Hilton Grand Vacations to Buy Bluegreen Vacations

The DJIA was up 35 points, Nasdaq was up 41, The S&P 500 rose 8 points and the 10 year treasury yield was up .10 to 4.66%. Lodging stocks were all over the place.  HGV and BVH led the trading with BVH up 107% and HGV down -8%.  VCSA was up 10%, VAC traded down to another new low, AHT was down -8% and PLYA fell -6% on the day.

Hilton Grand Vacations Inc. has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Bluegreen Vacations for $75 per share in an all-cash transaction, representing a total consideration of approximately $1.5 billion, inclusive of net debt. The acquisition will increase HGV’s membership base from more than 525,000 to more than 740,000 and its resort portfolio from 150 to nearly 200 properties in 14 new geographies and eight new states. The transaction is expected to close during the first half of 2024 and $100 million in projected cost synergies are expected to be achieved in the first 24 months. The acquisition is also expected to expand and diversify HGV’s lead flow through Bluegreen Vacations’ partnership including an exclusive marketing agreement with Bass Pro Shops. Expanding on Bluegreen Vacations’ existing relationship, HGV also announced it has signed a new 10-year exclusive marketing agreement with Bass Pro Shops. HGV’s management team, including President and CEO Mark Wang, CFO Dan Mathewes, and COO Gordon Gurnik, will continue to serve in their current roles upon transaction close.

Simultaneous with the HGV/BVH announcement, HGV also announced 3Q results. While 3Q was modestly ahead of estimates, they guided lower for 4Q, way lower. HGV bought back 1.5 million shares in the quarter for $64 million.

According to the Portland Business Journal in Oregon, Sortis Holdings is not closing on their planned purchase of Ace Hotels. The reason is partly due to the increase in interest rates making borrowing for the deal too expensive but the article said Ace has lost too many management contracts since they struck a deal. Sortis was to pay $85 million to buy Ace Group International and management firm Atelier Ace.

HEI Hotels & Resorts has assumed management of the 317-room Renaissance Times Square hotel, located in New York City, recently acquired by Newbond and Apollo Global Management.

The TownePlace Suites and SpringHill Suites by Marriott held its grand opening in Canfield, Ohio. Located in the Westford Lifestyle Community, the property has 101 extended-stay suites, an in-house Bistro, fitness center, pool and a business center.

Midland Development Corp. board members will hear from DoubleTree by Hilton officials about a renovation project to the downtown hotel. DoubleTree officials will ask assistance in the amount of $15 million from the Midland Development Corp. and the City of Midland, Texas. These funds, along with $2.5 million from DoubleTree ownership will be used to complete property renovation of the 261-room hotel, including renovation of guest rooms, lobby, meeting space, restaurants, Starbucks Kiosk Coffee Shop, bars, pool, gym and all public areas. It will also including bringing in fiber optics and other necessary infrastructure upgrades to bring the building up to where it needs to be. 

The Andaz Hotel Ottawa in the ByWard Market is looking to expand and is seeking approval to demolish a building on York Street in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The new development would replace the two-story building and the parking lot behind it with a 106-unit hotel expansion with a ballroom.  Parking would be underground. The proposal is smaller than one Claridge Homes pitched in 2018, a 19-story addition with 140 hotel rooms. 

The $16 million, 98-room Tru Hotel by Hilton being developed by the Raines Company, in North Augusta, South Carolina, is now accepting bookings for early January.  The hotel is part of Meybohm Realty’s Walnut Village development. 

Hyatt Hotels Corporation and Parks Hospitality Holdings announced a collaboration to expand Hyatt’s brand footprint in Mexico with the development of four new properties in key destinations in Mexico, including Mexico City, Los Cabos, and Cancun. Parks Hospitality Holdings investment includes the Park Hyatt Cancun slated to open in 2025. Also opening in 2025, the 287-room Grand Hyatt Mexico Santa Fe, the first urban Grand Hyatt property in Mexico and the second Grand Hyatt hotel in the region. The 300-room Grand Hyatt Los Cabos is slated to open in 2026 within the OLEADA Pacific Living & Golf private resort community and opening less than 10 minutes from Cancun International Airport, in late 2026, is the 156-room Hyatt Place Cancun Airport. 

