Hospitality Ventures Management's Expanded Portfolio

The DJIA jumped 224 points while Nasdaq rose 173, the S&P 500 was up 37 points and the 10-year treasury yield was down .05 to 4.09%. After a very rough start to the year, January is going to end higher with today’s trading taking the indexes to new highs. Lodging stocks were higher. SLNA was up another 38%, this time a whole $0.105 per share. SOND was up 8% on the day.

Barclays gave a 4Q earnings preview for the lodging sector. Barclays expects more or less in-line reports and FY24 guides. They believe 2023 ended and 2024 began with softer RevPAR trends. They expect +2-4% FY24 US RevPAR growth guidance from the upper chain scale players with their estimates near the midpoint of the range. That would be meaningful deceleration year over year on tough comps but more or less in line with consensus. Barclays is bullish on net unit growth acceleration in 2024 and pipeline updates in January were solid. They are remaining selective on lodging stocks until they see a bottoming in US RevPAR growth. Barclays prefers Hilton for NUG acceleration in 2024 and 2025. They upped target prices on MAR, HLT, H, CHH on the former macro backdrop and broader market strength.

Deutsche Bank said they still do not sense a lot of conviction regarding the next move in the currently lodging cycle. 2024 is looking to them like the most normal year they have had since 2019 but that doesn’t tell them much about what happens next. DB believes investors remain divided on one key topic as it pertains to hotel REITs. Depending on who you talk to on the macroeconomic outlook we are either nearing the end of a cycle (recession coming) or in the early to middle stages of a new, post-Covid cycle (soft landing). DB said they are a bit more bullish on 2024 RevPAR growth than the average industry observer but they expect 2024 to be a year where there continues to be a wider than usual level of outcomes when it comes to RevPAR performance by segment and by market. They favor HST, PK and RHP.

According to the year-end Lodging Econometrics Construction Pipeline Trend Report for Canada, the country ended 2023 at 294 projects and 38,396 rooms, up 10% by projects and 7% by rooms, year over year.

Canadian Pipeline by Status Q4 2023

Canadian Pipeline by Tier Q4 2023

Canadian Pipeline by Province Q4 2023

Canadian Pipeline by City Q4 2023

Canadian Pipeline by Year

Hospitality Ventures Management added 15 new hotels in 2023 to its portfolio of select-service, full-service and resort properties. Most of these additions are Marriott, Hilton, and Hyatt brands. For the year, HVMG achieved a company-wide 112% market share and same-store, year over year RevPAR Index growth of 4.8%. In addition, HVMG achieved a flow-through of 39% of its increase in total revenue to the GOP line, compared to the industry average of 20%. Despite the slow-down in the transaction market, the company’s pipeline remains very active, primarily with owners who are in the process of making or evaluating a change in operators.

Aloft Hotels by Marriott at Fort Lauderdale Airport, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, held a grand opening event for the 138-room hotel. The airport hotel offers a meeting room and business center, a cabana-equipped rooftop pool deck, pool, firepit, fitness studio, yoga terrace, a gaming area and laundry facilities. The lobby includes a bar, outdoor terrace and a branded breakfast bar. Aloft Hotels by Marriott at Fort Lauderdale Airport is managed by Green Park Management.

The RADCO Companies completed a comprehensive renovation of the Courtyard by Marriott St. Petersburg Downtown hotel in St. Petersburg, Florida. RADCO has selected TPG Hotels & Resorts to manage the property. The transformation encompasses the guestrooms, communal areas, historic lobby, bistro dining space and meeting areas.

Related Cos. wants to build a second, 400-room Hilton hotel at the convention center in West Palm Beach, Florida. The hotel would be built on a parking lot Related owns next to the hotel. Related plans to move as quickly as possible on the new Hilton hotel and start construction early in 2025, with completion set for 2027. The hotel is slated to rise 20 stories, but could be lower if the hotel can lease 600 spaces in the convention center parking garage.

Two Lafayette, Louisiana hotels have been sold at a combined price tag of over $25 million. AVR Realty sold both properties. The company sold the Homewood Suites Lafayette to OM Shanti OM Thirteen LLC for $11.75 million while a Home2 Suites was purchased by OM Shanti OM Twelve LLC for $13.75 million.

IHG Hotels Resorts recently opened a newly rebranded and converted Holiday Inn Express & Suites hotel in Zion, Illinois. The Holiday Inn Express & Suites Zion is owned by MSD Hotels LLC, managed by UpNext Hospitality and features an onsite business center.

Construction is progressing on 224 West 47th Street, a 25-story hotel tower at the northern end of Times Square in Manhattan. Developed by McSam Hotel Group, the project involves the conversion and expansion of an 11-story bank building into a 136-room Cambria Suites hotel. GK West 47th LLC is listed as the owner. YIMBY anticipates 224 West 47th Street will complete construction sometime near the end of the year.

The iconic Phoenix Hotel, in San Francisco, California, is one the market with a $15 million price tag, paving the way for a major residential development in San Francisco’s Civic Center neighborhood. The property is zoned to build up to eight stories high and could accommodate up to 450 units with the state’s density bonus. Newmark is serving as the exclusive advisor to the Seller. The hotel currently operates under a lease to Bunkhouse Hotels that doesn’t expire until September 30, 2025.

