U.S. Hotel Trends Point to a Holiday Season Like 2019

The DJIA rose 527 points while Nasdaq was up 162, the S&P 500 rose 57 points. The 10-year treasury yield was flat at 3.68%. Lodging stocks were lower on the Pebblebrook news. PEB was down -9% followed by PK with a -7% drop and CLDT, AHT and HST were each down -6%. SOND jumped 13% today and AINC was up 9%.

Pebblebrook Hotel Trust cut their guidance for 4Q, citing a demand impact from Hurricane Nicole in November and weaker business/leisure demand at the end of that month. While they said demand picked up in early December, it softened again. They also cited heavier than expected expenses. Everyone seemed a bit surprised, including analysts and investors but isn’t this why the group has been climbing a wall of worry for the past six months? PEB price targets were cut across the board and the rest of the group took a hit, shielded somewhat by a strong day in the overall market.

STR said US hotel RevPAR the week ended 12/17 was up 12% year over year while up 35% over the week in 2019.

The U.S. hotel industry reported lower performance from the month prior and weakened comparisons with 2019, according to November 2022 data from STR. November 2022 (percentage change from November 2019: Occupancy: 59.4% (-3.2%); ADR: $144.46 (+15.2%); and RevPAR: $85.74 (+11.4%). Among the Top 25 Markets, New York City experienced the highest occupancy level (79%), which was down 8.8% from the market’s 2019 benchmark. Markets with the lowest occupancy for the month included Minneapolis (51.2%) and St. Louis (52.2%). San Francisco reported the steepest decline in occupancy when compared to 2019 (-21.8%). 

U.S. hotel occupancy for Christmas and New Years mirrors 2019 trends, with warm destinations proving popular according to Amadeus. They are seeing a positive trend in U.S. hotel bookings for the 2022 holiday season. Amadeus’ Demand360 business intelligence data shows that as of December 8, 2022, U.S. occupancy for the last two weeks of the year is currently at 27%, pacing 1% behind the same time in 2019 and for the week of December 25, 2022, six of this year’s top 10 markets exceed 2019. Additionally, Amadeus has found that based on hotel occupancy, Hawaii, Florida and California are all top destinations this holiday season. Currently, nearly 56% of transient bookings are made within seven days of travel, meaning there is still plenty of opportunity for holiday occupancies to rise as peak travel dates approach. Flights show that the highest volume of travelers are headed to major cities including: New York City, Los Angeles, Orlando, Chicago and more. Top car rental markets also align with many of these markets. 

All-Inclusive by Marriott Bonvoy, together with Blue Diamond Resorts, announced the opening of Royalton Splash Riviera Cancun, An Autograph Collection All-Inclusive Resort set in the Mexican Caribbean hotel strip. The brand-new resort features 1,005 suites, 12 culinary destinations, The Royal Spa, an outdoor theater, indoor theater, fitness facilities, kid’s club and GameUp Center. The 25,000 square foot convention center offers up to 87 meeting rooms with an array of amenities.

Element by Westin announced the opening of Element Reno Experience District in Reno, Nevada. The newly-built 170-suite hotel is owned by PL Hotel Project Owner LLC and managed by Marriott International Inc. The property features a Motion Fitness center, Restore pantry, rooftop pool, hot tub and fire pit, 1,820 square feet of functional meeting space, a lobby bar, and an outdoor patio.

PEG Companies and Nexii Building Solutions announced the completion of a new, nine-story Courtyard by Marriott hotel in Nanaimo on Vancouver Island. 

HKS Holdings is moving forward with its plans to construct an eight-story Hilton Tempo in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In addition to its 161 guest rooms, the hotel would have a first-floor restaurant and rooftop event space with an outdoor terrace.

The RADCO Companies acquired the DoubleTree by Hilton in St. Augustine, Florida. Hospitality Real Estate Counselors brokered the sale. Additional terms of the deal were not disclosed. The DoubleTree by Hilton features 97 guest rooms, a pool/hot tub, fitness center, business center, and a restaurant and lounge.

Crescent Real Estate purchased the 189-room Kimpton Monaco Denver, in downtown Denver, Colorado, for $69.75 million from Xenia Hotels & Resorts. Crescent has plans to complete a modest renovation of the hotel’s meeting space and restaurant. HEI Hotels & Resorts will be the manager of Kimpton Monaco Denver as well as an investor with Crescent.