Heritage Hotels & Resorts announced the opening of a luxury spa inside Hotel Chaco in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Alongside the spa, the 118-room hotel features a rooftop restaurant, an art gallery and a retail shop.

Dollywood’s HeartSong Lodge & Resort celebrated it grand opening in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. The resort’s amenities include The Cove outdoor pool including a splash pad and hot tub, several unique dining options and 26,000 square feet of flexible indoor and outdoor meeting space.

The Palmetto Hotel, in Charleston, South Carolina, has unveiled its penthouse suite, wrapping up the final piece of a property-wide renovation that started last year. Formerly, The Saint, the 45-room property was rebranded and opened in March under new ownership. The 800-sqaure foot penthouse features a private rooftop terrace and a full wet-bar.

The Postmark Hotel opening is being moved to 2024. Located on Historic Main Street in downtown Newmarket, Ontario, the hotel has maintained construction for several months, but after targeting to open this year, it announced this month that opening would be delayed. 

Paramount Lodging Advisors have transacted 30 Extended Stay America assets year to date. They are under contract on another 15 economy extended-stay properties slated to close by year end. PLA announced the sale of the Marriott-branded Renaissance Hotel situated minutes from Chicago O’Hare International Airport. The 362-key Renaissance Hotel features over 9,000 square feet of meeting space and an onsite restaurant. Paramount Lodging Advisors also announced the sale of the Comfort Suites Johnson Creek, Wisconsin. PLA represented the seller in this transaction. The hotel offers 100 suites and 10 meeting and event rooms totaling over 12,000 square feet of space.

Cronheim Hotel Capital secured $248.5 million financing on behalf of stayAPT Suites and its affiliates for a senior secured term loan facility.  The facility encompasses over 40 operating and planned locations across the United States.

JLL’s Hotels & Hospitality group arranged a new $215 million five-year fixed rate term loan to refinance the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown, a 1,408-key hotel in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. JLL represented a joint venture between funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management, L.P. and Clearview Hotel Capital, LLC. Barclays, Wells Fargo, and J.P. Morgan were the lenders.  The hotel consists of a 1,198-key main tower and the 210-key historic Headhouse Tower, over 93,000 square feet of meeting space spread across 72 event venues, a lobby lounge, restaurant and new pub, indoor pool, and a fitness center.

St. Martins La Samanna, A Belmond Hotel is reopening this month on St. Martin after the completion of a renovation project. Celebrating its 50th year, the luxury resort has re-imagined eight of its Pool Villas which include wraparound terraces, fully-renovated kitchens, and private gardens with infinity pools. 

Europe Highlights

In Ireland, the Westin Dublin hotel has swapped brands inside Marriott and has become part of the Autograph Collection. The new name is The College Green Hotel Dublin, Autograph Collection. The hotel was converted from three historic buildings and has recently had a full renovation. Changes included an expansion of the Atrium Lounge, the creation of a new Library Lounge and 19 additional bedrooms have been added. 

1 Hotels and SH Hotels & Resorts announced the official opening of 1 Hotel Mayfair, its UK flagship and first European destination, developed in collaboration with Crosstree Real Estate Partners.  The hotel features 181 guestroom including 44 suites, The Bamford Wellness Spa, The Field House Fitness Centre, and several restaurants and bar concepts. 

Petit Palace shareholders postponed the sale of 35 hotels. The hotels, which Hotelatelier operated under the brands Petit Palace (28 of them) and Icon (7) will remain, for now, in the hands of the four main shareholders of the company: Kartesia Securities, Kias Investments, Mino de Seguros Santa, and Inversiones El Piles. Hotelatelier has not been able to close any deal and the company’s results have exceeded expectations in the last year and a half.  Sources close to the sale process point to two reasons for the suspension of the sale:  the explosive recovery of tourism throughout 2023 and the lack of offers that reached the price set by the owners. 

A historic hotel in West Cornwall, UK has been put on the market for £7m.  Knight Frank will be handling the sale of the Budock Vean Hotel & Estate which sits within 46 acres of woodland and features a golf course, indoor heated pool, two tennis courts, and a health spa with treatment rooms, sauna and outdoor hot tub.