Wyndham and Hyatt Earnings Tripped Up in New Ways

The DJIA was up 349 points while Nasdaq was up 47 and the S&P 500 rose 29 points. The 10-year treasury yield was down .03 to 4.24% and lodging stocks were higher. ABNB was up 6% to a new high while H also hit a new 52-week high water mark, up 5%. RHP was the other one that traded up to a new high. BHRwas the big winner, up 13% while SOND was up 10% and SVC rose 5% on the day.

Wyndham, on the surface, had their typical quarter, in-line with estimates, raised their dividend by 9% and bought back $127 million worth of stock. There was no update on Choice raising their offer but WH did say fighting off CHH is going to cost them about $75 million. JP Morgan said WH’s development pipeline was up 1% sequentially, indicating to them that hotel owners/developers have put WH in the “time-out chair” because of CHH’s hostile offer. Other analysts praised WH for keeping the pipeline growing despite the CHH distraction.

Hyatt gave a late-night press release that their 4Q results would be delayed because they have not finalized accounting relating to ALG’s Unlimited Vacation Club deferred cost activity. The update they gave on 4Q was good enough that for the first time we have ever seen, a delay in results due to accounting was met with an increase in the stock, not a decline. RevPAR growth of 9.1% in 4Q was way ahead of consensus and pushed FY23 RevPAR up above estimates. Free cash flow was also up while H confirmed $500 million in capital returns for the year.

Ashford Hospitality Trust said they expect Adjusted EBITDAre of 61.6 million to $63.6 million for 4Q23 and AFFO of a loss of -$14.2 million to -$12.2 million. For the full year 2023, AHT expects AFFO of $25.4 million to $27.4 million.

An excerpt from Travel Weekly quoted STR that New York enjoyed the highest December occupancy of any top 25 market in the U.S. at 86.6%. The city’s ADR also surged in December, rising nearly 11% to $393, while RevPAR shot up 15%. That compares with a national December RevPAR average increase of just 0.3%. The spikes coincide with a plummeting of availability for short-term rentals of 30 days or fewer, which went from approximately 13,500 listings in August to under 3,000 in December, according to data from AirDNA, due to a New York City law enacted last year that made rental requirements much more onerous for hosts.

The total number of hotel rooms in Acapulco, available until before the passage of “Otis”, will be ready by the end of the year, according to Santos Ramirez, the Secretary of Tourism of Guerrero, Mexico. Acapulco will have the number of hotels complete by the third quarter, and the number of rooms will take the whole year. As of the second week of February, there are 7,100 rooms available. According to Datatur data, before the hurricane hit in October 2023, there was an average of 21,560 rooms available in the port. Although some of the hotels are already open, the supply of rooms varies from one hotel to another, as hoteliers are reopening rooms gradually. One of the other factors that are hindering Acapulco’s tourism recovery is air connectivity. International flights are still suspended, and the domestic supply is expected to reach 80% during Easter Week.

CBRE is forecasting RevPAR will continue to grow steadily in 2024, driven by improving group business, inbound international travel, and traditional transient business demand. CBRE forecasts a 3.0% increase in RevPAR growth in 2024, with occupancy improving by 45 bps and ADR increasing by 2.3%. CBRE’s baseline forecast anticipates GDP growth of 1.6% and average inflation of 2.5% in 2024. Given the typically strong correlation between GDP and RevPAR growth, the relative strength of the economy will directly impact the performance of the lodging industry. CBRE expects muted supply growth in the medium term due to elevated financing and construction costs, as well as the limited availability of properties that can be purchased below replacement costs. For 2024, CBREexpects supply growth of just under 1%, with hotel supply projected to maintain a compound annual growth rate of 0.87% over the next three years.

An eight-story will open in downtown Sacramento, California in early March. The 179-room AC Hotel Sacramento will feature the AC Kitchen, AC Lounge, onsite laundry, and a fitness center.

Dimension Hospitality added the Fairfield Inn and Suites by Marriott Columbus East to its portfolio of managed hotels. The hotel is in the final stages of a multi-million-dollar renovation including updated guestrooms; upgraded bathrooms; public space improvements including a new breakfast area, lobby décor, and a refreshed Corner Market. Located in Reynoldsburg, a suburb of East Columbus, Ohio, the 83-room hotel also features an indoor pool and a fitness center.

The Legacy at Medina Square, a 78-room hotel and event center in downtown Medina, Ohio, expects to break ground in March or April. Developed by Jason Stevenson, the $22 million project will offer a boardroom, a wedding venue, and a fine dining restaurant. The Legacy at Medina Square will be an independent boutique hotel and event center. It is set to open in the spring of 2025 and will be a Tribute Portfolio Hotel, part of the Marriott Group.

Dan Mathieson, the former mayor of Stratford, Ontario, Canada, recently purchased the Queen’s Inn, in Stratford, that will soon be remained as part of a $5 million project with the Marriott Group. First established as the Queen’s Arms Hotel, the building will undergo a transformation into a 31-room boutique hotel called the Queen’s Cue Marriott Tribute Hotel. The property will close in the early spring with a grand re-opening scheduled for mid-2025. Crescent Hotels and Resorts will manage the inn, while Jay Ford, whose family ran the business for nearly 30 years, will handle the Board’s Head pub which will remain open during renovations and get a few changes of its own.

In Lake City, Florida, the Courtyard by Marriott, remains under construction as the hotel’s management team looks to open in May. The six-story, 136-room hotel is owned by Mahendra Patel, Dr. Mihesh Patel and Janak Shukla. The Morpheus Group will be the management team behind operating the new hotel, while Oasis Lake City LLC is the development group. The hotel will offer a 616 square foot meeting room, a boardroom, a lounge with a bar, a restaurant, fitness center, outdoor pool, and an onsite laundry facility.

