Alan Woinski

Hilton announces plans to double its hotel portfolio in Puerto Rico by 2027, with the addition of seven new properties. The expansion will create around 2,100 new jobs and contribute to the island's economic recovery following the devastation caused by Hurricane Maria in 2017. Hilton's investment in Puerto Rico's tourism industry is a sign of the company's confidence in the island's potential as a destination for both leisure and business travelers.

Finn Partners released the results of their latest report, Outbound Rebound: The Return of Chinese Travelers . Marriott International announced plans to expand its portfolio in Greater China with the expected addition of 47 hotels in 2023, comprising more than 12,000 rooms. Accor announced the opening of Grand Mercure Hanoi, a new premium hotel in Vietnam .

TD Cowen upped their price targets on Hilton to $142 from $140 and Marriott to $172 from $170. HVS gave their findings from the Hunter Conference . HVS said early 2023 comparisons continue to look favorable with easy comparisons in 1Q due to last year’s Omicron outbreak. Canada’s hotel performance increased from the previous month, with February RevPAR exceeding C$100 for the first time on record

A Crisil Market Intelligence report predicted the revenue of premium hotels in India will rise 80% this current fiscal year. The Macao Government Tourism office said the number of mainland visitors to Macau reached 50% of pre-pandemic levels while the rebound of Hong Kong visitors is even stronger. The MGTO also said they completed the approval process for the Raffles at Galaxy Macau hotel tower, part of Cotai’s Galaxy Macau Phase 3 project.

Deutsche Bank issued a report, commenting on what they think the trading action in gaming and lodging stocks are telling them. Jefferies believes the primary issue affecting stock prices in the group the past week is the banking crisis, notably the pressure on regional banks and its prospective prospective impact on financing of new properties. Most economists agree the U.S. will experience a recession to some degree in 2023, but hotel industry analysts say sustainable job growth, strong hotel rates and demand, and the yet-unrealized wave of international travelers will help the industry keep its head above water.

Malaysia reopened its borders nearly a year ago and finally its hotel industry is getting back to pre-pandemic occupancy levels. The resort island of Phuket in Thailand has seen a surge of Russian travelers in the high season. That adds to a jump in regional visitation from India , Malaysia and Singapore . Reuters published an article on how the belief that airline stocks and online travel agencies would be the best Chinese travel reopening play was wrong.

Truist said they have seen no noticeable changes to overall corporate booking and pricing trends in the first 10 days following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank . On March 20, Membership Collective Group commenced trading on the NYSE under its new name and ticker, Soho House & Co Inc. / SHCO. In a joint venture, NewcrestImage and Hospitality Capital Partners have acquired 16 hotels with a total of 2,155 rooms for $137.3 million from Service Properties Trust .

The DJIA rose 75 points, Nasdaq was up 117, the S&P 500 gained 12 points and the 10-year treasury yield was down another .09 to 3.41%. Lodging stocks were mixed. Pebblebrook Hotel Trust gave a 1Q operating update, showing the quarter is in line with their recent guidance. Tourism to and from the U.S . has gradually recovered in 2022 without fully returning to pre-pandemic levels, according to the Commerce Department.

STR reported China hotel data for the week ended March 18. China hotel RevPAR rose 134% on a year-over-year basis, up against an easy -46% comp result in 2022. Marriott International announced the milestone opening of  hotel number 1,000  in Asia Pacific , signaling its continued confidence in the long-term growth potential of the region. Sabre said they have found strong demand among Chinese outbound travelers, despite high airfare costs.

STR gave U.S. lodging data for the week ended 3/18. US hotel RevPAR rose 10.4% year over year. When compared with the same week in 2019, US hotel RevPAR was up 20.8%. We can’t tell if the markets genuinely hate U.S. Fed Chief Jerome Powell or if the guy should just have a stand-in for his press conferences. Redburn Partners lowered its rating on InterContinental Hotels Group to Sell. UBS Group downgraded shares of Melia Hotels International from a Buy rating to a Sell rating.