Latest news: NYC bill passes; Aimbridge shores up reserves; new Under Canvas

NYC “safety” bill passes. New York City has approved the controversial and recently amended Safe Hotels Act bill that requires hotel owners to buy a two-year license for $350 (or face a fine as high as $5,000) and more importantly bans operators from contracting out most services. Revisions to the bill added exemptions for certain jobs and allowed many existing subcontracts to be “grandfathered” in. The law also requires lodging businesses to staff front desks at all hours and provide panic buttons to employees as well as training for staff to identify human trafficking.

Aimbridge looks to shore up cash. Aimbridge Hospitality is getting advice from New York City-based Evercore Inc. as the Plano, Texas-based company looks to shore up its cash reserves, according to a Bloomberg report. Aimbridge is seeing a decline in room count, which is impacting its revenue and the company needs to tackle several debt maturities over the next couple of years. According to the Bloomberg story, it has a revolving debt that matures in February 2025 and roughly $1 billion first-lien term loan due in 2026, as well as a $160 million second-lien term loan due in 2027. Aimbridge is backed by Boston-based PE firm Advent International.

Under Canvas opening. Denver-based glamping company Under Canvas is opening its first location in the Pacific Northwest with the Under Canvas Columbia River Gorge along the Columbia River Gorge in Washington’s White Salmon River Valley. The brand’s 13th camp is set on a 120-acre property and is scheduled to open in May 2025.

US construction increase. U.S. hotel rooms under construction increased year-over-year for a seventh consecutive month, according to CoStar data. Through September, rooms in construction were 157,253 rooms (up 7% YOY), rooms in the final planning stages were 268,190 rooms (up 10.4% YOY), while rooms in the planning stages were 336,205 rooms (up 38.4% YOY). STR's Isaac Collazo said developer appetite has remained strong. He added that upscale and upper midscale account for about 50% of all rooms in the final phase of the pipeline, while luxury and midscale showed the highest growth in rooms in construction, up 48.5% and 34.5%, respectively.

Travel + Leisure earnings. Orlando-based Travel + Leisure Co. reported a net income of $97 million with net revenue of $993 million and an adjusted EBITDA of $242 million as part of its third-quarter earnings. The company’s volume per guest was above $3,000 on a 4% increase in tours year-over-year, with new owner tours up 9%. Truist Securities analysts C. Patrick Scholes said, “against a backdrop of low expectations for the vacation ownership sector, we describe the print and guide as ‘decent though hardly perfect.’” Scholes said the most positive news was the headline that the Q3 EBITDA was slightly ahead of consensus, and the major negative was revenues were light, especially from gross vacation ownership interest sales.

Travelodge adds in Spain. U.K.-based Travelodge is expanding its presence in Spain by signing three properties. The budget hotel chain has signed deals for new-build hotels in the cities of San Sebastian, Cadiz and Alicante, which will take its footprint in Spain up to 15 properties when they open. The three new properties will add a total of 263 rooms to Travelodge’s Spanish operation, with construction expected to start in 2025. Travelodge has yet to announce opening dates for the hotels. Travelodge has already expanded its number of Spanish properties through its acquisition of six hotels from Louvre Hotels Group earlier this year.

New Golden Tulip in Turkey. France-based Louvre Hotels Group is expanding its presence in Turkey by signing a new Golden Tulip hotel in Kocaeli. The 105-key Golden Tulip Gebkim Kocaeli is scheduled to open in spring 2025.

Radisson adds in India. Radisson Hotel Group has partnered with Oslo, Norway-based Visma Assets Pvt. Ltd. to sign its sixth hotel in Bengaluru, India, with the 157-key Radisson Hotel Bengaluru Aerospace Park, which is scheduled to open in the second quarter of 2027.