Casago Agrees to Acquire Vacasa

The DJIA fell 152 points on the first trading day of the new year, while Nasdaq was down 30, the S&P 500 fell 13 points, and the 10-year treasury yield was unchanged at 4.58%. Lodging stocks were lower, but the biggest mover was to the upside, with SOND up 12%.

Jefferies has a positive view of lodging stocks going into 2025 with a more stable macro environment, balanced fundamentals, and sustainable growth. The continuing execution of unit and pipeline growth for C-Corps, the ease of YoY comparison, and ROI projects for REITs, in the context of an improving interest rate outlook, support higher valuations. Jefferies highlighted Wyndham, C-Corps, Ryman Hospitality, and Xenia Hotels as their top picks.

Casago and Vacasa, Inc. announced they have entered into a definitive agreement under which the two will combine with VCSA shareholders to get $5.02 per share, subject to a possible adjustment. Roofstock, a prop-tech platform, plans to invest in and provide strategic guidance to the combined company. The companies believe this will create an unmatched vacation rental management platform. Existing VCSA shareholders Silver Lake, Riverwood Capital, and Level Equity plan to continue to have minority investments in the combined company. The transaction is expected to be completed towards the end of 1Q25 or beginning of 2Q25. So, three supposed deals have been announced in the past few weeks, and two of the three have investors showing they have a good feeling the deals for Hyatt to buy Playa, Casago, and Vacasa to merge will go through, but Soho House being taken private at $9 still has the stock trading down right to $7 each day, which is not exactly a sign of confidence.

STR reported US hotel data for the week ended 12/21. U.S. hotel RevPAR was up 14.3% year over year. The timing shift of Christmas and Chanukah boosted results again, particularly due to group and business travel.

The AC Hotel Detroit at the Bonstelle is set to open in January 2025. The hotel includes a new 10-story building with 154 guestrooms, a fitness room, meeting rooms, and a lounge on the first floor. A conservatory with a bar connects to the Bonstelle Theatre, which is currently being restored and will open as an event space this spring. Later in 2025, a rooftop bar will open. The Roxbury Group is developing the AC Hotel Detroit with the Peachtree Group. Azul Hospitality is managing the property.

A 10-story complex featuring an AC Hotel by Marriott and an Element by Westin is set to launch in downtown Mankato, Minnesota. The $93 million two-building complex will offer a combined total of 282 hotel rooms.

The city of Greensboro, North Carolina has issued a building permit and approved site plans for a Westin hotel on Elm Street. The project, headed by Elm Street Hotel LLC, was first announced in 2017. The total cost of construction is estimated to be $22.5 million. Construction on the hotel will begin in 2025.

Louisville, Kentucky is getting its first Curio Collection by Hilton hotel. The soon-to-open hotel, formerly a Canopy by Hilton, has been renamed Hotel Bourre Bonne and will be a part of Hilton’s Curio Collection. Zyyo is developing the project alongside TruVine Companies. Construction on the 168-room hotel is set to be completed in 45 days, according to its website. The $75 million project will feature a ballroom, pool, bar with indoor and outdoor spaces, and a Steakhouse. Driftwood Hospitality Management will operate the property. Nobel Entertainment Group is designated as the hotel’s food and beverage operator.

Charter Holdings partnered with the Liberty Group to purchase the Tru by Hilton Dallas Market Center located in Dallas, Texas. Liberty Hospitality Partners, a subsidiary of the Liberty Group, will manage the property. The 152-room hotel’s Hilton branding will remain. According to Dallas News, the developers said that the groups would spend several million dollars renovating the relatively new property. Much of the money will go towards upgrading the rooftop bar, which will be managed by MCrowd Restaurant Group. Construction is expected to start in late spring, and they aim to open the bar by early summer.

Parks Development Group and Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants plan to convert the historic Traction Building in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio, into a 152-room Kimpton branded boutique hotel. According to hotelprojectleads.com, the Kimpton Hotel will include three food and beverage venues, a rooftop bar, a grand ballroom, and meeting rooms. The building will be operated by Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants. Parks Development Group acquired the 15-story building for $3.3 million in 2018. The hotel will open in 2026 at a cost of $90 million.

Omni Hotels & Resorts plan to build a 27-story, 550-room hotel in Raleigh, North Carolina. According to hotelprojectleads.com, the planned amenities include multiple restaurants and bars, a fitness room, spa, an outdoor pool, deck and fire pit, and a total of 61,000 square feet of meeting and conference space. The $300 million project will begin construction in early 2025 and be completed in late 2027.

Sonesta International Hotels Corporation announced the opening of Sonesta Essential Ames, a 75-room, upper-midscale hotel located in Ames, Iowa.

The Proper Hotel in San Francisco, California, looks like it might fall into the hands of its lender. SF Business Times reported that Kor Group has defaulted on its loan payments. The company took out a $28 million loan in 2021, which was expected to mature in February 2024, with an optional extension to February 2025, and the default notice was issued by lender Westbrook Partners on November 25. A trust agreement reportedly outlines a scenario in which Westbrook Partners takes over sole ownership of the hotel and leases it back to Kor Group. It’s possible that Kor Group will remain as an owner, with a February deadline now set for a potential sale.

