Ashford Hospitality Trust

The hospitality industry is experiencing optimism and cautiousness, with hotels considering divesting assets and anticipating a potential distressed sale boom. Hoteliers are optimistic about increasing demand, but face challenges such as high-interest rates, labor shortages, and decreased construction activity. The U.S. hotel forecast shows improvements in occupancy, ADR, and RevPAR, while hotels are offering incentives to combat staffing shortages. International visitor arrivals to the U.S. continue to rise, with Mexico and Canada leading the way.

Market surge: DJIA and Nasdaq experience significant gains, with the DJIA surging 701 points and the stronger-than-expected jobs report contributing to the rise. Airbnb lawsuit: Airbnb files a lawsuit against New York City over a new law that the company claims will limit short-term rentals and make it more difficult for hosts to do business. Hotel openings and acquisitions: Several hotel brands announce new openings and acquisitions, including WoodSpring Suites, Sonesta, and Margaritaville, expanding their presence in different cities and states.

Hotel industry updates: Canadian hotel RevPAR exceeds C$100 for third consecutive month, with Manitoba and Vancouver leading in occupancy rates. Renovations and expansions: Knoxville, Tennessee plans to add 350 hotel rooms, while a $12 million extended-stay hotel is set to open in Maryland Heights, Missouri. Company announcements: Hyatt Place Melbourne Airport opens in Florida, while LVMH scraps luxury hotel plans in Beverly Hills.

US hotels surpass pre-pandemic revenue levels in Q1 2023, with a 13% increase compared to 2019, driven by higher room rates. Despite concerns of a recession and liquidity crisis, US hotels continue to perform well, with leisure travel showing strength and business travel gradually returning. Significant hotel developments and renovations are underway in various US cities, including new acquisitions, expansions, and upgrades to enhance guest experiences.

Last week BP plc completed the acquisition of TravelCenter of America Inc . Service Properties Trust received $379.3 million in cash as part of the transaction. Sonder Holdings was cut to Perform from Outperform by Oppenheimer and InterContinental Hotels Group was upgraded to Neutral from Sell by Redburn. The Baird/STR Hotel Stock Index rose 1.4% in April from March. The Hotel Brand sub-index rose 2.5% from March while the Hotel REIT sub-index was down -2.6%.

Soho House reported mostly in-line estimates. Adjusted EBITDA was in line despite revenue being slightly lower than expectations. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Hyatt to $142 from $139 while maintaining their Overweight rating. Marriott International announced a 30% increase in their quarterly dividend, to $0.52 a share.

Hyatt Hotels held an Investor Day today. They are forecasting $650 to $850 million of free cash flow by 2025 and will be 80% asset-light for their earnings mix. Effective Thursday, the Board of Directors of Louvre Hotel Group has appointed Federico J. Gonzalez as Group CEO. Hilton announced the signing of a management agreement for the first all-inclusive Curio Collection by Hilton property in the Dominican Republic , the new build Zemi Miches All-Inclusive Resort, Curio Collection by Hilton.

Apple Hospitality and Xenia Hotels were the next up to report earnings. APLE beat expectations and continues to be one of the few hotel REITs reporting EBITDA above 2019 levels. XHR also beat expectations on a higher top line with RevPAR growth of 23.9%. STR reported US lodging data for the week ended April 29. Year over year hotel RevPAR was up 5.6%.

Marriott International blew away estimates and like Hilton , reported a great earnings report on a not-so-great day in the market. Ashford Hospitality Trust reported 1Q results, more or less in line with expectations on the hotel level. Marriott, Hilton and IHG continue to dominate the U.S. hotel construction pipeline according to the recently released United States Construction Pipeline Trend Report from Lodging Econometrics.

Marriott International, Inc . said Monday it had completed its acquisition of the City Express brand portfolio from Hoteles City Express, S.A.B. de C.V. A solid beat and raise was repeated over and over again today by analysts when commenting on Park Hotels & Resorts’ earnings report. Vacasa Inc. has become the second new-age lodging SPAC to receive notice from Nasdaq that if they don’t get their stock price above $1, they could be delisted .