TRIBE

Starwood Capital Group signed a deal with SPAC Jaws Mustang Acquisition to merge. If completed, the SPAC will become the direct or indirect owner of Starwood entities’ interests in an initial portfolio of 10 properties, including the 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge.

Wyndham’s Board rejects Choice Hotels' unsolicited offer to acquire WH, backed by the Asian American Hotels Owners Association's opposition. Hilton to open its first Tapestry Collection hotel in Los Cabos in 2024, alongside another project in La Paz. Preferred Hotel Group aims to expand its Beyond Green brand in Mexico, targeting 75 sustainable hotels globally.

The Tokyo Edition, Ginza, designed by Ian Schrager and Kengo Kuma, is now open with 86 guestrooms, including 10 suites. It follows Edition's first Japan venture with the Tokyo Edition, Toranomon, and features large standard rooms and a blend of old and new architecture. IHG Hotels & Resorts and Accor announce multiple global openings for 2024, including luxury and premium hotels in various locations like France, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Thailand, and others.  Banyan Tree and China Vanke are dissolving their joint ventures, with Banyan Tree acquiring and selling stakes in different ventures for a combined 480 million yuan.

Choice Hotels International purchased more shares in Wyndham Hotels & Resorts in its unsolicited exchange offer to acquire the company. The Baird/STR Hotel Stock Index rose 9.3% in November, with the Hotel REIT sub-index up 7.6% year-to-date and the Hotel Brand sub-index up 30.6% year-over-year. BCD Travel forecasts a global decrease in airfares and a 6.8% increase in hotel rates in 2024.

Macau's gaming tourism area hosted over 245 MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions) events in the third quarter of 2023, a 231% increase from the previous year. Several new hotels are opening or being signed across Asia, including the Four Seasons Hotel Suzhou in China, the first TRIBE NATION hotel in China, and Mandarin Oriental's Villa Mayavee in Phuket Mohegan Inspire Entertainment in South Korea begins a soft opening of its non-casino areas, and Indian Hotels Company announces its sixth Ginger brand hotel in Kerala, India.

IHG Hotels & Resorts ventures into Thailand’s Golden Triangle with luxury properties, while Courtyard by Marriott Bangkok undergoes extensive renovations. Six Senses opens a new resort in the Maldives, and Accor expands its portfolio across the Pacific region. OYO plans to alleviate debt through a buyback process before its long-anticipated IPO, while Indian Hotels Company inaugurates Ginger Mumbai Airport and Sarovar Hotels & Resorts debuts in Gujarat. Atmosphere Core introduces new hires and strategic shifts in the Maldives, emphasizing culinary strategies and upcoming projects across various brands and locations.

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 .

The Chinese Ministry of Culture and Tourism announced the country has decided to resume outbound group travel to selected countries including Sri Lanka early next month. The Philippines Dept. of Tourism said it is aiming to attract 4.8 million foreign visitors in 2023, almost double the 2.6 million in 2022. The initial goal in 2022 was 1.7 million arrivals. Sri Lanka Tourism is looking at attracting 1.5 million tourist arrivals for 2023. They are optimistic about achieving revenue of US$2.8 billion from tourism for this year.

Accor announced its list of highly anticipated properties that will open in 2023 . Marriott International announced it expects to reach 50 hotels in Thailand by mid-2023, including adding an anticipated eight hotels next year. Anantara Veli Maldives Resort reopened on December 1, following nine months of extensive renovations.

STR reported China hotel RevPAR for the week ended December 3. RevPAR was down -2.6% on a year-over-year basis while down -40.2% against the same week in 2019. More reports are coming out about China’s decision to roll back Covid-Zero rules . The latest STR report, commissioned by Arabian Travel Market, conducted at the end of September 2022, suggests the GCC region now has over 170,000 hotel rooms under active development.