Wyndham’s New Extended Stay Brand Has First Grand Opening

The DJIA rose 32 points, but Nasdaq plunged 364 while the S&P 500 was down -49 points, and the 10-year treasury yield was down .09 to 4.19%. Lodging stocks did ok as the entire reaction in the market was due to a lower inflation report and this looks like some profit taking on the groups that did well during the inflation surge. SOND was up 8%, HGV and BHR were both up 5%.

Wolfe Research upgraded Sunstone Hotel Investors’ rating to Outperform from Peer Perform. They have a $12 price target on SHO.

STR reported U.S. lodging data for the week ended 7/6. U.S. hotel RevPAR was down 0.4%, with rates up 0.5% year over year. Group RevPAR was down -8.3%. We don’t think July 4th being on a Thursday helped things at all.

Driftwood Hospitality Management enters the Kentucky market with the management assignment for the new $75 million Canopy by Hilton Downtown Louisville. Scheduled for completion in Q4 2024, the 168-key hotel is being developed by Zyyo. Belle Noble Entertainment Group is designated as the hotel’s food & beverage operator. Amenities include a fitness center and more than 5,100 square feet of meeting space, including a rooftop ballroom.

Hilton Anaheim announced its multimillion-dollar full property enhancements will begin this summer and are expected to be completed in the Spring of 2025. The full-scale renovation will include a redesign of all 1,574 guestrooms and suites, upgrades to the 105,959 square feet of meeting and event space, restaurant and bar rebrand, improved outdoor spaces, and more.

A $9 million renovation of the Hilton Burlington Lake Champlain is complete. Located in Burlington, Vermont, the hotel is now called Hotel Champlain and includes new community spaces, a new entrance, an all-day café, and a seafood restaurant.

Butler Brothers Hospitality group has sold the 274-room, dual-branded TownePlace Suites and Fairfield Inn & Suites Dallas Downtown. Marcus & Millichap represented the Butler Brothers Hospitality Group and procured the buyer, a joint venture between Lowen Hospitality and Vashee & Associates. The TownePlace Suites has 132 guestrooms, and the TownePlace Suites has 142 rooms. Amenities include an outdoor pool and patio with BBQ grills, a fitness center, business center, 1,050 square feet of meeting space and a convenience store. The sale did not include the attached 237 apartments and 20,000 square feet of commercial space.

JMA Ventures, LLC announced the opening of the 116-suite SpringHill Suites by Marriott and 127-suite TownePlace Suites by Marriott in Avon, Colorado. The dual-branded property is managed by Pyramid Global Hospitality and features a shared lobby gathering space and signature bar, an outdoor pool and hot tub, a fitness center, a business center, a meeting room and laundry facilities.

A new Four Seasons Private Residences development is under construction at the Golden Oak community at Walt Disney World Resort. The new residences will feature 40 homes, including 31 units in a mid-rise tower and nine attached boutique homes. The new residences are being developed by Host Hotels & Resorts, owner of Four Seasons Resort Orlando at Walt Disney World Resort, in collaboration with Four Seasons. In addition to resident-only amenities, Four Seasons Private Residences Orlando offers homeowners access to a wide range of world-class recreation and dining options at the adjacent Four Seasons Resort. Construction on the new residential tower and boutique homes has begun and is expected to be complete by early 2026. Sales will be offered exclusively by Golden Oak Realty.

Xenia Hotels & Resorts, Inc. completed the disposition of the 107-room Lorient Hotel & Spa in Alexandria, Virginia, for $30 million. Proceeds will be utilized for general corporate purposes, which may include share repurchases, debt repayment, capital expenditures and acquisitions consistent with the Company’s long-term strategy.

ECHO Suites Extended Stay by Wyndham celebrated the grand opening of its first location, ECHO Suites Spartanburg in South Carolina. The purpose-built, all-new-construction, 124-room ECHO Suites prototype features a lobby, fitness center and guest laundry. The opening marks a major milestone for the brand, which has grown its development pipeline to nearly 270 hotels and over 33,000 rooms across the U.S. and Canada. Additional ECHO Suites are slated to open in Texas and Virginia this year. As part of its ongoing commitment to maintaining a leading presence in the extended-stay segment, Wyndham also introduced Mandeep Singh as vice president, Extended Stay Operations. In this new role, Mandeep will oversee Wyndham’s growing portfolio of extended-stay brands with a focus on ECHO Suites and the new Waterwalk Extended Stay by Wyndham brand.

IHG Hotels & Resorts announced the opening of a newly converted and rebranded Holiday Inn hotel in the heart of downtown Nashville, Tennessee. The 181-guestroom property features 7,500 square feet of meeting space, an onsite restaurant, an indoor heated pool and a fitness center. Holiday Inn Nashville Downtown - Stadium is owned by Nashville Hospitality Concepts, Inc.

