The DJIA jumped 307 points on Friday while Nasdaq was up 199, the S&P 500 rose 57 points, and the 10-year treasury yield was up .07 to 4.38%. Lodging stocks were higher. SLNA continued its plunge to a penny, down another -31% to nickel and a new all-time low. SOND, despite announcing a delisting warning notice from Nasdaq amidst late financial filings, was up another 9% on Friday. SOND is delaying filing its 10K from the year 2023. SOND said the warning notice has no impact on their current listing, and they continue to work towards filing their 2023 year-end financial report.
TMGOC Ventures announced the completion of a multi-million dollar project to refresh and revitalize the Hampton Inn Bee Ridge Sarasota located in Sarasota, Florida. The hotel now features a transformed open-concept lobby with a new grab-and-go food marketplace, 121 updated guestrooms, more than 1,200 square feet of upgraded meeting space, and two meeting rooms. TMGOC also announced Lexima Lodging has assumed operational control of three of its Southwest Florida properties: Hampton Inn Bee Ridge Sarasota, the Hilton Garden Inn Sarasota-Bradenton Airport, and the Home2 Suites Sarasota-Bradenton Airport. TMGOC announced a strategic agreement and investment in Lexima Lodging, with Lexima gradually assuming operational control of the majority of TMGOC properties.
City officials of San Mateo, California confirmed that the Marriott Hotel in San Mateo is closing. The closing date for the hotel and the reason for the closure are unknown at this time. The property is owned by Oracle. San Mateo officials have not been informed of what will replace the Marriott in that space.
Hilton’s Spark brand officially opened for business this week in Savannah, Georgia. The 79-room hotel is the third Spark to be opened by the hotel chain. There is also a Spark Hotel opening up on Hilton Head Island.
Regent Santa Monica Beach is set to debut this summer in Santa Monica, California. The property represents the first destination in the Americas for the re-imagined Regent Hotel & Resorts brand. The resort will feature 143 guestrooms and 24 suites, a beachfront pool deck, a sprawling wellness spa destination in collaboration with Guerlain, a beach butler service, and enticing culinary destinations. The project, with a budget exceeding $150 million, is a partnership between ownership group Strategic Hotels & Resorts and Regent Hotels & Resorts.
The Comfort Inn in Bluffton, Ohio, is getting a new name as co-owners Najam Saleem and Muhammad Khokhar have decided to invest in a multi-million dollar project. The hotel will temporarily become a Bluffton Inn Suites until the improvements are made to become a Holiday Inn Express. The hotel will go through a series of cosmetic changes, including replacing all the flooring, creating a fitness room, providing hot breakfasts, adding a snack station, transforming the rooms, and much more. The project will be completed in just a few short months.
Sonesta International Hotels Corporation announced the opening of two new upper-midscale Sonesta Essential hotels in March. Sonesta Essential Morgantown is a 57-room hotel in Morgantown, West Virginia, and Sonesta Essential Gonzales is a 52-room hotel in Gonzales, Texas.
The Hotel Bethlehem, in downtown Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, unveiled its extended stay suites. The Suites at 462 features nine renovated, one-bedroom, apartment-style suites. Also opening in the same building is Steel Magnolia Spa and Salon.
Cragun’s Resort, Golf & Conference in Brainerd, Minnesota, will have a grand relaunch this month. The historic resort has undergone transformative multi-million dollar renovations over the past several years. The largest renovation project included expansion and reinvestment in resort accommodations, championship golf courses, event and meeting spaces, and outdoor recreation. Cragun’s offers more than 109,000 square feet of indoor event space, ample outdoor event space, over 200 lodge hotel rooms plus cottages and cabins, and an expansive marina. The resort fronts over a mile of lakeshore on Gull Lake. Another addition is The Private Collection, a vacation-ownership program with custom-designed homes located on the Cragun’s Legacy Golf Courses.
People Moves
Since Gary Hawkins launched his new model of adaptive hotel revenue management in 2022, global demand has spurred the launch of Hawkins Hospitality, an agency with a team of ten Directors of Revenue Strategy and Revenue Analysts serving hotel clients throughout the United States, the Caribbean, Central America, and the UK. Hawkins Hospitality provides access to top-tier hotel revenue resources without the weight of adding full-time executives to a hotel’s payroll. Hawkins Hospitality offers a comprehensive range of luxury hotel consulting services, including ongoing revenue management, hotel openings, Fractional Chief Revenue Officer for hire, tech implementations, and special projects. Prior to launching Hawkins Hospitality, Gary served as the SVP and Chief Revenue Officer of Sydell Group.
Matthews Southwest Hospitality, LLC named Eric Friend as Vice President of Development and Acquisitions. In this role, Eric will support the company’s hospitality division through the development and acquisition of new hotels and resorts throughout North America, with a focus on expanding the CANVAS Hotel brand. Eric was previously Vice President of Asset Management at Bank OZK Real Estate Specialties Group.
MDM Hotel Group has named Sonia Fong Vice President of Sales & Marketing. Fong will be leading the sales and marketing efforts across all MDM’s properties, which include the JW Marriott Marquis Miami, Hotel Beaux Arts, JW Marriott Miami, Miami Marriott Dadeland, and the Courtyard Miami Dadeland Hotel.
Europe Highlights
A joint partnership among Trinity Investments, funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management, and funds managed by UBS Asset Management’s Real Estate & Private Markets Multi-Managers business has acquired the Park Hyatt Zurich. The joint partnership purchased the hotel from an affiliate of Hyatt Hotels Corporation, and the hotel will remain branded as Park Hyatt Zurich under a long-term management agreement with Hyatt. The property is comprised of 138 guestrooms and suites, 880 square meters of meeting and event space, three food and beverage offerings, a fitness center, and an underground parking garage. In addition, the property’s nearly 4,000 square meters of office space is included in the acquisition.
The Hotel Royal on Lake Geneva celebrated the completion of a year of transformation of its spa, inaugurating a new space dedicated to an all-round wellness experience: evian SPA. The exclusive facility is the only one in Europe and features an outdoor hydro-circuit, a snow room, cold pool, traditional sauna and steam room, indoor pool, and aqua bar.
Travelodge inked a 25-year lease with Unex Group for Gredley House, an east London office building, and is set to turn the property into a hotel. The five-story former office building will be transformed into a 150-room hotel, making it Travelodge’s 85th in London. The hotel will feature Travelodge’s new design as well as the group’s redesigned 85 Bar Café which has been gradually rolling out to selected properties. Construction will commence in May, with opening expected by the end of the next year.
