U.S. Hotel Project Development Pipeline Reaches All-Time High

The DJIA was up 71 points, Nasdaq and the S&P 500 were both up 15 points, and the 10-year treasury yield was down .01 to under 4.54%. Lodging stocks were mixed. TNL traded up to a new high.

Travel + Leisure reported a 4Q beat and gave in-line guidance for 2025. They upped their dividend by 12% and bought back 1.4 million shares for $70 million. That is the same dollar amount they spent in 2Q and 3Q of 2024.

Truist upped their price target on Wyndham Hotels to $122 from $105. Baird lowered Hyatt’s price target to $156 from $158. Wells Fargo lowered Marriott’s price target to $277 from $285, and Susquehanna upped its price target on Airbnb to $200 from $160.

The Hotel Celare, developed by Crawford Hoying and the Shaner Hotel Group, is now open in Cincinnati, Ohio. The 171-room property, which cost more than $65 million to complete, is the latest addition to the Tribute Portfolio by Marriott. The hotel features a fitness center, locally curated market, an event space with outdoor terraces, and multiple eateries, including Cameron Mitchell Restaurants' fourth Cap City Fine Diner and Bar.

Iowa State unveiled plans for $200M CYTown, featuring a hotel and outdoor spaces. A new seven-story, 200-room Marriott hotel named The Cardinal is set to become a centerpiece for the CYTown development. The hotel will be connected to the Hilton Coliseum by a skywalk. The development will feature outdoor spaces in addition to the hotel, including a replica of the Jack Trice Stadium field and a playground for kids. Construction is expected to take place from 2025 through 2027, with the goal of having CYTown fully operational by fall 2027. Goldenrod, the developer approved for the project last month, will spend the coming months selecting contractors and reaching out to potential restaurant and retail tenants.

Dreamscape Hospitality announced its assumption of management of Hilton Garden Inn Shreveport. Conveniently located in the Financial Plaza District of Shreveport, Louisiana, the hotel offers an onsite restaurant, fitness center, indoor pool, and nearly 3,500 square feet of flexible event space.

A new three-story, 58-room Spark by Hilton has officially opened in Hershey, Pennsylvania.

VICI Properties, Cain International, and Eldridge Industries announced a strategic relationship pursuant to a non-binding letter of intent. They plan to invest in high-growth, experience-driven real estate that launches with VICI’s $300 million investment into a mezzanine loan related to the development of One Beverly Hills, a 17.5-acre luxury mixed-use development. One Beverly Hills will be anchored by Aman Beverly Hills, the first West Coast hotel from Aman. The master plan will also include a full-scale refurbishment of The Beverly Hilton. Construction has already begun, with completion expected in late 2027.

Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego announced a comprehensive, phased renovation. Scheduled to begin in early 2025 and executed in phases through winter 2025, the renovation encompasses all 1,628 guestrooms and suites; more than 320,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor meeting space; multiple dining venues; as well as recreational spaces including the sports court and two rooftop pool decks.

IHG Hotels & Resorts, in collaboration with owner Joyous Management Inc. and management company Brighton Management, recently celebrated the opening of a newly converted Staybridge Suites hotel in Oxnard, California. The 252-suite Staybridge Suites Oxnard River Ridge offers 12,947 square feet of meeting space, guest laundry services, and an outdoor complex with two heated pools, three hot tubs, and five lit tennis courts, as well as an outdoor patio and fire pit areas.

Kasa announced the addition of its fifth property in the Miami Beach market: The Meridian Miami Beach by Kasa. The Meridian offers 73 accommodations, a plunge pool, bike rentals, and Minibar, a lively social hub.

The TROBBU Boutique Collection announced the opening of TROBBU Tulum, the first all-inactive luxury villa experience in the destination. The property offers 10 TROBBU Tulum villas and an all-inclusive food and beverage package. In the next few weeks, TROBBU Tulum will unveil a spa, fitness center, coffee shop, and boutique.

Grupo Brisas announced the addition of its newest property in Mexico: Las Brisas Merida, an exclusive boutique hotel located in the heart of the Yucatan Peninsula. The boutique property offers 50 spacious suites, a restaurant, an outdoor terrace, a pool with a swim-up bar, gardens and fountains, a central courtyard, a fitness center, a meeting room, and a health and wellness center.

Royal Sun Palm Springs has emerged as an independent property as Suncroft Capital has engaged Springboard Hospitality to expand Palm Springs’ boutique hotel landscape. The modern desert retreat encompasses 66 guestrooms, including four suites, a re-imagined restaurant and bar concept, a pool area, and an array of outdoor spaces for connection, conversation, and celebration.

The Clarion Hotel on Williams Boulevard in Kenner, Louisiana, which was part of the late Joe Jaeger’s hotel empire, has been sold to an operator based in South Florida for an undisclosed price, according to Jaeger estate’s representatives. Garnet Hotels closed on its purchase of the Clarion at the end of January, according to HREC, which handled the sale for the Jaeger estate. Garnet plans to keep the current branding and retain key employees. The Clarion Hotel has just over 11,000 square feet of event and meeting space and an outdoor saltwater pool.

