A roundup of the latest breaking and noteworthy news from around the hotel world.
Record P&L in 2022. Due strong demand and pricing power,
total U.S. hotel revenues, profits and labor costs reached an all-time high,
according to STR’s P&L data for 2022. With more supply in the market, the
key profitability metrics each came in lower than their pre-pandemic comparable
on a per-available-room basis. STR said labor costs grew at a compound monthly
rate of 3.7% and despite increased contract labor it added to profit margins
because of the savings realized in benefits. F&B revenues have yet to
recover to 2019 levels, with catering and banquets as the laggard. In, 2022
per-available-room metrics (% change from 2019) were as follows: GOPPAR,
US$73.70 (-5.5%); TRevPAR, US$202.23 (-4.3%); EBITDA PAR, US$52.20 (-5.6%); LPAR
(Labor Costs), US$65.94 (-7.6%).
Four Seasons to Taipei. Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts and
Yuan Lih Construction Co., the developer that is part of Taipei-based Yuan Lih
Group, will develop the 260-room Four Seasons Hotel Taipei (rendering above) in
the Xinyi District, directly opposite to Taipei 101, one of the most iconic
skyscrapers in Asia and one of the tallest towers in the world. Construction of
the hotel is underway and is anticipated to be complete in a few years’ time.
Architectural firm RSHP has been selected to design the property.
Europe’s pipeline: At the close of 4Q22, Europe’s construction
pipeline stood at 1,711 projects/260,911 rooms with 784 projects/123,377 rooms under
construction, according to Lodging Econometrics. Countries with the most
projects were led by the United Kingdom with 295 projects/43,332 rooms; Germany
with 257 projects/43,952 rooms; France with 152 projects/17,267 rooms; Portugal
with 130 projects/15,353 rooms; and Turkey with record-highs of 92 projects and
14,521 rooms, prior to the earthquake. The cities with the largest pipelines were
London, with 75 projects/12,850 rooms; Istanbul, with record project and room
counts of 42 projects/7,997 rooms, again, prior to the earthquake; Dusseldorf,
with 42 projects/7,817 rooms; Lisbon, with 35 projects/3,878 rooms; and Paris,
with 31 projects/5,174 rooms. Europe’s top hotel companies in the construction
pipeline were led by Accor, with 286 projects/37,617 rooms, and Hilton
Worldwide, with 195 projects/28,984 rooms. Marriott International had 185
projects/28,854 rooms.
Virgin arrives in NYC. A key flagship for Virgin Hotels has
finally opened its doors, the 460-chamber Virgin Hotels New York City in the
NoMad neighborhood. Across 39 stories on Broadway, taking up the entire block
between 29th Street and 30th Street, the hotel has indoor/outdoor dining and
cocktail experiences, an outdoor Pool Club exclusive to hotel guests, and more
than 19,000 square-feet of meeting and event spaces. This is the sixth Virgin
Hotels in the United States and the seventh in the brand portfolio.
Don’t forget OYO. Disruptor OYO stated it added 40 hotels in
the UK and doubled its revenue in 2022 vs 2021. OYO said its network hotels saw a
50% jump in RevPAR vs 2021 and a 110% jump in RevPAR vs 2020. OYO now has 150-plus
small hotels in over 65 cities in its network in the UK. OYO stated that as of
September 30, 2022, it offered 40-plus integrated products and solutions to
patrons who operate over 168,711 hotel and home storefronts in more than 35
countries including India, Europe and Southeast Asia.