Four Seasons Unveils Expansion of Residential Offerings

We had the first solid trading day of 2024 as the DJIA rose 217 points, Nasdaq was up 320, the S&P 500 rose 66 points and the 10 year treasury yield fell by .04 to 4%. Lodging stocks were nearly all higher. HST, IHG, and MAR traded up to new highs.

BofA Securities made some changes, upgrading Host Hotels to Buy from Underperform, raising their target price to $23 from $18. They cut their rating on Pebblebrook Hotel Trust to Underperform from Neutral with a $13.50 target price while also cutting Apple Hospitality to Neutral from Buy, cutting their target price to $18 from $19.

Baird reported that KSL/Hersha sold the 65-room Hampton Inn Manhattan Seaport-Financial District for $24.125 million to Slate Property Group. The new owner has closed the property and will convert it to an alternative use. Metro City Bank provided the financing a 64% LTV, five-year mortgage with a 7.5% fixed rate.

The owners of the Atrium Hotel, in Quincy, Illinois, have decided to rebrand the hotel into a DoubleTree by Hilton. Tracy Holdings LLC stated every room will be redesigned with new flooring, furniture, bathrooms, and showers, along with all public spaces. The company plans to finish the renovations and rebrand by March of 2025.

Sabal Investment Holdings, Bsafal Inc., and Argo Real Estate formed a joint venture to provide a $64.5 million loan to LaGuardia Plaza Hotel in Queens, New York. The borrower, Synergy Hospitality Management, will convert the 353-room property into a DoubleTree by Hilton hotel.

A new Marriott hotel is under construction in Hickory, North Carolina. Crown Hotel & Travel Management will manage the new TownePlace Suites by Marriott which is expected to open in early 2025. The new property will include 108 suites, a pool, gym, rooms for meetings and an outdoor patio. Clarendon Properties is developing the hotel and Hickory Hospitality Ventures is the owner.

Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts revealed an upcoming expansion of its residential offerings, announcing plans to develop Four Seasons Residences at its existing property, The Ocean Club, A Four Seasons Resort, on Paradise Island in Nassau, Bahamas. The project will be undertaken in collaboration with Two Roads Development and Access Real Estate. Expected to open in 2027, the oceanfront enclave promises 67 Private Residences managed by Four Seasons with onsite amenities including an oceanfront pool with clubhouse and private cabanas, a beachfront restaurant, fitness center, luxurious spa, private cellar and rum room, lounge, library, co-working space, media room, children’s playroom and more. Owners will also have privileged access to all the amenities at the neighboring Ocean Club resort including its restaurant, pools, tennis courts, and spa villas.

Weller Development Partners announced its strategic partnership with HG Christie and Bespoke Real Estate to handle the branded residential sales for the $250M+ Six Senses Residences Grand Bahama development. Six Senses Grand Bahama offers a luxury resort village, including 64 resort villas and 28 branded residences. The 50-acre site will feature a wellness center and signature Six Senses Spa, multiple restaurants, event space, beach club, and oceanfront pool. Sales of the Six Senses Residences Grand Bahama are scheduled to begin in Q1 2024.

Rentyl Resorts announce its collaboration with DaVinci Hospitality Group and Ferrari Group to brand and manage a new, cutting-edge boutique hotel on Collins Avenue in Miami Beach, Florida. Set for transformation into a chic 44-unit retreat, the property boasts a prime location with direct beach access and the ground floor will debut innovative restaurant and entertainment concepts.

IHG Hotels & Resorts celebrated the opening of a newly converted and rebranded Hotel Indigo beachfront resort in La Paz, Mexico. Located in Baja California Sur, the hotel offers multiple restaurants, Espiritu Spa and both indoor and outdoor pools. Hotel Indigo La Paz Puerta Cortes is owned and managed by Operadora de Hoteles Costa Baja SA.