Dan Bertram’s plan to convert a defunct hotel in Danbury, Connecticut, has one more hurdle to clear at a March 5 public hearing. Bertram’s latest plans to convert the 10-story former Crowne Plaza hotel into 200 micro-apartments call for public-facing amenities, including a 120-seat restaurant, a 150-seat cocktail lounge, and an art gallery to complement the 20,000 square feet of space for artists and startups.  If approvals go through, Bertram said apartments on the top floors of the old hotel could be rented in as soon as 90 days.  The project is expected to take nine months to complete.   

West River Hotels LLC has plans for a 60-room hotel in Sacramento County’s town of Hood. Plans filed with Sacramento County show a four-story hotel on a site which is owned by Dan and Donis Whaley.  West River plans to develop a marina on the hotel’s river side for guests who arrive by boat.  Plans for the Waterfront Hotel also show a bar/lounge, fitness center and two conference rooms.  The company is working with Preferred Hotels & Resorts on the project, though it won’t have any formal branding.  Building the hotel and marina will cost about $30 million. 

In 2023, local hoteliers John and Joan Solu bought a Quonset hut on Main Street in Morro Bay, California. Now, the couple and their business partner, Brian Harvey, are renovating the one-room hall into a 10-bedroom hotel.  The boutique hotel will be called the Q Inn.  They plan to finish construction in the fall then open the hotel soon after.

The Q4 2024 Global Hotel Construction Pipeline Trend Report from Lodging Econometrics reveals that the global hotel construction pipeline reached a new all-time high count with 15,820 projects/2,438,189 rooms. There are 6,231 projects/1,098,620 rooms currently under construction worldwide at Q4 2024.  Projects scheduled to start construction in the next 12 months stand at 3,872 projects/539,054 rooms. Projects in the early planning stage stand at 5,717 projects/800,515 rooms. The top countries by project count continue to be led by the United States, which reached a new all-time high project count of 6,378 projects/746,986 rooms. China follows with 3,779 projects/681,915 rooms.  Notable growth is seen in India, which reached record highs with 693 projects/87,512 rooms, Canada follows with 333 projects/43,413 rooms, and Saudi Arabia with 316 projects/83,275 rooms. The U.S. markets with the greatest number of projects in the hotel construction pipeline include Dallas leading with 204 projects/23,669 rooms and Atlanta with 168 projects/19,431 rooms. Next are the international cities of Chengdu with 141 projects/25,180 rooms, followed by Shanghai with 133 projects/24,529 rooms, and the Nashville market reached 130 projects/17,029 rooms.  During 2024, 2,226 new hotels opened worldwide, accounting for 317,608 rooms.  In the fourth quarter, 486 hotels with 74,048 rooms opened.  LE analysts forecast 2,815 new hotels/429,639 rooms to open in 2025, followed by 2,820 new htoels/419,151 rooms in 2026. .

Hyatt Hotels Corporation and Shebandowan Holdings, S.A. announced the grand opening of Hotel La Compania del Valle in Valle de Anton, Panama. The first phase of this opening brings 40 guestrooms and suites, with an additional 30 accommodations debuting by May 2025.  Hotel La Compania del Valle is part of The Unbound Collection by Hyatt.  The property features Elysium Spa featuring exclusive healing treatments, a saltwater pool Roman baths, and aromatherapy steam rooms and massage therapies; tennis, paddle and pickleball courts; three dining venues and over 11,000 square feet of event space. 

Riu has 27 different all-inclusive resorts across the Caribbean and another 22 in Mexico, including eight in the Cancun area. After a number of refurbishment projects around the region, Riu is adding another new resort in the Caribbean this year, according to Caribbean Journal.  Riu is set to add a nine hotel in Cancun before the of this year.  Construction is already in motion for the Riu Venture resort, which will have a total of 700 rooms near Cancun’s Playa Delfines.  The property will have all of the Riu signatures, from the drink dispensers in the rooms to the all-inclusive program, along with some themed eateries.  It will also be a family-friendly resort, although it is not clear if it will have one of the company’s new Splash water park concepts. 

Europe Highlights

Private equity firm Henderson Park is set to buy The Collective Old Oak Commonin Northwest London, according to Green Street News. The 551-bedroom property which also comprises lounge areas, kitchens, a restaurant, bar, and a spa will be sold for around £60 million.  Deutsche Bank and a fund managed by Gravis Capital were the main secured lenders to The Collective.  Vehicles managed by Gravis are leading the current sale process. 

Schroders Capital, through its pan-European fund, has completed its acquisition of the 185-room NH Collection Milan CityLife from Invesco Real Estate for an undisclosed price. The hotel, part of Minor Hotel Group, is in Milan’s business district.

An opening date for the Treehouse Hotel Manchester is set for March 19, 2025. Treehouse Hotel Manchester, the second UK property from the Treehouse Hotels brand, boasts 224 guestrooms, including nine suites and three accessible rooms, multiple event spaces, expansive screening rooms, a gym and three unique destination dining and drinking options.