Florida

Choice Hotels International announced the board of directors approved a 21% increase in the quarterly cash dividend on their common stock. Concord Hospitality is preparing for a year of expansion in 2023 as the company recounts 2022 milestones and projects significant growth for the year ahead. AC Hotels by Marriott has opened its newest property in St. Petersburg, Florida, AC Hotel by Marriott St. Petersburg Downtown .

The Baird/STR Hotel Stock Index was up 16.4% in January from December. The Hotel Brand sub-index was up 16.2% and the Hotel REIT sub-index rose 17.1%. Hilton, Easton’s Group of Hotels and the Gupta Group announced the opening of Canopy by Hilton Toronto Yorkville, marking the brand’s Canadian debut. The DJIA rose 130 points on Friday while Nasdaq was down 69, the S&P 500 was down 11 points and the 10 year treasury yield took a breather, down -0.4 to 3.83%. Lodging stocks were lower.

Airbnb definitely got a better response from investors on their 4Q earnings report than traditional lodging analysts. Choice Hotels continued the parade with 4Q revenue and EBITDA comfortably above estimates with the Radisson acquisition helping with that. STR reported U.S. lodging data for the week ended 2/11. RevPAR was up 18.9% year over year.

Lodging stocks were higher. ABNB led the group with a 7% rise while MCG was up 5%. Raymond James upped their price target on Hilton to $165 from $150. They maintained their Outperform rating. Ian Schrager and Ed Sheetz have stepped in to possibly partner with Chetrit Group , to rescue its landmark Bossert Hotel , located in Brooklyn Heights, New York.

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 DJIA fell 0.73% while Nasdaq was down 1%, the S&P 500 fell 0.88% and the 10-year treasury yield was roughly flat at 3.671%. Hilton checked nearly all the boxes with their earnings report, kicking off lodging earnings season with a bang . InterContinental Hotels Group PLC is seeking to fend off claims from franchisees five months after a cyber attack that hotel owners say cost them money and disrupted business.

Despite projections of persistent inflation and a moderate economic recession, CBRE’s November 2022 Hotel Horizons forecast calls for a 5.8% increase in RevPAR in 2023, up from CBRE’s previous forecast of a 5.6% increase. The hotel industry in 2023 is projected to surpass pre-pandemic levels of demand , nominal room revenue and state and local tax revenue, while inching closer to other key 2019 performance metrics. Starwood Capital Group , and Adventurous Journeys Capital Partners , announced the launch of Field & Stream Lodge Co., a branded hospitality platform aiming to create modern and affordable lifestyle lodging across the United States.

Gordon Haskett downgraded Airbnb to Underperform from Hold. They lowered their price target to $87 from $94. The firm also cut their rating on Booking.com to Hold from Buy. STR reported US lodging data for the week ended 1/21. RevPAR was up 26.2% year over year while up 5.6% versus 2019. The DJIA  rose 9.88 points, or little change. Nasdaq fell 0.2%; S&P 500 was barely changed. The 10-year Treasury yield fell to 3.461%.

Lodging stocks were higher. SLNA topped the list with a 10% gain followed by AHT and VCSA, both up 6%. We start today’s newsletter on a sad note as many of you probably heard that Bruce White , the founder and chairman of White Lodging , passed away at the age of 70. Pebblebrook Hotel Trust gave a January operations update and include an update on 4Q preliminary results. Remember they roiled the Lodging REIT stocks when they preannounced weaker than expected 4Q results.

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.