Strong Recovery Indicators for Remainder of 2022

The DJIA dropped 1.54%, Nasdaq fell 2.84%, the S&P 500 declined 2.11% and the 10-year treasury yield rose slightly, to 3.76%.

After an outstanding summer of travel, Amadeus’ Agency360 and Demand360 data sources are showing strong recovery indicators for the remainder of 2022 and evidence of growing traveler confidence as the sector looks towards 2023. Amadeus’ in-depth Demand360 business intelligence data reveals that global hotel occupancy has exceeded pre-pandemic levels consistently throughout the summer. For July and August 2022, hotels have seen a global occupancy average of 67% compared with an average of 64% over the same timeframe in 2019. Mirroring the recovery of occupancy rates is the stabilization of booking lead times. 2022 now virtually matches the booking behaviors seen in 2019 with 53% of bookings made in the 0-7 day window versus 50% of bookings made in this timeframe in 2019. ADR also continues to trend positively for the fall season, exceeding 2019 for the remainder of 2022, and as usual, peaking around the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.

Group travel is set for a strong conference season in Q4. Global ground occupancy is consistently between 1-2% of pre-pandemic levels for the remainder of 2022 as the conference sector starts to rebound. Amadeus’s data shows that group bookings are now also starting to extend more confidently into 2023, with 4.3 million bookings already made for H1 2023. Business travel is also seeing a steady recovery as the year continues. 2022 is closing the gap to 2019 levels according to Amadeus’ Agency 360 data, which reveals that hotel bookings across all major global distribution systems have increased 98% in August 2022 compared to January 2022. 

Hilton announced the opening of its latest property, Tru by Hilton Lawrence located in Indianapolis, IN. The 96-room hotel is owned by Lawrence Hotel Group, LLC and managed by General Hotels Corporation. Tru by Hilton properties feature amenities such as a 2,880 square foot lobby, a 24/7 Eat. & Sip. Market, a social media wall, lobby tablets and fitness centers.

The property that operates as the Sonesta ES Suites Providence – Airport hotel in Warwick, RI was recently sold for $5.2 million. The property comprises seven two-story buildings. It was acquired earlier this month to Shivam RI Hotels, LLC by Hpt Ihg 2 Properties Trust, a company affiliated with Sonesta International Hotels Corp. Shivam RI Hotels is affiliated with Allstar Hotels LLC and Ronak Patel.

Service Properties Trust announced it entered into a purchase and sale agreement to sell 16 Marriott branded hotels totaling 2,155 keys for $137.3 million, excluding closing costs. SVC expects to close on the transaction in the fourth quarter of 2022. SVC said in connection with the previously planned marketing of 68 Sonesta-branded hotels, they sold 61 hotels totaling 7,751 keys for proceeds of $523.1 million. SVC entered into an agreement to sell six additional hotels totaling 790 keys for an aggregate sales price of $34.2 million, expected to close during the third and fourth quarters of 2022. SVC continues to market one additional 219-key Sonesta branded hotel.

InterContinental Buckhead Atlanta, in Atlanta, GA, announced the completion of a full-property reimagination. The first stage was completed in late May 2022 with the unveiling of Atlanta’s newest culinary hotspot; a redesign of the hotel’s lobby lounge; the addition of Caffe Americano; and a remodel of the extensive premier meetings and events space. Debuting this month, the second and final phase of the redesign includes the unveiling of a new 21^st floor InterContinental Club Lounge, Signature Suites and a rebrand of the hotel’s spa in partnership with Biologique Recherche.

IHG said they have fully restored service on its systems after the cyberattack they encountered earlier this month. IHG said they had reactivated its booking websites and mobile app together with most of its other booking channels and revenue-generating systems.

Langham Hospitality Group announced it will own and manage a new luxury hotel and branded residences in downtown Seattle, USA, slated to open in 2026. The Langham Seattle and The Langham Residences will be housed in a new 42-story building rising from the façade of the Terminal Sales Annex Building built in 1916, a designated Seattle Landmark. The Langham, Seattle will offer 187 guestrooms and suites. The property will include a cocktail bar at lobby level, restaurant, Chuan Spa and flexible meeting and banquet spaces.

