Here are some excerpts from Daily Lodging Report from the past week. If you’re not a subscriber, you should be. Get news on hotel deals, development, stocks, and career moves. Sign up here, now.
Sunday, July 17
Work is slated to begin this fall on a boutique hotel in the Millwork District of Dubuque, IA. Main Street Community Capital, creating the hotel, selected Meyer Jabara Hotels to manage the planned hotel located in the Novelty Iron Works building. The project, originally announced in fall 2020, will have its grand opening in fall 2023. The hotel will be modeled on Hyatt’s JDV brand. A newly-announced addition to the hotel is a rooftop restaurant and bar.
Concord Hospitality announced the closing of a $74.7 million construction loan to fund the development of the Westin Gwinnett Hotel in Duluth, GA. Acres Capital provided the financing. When completed, the property, which will be the first four-star hotel in the market, will connect directly to Duluth’s Gas South Convention Center. The 348-key Westin will include 17,607 square feet of meeting space. JLL Hotels & Hospitality Group announced the sale of the AC by Marriott Hotel Salt Lake City Downtown, a 164-key hotel in downtown Salt Lake City, UT. JLL marketed the property as exclusive agents on behalf of the Seller. The eight-story hotel was offered unencumbered by management.
Skift Note: It’s good to see that rising interest rates haven’t led to capital constraints for important projects.
Monday, July 18
MCR closed on a $420 million refinancing of 30 hotels across 17 states. The financing was provided at an interest rate of SOFR +3.7% by lead left arranger Wells Fargo, joint lead arranger BMO Harris, Bank of America and Square Mile Capital.
UAE-based Select Group announced the acquisition of The Mere Golf Resort & Spa in Knutsford, U.K. The resort offers 81 guest bedrooms, event space, a championship golf course and golf services, and a Spa & Health Club. Select Group plans to elevate the hotel’s positioning with plan to refurbish the interior and exterior by upgrading rooms, public spaces and facilities, add new rooms and expand the public areas.
Whitbread PLC started construction on what it claims is its first “all-electric” hotel, a 195-room asset in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The hotel is “to be designed without a connection to a natural gas supply. Instead, the hotel will be fully heated and powered by grid energy generated from renewable sources and by on-site photovoltaic cells.”
Villa Le Blanc, a 5-star luxury resort operated by Gran Melia, will open at the end of July as the latest member of the Leading Hotels of the World, the only such hotel on the island of Menorca, and the brand’s first energy-efficient carbon neutral hotel.
Skift Note: It’s great to see “all-electric hotels” and “carbon-neutral hotels” being rolled out. For more examples of hotel experiments with sustainability, listen to Skift’s recent podcast on the topic.
Tuesday, July 19
The Economic Times published an article on how branded, hotel-managed residences are taking off in India, with more hotel chains and developers warming up to the idea. A new Taj Hotel in Chennai will include 123 Taj branded residences in the hotel complex, while Delhi-based BI Luxury Residences has tied up with Oberoi Hotels & Resorts to manage services at its upcoming luxury projects in central Delhi. JLL Hotels and Hospitality reported a lot of interest from real estate developers. IHCL is partnering with AMPA group for a Chennai project. 3B Group of Hotels, Sushma Group, Sarovar Portico, and Wyndham Hotels & Resorts EMEA also see the demand for branded residences growing in India.
Banyan Tree Group will make its debut in the Philippines with Banyan Tree Residences Manila Bay, slated to open in the third quarter of 2025.
Skift Note: Branded residences are in hot demand. For more context, see Skift’s recent interview with a top consultant at PKF Hospitality.
Wednesday, July 20
According to June 2022 data from STR, the U.S. hotel industry reported its highest monthly room rates on record. June 2022 (percentage change from June 2019): Occupancy: 70.1% (-4.3%); ADR: $155.04 (+15.3%); and RevPAR: $108.64 (+10.3%).
Truist Securities said they see 2Q Street estimates for hotel names as reasonable and achievable with the wildcard to the degree of outperformance for C-Corps coming from a modest headwind from unfavorable FX. Truist expects commentary on new U.S. hotel development slowing. They also are expecting a stall in corporate room demand at around -20% below pre-Covid levels, a cap on post-Covid business travel some have been predicting. They also see significant new short-term rental supply pressuring hotel occupancy in hot domestic resort markets such as Florida and ski/mountain resorts.
IHG Hotels and Resorts plans to aggressively expand in Thailand’s luxury premium hospitality sector, aiming to capitalize on the country’s tourism recovery, reported The Nation. Rajit Sukumaran, IHG’s managing director for Southeast Asia and Korea said more international tourists are expressing a desire to visit Thailand, particularly Bangkok, Phuket, Pattaya and Samui Island. IHG plans to double its estate there across all brands, with 35 hotels in the pipeline.
Mandarin Oriental International is selling its Washington, DC hotel to London-headquartered private equity real estate manager Henderson Park. The transaction is expected to reap gross proceeds of approximately $139 million and a post-tax.
Rotana will launch the Luxor Rotana in Egypt’s ancient city at the end of 2023. Rooms come with a view of the Nile with a location on the edge of one of the world’s longest rivers. The hotel includes 48 suites, pools and luxury amenities.
Accor will partner with Singapore’s Fragrance Group Limited and open a new hotel – Novotel Devonport in Tasmania’s northwest — in Q4 of this year. Construction is nearing completion on the 187-room hotel. The Lyons Architecture-designed hotel was conceptualized to act as an iconic horizontal land bridge, visually connecting the Mersey River to the city of Devonport.
Skift Note: Thailand should see more international tourists now that its government has eased some entry restrictions.
Thursday, July 21
Wyndham Hotels & Resorts announced on Thursday a long-term deal with Palladium Hotel Group, one of the largest Spanish hotel companies, that will add 14 all-inclusive TRS Hotels and Grand Palladium Hotels & Resorts to Wyndham’s portfolio. The deal adds more than 6,500 rooms in Mexico, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, and Brazil to Wyndham’s Registry Collection, bringing Wyndham’s all-inclusive resort portfolio to 26 hotels. Properties include Grand Palladium Colonial Resort & Spa in Riviera Maya, Mexico. and the five-star TRS Yucatan Hotel in Riviera Maya. What’s more, the Dominican Fiesta Hotel & Casino in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, also managed by Palladium Hotel Group, will be joining Trademark Collection by Wyndham. All 15 properties will become part of the award-winning Wyndham Rewards loyalty program.
Skift Note: Wyndham, the world’s largest hotel franchisor, last October debuted Wyndham Alltra, an all-inclusive resort brand with Playa Hotels & Resorts. The company clearly sees long-term strength in demand for all-inclusive resorts.
