Hilton Increases Canadian Portfolio

The DJIA was down 11 points, Nasdaq was up 5, the S&P 500 was down 2 points and the 10-year treasury yield continued marching higher, up another .05 to 4.42%. Lodging stocks were mixed. SOND was up another 17%, still way behind their highs but at least they are giving it the old college try. The opposite is SLNA down another -27%, touching the 3 cent number today, another all-time low.

The World Travel & Tourism Council’s 2024 Economic Impact Research revealed that the U.S. Travel & Tourism sector has contributed more to the U.S. economy than any previous year on record, despite the slower return of international visitor spend. According to WTTC’s research, in 2023 the Travel & Tourism sector’s GDP contribution grew by 7% to reach a total of $2.36TN, exceeding the previous year record by $100BN. Sector jobs rose by 656,000 to reach 18MN across the country, breaking the previous record of 17.4MN. Domestic visitors spent $1.37TN last year, up more than 9% from the previous peak in 2019, however, international visitor spending was still more than a quarter behind the same 2019 peak at $156.1BN. WTTC is forecasting that the sector will grow its GDP contribution to more than $2.5TN in 2024, 9% of the U.S. economy, and is projected to employ 18.8MN people across the country. Domestic visitor spending is anticipated to continue growing, to reach $1.43TN, beating the 2019 record by almost 14%, however international visitor spending is forecast to still be behind 2019 levels. WTTC is projecting international visitor spending to remain more than $20BN behind its previous peak.

Hilton announced its continued momentum in Canada. With nearly 20 deals signed in 2023, Hilton’s Canada pipeline consists of approximately 90 hotels and more than 11,000 rooms and will introduce Spark by Hilton and Motto by Hilton into Canada in 2024. Hilton will soon surpass 200 hotels in Canada and plans to increase its portfolio of hotels by 50% over the next several years. In 2023, Hilton opened Canopy by Hilton Toronto - Yorkville, marking the debut of the Canopy by Hilton brand in Canada. The company also signed five new deals including Motto by Hilton Montreal Downtown, the first Motto by Hilton in Canada. In 2024, Revery Toronto Downtown, Curio Collection by Hilton will be the second of its brand in Canada. In the next five years, Hilton plans to triple its presence in the lifestyle category with new hotels planned in destinations including Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, Niagara Falls and more. In 2023, Hilton signed six new deals under its Spark by Hilton brand, with plans to ignite growth in Canada in 2024 with the opening of four new properties including Spark by Hilton Toronto Markham, Spark by Hilton Oshawa, Spark by Hilton Woodstock, and Spark by Hilton Owen Sound. In 2023, Hilton opened five focused-service hotels including Tru by Hilton Toronto Airport and four properties under the Hampton by Hilton in downtown Toronto, Cornwall, Hamilton and Midland. Tru is driving growth with a footprint set to expand from three hotels to more than 15. Additionally, with 70 open hotels and upwards of 25 in design or construction, Hampton is on track to reach the 100th hotel milestone in the next five years. In Canada, Hilton currently has more than 30 extended-stay properties, with another 20 hotels in the pipeline. The category’s momentum is led by the Home2 Suites by Hilton brand. In 2023, Hilton opened Home2 Suites by Hilton Huntsville, Home2 Suites by Hilton Quebec City, QC and Home2 Suites by Hilton Thunder Bay and signed five new deals. In 2024, Home2 Suites by Hilton Kingston and Home2 Suites Kitchener will open. With over 20 DoubleTree by Hilton hotels in operation and more than seven in the pipeline, DoubleTree by Hilton continues to be the driver of growth in the full-service category in Canada. In 2023, Hilton signed DoubleTree by Hilton Brome Missisquoi Resort in Quebec and in 2024, DoubleTree by Hilton Kingston and DoubleTree by Hilton West Kelowna are expected to open.

Marriott International announced the opening of its first all-inclusive resort, the Marriott Cancun, An All-Inclusive Resort, in the Quintana Roo region of Mexico. The 450-room resort includes nine specialty restaurants; unique daily pop-up experiences; exciting water features, such as a lazy river and water slides; and a variety of special entertainment.

Hyatt Hotels Corporation announced the opening of the all-inclusive Dreams Estrella del Mar Mazatlan Golf & Spa Resort, marking the first Hyatt hotel in Mazatlan, Mexico. The resort boasts 358 suites, Preferred Club Lounge, four a la carte restaurants, a grill, an international buffet, and an ice cream booth, as well as five bars and lounges; onsite water park with a lazy river; Explorer’s Club for Kids; Core Zone Teens Club; a convention center; expansive grounds for outdoor functions; a clubhouse; and the adjacent Estrella del Mar Golf Course.

