Courtyard by Marriott

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 .

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.

Nepal hotels are complaining they are not seeing the deluge of reservations they would expect at this time of year. Asset World Public Company Limited signed a hotel management agreement with IHG to launch the Kimpton Pattaya and further demonstrate confidence in Thailand’s tourism industry. ANA Holdings and IHG ANA Hotels Group Japan signed a comprehensive commercial agreement.

The  DJIA gained about 1%, or about 270 points, while  Nasdaq  rallied 2.4%. The  S&P 500  added about 1.7%, erasing an earlier decline of 0.7%, and the  10-year treasury yield  climbed to 3.58%. It's been a wild week. Baird upgraded their rating on Choice Hotels International to Outperform. They believe their earnings outlook is improving for 2023-2024. IHG Hotels & Resorts continues to demonstrate the strength of its Holiday Inn brand family in Southern Europe

In an amazing recovery from over 700 points down, the DJIA ended the day down only 280 points while Nasdaq rallied to end up 6. Vacasa’s stock price plunged well into penny stock category, joining Sonder, before recovering somewhat, ending the day down -25%. Braemar Hotels & Resorts and Ashford Hospitality Trust both issued press releases, clarifying that their cash holdings are safe . STR reported US lodging data for the week ended 3/11. US hotel RevPAR was up 11.1% year over year.

Raines announced they acquired HP Hotels , a full-service, third party hotel management company. Raines said this will result in operational expansion throughout the Southeast and Southwestern U.S. The Courtyard by Marriott Long Beach Downtown announced the addition of two Topgolf Swing Suites at their 216-room hotel. Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa , in Atlantic City, New Jersey , is embarking on a $55 million redesign and rebranding of The Water Club, in time for the resort’s twentieth anniversary.

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts Inc . upped their quarterly dividend by 9%, announcing a quarterly cash dividend of $0.35 per share up from the $0.32 a share quarterly dividend they paid during 2022. CoStar said that most Lodging Industry Investment Council members expect full-year lodging real estate transactions in 2023 to exceed the volume in 2022. A joint venture of NewcrestImage and Hospitality Capital Partners completed the acquisition of 11 hotels in seven states with a total of 1,551 rooms.

When going up against the same week in 2019, pre-pandemic, China’s RevPAR last week was up 1.3% despite tough Chinese New Year comps due to the timing of the holiday. The average occupancy rate of hotels in Taiwan was 48.06% last year, the fourth lowest in history, but the average room price per night rose to NT$4,195 (US$138), which is a record high. After four years of London being on top as the five-star hotel capital of the world, they have lost that title to Macau, China .

According to STR , Phoenix’s hotel RevPAR is forecasted to reach $419 for February 10-12, which would be the second-highest level for a Super Bowl weekend . On Friday lodging stocks were lower. SOND was the biggest mover, down -8% while ABNB was down -5% on the day. White Lodging announced the renaming of its new Autograph Collection hotel in San Antonio, Texas , formerly known as The Otis Hotel .