feature a second floor check-in and a café and bar.

The Poarch Band of Creek Indians announced a significant addition to the OWA Parks & Resort, in Foley, Alabama, with a $50M+ resort-style hotel planned to open in May 2025 on the north-east side of the newly opened Tropic Falls Water Park. The vibrant, multi-story hotel is still in the design stages but development plans call for an outdoor resort-style pool with a bar and grill, fitness center, meeting space, lounge, convenience store and an arcade. The new hotel development, combined with the recent $70 million expansion of the Tropic Falls Water Park; the newly opened Tropic Hideaway RV Park; and continued growth of new business in Downtown OWA; demonstrates The Tribe’s continued commitment to advance and improve the offerings at OWA Parks and Resort. Once completed, the new resort hotel will bring the Poarch Band of Creek Indians total investment into the OWA’s project to $414 million.

The Henrico, Virginia Planning Commission endorsed plans for a massive $450 million redevelopment project near the Henrico-Richmond line that eventually could include as many as 700 apartments and/or condos, a hotel, 30,000 square feet of retail space, and almost 140,000 square feet of offices. The proposal, from Kinsale Capital Group and Marchetti Development, involves about 29 acres of land. Development is proposed in phases, with the hotel and a mixed-use building on the southwest portion of the site planned first, followed by a residential building. The third phase would include more offices followed by a fourth phase that would include another office building and another mixed-use building. The proposal will now advance to the Henrico Board of Supervisors for final consideration.

Kolter Hospitality and BH Group announced the acquisition of the Crystal Beach Suites Miami Oceanfront Hotel in Miami Beach, FL. The 84-suite hotel was acquired from Crystal Beach, Inc. and Crystal Beach Development Corp.

By-The-Sea Resort Properties has selected Practice Hospitality to manage their new luxury resort in St. Thomas. The 20-villa independent lifestyle property is slated to open in 2024 on the sand in the US Virgin Islands.

Marriott International announced exciting new property enhancements, renovations and experiences from the Company’s Caribbean properties. These include: an extensive renovation of the rooms and suites at Grand Cayman Marriott Resort in the Cayman Islands. The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman announced a sublime enhancement to its premier sporting facilities, In early 2024, the property is set to introduce three additional pickleball courts, expanding to 5 courts in all. In Puerto Rico, The San Juan Marriott Resort and Stellaris Casino is on an extraordinary journey of transformation, slated to make the overall unveiling in Fall of 2024. A key part of the phased renovation is the introduction of updated public spaces, the Great Rooms, Stellaris Casino and restaurants. The Aruba Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino has opened a new destination for Mediterranean cuisine, Mercat. The Westin Punta Cana Resort & Club is redefining travel with newly refreshed rooms, two new restaurants and bars, a lobby transformation and new additions to its meeting rooms.

Personnel Moves

CBRE appointed Brett McCracken to lead its Management Rights Hotel Valuation & Advisory Services team. McCracken is rejoining CBRE to take on the director role, bringing with him 20 years of valuation experience in the commercial real estate industry. CBRE is further strengthening its Management Rights team with the appointment of Associate Director, Ekaterina Ivandikova, who is rejoining CBRE with over 10 years experience in the industry, primarily in management rights.

Alterra Mountain Company has promoted Steamboat Ski Resort president & COO Rob Perlman to Executive Vice President Regional Operations for the Company. Perlman will oversee seven resorts in the Alterra portfolio and will serve on Alterra’s Executive Leadership Team. Perlman will transition into his new role effective immediately while the resort searches for his successor. Until a new president is named, Steamboat Vice President of Operations Dave Hunter will serve as interim Resort Lead overseeing day-to-day operations of the resort. Perlman is joined in his newly appointed EVP role at Alterra Mountain Company by Ron Cohen of Mammoth Mountain, who will oversee Alterra’s destinations in California, Washington, Idaho, and Canada. The new EVPs are responsible for managing resort presidents in their respective regions to deliver on each resort’s brand promise to employees, guests, local communities, the planet and shareholders.

Breakwater announced David Gaston, formerly of Resort Capital Partners, has joined the company as Partner and Head of Capital Markets.

LuxUrban Hotels Inc. announced it entered into a non-dilutive financing agreement of up to $10 million sponsored by their Chairman and Co-CEO, Brian Ferdinand. The financing will take the form of a 36 month unsecured advancing term promissory note that bears interest at a rate of 1% annually, is prepayable at the company’s option upon approval of the Board of Directors, has no prepayment penalties or restrictions, defers interest until maturity or repayment, and must be used for growth capital The Note will be funded through the sale, from time to time, of shares of the Company’s common stock controlled by Ferdinand.

Europe Highlight

A Hyatt affiliate inked a deal with Hoteles Color Especial to open a Thompson Hotel in Seville, Spain. Scheduled to open in 2026, the 100-room luxury lifestyle hotel, comprising a restaurant, a rooftop bar with a pool, meeting rooms, co-working space and a gym, is located in a former police station. Owned by Exacorp One, the Thompson Hotel Seville will be the first Hyatt hotel in Seville and the fourth Thompson Hotels property in Europe.