A proposed riverfront hotel, in an unincorporated county outside Sebastian, Florida city limits, appears to be closing in on county approval, with groundbreaking anticipated this summer. Wynne Building Corporation is proposing an 82-room Hampton Inn with 83 parking spaces.

A boutique hotel with rooftop pickle ball courts is planned for a vacant site in Seattle’s Interbay neighborhood. Plans were filed for the five-story hotel with 22 suites and 19 pickle ball courts, in addition to a restaurant, bar, pro-shop and locker rooms. The property is owned by Interbay Urban Investors.

Charlotte Douglas International Airport officials unveiled plans for CLT Destination District. The proposed district could include two hotels, nine food and beverage establishments, plus a brewery, a gas station, medical office, pharmacy, and a convenience store. It would also have space for the LYNX Silver Line. The airport does not intend to invest in the project beyond providing the land. The airport will request Charlotte City Council approval of the proposed agreement with the selected developer(s) this fall. After that, it’s a 15-18 month process to get everything up and running, meaning you could expect businesses to open in 2026.

The Lodge at Mammoth Cave in Mammoth Cave, Kentucky, is opening again after a two-year renovation project is nearing completion. The project includes a newly remodeled lobby, a slightly pitched roof, new energy-efficient windows and increased insulation in the roof and walls. While there is still some work to be done, the lobby, gift shop and Lantern café portions are now open to the public. Work is being done on a sit-down restaurant, a new coffee shop they are hoping to have open by the end of the month. The remodel also includes the update of the building’s exterior façade and four remodeled ADA-accessible hotel rooms, a conference room and two remodeled restrooms.

Voters in Gretna, Nebraska will have a major say in whether a $3.2 billion proposal moves forward to expand the Nebraska Crossing mall into a major destination for shoppers, tourists and sports training, according to a bill introduced last week in the Nebraska Legislature. Officials with Nebraska Crossing are planning a wellness center, a resort, and a $1 billion, 500-acre youth sports academy and tournament venue. The expansion has been touted as creating a whole new community with 3,000 apartment units, a cluster of big-box retailers, as well as 1,000 hotel beds for shoppers, and families coming for youth sports tournaments.

In December, Peachtree Group achieved a significant milestone by securing $150 million in CPACE financing, approaching $0.75 billion completed since its inception in 2019. For the year, Peachtree Group completed 23 commercial property assessed clean energy financing transactions across the U.S. for a total of approximately $250 million in directly originated and balance-sheet funded CPACE financing. Notable hospitality CPACE transactions completed this year include: The Thompson, Palm Springs, California; El Caminante, Dana Point, California; The Marriott Tribute Hotel, St. Augustine, Florida; Palihotel, San Francisco, California; and DoubleTree by Hilton Youngstown Downtown, Youngstown, Ohio.

Personnel News

Simon Casson, the previous Europe, Middle East and Africa president of Four Seasons, has been hired by Corinthia Hotels as CEO to lead the company back to profitability. Casson steps into the luxury hotel owner-operator while it is still reeling from the pandemic. Corinthia Hotels is under a holding investment group with eight luxury hotels around the world and another eight in the pipeline. Based in London, Casson officially starts the role in April and will be working with the team to elevate the company in the luxury space and grow the brand in key markets. Corinthia owns a majority of its eight hotels but is now going into an asset-light model, focusing on a growth strategy through management agreements. Upcoming hotels could be in Rome, New York, Doha, Riyadh, Maldives and Bucharest.

Millennium Hospitality Real Estate CEO Javier Illan resigned from his role, having lost the trust of the board of directors. According to the company, the board has unanimously agreed to accept the resignation of Illan as president & CEO, and appoint its independent director Luis Basagoiti as a replacement. Basagoiti has been a member of the board since May 2022. He has previously held CEO and general director roles at companies such as Mapfre Inmuebles, Reyal, Metrovacesa and Iberdrola Inmobiliaria.

The American Hotel & Lodging Association announced its 2024 officers, Executive Committee, and Board of Directors. Kevin Jacobs, Hilton’s Chief Financial Officer and President, Global Development, was named chair of the board; Vision Hospitality Group President & CEO Mitch Patel was named vice chair; Marriott International Group President, U.S. & Canada Liam Brownwas named secretary/treasurer; and IHG Hotels & Resorts Chief Development Officer, Americas Julienne Smith was named chair of the AHLA Foundation Board of Trustees. Jacobs succeeds RLJ Lodging Trust President & CEO Leslie D. Hale, who served as AHLA’s board chair in 2023 and will continue on the board as immediate past chair. Pebblebrook Hotel Trust Chairman & CEO Jon Bortz continues as chair of the HotelPAC Advisory Council, and AHLA President and CEO Chip Rogers continues as president and CEO of the board.

International News

Motto by Hilton announced the opening of Motto by Hilton Cusco, in Cusco, Peru, a more than $5 million investment in the center of the Imperial City. The 58-room hotel features the Motto Commons and The Dig restobar.