First Marriott Branded All-Inclusive Resort in the World

The DJIA rose 43 points on Friday while Nasdaq was up 21, the S&P 500 was up 5 points and the 10-year treasury yield was up .03 to 3.75%. Despite the indexes rising, lodging stocks were mixed with the only mover of note being SOND, up 23%($0.14).

ISI Evercore Group downgraded their rating on Park Hotels & Resorts to In-Line from Outperform. Their target price is $18.50.

According to Choose Chicago, the city’s official tourism and marketing organization, last weekend in Chicago broke hotel occupancy records, thanks to a handful of downtown events including sold-out Taylor Swift concerts. More than 44,000 hotel rooms were occupied over the course of Friday, Saturday and Sunday accounting for more than $39 million in total hotel revenue. Summer events in the city aren’t set to slow down anytime soon with more than 60 big-name concerts are set to come to venues across the city. 

Marriott International will debut its first-ever Marriott all-inclusive property at the site of the former Marriott Cancun Resort, which closed last March to undergo an extensive renovation for its conversion. The hotel, now renamed Marriott Cancun, An All-Inclusive Resort, will become the first Marriott branded all-inclusive resort in the world. The resort will launch all-new redesigned rooms, suites, lobby, meeting spaces and public areas, including new innovative restaurant concepts, fitness center, expansive pools, and a lazy river and waterpark. The resort is expected to welcome guests again in early 2024.

JW Marriott Mexico City completed renovations of its 314 guestrooms and suites, the first phase of an ongoing total property transformation. Phase two will bring this hotel into a new era of luxury by Fall 2023, with a complete renovation of the entrances and lobby, as well as four new culinary concepts including a bar and mezcal room alongside 2,800 square feet of re-imagined meeting spaces. Additional amenities include an outdoor pool and deck, spa, health and fitness club.

Construction has started on a Marriott-branded, 154-room hotel beside the historic Bonstelle Theatre in the Brush Park neighborhood of Detroit, Michigan. Roxbury Group is developing the AC Detroit at the Bonstelle project in partnership with Peachtree Group. When it opens in 2024, the building will be the first AC Hotel in southeast Michigan and the second in the state. The Bonstelle will be connected to the hotel through a glass-enclosed conservatory also slated to feature a bar and private event space. The hotel will be managed by Azul Hospitality. Financing is provided by Flagstar Bank, Bank of Ann Arbor, Invest Detroit and Stonehill.

Scarlett Hotel Group and IHG Hotels & Resorts announced the onset of construction of InterContinental San Antonio, a 391-room hotel located on the San Antonio River Walk in San Antonio, Texas. Trailbreak Partners worked with SHG to secure the $158 million in financing that will completely transform the property into the first InterContinental hotel in San Antonio. Following the complete transformation, InterContinental San Antonio will include 40,000 square feet of meeting space, world-class restaurant and bar experiences and luxury rooftop amenities including an outdoor pool, multiple levels of dining and gathering spaces. Construction is expected to be complete by late 2024.

The St. Joe Company and IHG Hotels & Resorts announced the opening of the 124-room Hotel Indigo Downtown Panama City Marina. The five-story hotel is located in the historic waterfront district of downtown Panama City, Florida. The property offers two onsite restaurants, a private pool, outdoor fire pit, fitness center, retail shop and a banquet room and event lawn. 

The developer of a planned InterContinental Hotel atop the restored Carolina Theatre is moving ahead after a pause during the Covid-19 pandemic, with new renderings expected within the next month. Salter Brothers hopes to start construction by next summer, and open in mid-2026, assuming a 24-month construction schedule. Valor Hospitality will most likely be brought in to lead the project. Current plans call for a 28-story, 244-room hotel. The restored theater is scheduled to open in mid-2024. This will be Salter Brother’s first project in Charlotte, North Carolina.

White Lodging Services plans to develop a surface parking lot in downtown Nashville, Tennessee into a full-service hotel. The proposed 35-story SoBro Hotel would include 750 guestrooms, a ground-level restaurant and 250 parking spaces. White Lodging owns the property via Auto Nashville Hotel LLC and expects to select the hotel’s brand by the end of 2023. 

According to the Mayor of Sacramento, California, plans are in place for a 28-story hotel tower adjacent to the newly renovated Sacramento Convention Center. The new hotel will connect to the Convention Center with a fourth-floor pedestrian bridge. The 330-room hotel will also feature a rooftop bar and restaurant, 28 residential units and a 6,000 square foot ballroom and meeting rooms.

An affiliate of Weston Urban wants the historic El Tropicano Riverwalk in San Antonio, TX to be sold at next month’s Bexar County foreclosure auction to recoup a loan it made to finance the troubled development. Weston Urban Financial LP provided about $6.3 million to finance part of the acquisition of the 324-room hotel in 2019. The loan apparently is in default, prompting Weston Urban to appoint a substitute trustee this week to sell El Tropicano at a July 5 foreclosure auction. Its move comes as El Tropicano is embroiled in a legal dispute brought by an investor in the investment fund, Alamo Equity, that owns the hotel property and other real estate. 

Pinnacle Hotels USA announced the Best Western San Diego Zoo/Sea World Inn & Suites celebrated its grand reopening after completing more than $2 million in renovations. The hotel, located in San Diego, California, features 199 refreshed guestrooms, including 68 suites, and is managed by Azul Hospitality Group. Public areas have also been refreshed with upgraded furniture. The hotel has a new fitness center and new lobby coffee station, pantry, heated outdoor pool and sauna, business center and laundry facilities. 

The Vendue, an art-focused hotel in downtown Charleston, South Carolina, will be undergoing a transformation to its 26 Vendue building starting this month. The project is expected to be complete by year’s end and will include updates to the guestrooms, as well as re-imagined common areas throughout the hotel. Two distinct buildings make up The Vendue: 26 Vendue and 19 Vendue. The renovation will take a phased approach to allow for the property and its amenities to remain open to guests. 

James Riley is stepping down as Mandarin Oriental International Group CEO on July 31. He will still be available to support the management team until he is succeeded by Laurent Kleitman on September 1. 

Personnel Moves

Marriott International announced the appointment of Sandy Narvaez to Market Director, Leisure Sales, Hawai’i & French Polynesia. In this expanded role, Narvaez will oversee and lead leisure segment strategies for Marriott Hotels and Resorts in the Hawaiian Islands and French Polynesia. Narvaez previously served as the Director of Sales and Marketing of The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Waikiki Beach.

Hotel Equities announced Marissa Little has been promoted to the position of Talent Manager, and Michaelanne Colarelli has been promoted to the role of Marketing Manager. Marissa Little previously served as Talent Coordinator and now will be responsible for facilitating talent development and retention strategies across HE’s expanding portfolio of hotels. Michaelanne Colarelli previously served as Office and Events Coordinator. As the new Marketing Manager, Michaelanne will spearhead the development and execution of comprehensive marketing strategies to further enhance HE’s brand presence. 

Civitas Capital Group announced Marisa Lizak had joined the firm as Managing Director, Investments. In this role, Lizak will focus on managing the credit strategy of the firm and expanding the firm’s equity and debt investor base across the Civitas lodging platform, as well as growing Civitas’ credit business across the firm’s other target asset classes, including multifamily and niche opportunistic investments. Lizak most recently held leadership positions as COO of Global Hospitality Investment Group.

Shiji announced Ryan King has been appointed Senior Vice President for the Shiji Americas. King was previously Senior Director of Global Strategy at Shiji. King’s key mandate will be to further grow both North and South American markets, scaling service, support sales and marketing efforts to meet the growing demand.