IHG and Best Western Announce Openings

The DJIA fell 274 points, Nasdaq was down 31, the S&P 500 fell 16 points and the 10 year treasury yield surged again, up another .13 to 4.16%. Lodging stocks were modestly lower. The biggest mover was SLNA, up 44%, just 11 cents, while SHCO was up 5%. AINC traded down to another new low, AHT was down -6% and SOND fell -5% on the day.

Evercore ISI Group downgraded Hilton and Hyatt stock from both being Outperform rated to both now being rated In-Line. Evercore believes hotel stocks are expected to head for more normalized growth trends this year after benefiting from a reopening surge over the past two years. They believe the bull case for hotel stocks has already played out and upside from here is limited. They have a target price of $200 on Hilton and $135 on Hyatt.

Southaven Hospitality LLC was granted a conditional use permit for an Element by Westin hotel in Southaven, Mississippi. Southaven Hospitality did not specify a start date for construction of the five-story hotel.

A first-time developer plans to build a $250 million mixed-use development on a 16-acre beachfront plot of land in Galveston, Texas. Mohamed Eldawy, of Royal Crown Enterprise LLC, purchased the land from the Maceo family with plans to construct a development that will house a variety of new businesses, hotels, and apartment complexes with a public center. Construction is scheduled for the first quarter of 2025, once the required permits are obtained from the city of Galveston and the Army Corps of Engineers. The first part of the project will include bars and restaurants and a 10-12 story condo tower with 270-300 units. The second phase is a seven-story hotel with 120-150 rooms and a seven-story senior living apartment tower with 100-120 units. The final phase will be two separate apartment buildings with 270 units. There are plans to build a large resort hotel, but it is not in the immediate future.

Construction is underway on The Henry hotel and apartments in Cobb County, Georgia. The Henry is a mixed-use development including about 650 apartments, 54 condos, a 250-key hotel, retail and multiple pedestrian bridges. The project is expected to open at the end of 2026 or early 2027. The Henry is named after Hank Aaron. Braves Development Company, SK Commercial Realty and Goldenrod Companies broke ground on the project last August and have begun site development. Two towers make up the project. Tower I will include the apartments and condos. The hotel in Tower II will be part of the Autograph Collection by Marriott International. Hotel amenities include a rooftop bar on the 19th floor, a lobby bar and steakhouse, an infinity pool, fitness center, conference and banquet center with breakout rooms, as well as areas for retail and pedestrian bridges. Goldenrod and its partners own the hotel.

Adventurous Journeys Capital Partners celebrated the topping out of the Graduate Auburn Hotel, the chain’s first location in Alabama and the ninth overall location in the Southeast. The new, five-story hotel has 177 rooms, an indoor-outdoor rooftop bar, ground floor café and 10,000 square feet of meeting and banquet space. The project is scheduled for completion in the fall.

NSR Hotels acquired the 133-key Hampton Inn Cherry Creek in Denver, Colorado from Blackstone for $18mm. OCI Hospitality has taken over management. There are plans for a renovation of the property.

IHG Hotels & Resorts announced the opening of a new build Holiday Inn Express & Suites hotel in suburban Little Rock, Arkansas. The Holiday Inn Express & Suites Little Rock North - Sherwood boasts 87 rooms, nearly 1,300 square feet of meeting space, an indoor heated pool and a fitness center. The property is owned and managed by Alina, Inc.

Saltwater Holdings announced the acquisition of The Hive in Wilmington, North Carolina. The boutique hotel offers 15 apartment-style suites and will be managed by BlueStar Real Estate.

Hotel Callista, located in the former Elks Lodge in Norwich, Connecticut, held a ribbon cutting ceremony and was expecting its first guests on February 2nd. The 24-room boutique hotel, owned by Amit Patel, has a common area and a ballroom.

Best Western Hotels & Resorts announced the opening of the Best Western Halito Inn in Calera, Oklahoma. The hotel is owned by Jim Thorpe and features 41 guestrooms and two suites. The Best Western Halito Inn just completed a property improvement plan inside and out and features upgraded guestrooms and suites, a new fitness center, outdoor pool, outdoor gazebo and barbeque grill, and an electric vehicle charging station.

The outdoor retail and experiences company, evo, plans to open its second hotel in Tahoe City, California in winter 2025. Campus Tahoe City will be located across from Commons Beach in the historic Tahoe City Inn and America’s Best Value Inn, 790 and 455 North Lake Boulevard, respectively. There will be a retail store and recreational amenities.

Seven years after its unveiling, Sutton Place project, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada is still not finished and has effectively defeated the purpose of the convention center‘s $180 million expansion. Plans for the two-tower Sutton Place Hotel and Residences were unveiled in 2017 with a target completion date of sometime in 2021. According to CTV News in 2021, owner, Northland Properties Corp. was targeting a new completion date sometime in 2025 or 2026. The convention center’s expansion nearly doubled the size of the venue which was predicated on the development of a new hotel to allow the convention center an increased number of large national and international conventions and events.

Civitas Capital Group provided a mezzanine loan to facilitate the refinancing of the Kimpton Overland Hotel Atlanta Airport. Civitas provided the loan to ACRON AG. The transaction allowed the borrower to pay down its existing senior lender and achieve a substantially improved overall blended rate on the financing for the hotel.

Personnel Move

MCR named Sameer Mehra Chief Revenue Officer. The hospitality veteran will lead MCR’s revenue and sales team. Most recently, Mehra served as Chief Revenue Officer for Hersha Hospitality Management.

Europe Highlight

Greenwood Developments and JSM, which together bought the Cavern Walks shopping center, in Liverpool, UK, for £7m in 2022, have struck a franchise agreement that will see the creations of a 283-bedroom Motto by Hilton hotel. Greenwood plans to repurpose the upper floors of the retail complex, while JSM will manage the ground floor retail space. The hotel is expected to open next year.