Host Hotels and Summit Hotels Post Better Than Expected Earnings

The DJIA rose 322 points while Nasdaq was up 235, the S&P 500 was up 46 points and the 10-year treasury yield was down .02 to 4.57%. Lodging stocks were mixed. SOND was the big mover, up 9%.

Earnings reports are coming fast and furious with Host Hotels reporting another solid one with 1Q EBITDA are a good 10% above consensus even with comparable RevPAR being a bit light. Analysts called their guidance a guide down even as they upped AFFO guidance. Considering how many had believed HST’s earlier guidance was aggressive, this seems positive to us. Analyst commentary was very mixed on the earnings, as well as the recent news of the two hotels in Nashville.

Summit Hotels reported a better than expected 1Q with margin expansion the key. INN said they closed on the asset sales they had disclosed last quarter, the Courtyard and SpringHill Suites New Orleans Warehouse Arts for $73 million, along with the sale in their joint venture with GIC of the Hilton Garden Inn College station for $11 million. INN increased their quarterly dividend to $0.08 per share, getting them to a 5.3% dividend yield.

RLJ Lodging Trust results were a bit short of consensus but they said the results were in line with their expectations. RLJ said they repaid a $200 million CMBS loan that was maturing last month, using $200 million in their revolving credit facility. RLJ reiterated their full year 2024 outlook.

Ryman Hospitality Properties reported a rare miss for 1Q. They actually raised 2024 guidance but that was mostly due to debt refinancing activities. They continue to have record levels of Group booking ADR.

Blackwells Capital really is trying to take it to Monty Bennett and the Ashford Group. First, they are urging shareholders of Ashford Hospitality Trust to not vote for the incumbent board members. They filed a definitive proxy statement recommending holders vote against the election of Monty Bennett and the other members up for reelection. They also sent a letter to Braemar Hotels & Resortsshareholders, asking them to vote for their slate of board members - Jennifer Hill, Betsy McCoy, Steven Pully, and Michael Cricenti.

Burton House Beverly Hills, a Tribute Portfolio Hotel by Marriott, will open on May 8. The hotel is the result of an extensive, multimillion-dollar transformation overseen by the Asset Management Team at Seaview Investors LLC. The hotel features 186 guest rooms, a dining and social concept called Emerald Lounge, 1,000 square feet of meeting space, a fitness center, and an 1,100 square foot yoga studio. The hotel is managed by Azul Hospitality Group.

The city of Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin is considering a proposal for a Hampton Inn to be developed on the corner of Egg Harbor Road and North 12th Avenue. The 80-room hotel would be built in the spot that was previously targeted by Cobblestone Hotels. Cobblestone failed to reach a purchase agreement for the site so now they are back looking at city-owned property on the west waterfront where they want to build a 62-unit hotel. The four-story Hampton Inn would have 72 standard rooms and 8 full-service suites.

A major renovation of the 439-room Grand Hyatt Atlanta in Buckhead has started. The property is known for its Japanese Zen garden with a 30-foot waterfall, curved bridge, paths, and stone works. They expect an early 2025 completion of the multi-phase project that will upgrade the guest rooms, meeting spaces, arrival area, and lobby lounge. The Grand Hyatt Atlanta in Buckhead is 20 miles from Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.

Lark Hotels announced the opening of Stilwell Hotel in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. The hotel has 42 guest rooms with each opening directly into the hotel’s natural surroundings. The sprawling courtyards come complete with welcoming fire pits and several custom-built-in fountains, including a 20-foot by 18-foot living waterfall. The grand central courtyard lets guests enjoy a cocktail, wood-fired pizza, and small plates from the hotel’s onsite café. Meeting facilities open directly onto the courtyard.

The Rusty Parrot Lodge & Spa in Jackson, Wyoming is taking bookings for its July 1st opening. A fire destroyed the boutique hotel in 2019. The reopening of the property will unveil a ground-up transformation inclusive of 38 rooms and two suites, the Body Sage Spa, and the Wild Sage Restaurant and Bar, which are taking reservations as early as May 1, 2024. The newly expanded rooms include the two suites, 22 King Fireplace rooms, 11 Double Queen rooms, and five King rooms.

A mixed-use hotel project including a hotel has been approved for Mesa, Arizona. The project would include a 124-guest room extended stay hotel and commercial retail center near Banner Gateway Medical Center. The project is called Avalon Ranch and will be located across the street from a future mixed-use project at the southeast corner of Power and Elliott roads.

Romer House Waikiki, Oahu’s first adults-only hotel, will open its doors on June 1, 2024. It is described as a grown-up retreat nestled in the heart of Waikiki Beach. The 179-room hotel will be managed by Highgate and joins Romer Hell’s Kitchen in NY City, opened September 2023, and Romer Waikiki at the Ambassador which opened October 2023.

Drury Hotels’ newest hotel is under construction at College Station at 701 University Drive in College Station, Texas. The multi-level hotel is on the same property as The Republic Steakhouse, Starbucks, Snooze, and Five Guys, minutes from the heart of College Station and Texas A&M University campus. This is the first Drury location in College Station and 12th in the state of Texas.

A 122-guest room WoodSpring Suites extended stay hotel is planned in North Natomas, California. The hotel is proposed by HMC Development and would be on a little over 2 acres. It will include a fitness center, on-site laundry, and vending machines with the majority of the rooms being suites with either one or two queen-sized beds.

The Venetian Resort Las Vegas will be undergoing a reinvestment project that will have a total budget of $1.5 billion. It is expected to be top to bottom, touching everything from a rebrand of the Venetian’s lion logo to a redesign of its suites. All 4,000 suites in the Venetian towers, including the signature suites, will be completely updated, expected to be ready by September 2024. There will be new chef-led culinary concepts announced later this year and new gaming offerings including the Palazzo High Limit Lounge, fully redesigned sportsbook, and a new poker room to debut this summer. $188 million will be invested in the resort’s Convention Center.

Personnel Moves

Peachtree Group announced several senior-level promotions. Kendall Burns was promoted to Assistant VP, Debt Asset Management; Nicholas Huddleston was promoted to VP, Loan Servicing; Matthew Larra is now VP, Portfolio Management, John Schellhase is now Assistant VP, Development Investments and Matthew Weatherford was promoted to Assistant VP, Dispositions & Acquisitions to round out the Investment Team. On the Investment Services Team, Daniel Puglisi was promoted to SVP Corporate Operations, Hospitality Management; Lee Shuman is SVP, Hospitality Development; Jenelle Zadik is SVP People, Culture & Workplace Initiatives; Katherine Atkinson is promoted to Controller; Eugene Barber III is now Assistant VP, Construction and Design; Zachary Bollinger is Assistant VP, Debt Capital Markets; Allison Frazier is VP of Revenue Management; Sean Hondorf is Assistant VP, Renovation Program; Sophia Koehl was named VP of Hotel Accounting and Charles Talbert was promoted to VP, Corporate Communications.

Newbond Holdings announced Sumit Nihalani has joined the company as Director of Credit Investments. He was previously Director and Head of East Coast Acquisitions and Originations at Vanbarton Group.

In some very sad news, Simon Cooper, an executive that held executive roles with Canadian Pacific Hotels and Resorts, Delta Hotels, Omni Hotels, Ritz-Carlton and then finally President of Marriott Lodging Canada, passed away on April 24th following a battle with leukemia. After retiring from Marriott, he founded Simon Cooper & Associates hospitality consultancy in 2015.

We recently covered the opening of Newport Harbor Island Resort, which opened on April 29th. When we said there was an official opening on Memorial Day Weekend, we left out that the official opening on Memorial Day was for their restaurant, 1639.