Longtime developer Bo Aughtry has pitched building a new hotel just outside of the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center in Columbia, SC, but the city’s tourism leader and business leaders say it is far too small to support the needs of the venue. Aughtry’s planed hotel would be a Marriott with roughly 200 rooms built on property owned by the convention center. According to Experience Columbia CEO Bill Ellen, that’s about two-thirds the number of rooms that would be needed to support large events and an eventual expansion of the city’s convention venue. Aughtry has stressed the plan is still conceptual and no formal arrangements have been made.

A developer has submitted plans to the city of Mesa, AZ to build a hospitality campus to include three separate hotels to support Bell Bank Park in southeast Mesa. Tharaldson Hospitality is proposing building three hotels and two retail and restaurant buildings. In total, there would be 365 rooms on the site, as well as 7600 square feet for retail and restaurant uses. The branding for the hotels will be Residence Inn by Marriott, Home2 Suites by Hilton and Element by Marriott. All three hotels will be four stories tall and all will have outdoor pool areas. The property owner of the proposed-hotel parcel is Mesa BA Land LLC.

In Northport, NY, the Northport Hotel is getting closer to opening. The three-story boutique hotel, home to 26 luxury guestrooms and an Italian steakhouse, is expected to open in late 2022. The hotel owner is Kevin O’Neill.

The iconic El Cortez Hotel & Casino, a downtown Las Vegas landmark, announced the completion of a $3 million renovation of the 47 rooms, dubbed the Original 47. This was the final piece of the hotel’s $28 million property renovation that began in 2020. The property features over 364 rooms and a fitness center.

Europe Highlights

IHG Hotels & Resorts announced a multi-property development agreement with Grape Hospitality for five conversion properties in prime European destinations. The five properties include: the new voco Madrid Centre Retiro, the first voco hotel to open in Spain. The hotel is due to open in April 2024. Hotel Indigo Florence is set to open later this year with 160 bedrooms, conference facilities and a wellness center. Hotel Indigo Bordeaux will be the third Hotel Indigo-branded hotel to open in France. The 100-room property is due to open in May 2023. The 189-room Hotel Indigo Barcelona Gran Via Plaza Espana will be the second Hotel Indigo to open in Barcelona. The hotel will open in April 2024. The 168-room Crowne Plaza Madrid Centre Retiro will be the second Crowne Plaza property to open in Madrid. The hotel is due to open in April 2024.

Ennismore announced it had reached a significant milestone with the opening of its one hundredth property, the flagship SO/Paris. Ennismore has a strong growth pipeline with a further 160 hotels and branded residences in development, equating to over 26,000 rooms. Next Year, Ennismore is currently set to open over 35 hotels, including 21c Museum Hotel St. Louis; 25hours Hotel Sydney; Hyde Queenstown, Mama Shelter Dubai; Mondrian Bordeaux; SO/Uptown Dubai; TRIBE Bangkok; and The Hoxton, Brussels. 

Tivoli Hotels & Resorts announced its expansion in Europe with the brand’s upcoming debut in Spain. The luxury La Caleta Resort, located in Tenerife’s Costa Adeje which was previously operated under the Sheraton brand, is scheduled to relaunch as Tivoli La Caleta Resort in spring next year. The resort, which is currently closed and undergoing refurbishment, will reopen with 284 guest rooms, including 20 suites; four restaurants; two bars; ten meeting rooms; three pools; a fitness center; tennis and paddle tennis courts; and an Anantara Spa.

According to Skift, the owner of European vacation-rentals business Awaze is looking for a sale. Platinum Equity created Awaze after buying a selection of rental businesses from Wyndham Worldwide in 2018. The deal was worth $1.3 billion. Sky News has reported that Platinum Equity has appointed Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to oversee a strategic review of Awaze, with a price tag of up to $2.14 billion.

ICG Real Estate launched a new investment platform together with Pro-invest Group with a target to invest up to 500 million pounds. The joint venture will acquire hotel assets in London and other core-UK markets.