Ashford Hospitality Trust Previews Improved Quarterly Results
Skift Take
The DJIA fell 31 points while Nasdaq was up 51, the S&P 500 rose 6 points and the 10-year treasury yield was basically flat at 4.27%. Lodging stocks were modestly higher.
Ashford Hospitality Trust announced preliminary 2Q24 results. AHT said they expect to report occupancy of around 75% for 2Q24 with ADR of $200, resulting in RevPAR of $150, an increase of 1.4% from the second quarter of 2023. April and May RevPAR were up 3% and 1.4%, respectively, year over year, but June was down 0.1%.
The Auburn, Alabama City Council has approved the construction of a new AC Marriott Hotel in downtown Auburn. As proposed by RAM Hotels, the hotel will have 129 guestrooms, two bars, and a restaurant.
The expansion of an existing hotel near the St. Louis Lambert International Airport in St. Louis, Missouri is expected to be completed by the end of this year. The new 128-room, six-story Hampton Inn is connected to the existing Hilton St. Louis Airport Hotel. Both hotels will be owned by Lodging Hospitality Management, which owns the property through an affiliated LLC. Development costs of the five-story hotel were not disclosed.
IHG Hotels & Resorts announced the opening of a new Candlewood Suites hotel in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The Candlewood Suites Chattanooga offers 81 suites, a gym, a market, and an outdoor patio with a gazebo and grill. The hotel is owned by East Ridge CWS, LLC and managed by Jasmin Patel Hotels.
An affiliate of OTO Development has acquired a K Street N.W. office building in Washington, D.C., with plans to convert the 12-story structure into a 278-key hotel. OTO affiliate Palmetto Hospitality paid $27.9 million for the building. The seller is an affiliate of the Gewirz family. Palmetto borrowed $72.8 million from United Bank to finance the building’s acquisition and renovation. The hotel would include three levels of below-grade parking, a market, a café, and a restaurant with outdoor seating. JLL began marketing the property for sale more than a year ago.
The Lake Lure Inn, a historic hotel in western North Carolina, has sold for $11 million in a deal that included other nearby properties. The buyer of the 72-room hotel is Ridgeline Acquisitions LLC, and the sellers are George and Hope Wittmer.
Branch Hospitality Group is set to purchase the Saranac Waterfront Lodge in Saranac Lake, New York. This comes after the four-year-old hotel’s deed was transferred to a bank in lieu of foreclosure as the owners and lenders of the property shifted control of it around. The banks that were the key lenders of the money to build the hotel, Champlain National, Evans and Cattaraugus County banks, took possession of the land’s deed in May, transferring the deed from Saranac Lake Resort Owner LLC to Lake Flower Street LLC, which is held by Champlain National Bank, the lead lender. The 93-room hotel on Pontiac Bay has a restaurant and rents pontoon boats, kayaks and paddleboards.
The Bahamas’ Atlantic Paradise Island completed a $150 million resort-wide renovation under which the mega-resort’s Atlantis Casino, guestrooms, restaurants and lounges all received upgrades. Guestrooms at The Royal, Atlantis’ tower complex, were also refashioned during the renovation, and Paranza, a new restaurant at The Cove was also added. Other additions include Bar Sol, private gaming in Clieto’s, and indoor/outdoor dining at Silan. Also new are a Shake Shack outlet, casual restaurant Field Trip, plus a Cartier jewelry outlet. Murals throughout the Atlantis Casino have been restored while the casino’s ceilings, previously covered by canopies, are now open, creating a more spacious and airier atmosphere.
Personnel Moves
McNeill Hotel Company announced that hospitality industry veteran Marci Jacobs has joined the company to serve as Vice President of Sales & Revenue Generation. In this role, Jacobs will be responsible for building an integrated approach to sales, digital marketing, and revenue generation to enhance collaboration and develop synergies among these functions at the corporate and property levels. Prior to joining MHC, Jacobs was a Regional Director of Sales with Peachtree Group Hospitality Management and, before that, a Regional Revenue Manager and Regional Director of Sales and Marketing with Aimbridge Hospitality.
Springboard Hospitality announced that John Mootz will join the company as the company’s first-ever Corporate Director of Food and Beverage. In his newly created role, Mootz will work closely with individual property general managers, executive chefs, and food and beverage teams across the portfolio to concept new venues, expand culinary offerings and enhance overall dining experiences. Previously, John served as the Vice President of Operations at Puccini Group.
HVS Executive Search announced the promotion of Alice Sherman to Executive Vice President and Managing Director. In her new role, Alice will leverage her expertise in business development, client relations, team development, and training while maintaining her leadership in C-level searches across the hotel, restaurant, hotel real estate, and travel/leisure industries.
Europe Highlights
Reverb by Hard Rock has officially opened in Hamburg, situated in the historic high-rise bunker in St. Pauli. The hotel includes 134 rooms and suites, multiple dining options and a public roof garden. Operated by RIMC Hotels & Resorts Group, the hotel is part of the newly transformed bunker, which now includes various gastronomic outlets, a multi-purpose hall for sports, concerts, and cultural events and the Rock Shop. The roof garden features 4,700 trees and 16,000 shrubs, creating around 10,000 square meters of green and communal areas. The green space serves as a natural air conditioning system and is accessible via a 560-meter-long mountain path or 335 steps.
Room Mate Hospitality & Leisure, S.L. announced the acquisition of Staying Valencia, a portfolio of 10 boutique hotels and apart-hotels in Valencia, Spain. This strategic acquisition marks a significant milestone in Room Mate Hotels’ expansion strategy, bolstered by the support of TPG Angelo Gordon and Westmont Hospitality, which together acquired Room Mate Hotels in 2022.
The Glencarse Hotel, a property owned by Paul and Fiona Robinson in Perthshire, Scotland, has been put up for sale with a freehold asking price of £495,000. Christie & Co. has been tasked with marketing the hotel, which offers five ensuite rooms, a public bar, and a restaurant. The facilities are available for private events and weddings. The property also includes a beer garden and a garden area with potential for further development. In addition to the commercial spaces, the hotel features a three-bedroom accommodation for the owners on the first floor.
Christie & Co has facilitated the sale of the Driftwood Hotel in Cornwall to a group of private investors. Paul and Fiona Robinson, owners of the property, listed the property for sale at the beginning of this year as they prepare to retire. Financial details of the deal remain undisclosed. The UK Hotel includes 14 rooms, a restaurant and a three-bedroom owner’s house. It is set within approximately five acres of landscaped gardens.
A luxury hotel in Prague has been formally put up for sale. The Hilton Prague is likely to fetch as much as €300m. CBRE has been appointed to handle the sale of the Prague property, which is the largest branded hotel in the Czech Republic. It is being put up for sale by the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation, formerly the Anglo-Irish Bank. The property has 791 refurbished guestrooms, six food and beverage outlets, extensive leisure facilities and approximately 5,000 square meters of conference space. CBRE said the hotel performs strongly in the meetings, incentives, conferences and events market.
BWH has allied with consulting firm Braintrust Hospitality to design and supervise its business plan for the next five years in Spain. The objective is to convince independent hoteliers who want to have an international brand like BWH, who will also be offered the possibility of having the support of Braintrust to improve some areas of the operation, such as variable hotel management. BWH has 4,300 hotels and 350,000 rooms worldwide.