Westin Hotels & Resorts

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.

After 25 consecutive months of year-over-year declines, U.S. hotel construction increased slightly in December. Wells Fargo cut their price target on Airbnb to $130 from $165. They maintained their Overweight rating. STR said US hotel RevPAR the week ended 1/14 was up 33.1%. RevPAR was up 9.4% versus the same week in 2019.

Lodging stocks were mostly lower. VCSA was down -12%, SOND was down -8% but MCG was up 5% on a new Buy rating. Northland Capital Markets initiated coverage on Selina Hospitality Group with an Outperform rating and $4.50 target price. The scheduled auction of the downtown Hilton Hotel Minneapolis , previously slated for Friday, has been postponed.

Yesterday, Pebblebrook Hotel Trust lowered guidance for 4Q results and shook up the industry a bit. Today, Ryman Hospitality did the opposite. Lodging stocks were mostly lower with a long list of new lows, many of them REITs. New lows were set by PEB, PK, AHT, SHO, XHR, ABNB and VCSA Marriott International announced that long-time executive Stephanie Linnartz is leaving the company, effective February 24, 2023.

Baird picked the hotel real-estate investment trust Xenia Hotels & Resorts as their Best Idea for 2023. The Wall Street Journal published a very positive article on Hilton , including an interview with CEO Chris Nassetta . Pyramid Global Hospitality closed the acquisition of the operating division of Provenance Hotels .

Hyatt Hotels Corporation and Dream Hotel Group announced an agreement for a Hyatt affiliate to acquire Dream Hotel Group’s lifestyle hotel brand and management platform. Hyatt Hotels Corporation announced the opening of Rancho Pescadero , the first Hyatt branded luxury resort to debut in Todos Santos in Mexico . The Westin Hilton Head Island Resort & Spa , located in South Carolina , has embarked on a $10 million renovation.

Goldman Sachs said the Chinese government still needs to keep its Zero-Covid policy until probably the April-June quarter. Some 39 buildings of the No.2 Island of the Ocean Flower Island , an artificial archipelago in Danzhou , South China’s Hainan Province developed by China’s debt-ridden Evergrande Group will be repurposed. Vietnam’s second-biggest listed developer, No Va Land , is firing staff and seeking urgent asset sales.

Chinese authorities signaled a move to ease international travel requirements, just a couple of days after President Xi reiterated his Zero-Covid policy. Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts and Sun Hung Kai Properties announced plans for a new Four Seasons hotel in historic Suzhou, China . Marriott International’s Ritz-Carlton brand announced the Ritz-Carlton, Melbourne will open its doors in the first quarter of 2023.

According to July 2022 data from STR , the U.S. hotel industry reported record-high monthly room rates on a nominal basis. Raymond James believes the recovery in global travel still has plenty of room to run. They believe this is the earliest stage of what is set up to be a multi-year fundamental recovery in global travel. A 13-F filing from Sunstone Hotels showed Blackstone Group had taken a 4.1% stake in SHO.

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 .