Xenia Hotels & Resorts

Ryman Hospitality Ends Year on High Note

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.

U.S. Hotel Trends Point to a Holiday Season Like 2019

Pebblebrook Hotel Trust cut their guidance for 4Q , citing a demand impact from Hurricane Nicole in November and weaker business/leisure demand at the end of that month. STR said US hotel RevPAR the week ended 12/17 was up 12% year over year while up 35% over the week in 2019 . U.S. hotel occupancy for Christmas and New Years mirrors 2019 trends , with warm destinations proving popular according to Amadeus .

Xenia Projected as Top Performer in 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 .

Dividend Announcements Buoy Lodging Stocks

On Friday lodging stocks ended higher: BHR rose 12% while AINC was up 7%. SOND fell -7% on the day. Raymond James downgraded Pebblebrook Hotel Trust and Xenia Hotels & Resorts to Market Perform from Outperform while cutting Sunstone Hotel Investors to Underperform from Market Perform. Ryman Hospitality also announced they were boosting their quarterly dividend, declaring the 4Q dividend of $0.25 per share.

Chatham Lodging Trust and Park Hotels Restore Their Dividends

Chatham Lodging Trust announced its board of trustees reinstated their common dividend, announcing a fourth-quarter common share dividend of $0.07 per common share. Park Hotels & Resorts announced a $0.25 per share fourth-quarter cash dividend. $0.12 per share of that represents the fourth quarter payment based on 2022 results. Lodging stocks were modestly higher. The only big mover of note was MCG , up 8%.

Airbnb's Listings in New York Will Shrink

Morgan Stanley re-launched coverage on the lodging sector, saying they prefer C-Corps over REITs . Truist updated their estimates and price targets on some hotel names in their coverage. According to the NY Daily News, more than 10,000 Airbnb listings for short-term rentals in New York City are likely to disappear when tight new housing rules take effect next year.

REITs Remain Cautious About Corporate Travel

MCG and INN both were up 6% while SVC and SLNA were up 5% each. SOND fell -5% on the day. Xenia Hotels & Resorts announced its board of directors authorized the repurchase of up to an additional $100 million of the company’s outstanding common shares. With the additional authorization U.S. lodging REIT management teams did express concerns about cracks in demand forming with technology customers soon after recent layoff announcements.

Lodging Stocks Surge With Broader Market Gains

Let’s go backwards to give you an overview of today’s market. The 10-year treasury yield plunged 0.32 to 3.83%. That is a nearly 8% drop in the yield on a modestly better CPI report. Vacasa reported 3Q results that went over as well with investors as their weak fourth quarter guidance. The LWHA Q3 2022 Major U.S. Hotel Sales Survey includes 119 single asset sale transactions over $10 million which totaled roughly $3.7 billion.

DiamondRock Beats Preliminary Results

DiamondRock Hospitality reported 3Q results, beating the preliminary results they announced two weeks ago. Jefferies cut its rating on Xenia Hotels & Resorts to Hold from Buy. Lodging stocks were mixed. SLNA plunged another -20%, quickly becoming the biggest disaster in a long line of SPAC disappointments in the past year

Earnings Reports and Interest Rates Spook Investors

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.