Choice Hotels Lays off Corporate Staff

B.Riley Securities cut their rating on Ashford Hospitality Trust to $2.50 from $3. They maintained their Neutral rating.

STR reported US lodging data for the week ended 11/18. US hotel RevPAR was up 6.3% for the week. Rates were up 7%, offsetting the -0.4% drop in occupancy. Group RevPAR was up 17.7% for the week.

Innisfree Hotels has completed the acquisition of the Hampton Inn & Suites by Hilton in St. Augustine-Vilano Beach, Florida, marking the company’s first hotel in the St. Augustine area. The 94-room property features EV chargers, an outdoor pool, a fitness center, public beach access, a meeting room, and a retail shop. Innisfree Hotels plans to make improvements throughout the property in 2024. A current renovation underway on the beach access area will add a pavilion for events, new restrooms, showers, and much more.

Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. completed the acquisition of the 192-room Embassy Suites by Hilton South Jordan Salt Lake City, in South Jordan, Utah, for approximately $36.8 million. As previously announced, the Company continues to have two additional hotels under contract for purchase: An Embassy Suites by Hilton currently under development in downtown Madison, Wisconsin, for an anticipated purchase price of approximately $78.6 million with an expected 260 rooms, which the Company anticipates acquiring in mid-2024 following completion of construction. A Motto by Hilton to be developed in downtown Nashville, Tennessee, for an anticipated purchase price of approximately $96.7 million with an expected 256 rooms, which the Company anticipates acquiring in 2025 following completion of construction.

A building that houses the Quality Inn and Suites in the Queensgate neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio will become a senior living facility. Central Cincinnati LLC, a subsidiary of Kiwi Hospitality, bought the 12-story property in 2019 and plans to rezone the site ahead of its conversion.

The Zoning Commission of Washington, Connecticut approved Erika and Matthew Kauer’s construction of an 81,000 square foot inn. The Wykeham Rise Inn will include a 52-room hotel, spa, 118-seat restaurant, and event space for up to 24 outdoor tents.

Ranchhod LLC purchased the 77-room Country Inn & Suites, in Smithfield, North Carolina, from Paradise LLC for $8.5 million.

JMA Ventures LLC and Machete Group are working with the Magic’s SED development LLC on a $500 million mixed-use project in downtown Orlando, Florida. The project includes a 260-room hotel with an outdoor lounge and pool deck, 16,000 square feet of meeting space and a restaurant. Above the hotel will be 270 apartments, a 3,500-capacity music venue and banquets space and 200,000 square feet of Class A office space. The building will have a rooftop amenity with event space totaling 6,000 square feet and will also include retail and dining space. The project is expected to break ground by the end of 2024 and be complete in late 2026.

Developer Prospera Hotel is planning to develop a new full-service hotel in Seattle, Washington. The proposed eight-story hotel will contain 194 guestrooms.

The Charles Hotel, in the heart of historic Cambridge, Massachusetts, has unveiled a series of new updates. The storied hotel has recently introduced an elevated collection of suites, a new al fresco drinking and dining spot One Reason Garden, and the highly anticipated reopening of celebrated jazz and music venue Regattabar.

Work repairing storm damage to the roof of the West Baden Hotel in Indiana is expected to last until at least May. According to the French Lick Resort, construction on the dome, which suffered significant hail damage during a June storm, began last month. The hotel has remained open during the construction.

Choice Hotels International is laying off 85 workers at its headquarters over the next two months. They posted a Work Adjustment and Retraining Notification with the state of Maryland saying 85 employees would be losing their jobs due to a “plant closure”. CHH listed the address where their new headquarters is in Federal Realty Investment Trust’s Pike & Rose development in North Bethesda. CHH would only tell the Washington Business Journal that the layoffs are due to the company expanding a relationship with an unnamed third-party revenue management company.

Europe Highlights

The Park Hotel in Kenmare in County Kerry, Ireland, owned by Francis and John Brennan, has been sold to Bryan Meehan. The hotel had been put up for sale in May with a price tag of €17m. The 41-room Park Hotel Kenmare has five dining options, a lap pool, an infinity pool, a private cinema, and a luxury spa.

Como Hotels & Resorts announced the December 7th opening of the Como Alpina Dolomites, a year-round resort, located in Northern Italy’s South Tyrol. The 60-room ski-in/ski-out property features multiple dining options, and the Como Shambhala Retreat with indoor and outdoor pools, sauna, relaxation zones, a fitness center, and a beauty salon.

Host AB sold a 51% stake in a property subsidiary to Gelba Fastigheter. The subsidiary consists of eight regional Swedish First Hotels, with 967 rooms. Among these, four hotels are situated in the southern part of Sweden, while the remaining four are located in the northern region from Sundsvall to Ornskoldfsvik. Several of these properties hold significant potential for development. Additionally, the Host’s bond loans have been refinanced. Colliers has acted as the financial advisor to Host Property AB in connection with the transaction.

Marriott unveiled the new “European Spirit” design for its Courtyard brand, following the renovation of its property in Berlin City Center, Germany. The hotel re-imagined its lobby area, The Market, and added a communal table for guests along with Media Pods offering semi-private workspaces. All of the hotel’s room have been redesigned and the fitness center has also been upgraded with new Technogym equipment, a weightlifting area, and a hydration station. Five additional European hotels are set to feature the new design by next year, with openings in Biel/Bienne in Switzerland, Yerevan in Armenia, Lyon in France, and Milan Linate and Turin in Italy.