Breaking news about deals, development, data and more.
Azora
buys two Brussels hotels. Madrid-based Azora, through its Azora
European and Lodging Fund, has acquired two hotels and two adjacent buildings
in Brussels from an undisclosed buyer for an undisclosed amount. The hotels are
the Hotel Berger and Hotel Jardin Secret and total 99 keys. Arora plans to
develop one of the adjacent buildings into a hostel with 130 beds. The assets
will be managed by Madrid-based Latroupe, which was launched by Azora in 2021.
Latroupe’s portfolio has eight assets and 1,600 beds across Madrid, Bilbao,
Brussels, Dublin and Barcelona. Azora has invested over €3 billion in the
hospitality sector since 2011, including over 100 hotels and 26,000 rooms.
Ashford Hospitality Trust adds Johnson
to board. Dallas-based REIT Ashford Hospitality
Trust (AHT) has named hospitality veteran Dave Johnson to its board as an
independent director at its recently held annual shareholder meeting. He will
also serve on the REIT’s audit committee and compensation committee. Johnson is
currently the cofounder and managing director of McKinney, Texas-based Horizon
Capital Partners and was the cofounder of Aimbridge Hospitality, where he
served as CEO from 2003 to 2021. AHT is making a change at CEO on June 30 as
Stephen Zsigray is replacing Rob Hays. The REIT recently handed over the keys
to 14 underperforming hotels back to lenders and has been selling hotels to pay
off debt.
W Edinburgh on the market. The
244-key W Edinburgh hotel in Scotland is being put on the market by Savills and
Eastdil Secured. The hotel was developed and opened just seven months
ago, in November 2023, under a long-term hotel management agreement with
Marriott International.
Sage adds
in Maryland. Denver-based
Sage Hospitality Group will manage the 212-key Merriweather Lakehouse Hotel,
Autograph Collection in Columbia, Maryland. Sage will handle operations for the
hotel and run on-site dining as well. The hotel will be Sage’s fourth hotel in
its Premier Collection.
76% of hoteliers have staffing shortage. More
than three-quarters of surveyed hotels are experiencing a staffing shortage,
according to a May survey of hoteliers by the American Hotel & Lodging
Association (AHLA). Over the last six months, 86% of respondents have increased
wages, 52% have offered greater flexibility with hours, and 33% have expanded
benefits to cope with the nationwide workforce shortage. However, 79% of
hoteliers say they can still not fill open positions. The survey also found
that 13% reported they are severely understaffed, meaning the shortage affects
their hotel’s ability to operate. The most critical staffing need is
housekeeping, with 50% ranking it as their top hiring need.
Wyndham CEO honored by UJA Federation.
Wyndham Hotels & Resorts President and CEO Geoff Ballotti was honored by
the UJA Federation last week for his professional and philanthropic
accomplishments. The UJA Federation is the world’s largest philanthropy,
providing approximately $180 million in grants annually.