Latest news: Will Mohari take the Bauer?; RLJ buys in Denver; Frontier buys Cambria in DC

Mohari taking Bauer? Bloomberg has reported that Mohari Hospitality might beat Bernard Arnault's LVMH to the finish line to acquire the luxury Hotel Bauer in Venice with a €309 million ($335 million) bid, citing sources familiar with the matter. Established by former PokerStars co-founder Mark Scheinberg, Mohari focuses on luxury properties and its existing European investments include the Four Seasons hotel in Madrid. King Street Capital Management in May took control of shares in a Signa company that owned the property. In May, Weller Development Partners and Mohari announced a strategic partnership to co-invest up to $2.5 billion in luxury hospitality and mixed-use projects in North America and the Caribbean. Last October, investor JMA Ventures and Mohari entered into a jv to acquire, recapitalize and develop up to $2 billion of luxury hospitality and mixed-use projects throughout North America.

RLJ buys in Denver. RLJ Lodging Trust has acquired in an off-market deal the fee simple interest in the 110-room Hotel Teatro in Denver for $35.5 million. The Hotel was redeveloped into an independent boutique lifestyle hotel following the transformational conversion of the historic Denver Tramway Company office building, built circa 1911. Denver-based Sage Hospitality Group will be brough in to manage the property. “The hotel is expected to generate over a 10% stabilized yield. “The acquisition price represents a significant discount to recent trades and replacement cost, validating our team’s capabilities and our advantage as an all-cash buyer to source high-quality acquisitions in this environment,” said RLJ President and CEO Leslie Hale.

DC Cambria trades. Frontier Development & Hospitality Group has acquired from Choice Hotels and Concord Hospitality the 182-room Cambria Washington DC, Downtown Convention Center hotel in a joint venture with Basis Investment Group and plan to convert the property to a Hyatt House in 2025. The price of the sale was not disclosed. The hotel has already joined Hyatt’s portfolio as Hyatt Washington DC/Convention Center.

Mixed results in US. The week ending July 27 saw U.S. hotel performance lower than the previous week and mixed in comparison to a year ago, according to CoStar. Occupancy was 72.0% (-0.4% YOY); ADR was $164.45 (+1.3% YOY); and RevPAR was $118.37 (+0.9% YOY). Among the Top 25 Markets, New Orleans saw the highest year-over-year occupancy increase (+16.9% to 66.7%). San Diego posted the largest lift in ADR (+12.0% to $294.80). The steepest RevPAR decline was seen in Nashville (-24.2% to $128.78) due to a comparison against George Strait concert dates (July 28-29, 2023).

MGM reports. MGM Resorts International reported 2Q24 results with revenue and earnings surpassing expectations, driven by a significant boost from its Macau operations. However, weaker-than-expected bookings for the upcoming Formula 1 race scheduled for November 23 in Las Vegas could be a signal of weaker demand there. The company reported adjusted earnings per share of $0.86, which increased 45.8% YOY and grew revenue by 9.8% YOY to $4.33 billion. The top-line growth was driven by the recovery at MGM China, which witnessed a 33% jump in casino revenue. RevPAR is Las Vegas increased to $240 from $224 YOY.

Park bullish about group. Park Hotels & Resorts reported a 2Q24 beat with Adjusted EBITDA at $193 million, beating consensus of $186 million. Truist Securities pointed out that light rooms revenue was overcome by lower than expected expenses in rooms, F&B and others. Park said group demand continues to improve with revenue pacing up nearly 10% YOY. Park cited accelerated business demand, an increase in citywide events and strong convention calendars at their Boston, Chicago and New York City hotels, especially in 3Q. It also said comparable group revenue pace and room night bookings for 2025 increased over 7% and 3%, respectively, compared to what 2024 group bookings were at the end of June 2023. Comparable RevPAR of $194.90 compares to consensus of $197.75. Park said it expects 3Q RevPAR growth to be above 2Q’s +2%.

Refi for Thompson San Antonio. Institutional commercial real estate lender Sunrise Realty Trust, Inc. has committed $27.3 million, of which the company funded $25 million, in a $42 million senior loan for the refinancing of the 162-room Thompson San Antonio Hotel. An affiliated entity committed the remaining $14.7 million of the total loan amount. The sponsor is DC Partners, a Houston-based real estate development and investment firm specializing in luxury high-rise residential, mixed-use and hospitality projects.\

Record results for Ryman. Ryman Hospitality Properties reported 2Q24 earnings, delivering record second quarter net income and records for consolidated operating income and consolidated Adjusted EBITDAre despite some expected construction disruption and continued leisure transient softness. The company generated record second quarter net income of $104.7 million and record second quarter net income available to common stockholders of $100.8 million, which were records even without the impact of the Tennessee franchise tax refunds for prior years of approximately $9.1 million. Ryman reported record second quarter consolidated revenue of $613.3 million, including record second quarter same-store revenue of $456.2 million. Ryman also achieved record consolidated operating income of $168.1 million and record consolidated Adjusted EBITDAre of $233.2 million. Ryman booked over 781,000 same-store gross definite room nights for all future years, at a record future estimated ADR of $284, an increase of 7.3% over 2Q32 estimated ADR for future bookings. The company is lowering its outlook for same-store hospitality RevPAR and Total RevPAR growth to account for continued leisure transient softness.

JV in the D.R. Archipelago International, a privately-owned hotel management group in Southeast Asia that has joined forces with Noval Properties, a real estate developer in the Dominican Republic, have signed six management agreements that will see the introduction of Archipelago International's brands and property management to the Dominican Republic. They include in Bavaro the Reserva Real by Harper with 187 units. In Cap Cana Marina, Harbor Bay by Aston has 186 units and Juanillo Hills by Aston near Juanillo Beach has 60 units. In Cana Bay, Poseidonia by Aston has 1,319 units, Coral Cove by Aston 72 units, and Riviera Bay by Aston 110 units.

Update on Berlin. HVS has published a report on the Berlin market which reveals leisure demand has led the post-COVID recovery. In 2023, domestic demand remained the most important source market with 60% of overnight stays. Following the pandemic, the strongest international source countries are once again the U.K. and the U.S. HVS said Berlin’s hotel values remained flat in 2023 compared to the previous year, resulting in values staying around 3% below pre-pandemic levels.

Althoff relaunches Villa Kennedy. Germany’s luxury Althoff Collection will relaunch the former Villa Kennedy hotel in Frankfurt as tge Florentin in the summer of 2025. The Florentin, located in Frankfurt's Sachsenhausen district, will feature 147 rooms comprising 95 studios and 52 suites, 13 of which are in the original historic villa. The accommodations will include 12 Signature Loft Suites and the 3,450-square-foot Presidential Suite. Amenities will include an inner courtyard, eateries, a spa and meetings and event facilities.

Merged Melbourne advisory. Melbourne-based Gatehouse Hospitality has launched a hospitality real estate solutions platform following the strategic consolidation of its operating businesses Minett Prime Square and Monomeath Capital Partners. The unified Gatehouse platform will now offer asset management, advisory services, capital financing, accommodation management and third-party operations services.