Rockpoint and Highgate announced the sale of the Scottsdale Plaza Resort and Villas, a historic hotel in the heart of Paradise Valley, Arizona. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The Scottsdale Plaza Resort and Villas boasts 404 guestrooms, more than 50,000 square feet of event space, five pools, tennis courts, a fitness center, and spa amenities. Newmark acted as broker for Rockpoint and Highgate on this transaction.

LBA Hospitality has been selected by BPR Properties to assume full management responsibilities for their complete portfolio of hotels. Over the past three months, LBA Hospitality has successfully added eight additional BPR Properties to its management portfolio, bringing the total number of BPR hotels managed by LBA to sixteen. Additionally, BPR has a robust development pipeline that will be opened and managed by LBA in the coming months.

IHG Hotels & Resorts announced the opening of the new Holiday Inn Club Vacations Myrtle Beach Oceanfront Resort along the South Carolina coast. The first fully new-build Holiday Inn Club Vacations property in the Americas, the 152-room Myrtle Beach Oceanfront Resort features direct beach access, poolside service, ocean view villas, a multi-level pool, fitness center and two onsite dining options.

The former Drury Inn & Suites in Troy, Michigan, currently operating as Troy Inn & Suites, will soon undergo a $30 million renovation to become Hotel Indigo. Construction is expected to be completed in about 18 months, according to Bacall Companies, which recently purchased the hotel. The four-story, 217 room building features more than 1,000 square feet of meeting space, a fitness center, indoor pool, business center, lobby and four-story atrium common area. The completed Hotel Indigo will include food and beverage areas.

The Surrey, a New York City hotel undergoing major renovations, has signed an office lease in Manhattan’s Upper East Side neighborhood. The space will be used for administrative offices. The Surrey, which closed during the pandemic, was acquired by the Reuben Brothers in late 2020 and is expected to re-open as The Surrey, a Corinthia Hotel, sometime this summer. The hotel will feature 70 guestrooms, 30 suites and 14 residences.

The Illinois Beach Hotel in Zion announced the property has reopened following renovations. The hotel, which is the only hotel located on Lake Michigan in Illinois, offers onsite dining, event space and a gift shop. The hotel has 92 rooms featuring new Serta mattresses, televisions, refrigerators, microwaves, coffee makers and hairdryers. The property also has an indoor pool which is awaiting restoration.

Construction of a new hotel in Napa, California’s Oxbow district has been approved by the City Council. The Oxbow Gateway Hotel is proposed to include two four-story buildings. Stratus Development Partners, which took over the project from the original developer, requested to increase the number of previously approved rooms from 74 to 123, among other changes. Construction is set to begin in late 2024.

Clear Sky Resorts announced the August 1, 2024 soft opening of their newest one-of-a-kind resort situated near Bryce Canyon National Park in Cannonville, Utah. The unique resort is nestled within its own private 80-acre canyon and will boast 62 Sky Domes and an out-of-this-world dining experience in one of the largest glass dome restaurants in the world.

Personnel Moves

Peachtree Group announced the elevation of three senior executives, expanding their roles to strengthen the firm’s executive leadership team. Michael Harper, with Peachtree since 2014, is promoted to president of hotel lending. In this role. Harper is responsible for the entirety of Peachtree’s credit platform for hotels, guiding all facets of the credit business. Jared Schlosser is elevated to executive vice president of hotel lending and head of CPACE. Schlosser’s promotion reflects his exceptional performance and extensive knowledge of the hotel loan origination process and the firm’s CPACE program. Schlosser joined the firm in 2019. Michael Ritz, who joined Peachtree in 2017, has been promoted to executive vice president of investments where he will oversee Peachtree’s credit and equity investments across commercial real estate and other ventures.

Internatioal News

Hotel101 Global, a unit of DoubleDragon, said it agreed to merge with Nasdaq-listed SPAC JVSPAC Acquisition Corp, a deal that values the Singapore-headquartered hotel operator at $2.3 billion. Hotel101 will be publicly traded under the ticker symbol HBNB when the deal is completed by the second half of the year. This will be the first Filipino-owned company with a primary listing in the US. DoubleDragon is jointly owned by Philippines fast-food giant Jollibeefounder Tony Tan Caktiong and tycoon Edgar Sia II. JVSPAC is led by Hong Kong-based businessman Albert Wong, CEO of Kingsway Group, sole distributor of Lamborghini in Hong Kong, Macau and Guangzhou. The Nasdaqlisting is expected to help bankroll Hotel101’s ambitious plan to grow its current footprint from over 1,000 rooms in two locations in Metro Manila to over 500,000 rooms across 100 destinations worldwide by 2040. They are currently building nine more hotels in the Philippines and three overseas projects in Japan, Madrid and Los Angeles.