The former Radisson Hotel New York Wall Street sold for $94.5 million. CoStar data shows owner McSam Hotel Group sold the 289-key former hotel turned homeless shelter to Slat Property Group, an owner, operator, developer, and lender that focuses on multifamily properties.

Ensemble Investments has pushed the opening date of the 155-room La Bahia Hotel and Spa to the summer of 2025 from the fall of 2024. Seaside Co. bought the Santa Cruz, California property in 1984. Ensemble joined the hotel project in 2021, months before the groundbreaking in 2022, replacing Seaside Company’s previous partner and hotel developer Prime Group. Ensemble and Seaside will have spent around $155 million by the hotel’s completion.

Diamond Hospitality Services sold the Cobblestone Hotel & Suites in Erie, Pennsylvania, to Shyamashyam Inc. for $5.575 million. Diamond Hospitality will continue to manage the hotel.

The Tribal Council of The Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Great Falls, Montana, announced plans to submit an application to construct the Little Shell Event Center & Resort. The resort will feature a 200-room hotel, an indoor waterpark, a 10,000-square-foot multipurpose event space, a bowling alley and arcade, a gaming facility, an arena for entertainment and sports, and multiple food and beverage venues.

River Link Hotels has developed plans to build a 107-room hotel in Fishkill, New York. The four-story hotel would have 250 parking spaces.

The Town of Pennington Gap, Virginia, announced a 70-room Sleep Inn & Suites hotel will open in 2026, featuring a rooftop bar and indoor pool. According to a post by the town, the Sleep Inn has been in the works for years, and an agreement has been signed with AP Hospitality to make the plans a reality.

A long-abandoned school in Scipio, New York, is set for a transformation into a boutique hotel and winery cooperative, led by Dr. Chris Colloca, owner of Colloca Estate Winery. According to The Citizen, Colloca’s plans include converting classrooms into 50–60 hotel rooms, repurposing the gym into a ballroom, and creating meeting spaces. The winery cooperative will offer facilities for aspiring vintners to produce and sell wine.

Marriott is opening four new All-Inclusive resorts in the Caribbean. What’s new in the pipeline? For starters, the soon-to-debut The House, An Autograph Collection All-Inclusive Resort, Adults-Only, is opening under the Marriott all-inclusive banner in the first quarter of next year. Then there’s the 35-room Treasure Beach, another one of the Elegant Hotels’ portfolio in Barbados that Marriott kicked off its all-inclusive push with back in 2019, and it’s another new member of the Autograph Collection. In the Mexican Caribbean, Marriott will debut the transformed Paraiso de la Bonita resort, another adults-only retreat. The 100-room hotel will be part of the Luxury Collection. Opening in the second quarter of 2025 is the world’s first-ever W all-inclusive. The 340-room W will be set in the Uvero Alto area of Punta Cana. Right now, the resort has a targeted opening date of April 15.

Hyatt Hotels Corporation announced the completion of an agreement for affiliates of Hyatt and Grupo Piñero to enter a long-term, asset-light strategic joint venture, which will manage Bahia Principe Hotels & Resorts-branded property and own the Bahia Principe brand. The 50-50 joint venture agreement brings 22 resorts totaling approximately 12,000 rooms, including 21 resorts under the Bahia Principe Hotels & Resorts brand located across the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Jamaica, and Spain, as well as the exclusive Cayo Levantado Resort in the Dominican Republic, to Hyatt’s Inclusive Collection.

Playa Hotels & Resorts N.V. has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its Jewel Paradise Cove resort in Jamaica for $28.5 million in cash. The sale is expected to close in the first quarter of 2025.

Personnel Moves

Ashford Hospitality Trust announced Mr. Alan Tallis tendered his resignation from its Board of Directors, effective December 31, 2024. Mr. Tallis will enter into a consulting agreement with the company to be available to the Chairman and Lead Director for the Board for a period of two years.

On December 30, 2024, the Board of Directors of Braemar Hotels & Resorts Inc.appointed Ms. Rebecca Musser to the Board, effective immediately, to serve until the next annual meeting of stockholders of the company and until her successor is duly elected and qualified. The Board has determined that Ms. Musser is an independent director and qualifies as an audit committee financial expert. Ms. Musser was first nominated in August 2024 as an Independent Director of Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust and currently serves on the Audit Committee.

European Highlight

Minor Hotels Europe & Americas announced the upcoming addition of NH Collection Alagna Mirtillo Rosso to the portfolio of the NH Collection Hotels & Resorts brand in Italy. Located in the town of Alagna Valsesia, the four-star property will undergo a renovation process and officially open its doors under the new brand in March 2025. The hotel has 56 guestrooms, a wellness center with a spa, divided into an adult-only area with an indoor and outdoor pool, a salt flotation pool, a whirlpool, two saunas, a Turkish bath, experiential showers, and four treatment rooms, and another area for families with an indoor and outdoor pool; and a restaurant.