Red Roof announced the opening of several new properties at the end of 2023. The HomeTowne Studios Amarillo West, in Amarillo, Texas, is a 54-room extended-stay hotel offering a guest laundry facility, a business center and fitness facility. As part of its renovation to the HomeTowne Studios brand, the property received new paint throughout, new sleeper sofas, lobby furniture, bedding and new laundry equipment. In Copiague, New York, the 37-room Red Roof Inn Copiague is a conversion of a former Days Inn. As part of the conversion, renovations included updating the guest bathrooms and the breakfast area, new bedding and updating landscaping. A new Red Roof Inn has opened in Dunbar, West Virginia. The 61-room Red Roof Inn Dunbar has a snack center and a guest laundry facility. Renovations to the property included new furniture in guestrooms and lobby, new paint and flooring throughout, new bedding, updated landscaping and new lighting. In Newport News, Virginia, the new Red Roof Inn & Suites Newport News is a conversion of a former Comfort Inn. The 101-room property has a seasonal outdoor pool, a meeting room, snack center and laundry facility. As part of its conversion, the property received new furniture and bedding, new exterior paint and upgraded landscaping.

The Glenwood Hot Springs Resort, in Glenwood Springs, Colorado, started construction on a new area that will cater to adults. This new area will consist of five pools that include a grotto, infinity pool, waterfall and fireplace. Construction is expected to be finished sometime this year.

Jake Wurzak, owner of the Dalmar hotel, filed a lawsuit against Fort Lauderdale, Florida to block a high-rise project he says will cast a looming shadow over his 25-story hotel and its sixth-floor pool deck. Naftali Group plans to build two apartment towers linked by a nine-story parking podium on North Federal Highway. To build the project as planned, the developer needed and got commission approval on two variances. One allows Naftali to build a podium that’s nearly 400 feet long, 100 feet longer than allowed, and the other allows the developer to exceed the maximum floor plate size of 12,500 square feet on each tower, allowing for hundreds more residential units. Naftali Group plans to move forward with the development as scheduled.

The Holiday Inn Corpus Christi Airport Hotel, in Corpus Christi, Texas, is reopening following a two-year renovation of the hotel lobby, rooms, and meeting spaces. The hotel is set to reopen at the end of this month.

Following a record-breaking year for tourist development tax collections in Osceola County, Florida, fueled by an increase in events at Osceola Heritage Park, the planning commission is set to recommend the Board of County Commissioners change the zoning for the park land from various residential uses to strictly commercial. The change will specifically promote hotel, restaurant and retail space but will not permit single-family homes of any kind at the over 200-acre site that is home to a 10,500 seat indoor entertainment arena. The planning commission is set to make its recommendation on Thursday, and the board will consider the issue the following Monday at its county commission meeting.

Paramount Lodging Advisors announced the sale of the 104-room Hampton Inn & Suites located in Chicago/Deer Park, Illinois. The property is currently undergoing an $8.5B renovation. They also announced the sale of the Hampton Inn St. Louis Southwest, Missouri. The four-story concrete box offers a fitness center, pool and two elevators.

Europe Highlights

Travelodge agreed to acquire 66 Travelodge-branded hotels from its largest landlord, Lxi REIT, for £210 million, with support from Travelodge’s owner GoldenTree Asset Management. The 66 hotels will be acquired on a freehold and long leasehold basis enabling the Travelodge group to take control of the assets, enhancing value. The assets will be acquired through a newly created property holding group, under a new Travelodge group holding company. The hotels cover a wide geography, including London, the Midlands and the North of England across City Centre and roadside locations. The transaction is expected to be completed on February 28, 2024.

Between 2023 and 2025, thousands of new rooms in more than a dozen major new sites are set to launch, including the Peninsula London near Hyde Park Corner which opened in September followed by the Raffles London at The Owo. This year’s next ribbon-cutting event will be at art-otel Hoxton, a 27-story site which has already begun taking reservations for March 2024 onwards. The hotel, owned by PPHE, represents the firm’s first major foray outside central London. The art-otel Hoxton boasts amenities such as an upmarket spa and pool area, a top-floor gym, 25th-floor restaurant and a ground-floor café and a bar. The building mixes 357 hotel rooms with office space, and a bookable theatre in the basement that becomes a cinema for hotel guests in the events.