Hotel Equities

BofA Securities initiated coverage on Marriott Vacations with a Neutral rating and a $180 price target. The Wall Street Journal published an article on how hotel companies are stepping up efforts to lure competitors’ hotels to their own brands. The article referenced Hilton’s new Spark by Hilton brand. We had heard those concerns about upcoming maturities from Service Properties Trust when we were positive about their resumption of the previous dividend, giving them an 11% yield at the time.

Lodging stocks were higher. SLNA topped the list with a 10% gain followed by AHT and VCSA, both up 6%. We start today’s newsletter on a sad note as many of you probably heard that Bruce White , the founder and chairman of White Lodging , passed away at the age of 70. Pebblebrook Hotel Trust gave a January operations update and include an update on 4Q preliminary results. Remember they roiled the Lodging REIT stocks when they preannounced weaker than expected 4Q results.

Lodging stocks were down before the Fed decision to raise interest rates by another 75 basis points and conference call but the selling accelerated after, led by the REITs, not surprisingly. Investors did not take the earnings reports from Airbnb, Ashford Hospitality Trust or Xenia Hotels & Resorts very well. Meanwhile STR reported for the week ended 10/29, US hotel RevPAR was up 33.5% year over year.

The DJIA was up 338 points while Nasdaq was up 97, the S&P 500 was up 42 points, while the 10-year treasury yield was down nearly .02 to 4.00%. Evercore ISI Group upped its rating on DiamondRock Hospitality to Outperform from In-Line. US Travel’s latest Business Travel Tracker finds American companies increasingly paring back pandemic-era restrictions on business travel

In a very wild session with a 1500-point swing, the DJIA ended the day up 827 points while Nasdaq was up 249, the S&P 500 rose 98, the 10-year treasury yield was up .05 to 3.95% and lodging stocks were higher. In an excerpt from CoStar , the transition from the summer to fall travel seasons has been different than in the past years, according to some U.S. hoteliers, who are adjusting strategies for selling hotel rooms to meet the new demand. Hotel Equities announced the reopening of the Courtyard by Marriott in Mobile, AL.

The equity markets made a dramatic recovery considering investors in Treasuries gave the Fed a no-confidence raspberry, not liking the comments from one of the Governors today at all. Finishing touches are wrapping up on the Virgin Hotel, a 28-story tower in Midtown, Manhattan. K&K Hotel Group is planning to build a new Hampton Inn & Suites in Shenandoah, TX.

Fed Chief Jerome Powell once again roiled the financial markets with a speech. JP Morgan cut its view on IHG Hotels & Resorts to Neutral from Overweight. Hoteliers did not seem very pleased with the US General Services Administration’s increase in lodging per diems for 2023.

The vast majority of lodging company earnings, both REIT and C-Corp , have been very positive, with the REITs being the biggest surprise. Crescent Hotels & Resorts has added The Viv, Anaheim, a Tribute Portfolio Hotel , to its Latitudes: Lifestyle by Crescent collection. Black Creek Mexico announced that Grupo Alojica completed the Westin Resort & Spa acquisition, in Puerto Vallarta , from affiliates of Marriott Vacations Worldwide .