LodgeWorks Partners, L.P. announced the opening of its ninth property in its growing Archer Hotel Collection and third hotel in Virginia. Archer Hotel Old Town Alexandria features 107 guestrooms, including 15 suites, multiple food and beverage options, and the King Street Spa.

Sonesta International Hotels Corporate announced the opening of Sonesta Essential Atlantic City West. The 140-room hotel is located in Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey and will be dual branded with Sonesta Simply Suites Atlanta City which is expected to open later this summer.

LivAway Suites has commenced foundation work on their newest location in Scarborough, Maine. With eight groundbreakings over the last 11 months, LivAway Suites has plans to break ground on nine more locations this year.

A LivAway Suites extended stay hotel is planned in Tolleson, Arizona. The $15 million, four-story, 126-room hotel is being developed by West77 Partners.

As previously announced, Ashford Hospitality Trust closed on the sale of the 193-room One Ocean Resort in Atlantic Beach, Florida. Aspect Real Estate, Kelco Management and Development, Sage Hospitality Group, and Corner Lot Development Group purchased the Resort for $87 million.

Hotel AKA Back Bay, located in Boston’s Back Bay neighborhood, celebrated its soft reopening. The hotel has been undergoing a complete design refresh. Key features of the soft opening include the introduction of luxurious Premium Guestroom Accommodations and a new fitness center. Early this fall, the hotel will showcase its fully refreshed property design, featuring completed Platinum Accommodations, revitalized public spaces and lobby and a new French bistro and wine bar concept.

Developer Fariborz Moshfegh is planning to demo an existing apartment building and build a 10-story hotel in Hollywood, California. Plans have been resubmitted to build the 156-room hotel with a rooftop pool deck.

Palm Tree Crew, founded by DJ Kygo, is breaking into the hotel space, opening its inaugural hospitality concept in Miami, Florida. The music-focused Palm Tree Club, a collaboration with Continuum Company, will replace Shuckers Waterfront Grill & Hotel on North Bay Village Island. The property, to be managed by Highgate, will feature a 118-suite hotel, a waterfront restaurant, a 20-boat slip marina with dining and dock services, and a pool.

Marcus & Millichap Capital Corporation has arranged the refinance of the 103-key Hyatt Place Keystone hotel in Keystone, Colorado. The MMCC team worked on behalf of Realty Capital Partners to secure the fixed-rate non-recourse financing. RCP completely revitalized the property, with a heavy focus on the guestrooms, public spaces, lobby/bar, back-of-house and information technology and systems. The property now features 4,493 square feet of meeting space, a fitness center, outdoor hot tubs and business services.

Berkadia announced the refinancing of Hampton Inn & Suites, a 221-key hotel with ground-floor retail located in the heart of Miami’s Brickell neighborhood. Berkadia secured a $45.9 million loan on behalf of the sponsor, Hospitality Operations, Inc. The lender, a life insurance company, provided the five-year, fixed-rate loan with full-term interest only at an attractive interest rate.

Hunter Hotel Advisors announced the sale of the Courtyard by Marriott Palm Beach Jupiter, located in Jupiter, Florida. Finvarb Group sold the property to Umbrella Point Holdings, LLC. The new buyer plans to renovate the property and retain Marriott International as the management company. The four-story Courtyard by Marriott Palm Beach Jupiter provides an outdoor pool, fitness center and onsite dining.

Smith Hill Capital and Bain Capital Special Situations announced the firms’ joint venture originated and executed a $72 million first mortgage loan to KSL Capital Partners to refinance Hotel Viking, located in Newport, Rhode Island. The historic and iconic 208-room property features an indoor pool with a whirlpool, a fitness center and over 14,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor event space.

Personnel Moves

McKibbon Hospitality has promoted Stacy Royalty to Regional Vice President of Operations, responsible for supporting a portfolio of hotels with operational strategy, budget planning, leadership development and recruitment of general managers, sales initiatives, guest satisfaction and more. Royalty joined McKibbon Hospitality in 2021 as Dual General Manager of Hampton Inn & Home2 Suites Tampa Downtown Channel District when the dial-branded property joined McKibbon’s management portfolio.

Donovan Sumner has rejoined Hotel Co 51 as Regional Director of Operations for the UK, overseeing the operator’s regional portfolio of 17 Marriott International-branded hotels, including 15 Moxy hotels. Sumner returns to Hotel Co 51 from Cycas Hospitality, where he spent two years as Vice President of Operations, and takes over from Wayne Androliakos following his appointment as CEO in June 2024.