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Asia-Pacific

Trip.com Says China Summer Bookings 20% Higher Than 2019

STR reported China hotel RevPAR the week ended September 17   fell -11.5% year over year. When compared with the same week in 2019, China hotel RevPAR was down -40.1% Despite STR reporting week after week for the past several months that China hotel RevPAR has plunged again, Trip.com said hotel reservations in China surpassed pre-pandemic levels since late June . Hyatt Hotels Corporation announced the opening of Hyatt Place Bharuch . This is the second Hyatt Place hotel in Gujarat and the sixth Hyatt Place hotel in in India.
North America

Early September RevPAR up 30% YoY

Equity investors were once again willing to give the Federal Reserve Board the benefit of the doubt on the 0.75% rate hike today but then Fed Chief Powell held a press conference and it got ugly pretty quickly. STR reported US lodging data for the week ended 9/17. US hotel RevPAR was up 30.6% year over year. RevPAR was up 12.7% versus the same week in 2019. A group of hotel franchisees has filed a lawsuit against IHG Hotels and Resorts , claiming a cyber attack on its booking system earlier this month cost them millions of dollars in lost revenue, according to various news sources.
North America

New York City Continues Its Hotel Recovery

The DJIA  fell another 313 points, Nasdaq was down 110, the S&P 500 was down 44 points and if you thought mortgages were high before, the 10-year treasury yield was up another .08 to 3.57%. Playa Hotels & Resorts announced its board of directors reauthorized the repurchase of up to $100 million of the company’s outstanding shares. According to Hodges Ward Elliott's Q2 report , the New York City hospitality sector continues its recovery as travel surges and hotels reopen.
Asia-Pacific

Marriott Plans Luxury Expansion Across APAC

Marriott International  announced it expects to open  14 additional luxury properties   in Asia Pacific by the end of 2023 . Marriott currently operates 156 luxury properties in the region. Construction of the long-awaited resort at  Kalgoorlie Golf Course  in the city of  Kalgoorlie-Boulder  in  Australia  has finally begun. PT Platnet Properindo Jaya Tbk will initiate the operation of Citi Hub Hotel, Kelapa Gading in Indonesia in 2023.
North America

Canadian Hotels Will Return to Pre-Pandemic Revenues in 2023

The DJIA  rose 197 points, Nasdaq was up 87, the S&P 500 rose 27 points and the 10-year treasury yield was up .04 to 3.49%. Hersha Hospitality is the latest lodging REIT to announce they have reinstated their quarterly cash dividend on the common shares. According to CBRE , Canadian hotels will return to pre-pandemic revenues next year, two years ahead of its previous forecast.
Asia-Pacific

Asia Is Open but Recovery Is Slow

The Wall Street Journal published an article on how  Asia Pacific may have reopened to tourism, but the recovery is slow . Oyo Hotels filed new financial documents with the Securities and Exchange Board of India. Japan plans to resume visa-free air tickets in October and  Taiwan plans to open its borders from mid-to-late October.
North America

Two Perspectives on Hotel Recovery

The  DJIA  fell 139 points on Friday while  Nasdaq  was down 104, the  S&P 500  fell 28 points and the  10-year treasury yield  was down .01 to 3.45%. Citigroup cut its rating on IHG Hotels & Resorts to Sell from Neutral. Citi believes the incomplete recovery in corporate travel will weigh on IHG’s RevPAR. Berenberg , on the other hand, sees hotels as the top travel play . The brokerage firm says concerns about the hotel industry are overblown and the outlook for RevPAR for 2023 and 2024 will strengthen further.
Asia-Pacific

Hilton Garden Inn Tripling China Portfolio

STR  said  Melbourne, Australia’s hotel performance  in August fell from the previous month. Preliminary August 2022 data shows occupancy at 59%, ADR at A$207.05 and RevPAR at A$122.10. Hilton said their Hilton Garden Inn brand is poised to triple its portfolio in Greater China and offer travelers an expanded network of 135 properties in the coming years. Louvre Hotels Group , an affiliate of Jin Jiang International , the second largest hotel group in the world, has begun construction of its five hundredth project in China.
Asia-Pacific

Hong Kong Hotels Set Aside Rooms for Positive Covid Cases

STR reported China hotel RevPAR results for the week ended September 10. RevPAR was down -12.3% year over year while down -29.3% when compared with a comparable week in 2019. Hong Kong hotels have been told to set aside just eight or 3% of their rooms, whichever is lower, to house travelers who test positive for Covid, raising the risk of insufficient space for infected people if the easing of travel curbs come into effect. Asset World Public Company Limited said they are strengthening their long term partnership with Marriott International with an agreement to launch a new Ritz-Carlton hotel in Bangkok’s heritage riverside district.
North America

Upbeat Expectations for 2023

The DJIA  rose 30 points while Nasdaq was up 86, the S&P 500 rose 13 points and the 10-year treasury yield was down .01 to 3.41%. Truist reported on a call they held with the CEO of hotelAVE . The takeaways included that they saw leisure demand start to slow in May while group and corporate recovery is now benefiting from urban and convention hotels. JP Morgan reported on meetings held with Wyndham Hotels’ CEO and SVP, IR. JPM said the meetings were generally upbeat, reflective of strong demand and pricing trends as well as steady new development and conversion signings.
Asia-Pacific

Accor’s Optimism in Australia and India

Accor said they are experiencing a sustained recovery in their Western Australia hotel, apartment, and resorts network . Accor also said they are bullish on India , with plans to open mid-level hotels across metros and budget brands in tier-2 and tier-3 cities but also adds to its luxury portfolio with another Raffles property in Jaipur soon. The Park Hotels will run a 65-room hotel at the Digha Convention Centre. An agreement was signed with the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority.  
North America

Bay Area Hotel Purchased Drop in H1 2022

Any hope the Fed would be slowing down interest rate hikes just went right out the window with today’s inflation numbers. Lodging stocks were hit rather hard. According to Atlas Hospitality Group , during the first half of 2022, the total dollar volume for hotels bought in the Bay Area market in California was $660.5 million, down 66.8% from the $1.99 billion in hotel purchases during the first six months of 2021. Sonesta International Hotels Corporation announced several key developments to support future expansion in Latin America and the Caribbean , including the renewal of its ongoing master franchise relationship with GHL Hoteles.