The Hotel Sector Rebound Rolls on

The DJIA rose 415 points on Friday while Nasdaq was up 208, the S&P 500 rose 58 points and the 10-year treasury yield was down .06 to 3.49%. Lodging stocks were higher. VCSA and AHT both rose 7% while PK, RLJ and SHO rose 5% each.

Evermore Partners and New Castle Hotels & Resorts have acquired the Montana Marriott Portfolio - a 105-key AC Hotel by Marriott, a 175-key Residence Inn by Marriott, and The Mercantile, a collection of high-quality, in-line retail located in downtown Missoula, Montana.

The Wylie Hotel, located in the Old Historic Fourth Ward neighborhood of Atlanta, Georgia, is now operated by Driftwood Hospitality Management. Additionally, the boutique hotel will transition to a Tapestry Collection by Hilton. Originally the Garner Wallace Hotel, the Wylie Hotel features 111 rooms, an outdoor terrace, sunroom and restaurant.

IHG Hotels & Resorts announced the opening of a new Holiday Inn hotel in West Chester, Ohio. The Holiday Inn Cincinnati - Liberty Way features 90 newly-renovated guestrooms, more than 5,000 square feet of meeting space, a bar & restaurant, a fitness center and an indoor pool.

The Hotel Washington, located in the heart of the nation’s capital, announced a property-wide rebrand. Most recently operating as a W Hotel, the Hotel Washington continues to evolve and on the heels of recent enhancements to public spaces and a new lobby restaurant planned to debut this summer, the hotel is a re-imagined destination and meeting place. 

The first beachfront resort with a private airport in the U.S., and the largest beach bar in the Texas Gulf Coast, are both coming soon to Galveston County, according to Bolivar Investment Group. Dubbed “The Peninsula Beach Resort”, the 110-acre, multi-phase development will be located in Crystal Beach, Texas on the Bolivar Peninsula. The first and second phase of the ambitious projected by Bolivar will include the construction of the 41,000 square foot The Zoo Beach Bar & Grill. The entertainment, restaurant and bar concept’s features include indoor and outdoor dining and entertainment areas overlooking championship sand volleyball and pickle ball courts. The Zoo will be anchored into a 110-acre integrated beachside resort development featuring a private guest clubhouse with two Olympic-size pools, cabanas, a bar & grill, large event floor, and wrap-around shade porches. The Peninsula Beach Resort will also be home to The Esplanade Spa & Restaurant, which will feature large workout rooms with lockers, private baths, hot tubs, massage room, steam and dray saunas, and an outdoor heated pool. Phase one and two of the project will also see the construction of the Peninsula Resort Cottages - which includes 222 luxury cottages with access to all other resort amenities, a recreational lake and beach cart trails. This phase also includes construction of 50 extra-large RV sites with luxury cabins overhead, a dog park, laundry station, convenience store, barbecue pit, golf cart rentals and picnic pavilions. The third phase includes the construction of 90 beach homes; five, 160-unit beachfront mid-rise condo towers and a commercial shopping center. The final phase will see the construction of a private, full-service Federal Aviation Administration approved airport just minutes away from the resort’s entrance. Construction will break ground this month on The Zoo Beach Bar & Grill, followed by a soft opening in March 2024. The rental cottages, clubhouse and spa will start construction in the fourth quarter of 2023 and first quarter of 2024. Beach homes will start construction in 2024 and the remaining will start in 2025.

Prime Group Inc. and Capri Interests LLC plan a $180 million renovation project that would convert an office building in downtown Chicago, Illinois to a hotel and residences. The Monroe Residences & Hotel would feature 349 units, a renovated lobby, a bar and restaurant, and basement parking. A separate, 226-key hotel project would proceed simultaneously within the building’s lower floors.

The Kindred Resort is a luxury ski-in, ski-out mixed-use development that broke ground in the fall of 2022 and is expected to open in 2025 in Keystone, Colorado. The centerpiece of the Kindred Resort will be a 107-room hotel managed by Vail Resorts under its RockResorts collection of luxury hotels and residences. The hotel will be flanked by two towers featuring 95 luxury residences. Amenities and services at Kindred Resort include a private signature ski club with ski valet service, a full-service spa, an outdoor pool and hot tubs, a Kids Club, several restaurants, a new home for Keystone’s Ski and Ride School and meeting and event space.

