The Sortis Acquisition of Ace Hotel Is Ongoing Saga

The DJIA fell 169 points to end the month of August while the Nasdaq was up 16, the S&P 500 was down 7 points, and the 10-year treasury yield was down .03 to 4.09%. Lodging stocks were mixed.

Sortis Holdings revealed plans in January to buy Ace Group International and its management firm, Atelier Ace. The $85 million all-cash transaction promised to bring a dozen hotels, including the first Ace in Seattle. The Ace sale didn’t close in March as planned, as Ace’s owners terminated the sale. In April, Sortis sued sellers, including Ace CEO Brad Wilson, to come back to the table and close. After airing dueling allegations, the litigants have hashed out settlement terms, although it is unclear whether the settlement signals the deal will move forward.

Citigroup upped their price target on Marriott to $228 from $175. They maintained their Neutral rating.

Data published by The Conference Board revealed that 21.8% of Americans intend on visiting a foreign country in the next six months, up from 17.7% in June. At 45.9%, the data showed the share of Americans with vacation plans of any sort at the second-highest since the coronavirus pandemicdecimated the tourism industry in early 2020. 

Concord Hospitality Enterprises announced the opening of the new 156-key AC Hotel in Lansing, Michigan. The property offers 3,796 square feet of event and meeting space, an AC Kitchen, a heated indoor pool, and a fitness center. 

Sheraton San Diego Hotel & Marina announced a multi-million dollar renovation to the Marina Tower. The property is launching its newest chapter as the fully transformed Sheraton Resort & Marina in early 2024. The extensive renovation project will encompass 1,053 guest rooms and suites, 130,000 square feet of newly renovated meeting space, and three sparkling pools. As part of its transformation, the resort will also welcome four new dining concepts, bringing the total to six.

Michael Motamedi has tapped Life House to operate The Wondrous World of the Duke, a speakeasy-type hotel that will open in the NULU neighborhood of Louisville, Kentucky, in Fall 2023 and honor Duke Ellington.

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts announced the addition of the all-inclusive, adults-only TRS Coral Hotel to its Registry Collection Hotels brand. Operated by Palladium Hotel Group, the TRS Coral Hotels is located in Costa Mujeres in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo. The hotel represents the 17th property to join the Registry Collection. The TRS Coral Hotel boasts 469 luxury suites, a private beach club, a pool, a fitness center, the Zentropia Palladium Wellness & Spa, 18 bars, and five restaurants. The hotel is also home to the world’s first Rafa Nadal Tennis Centre. The sports complex features four outdoor and four indoor tennis courts, a football field, a paddle court, a shop with sports products, and a bar-cafeteria.

Highgate has been selected by Continental Assets Management to manage the Hilton Garden Inn Kauai Wailua Bay, marking Highgate’s first property on Kauai and its 12th property in Hawaii. Hilton Garden Inn Kauai Wailua Bay provides 216 guestrooms, two pools, two restaurants, a poolside bar, 7,400 square feet of event space, a business center, and a gym.

Outrigger Hospitality Group finalized its acquisition of Kauai Beach Resort & Spa, a 350-room beachfront property on 25 acres in Lihue, Kauai. The luxury hotel chain has rebranded the resort as Outrigger Kauai Beach Resort & Spa. 

Since launching its new RIDE with Red Roof initiative, Red Roof announced its first fully woman-owned franchise. The property is a Red Roof Inn & Suites conversion located in Richland, Mississippi, and is the second hotel in owner Kalpana Patel’s portfolio. It brings the number of Red Roof properties owned or partially owned by women to more than 35%. The singing comes amidst the continuing expansion of Red Roof’s diversity, equity, and inclusivity efforts, including: the appointment of Lina Patel to Director of Strategic Franchise Initiatives; the launch of RIDE; active participation in events such as the 2023 Latino Hotel Association Conference, NABHOOD’s 10th Annual International Multicultural & Heritage Tourism Summit & Trade Show and more; and the forthcoming SHE Leads Forum.

Manifold Real Estate plans to build a dual-tower proposal near the Austin Convention Center in Austin, Texas. The plans call for two towers, one 41 floors and the other 55 floors, and a mix of residential and other uses, including 856 apartments, a 216-room hotel, an eight-floor parking garage, an amenity deck, and some retail space. 

According to Mayor Clint Lamb, a hotel will be on the west side of the Sullivan Civic Center in Sullivan, Indiana. The project was finalized in 2019, but the COVID-19 pandemic stopped everything. Before the project was paused, Lamb partnered with Mike Hicks, owner of Hoosier Hospitality LLC. Hicks has since become a private investor and is funding the $8.5 million project. Groundbreaking is scheduled for later this fall, with building plans expected to take about 1 year to complete. The hotel will be four stories, have 65 rooms, and include an indoor pool, fitness center, and a patio connecting to the Civic Center. 

IHG Hotels & Resorts announced the ceremonial groundbreaking of two new Atwell Suites properties in Henderson, NV, and Fort Worth, TX. Both hotels are projected to open in mid-late 2024 and join a pipeline that will bring 35 additional properties and more than 3,500 rooms to the US in coming years. Atwell Suites Henderson is being built adjacent to The Pass Casino and America First Center and will have 90 guest suites, a pool and fitness center, a bar, and a TV lounge. DeSimone Companies is developing the property. Atwell Suites Fort Worth North will have 96 suites with amenities mirroring the Henderson property. The hotel will operate under Sequoia Hospitality, which also owns the adjacent Candlewood Suites property scheduled to break ground later this year.

A Cambria Hotel and an Even Hotel going up in East Waco must open by Friday or possibly lose millions in Tax Increment Funding dollars the city of Waco, Texas, pledged toward the project. According to the developer, KB Hotels, that opening will not take place, but the door is not closed on the possibility of another deadline extension. Kenny Bhakta of KB Hotels is building three hotels near or at the intersection of Bridge Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. Bhakta was first given a 2022 deadline to complete work on the three properties that combined would bring 361 new hotel rooms within walking distance of the Waco Convention Center. The latest news is that the 122-room Cambria Hotel will open sometime in September, the Even Hotel by the end of the year, and the Holiday Inn Express by the first part of next year. 

Indianapolis, Indiana, Mayor Joe Hogsett said a 32-story hotel and residential tower next to Old City Hall is what the city needs. Hogsett and Together, We Grow CEO Tony Knoble unveiled a proposal to build the tower next to Old City Hall. The tower will contain 150 hotel rooms, 190 apartments, condominiums, and roughly 8,000 square feet of retail space. Old City Hall would be converted into an art gallery connected to the tower. Construction is currently scheduled to begin at the end of 2024.

Cronheim Hotel Capital secured $20,200,000 for the Hilton Garden Inn in Wesley Chapel, Florida. The loan provided a refinance of maturing debt on the property. The Sponsor is a subsidiary of Nimbus Investment Fund, LP, an independent Emerald Hospitality Associates, Inc. affiliate. 

Europe Highlight

KE Hotels has secured the Oxford, UK Planning Committee approval for the refurbishment and extension of Linton Lodge Hotel to a 123-room, four-star boutique hotel that better meets the demands of the Oxford Market. Linton Lodge Hotel, set in the North Oxford suburb a mile from the city center, comprises two converted and extended Edwardian houses and provides 87 hotel rooms. The proposal removes and replaces out-of-date extensions with high-quality, sustainable new buildings to enhance the North Oxford Conservation Area.