Breaking news about development, deals, data and more.
Ashford fights off proxy. Blackwells Capital's withhold proxy campaign at Ashford
Hospitality Trust (AHT) proved to be a failure as only 7% of Ashford Trust's
outstanding shares voted on the Blackwells proxy card, according to an AHT
report. Ashford Trust announced earlier on Tuesday that seven of its nine
nominees received a majority of the votes cast and the remaining two nominees
were re-appointed by the board after the meeting in accordance with Ashford
Trust's corporate governance guidelines.
IHG grows in Nepal. IHG Hotels & Resorts has signed a management agreement
with Mansarovar Amusement Park & Resort to develop Crowne Plaza Resort
Nepalgunj, Nepal. Scheduled to open in early 2028, the resort will feature more
than 100 keys and will be located in the sub-metropolitan city of Banke District,
Nepalgunj, which serves as a major transport hub for many of the western
regions of Nepal. IHG currently has 50 hotels operating in Southwest Asia with
a pipeline of 64 hotels due to open in the next three to five years.
Fire Island revival. Tech entrepreneur Tristan Schukraft’s Tryst Hospitality has
acquired 75% of the Fire Island Pines commercial district in New York. The
purchase includes a variety of businesses, including the Pavilion nightclub,
The Blue Whale, the Canteen, a hotel and pool deck, retail shops, and docks.
The currently non-operational hotel will be renovated and transformed into The
Tryst Fire Island, the third location for the luxury hotel brand that targets gay
travelers. The hotel is expected to open for the 2025 season.
Sage adds Missouri boutique. Sage Hospitality Group is taking over management of Hotel
Vandivort in Springfield, Missouri. Sage
will oversee daily operations of the 97-room property, including management of
the hotel’s F&B. Hotel Vandivort will be part of the Sage Independent Hotel
Collection, joining hotels, restaurants and venues across 16 states and
Washington D.C.
Middle East pipeline. The 1Q24 Middle East report from Lodging Econometrics revealed
the hotel construction pipeline in the region increased to 612 projects/144,222
rooms, up 5% by projects year-over-year (YOY). projects currently under
construction stand at 302 projects/80,589 rooms. Projects scheduled to start
construction in the next 12 months stand at 133 projects/30,447 rooms, up 28%
by projects YOY and 24% by rooms YOY. New project announcements in the Middle
East at the first quarter close stood at 44 projects/8,346 rooms, while new
construction starts stand at 24 projects/5,733 rooms. The greatest number of
projects are in Saudi Arabia, with a record 318 projects, accounting for 75,761
rooms, and Egypt with record-high counts of 103 projects and 24,731 rooms.
Following distantly are the United Arab Emirates with 89 projects/22,849 rooms,
Qatar with 32 projects/8,053 rooms, and Oman with 32 projects/5,939 rooms.
Sydney's strong April. Sydney recorded year-over-year increases in April in each of
the three key performance metrics, according to CoStar data. Occupancy stood at
72.6% (+7.1% YOY); ADR was A$247.70 (+0.2% YOY); and RevPAR was A$179.86 (+7.3%
YOY). Looking ahead, forward occupancy on the books is continuing to run ahead
of the 2023 pace for May and June with 53% and 31% booked as of May 6.
Sporting events drive Madrid data. Pushed by the Madrid Open and the UEFA Champions League
quarterfinals, Madrid's hotel industry posted double-digit performance growth
in April, according to CoStar data. Occupancy stood at 79.5% (+6.6% YOY); ADR
was EUR184.20 (+16.6% YOY); and RevPAR was EUR146.43 (+24.2% YOY).
1Q24 Taiwan data. ADR in Taiwan moved higher by about 3.4% year-over-year for 1Q24,
according to the Tourism Administration, which cited inflation as the reason
for the increase. Rate hit NT$3,135 (US$97.06) in the first quarter.