Cancun

Stock market: DJIA fell 219 points, Nasdaq was down 138, and S&P 500 fell 34 points. Pebblebrook Hotel Trust warns of weaker weekend leisure travel and expects slightly lower 2Q revenue. Various hotel announcements: HHM Hotels launches Echelon Luxury & Lifestyle division, Driftwood Capital acquires Hilton Dallas/Plano Granite Park, LBA Hospitality opens Homewood Suites by Hilton in Greenville, Renaissance Cleveland undergoing renovations, and more.

US stock indexes rose slightly on Friday, but lodging stocks were mixed with SOND surging 23% after a downgrade of Park Hotels & Resorts by ISI Evercore Group. Chicago broke hotel occupancy records last weekend thanks to Taylor Swift concerts and other events, generating more than $39 million in hotel revenue. Marriott International announced its first-ever all-inclusive resort in Cancun, expected to open in 2024, and JW Marriott Mexico City completed renovations of its guestrooms and suites, with more upgrades to come by 2023.

The hospitality industry is experiencing optimism and cautiousness, with hotels considering divesting assets and anticipating a potential distressed sale boom. Hoteliers are optimistic about increasing demand, but face challenges such as high-interest rates, labor shortages, and decreased construction activity. The U.S. hotel forecast shows improvements in occupancy, ADR, and RevPAR, while hotels are offering incentives to combat staffing shortages. International visitor arrivals to the U.S. continue to rise, with Mexico and Canada leading the way.

Marriott International, Sonesta International Hotel Corporation, and Pyramid Global Hospitality , announced plans for expansion and introduced new brands in different locations, including Latin America, Canada, and several U.S. states. Accor highlighted the progress of its branded residences business, with numerous projects under development worldwide, including Dubai, Australia, and South Korea. The Plasencia Group facilitated the sale of The Westin Tampa Bay, and Dan Hansen returned from retirement to lead Hyatt's new mid-market extended-stay brand, Hyatt Studios, with a significant development pipeline.

Stock market indices experienced gains, with DJIA, Nasdaq, and S&P 500 rising while the 10-year treasury yield decreased. Truist's RevPAR Monitor highlighted positive and negative trends in the hotel industry, including the recovery of group travel and sluggish corporate individual business/transient segment. Various hotel-related announcements were made, including the launch of IHG's Wi-Fi Auto Connect feature, expansion of Saks Fifth Avenue's personal shopping service to luxury resorts, and the opening of new hotels by Hyatt, IHG, Palisociety, and others.

It was a rough one for Airbnb as investors seemed blindsided by their guidance. The 1Q results were in line but ABNB said they expect 2Q bookings to have slower growth . The best thing to be said about Vacasa’s earnings report came from JP Morgan . Their headline was the quarter was better than feared. STR reported US lodging data for the week ended 5/6. US hotel RevPAR was up 8.4% year over year.

InterContinental Hotels Group announced Keith Barr has informed the Board of his decision to step down from his role as Group Chief Executive Officer and from the IHG Board. Playa Hotels & Resorts reported a 1Q beat and repurchased 5 million shares for $42.6 million in 1Q as well as another 2.1 million shares for $20 million in April. During Q1 2023, RevPAR grew 13% compared to 2019 , fueled by higher ADR and growth in business and group demand as well as strong leisure travel, according to JLL’s latest U.S. Hotel Investment Trends report.

Marriott International, Inc . said Monday it had completed its acquisition of the City Express brand portfolio from Hoteles City Express, S.A.B. de C.V. A solid beat and raise was repeated over and over again today by analysts when commenting on Park Hotels & Resorts’ earnings report. Vacasa Inc. has become the second new-age lodging SPAC to receive notice from Nasdaq that if they don’t get their stock price above $1, they could be delisted .

Wells Fargo has cut price targets on lodging stocks under coverage due to concerns over regional banks and their impact on the hotel industry. The bank only downgraded two names - Park Hotels and Xenia Hotels - but reduced price targets on many others, including Hilton, Marriott, and Hyatt. STR's global "bubble chart" update shows growing momentum in the Asia Pacific region and more than half of markets globally with better than 20% growth in RevPAR versus 2019. Israel, Switzerland, Singapore, the Dominican Republic, and New Zealand led in RevPAR on an actual basis. HEI Hotels & Resorts has taken over management of the Marriott Jacksonville Downtown Hotel in Jacksonville, Florida, which will undergo a comprehensive renovation in the planning stages with completion anticipated in the first quarter of 2024.