New MGM Collection with Marriott Bonvoy to Launch in Las Vegas

The DJIA rose 76 points while Nasdaq was up 131, the S&P 500 was up 17 points and the 10-year treasury yield was down .02 to 3.80%. Lodging stocks were mixed. ABNB has made it all the way back to hit a new 52-week high, which is not even close to their all-time high but the stock is getting close to a double from its lows set in December. SOHO rose 9% and SOND was up 6% on the day.

Citigroup lowered their price target on Sonder Holdings to $1.50 from $2. They maintained their Buy rating.

Marriott International, Inc. and MGM Resorts International announced a long-term licensing agreement and creation of MGM Collection with Marriott Bonvoy, which will launch in October 2023, and encompass 17 of MGM’s unrivaled resorts, representing more than 40,000 rooms in Las Vegas and other cities across the U.S. Beginning in October, several MGM Collection with Marriott Bonvoy resorts will be available for booking on Marriott’s digital platforms, with all properties expected to be available by the end of the year. Of the 17 MGM resorts that will join MGM Collection with Marriott Bonvoy, four properties will also be affiliated with existing Marriott collection brands: Bellagio Resort & Casino will join The Luxury Collection, ARIA Resort & Casino will join Autograph Collection, PARK MGM will become part of Tribute Portfolio, and The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas will continue its affiliation with Autograph Collection. Eight MGM Resorts in Las Vegas will join MGM Collection with Marriott Bonvoy: Vdara Hotel & Spa, MGM Grand Hotel & Casino, NoMad Las Vegas, The Signature at MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, New York-New York Hotel & Casino, Luxor Hotel and Casino, and Excalibur Hotel & Casino. Five MGM Resorts in other U.S. locations will also join MGM Collection with Marriott Bonvoy: Borgata, Atlantic City, New Jersey; Beau Rivage, Biloxi, Mississippi; MGM Grand Detroit, Michigan; MGM National Harbor, Maryland; and MGM Springfield, Massachusetts. Marriott International has also entered into a loyalty marketing agreement with BetMGM, MGM Resorts International’s online gaming and sports betting joint venture, for Marriott Bonvoy to become Bet MGM’s exclusive hospitality loyalty program partner in the U.S. and Canada. 

This news follows the announcement last week that the hotel partnership between MGM and Hyatt was coming to an end on September 30. For Hyatt, they will keep their presence as the Rio Las Vegas will become a Hyatt property when Dreamscape Cos takes the operations from Caesars in 4Q. Hyatt will begin operating the hotel on October 1.

On July 18, Nigro Construction will open a SpringHill Suites by Marriotthotel on S. Decatur Boulevard in Las Vegas, NV. The $21 million project is the company’s fifth suburban hotel owned and managed in the Las Vegas Valley. The hotel offers meeting space, a spa and pool and a fitness center.

InnTrusted held a grand opening for the new Courtyard by Marriott Pocatello, its third hotel in the Idaho city. The property features 98 rooms, a fitness center, indoor pool and hot tub, a bistro and a 685-square-foot meeting room. 

MH Hospitality Management purchased the Tru by Hilton Downtown Riverwalk in San Antonio, Texas, marking the company’s second property downtown. MH took out a $9,975,000 mortgage from Broadway Bank as part of the acquisition. The purchase price wasn’t disclosed.

The St. Johns River Water Management District issued a permit to Rimrock Company clearing the way for construction of a new extended-stay hotel in northwest Ocala, Florida. It will be an Everhome Suites, the first Everhome Suites in Florida and just the third in the nation. Everhome properties provide conveniences like fully equipped kitchens, onsite laundry facilities, modern fitness centers and 24-hour HomeBase Markets. The Ocala location will have 113 rooms. Rimrock expects to break ground in early September and open during the fourth quarter of 2024. Gator Trust Holdings LLC owns the land the hotel will be built on.

Two new hotels are planned for the Southport neighborhood of La Vista, Nebraska. The city has received plans for a Holiday Inn Express and a Residence Inn. The La Vista planning Commission has recommended approval of the hotels. The City Council will consider the plans in August. The Holiday Inn will have 119 rooms. The Residence Inn will have 112 guestrooms, a lobby bar, pickelball court, and more than 2,000 square feet of meeting space. 

JLL arranged a $145 million loan to refinance a 997-key portfolio of four newly developed, Marriott- and Hilton-branded select-service hotels located at Flamingo Crossings Town Center in Orlando, Florida. JLL represented the borrower, Doradus Partners, and its affiliated management company Yedla Hotels, to secure the $145 million floating rate loan through Aareal Capital Corporation. The four-property portfolio is comprised of the following hotels: The 223-key Residence Inn by Marriott; the 273-key Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott; The 272-key Home2 Suites by Hilton; and the 229-key Homewood Suites by Hilton.

Europe Highlights

The City of London Corporation, which governs the Square Mile district, wants to transform swathes of empty offices into hotels as part of plans to turn the financial district into a global leisure destination. Officials believe as much as 20 percent of old office blocks could be turned into hotels. The Destination City plan was drawn up by the City of London in 2022 as the Square Mile reeled from the impact of pandemic lockdowns. With workers stuck at home, the area’s economy went into freefall and there were doubts over whether offices would ever fill up again. Realizing the area has to change, the City of London committed to spending £2.5m annually on livening up the area and attracting tourists. Population and job growth is forecasted to grow significantly in the coming years and the London Plan estimates that an additional 58,000 bedrooms of serviced accommodation will be needed across the capital between now and 2041. Opening a slew of new hotels also gives the City an elegant solution to another problem: what to do with the old offices that nobody wants. Landlords are now facing the unappealing prospect of spending large sums to upgrade buildings just as rents and demand are falling. The City of London thinks these old offices could be transformed into hotels, giving them a new lease on life while also bringing them up to environmental standards.  

Hard Rock International, along with Mercan Properties, announced development plans to open a new Hard Rock Hotel Algarve in Portugal. The property, in Praia do Vau, Portimao, is set to begin construction in early 2024 and open in Summer 2026 with around 275 rooms and suites and an additional 150 branded service apartments. Amenities include the Hard Rock Roxity Kids Club, three restaurants, three bars, three exterior pools, a Rock Spa, gym, Rock Shop, sports area and beach club. 

Melia Hotels clarified a Cinco Dias report on the contractual relationship between the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and Melia. The agreement initially concerns the 17 hotels in Equity’s portfolio and includes the differentiation of these hotels into two categories. Melia will maintain long-term management of the most strategic hotels in this portfolio. While those that Melia has not considered as such will remain under its management until a different formula is decided, leaving open the possibility of seeking other alternatives for the realization of value depending on the path that the new property considers.