Monroe Hospitality LLC purchased land in downtown Charlotte, North Carolina at the site of the former Hotel Joffre and is planning to build a Marriott Autograph or Hilton Curio hotel. Amenities would include a rooftop bar, restaurant, conference facilities, and a spa. Construction is set to begin within 30 months and be completed in 4 years’ time.

The Hampton Inn & Suites near downtown Bellevue, Washington has sold for $30 million. Palmetto Hospitality, an affiliate of OTO Development, is listed as the seller for the 128-room hotel. The buyer is a Richland-based LLC that shares an address with Ignite Hotels.

Hyatt Hotels Corporation announced the opening of Thompson Houston, the brand’s fourth property in Texas. The new-build hotel features 172 guestrooms, including 34 suites; a rooftop infinity pool with cabanas and greenspace; a Thompson Spa with six treatment suites, indoor and outdoor relaxation areas, saunas, a salon, and a fitness center; multiple culinary offerings; and more than 17,000 square feet of flexible indoor and outdoor event space including an 8,000 square foot ballroom.

IHG Hotels & Resorts recently opened a new-build Holiday Inn Express & Suites hotel in the London, Ontario suburb of St. Thomas. The hotel boasts 95 guestrooms, more than 2,000 square feet of meeting and event space, an indoor pool and hot tub, and a fitness center. Holiday Inn Express & Suites St. Thomas is owned by Railway City Hospitality Inc.

With a new owner planning significant renovations, the historic Rosario Resort and Spa, on Orcas Island in Washington, will temporarily close starting next week. The sale closes February 29th and the new owner plans a substantial upgrade beginning with the Moran Mansion, which includes a restaurant, lounge, spa, and museum. The marina and grounds will remain open.

What started as a closure for a few weeks to contain the spread of COVID-19, has turned into four years for the Four Seasons Resort The Biltmore Santa Barbara. The resort’s owner, Ty Warner, used the closure as an opportunity to renovate the property, as his company also did to the adjacent Coral Casino Beach and Cabana Club. While The Biltmore is supposed to open this fall, it recently applied for permits for renovations, which include turning guestrooms into retail space, changing landscaping to bring more light into the cottage bungalows, and a new guard shack. Other permit applications have been to redo blocks of guestrooms, the onsite restaurants, and back-of-house facilities such as the laundry area. Guestrooms in nine buildings would be renovated, including exterior door and window changes, and interior changes would result in reducing the number of guestrooms to 192.

Lark Hotels, announced the expansion of its Stowe, Vermont, mountain base-camp Talta Lodge a Bluebird by Lark, with nine new freestanding suite offerings dubbed Stugas (cottages). These accommodations join Talta Lodge’s additional 52 guestrooms and suites, and sprawling common spaces, including an indoor heated pool, outdoor hot tub, yoga room, sauna, plenty of gear storage, and new onsite bar.

JLL’s Capital Markets group secured the $395 million refinancing of 70 Pine Street, a 66-story, mixed-use property with multi-housing rental, retail, and hotel space located in a landmarked building in the Financial District of New York City. JLL worked on behalf of the borrowers, DTH Capital and Rose Associates, to secure financing through Goldman Sachs. 70 Pine Street boasts 612 luxury rental residences, a fitness center, children’s playroom, co-working and lounge spaces. The 165-key Mint House hotel occupies floors two through six of the property. 70 Pine Street also features two restaurants, a gourmet market, beauty salon, coffee shop, and quick-service restaurant.

Club Med starts the year on a high note with a variety of new developments including major renovations to Club Med Cancun, a name change to the brand’s first South Africa resort, the implementation of generative AI to enhance guest and employee experiences, the full expansion of its Wellness Fusion program to all North American resorts, ongoing corporate social responsibility initiatives, and a winter sun & ski sale. Club Med Cancun will undergo extensive renovations with enhancements to its Family Oasis, set to be complete in December 2024 and the addition of a Sports & Wellness Island in April 2024. The all-inclusive resort will remain open throughout the renovations. This year marks the final expansion of Club Med’s Wellness Fusion program across seven North American properties including Club Med Turkoise and Club Med Punta Cana. Combining a harmonious fusion of wellness experiences designed to harness ultimate peace of mind, the Wellness Fusion program offers guests a well-rounded itinerary filled with healthy nutrition, yoga, active sports, spa relaxation, and nature reconnection. Opening in 2026, Club Med’s first resort in South Africa is now officially named Club Med South Africa Beach & Safari. Formerly referred to as Club Med Tinley, the 80-room game lodge will include an Exclusive Collection space providing a 5-star oasis of tranquility and indulgence to complement the pristine nature environment, along with a spa, fitness center, yoga school, and adults-only Zen pool and park. Club Med announced its integration of Generative Artificial Intelligence. The new AI technology, which uses existing content to learn and create new content, will accompany Club Med’s in-house data management platform, Data Factory, and streamline activity for teams and customers worldwide.

A portfolio of 17 UK Hilton, Marriott, and IHG franchised hotels, managed by Valor Hospitality Partners, has transitioned to ownership by ProsperCap Corporation Limited. The hotels were previously owned by DTP Inter Holdings Corporation, a subsidiary of DTGO Corporation Limited, which holds a controlling stake in ProsperCap. Valor Hospitality will continue to provide operating and strategic services to assist ProsperCap’s planned international expansion.