Domenic Gatto Jr., the embattled developer of the Banyan Cay Resort in West Palm Beach, Florida, is waving the white flag. Banyan Cay Resort & Golf LLC filed for Chapter 11 reorganization, with a plan to sell the 200-acre property to pay off debtors. Gerard A. McHale is the proposed chief restructuring officer. McHale is seeking the bankruptcy court’s permission to hire Keen-Summit Capital Partners to market the property. Banyan Cay Resort & Golf consists of a 150-room Hyatt-branded hotel that is under construction, and a 130-acre golf course. The development entity also owns adjacent development sites that are approved for 179 condo units, 28 single-family homes and 22 villas. Banyan Cay Resort & Golf’s parent company also filed for bankruptcy protection last month. The same day the parent company filed for bankruptcy, an affiliate of Calmwater Capital won a $95.1 million judgment against Banyan Cay Resort & Golf and Gatto for defaulting on a $61 million construction loan. The foreclosure sale was set for April 13. A mezzanine lender made up of EB-5 visa investors had also sought to sell the Banyan Cay Resort site through a UCC foreclosure auction after the developer allegedly defaulted on a $5 million mortgage debt.

HREC Investment Advisors arranged the sale of the 93-guestroom Holiday Inn Express North Woburn, located in Woburn, Massachusetts. Jamsan Hotel Management acquired the property. HREC Investment Advisors exclusively represented Woburn Lodging, LLC on this transaction. 

HREC also arranged the sale of the 128-room Hyatt Place Lake Mary Orlando North, located in Lake Mary, Florida. HREC Investment Advisors exclusively represented the seller on this transaction. The buyer is a strong regional group from the Northeast. The hotel will be managed by Jamsan Hotel Management on behalf of the new owners. 

HVS Brokerage & Advisory announced the sale of the 80-key Hampton Inn & Suites Lubbock Southwest, located in Lubbock, Texas. The property was purchased by Onyx Hospitality from Insignia Hospitality Group.

Personnel Moves

After more than four decades and various hotel roles and responsibilities, Heather McCrory, will be stepping down from her role as CEO, North and Central America, Accor at the end of May. The move comes after a major re-organization at Accor was implemented this past January, which will see Accor create two new divisions in the global company and shift operation of its luxury brand, the Fairmont Hotels & Resorts to Dubai. Mark Willis is the new CEO of Fairmont. The Sofitel brand will be run by Maud Bailly, CEO, out of France, along with the eco and midscale brands including Novotel, Ibis and Pullman brands - the other 50% of the hotels McCrory ran will go to South America. Omer Acar is now CEO of Raffles and Orient Express. In Canada, Sara Glenn will continue as COO of Accor, with oversight of the Fairmont brand for Canada and the Caribbean, while Ben Cadwell will run Fairmont in the U.S., with both executives reporting into the Dubai office. The company remains under the leadership of Sebastien Bazin, Group Chairman & CEO and Jean-Jacques Morin, Group Deputy CEO.

Europe Highlight

Savills sold the 113-room Maldron Hotel in Oranmore, Galway, Ireland to a private investor for €13 million. The hotel comprises a bar and restaurant, a leisure center and meeting rooms. The hotel will continue to be leased and operated by Dalata Hotel Group. CBRE acted for the buyer.

Blackstone closed the refinancing for its Spanish hotel company Hotel Investment Partners. The investment company secured the €680 million loan from Morgan Stanley and Credit Agricole. The loan consists of a senior tranche of €475 million with a maturity of four years and an interest rate of Euribor plus 3%. In addition, it is complemented by mezzanine debt of around €205 million with a maturity of five years and a rate of 7%. 

A new aparthotel is slated to open in Manchester, UK. The 12-story Residence Inn by Marriott Manchester Piccadilly will have 155 apartments a gym, self-service laundry and a coffee shop with a grab-and-go counter. The hotel is set to officially open in May.

UMusic Hotels announced a new project at Plaza de Canalejas a historical landmark in Madrid, Spain. The hotel group singed an agreement with Pescaderias Corunesas to manage the complex that will occupy about 10,000 square meters and will include the restoration of three historic buildings, the Reina Victoria Theater, the Meneses Building and the Casa Allende, as part of its commitment to recover historic buildings and return them to the city. UMusic Hotel Teatro Reina Victoria will combine accommodation with entertainment boasting will have 70 rooms and suites, as well as a spa and fitness center, rooftop bar, and the historic Reina Victoria Theater, with approximately 600 seats. 

Melia Hotels International will open its first luxury hotel in Lisbon in 2024, as part of the lifestyle brand ME by Melia. Already under construction, the new ME Lisbonwill feature 213 rooms; innovative dining choices; a gym; a spa and a health club, providing an indoor pool, sauna, Turkish bath or massage cabins; and more than 600m2 of space for meetings and events in 11 flexible and adaptable event rooms. The iconic hotel is owned by the Discovery Portugal Real Estate Fund.