IHG Hotels & Resorts announced the opening of the Hotel Indigo Galapagos, located on San Cristóbal Island, Ecuador. The 35-room boutique hotel provides an on-site restaurant, bar, outdoor pool and fitness center. The Hotel Indigo Galapagos is owned by BPO Asesores Empresariales and managed by BPO Consulting. 

Paradisus Palma Real Golf & Spa Resort has reopened following a $40 million property-wide renovation. The project encompasses 596 redesigned suites, refreshed adults-only area, nine restaurant concepts, YHI Spa and upgrades to the convention center. The property has also launched enhanced luxury services that will debut at each Paradisus location. Paradisus Palma Real is located on the Dominican Republic’s Bávaro Beach. The resort features 11 pools, a fitness center, and a revamped 42,000 square foot convention center with 12 meeting rooms including indoor and outdoor function venues. Guests staying at Paradisus by Meliá resort can enjoy a stay at the adults-only The Reserve including adults-only private beaches, pools, lounges and a range of restaurant offerings. The Reserve at Paradisus Palma Real has been completed renovated and offers guests 152 suites, a private restaurant, concierge, and private check-in/check-out facilities. 

The owners of the Jungle Island waterfront theme park in Miami, Florida are proposing a new themed 300-guest room hotel, attractions and retail complex be built on the property located on Parrot Jungle Trail. The hotel and accompanying 7-story parking garage with 965 spaces will include a botanical garden, second-story lobby, dining areas, meeting rooms, retail spaces and a rooftop pool deck. The present Jungle Island ballroom and conference facilities will be modernized and integrated into the new hotel. 

Hilton Real Estate completed a successful sale of the Tru by Hilton Bryan College Station, in Bryan, Texas, for a total closing price of $9,900,000. HRE, brokered the sale of the property on behalf of the seller, Wealth Hospitality. The 98-room property features a modern lobby with a bar and lounge, meeting space, lobby market, game zone, and a fitness center. 

Personnel Moves

Peachtree Hospitality Management named Rachel Huang as vice president of hotel analytics & support. Huang will lead PHM’s business intelligence strategy in providing data-backed decision support across multiple functions in her new role. Most recent, Huang served as director of strategy at Hotel Effectiveness Solutions. 

Playa Hotels & Resorts N.V. promoted Dayna Blank from Senior Vice President, Human Resources to Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer. While maintaining her current duties, Blank will lead the expansion of Playa’s employee culture across a growing portfolio of independent owners that look to Playa’s management arm for long-term success. 

Europe Highlights

IHG Hotels & Resorts announced two new signings, both brand debuts for Hungary, in the capital city of Budapest. The signing are Verno House Budapest, Vignette Collection, under a franchise agreement and voco Budapest with a management agreement. Both properties have been signed with BDPST Group. Verno House Budapest, opened on December 15, 2022 as a luxury lifestyle hotel under the Botaniq collection, a lifestyle umbrella brand of BDPST Group. In summer 2023, Verno House will be franchised by IHG Hotels & Resorts to become a Vignette Collection property. The 50-key hotel will have a restaurant and bar, a library which can be used as a flexible meeting space, and a small wellness area and gym. The 137-key voco Budapest is due to open in December 2023, following a refurbishment of an already operating D8 hotel, currently managed by BDPST Group. 

Hilton announced its first Dutch Curio Collection by Hilton hotel as part of a franchise agreement with Castle estate owner Bas van de Laar. Kasteel Gemert Eindhoven, Curio Collection by Hilton will be located in the charming town of Gemert and will offer at least 56 guest rooms, two restaurants and a bar and a spa and wellness facilities with an indoor pool. The property will offer both an indoor meeting room and a large outdoor event space, and both underground and outdoor parking.

Radisson Hotel Group announced the opening of Radisson Blu Grand Hotel & Spa, Malo-les-Bains, set in a beautiful beachfront location on France’s northern Opal Coast. The 4-story property features 110 rooms and suites, a spa with a 16-meter pool, and a restaurant and bar. 

LXI REIT has re-geared leases on all of the 122 Travelodge hotels which formed part of the Secure Income REIT portfolio, following the completion of their merger earlier this year, The 12 Travelodge hotels which formed part of the LXI REIT portfolio have already been re-geared or were new forward fundings. The LXI has extended the unexpired lease terms on the 122 Travelodge hotels by a weighted average of nine years.