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Four Seasons adds
branded residence in Bahamas. Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts is partnering with West Palm
Beach, Florida-based Two Roads Development and Greenville, South Carolina-based
Access Real Estate to build a branded residence in the Bahamas, which is
scheduled to open in 2027. The 67-key The Ocean Club, Four Seasons Residences,
Bahamas, is located in an oceanfront enclave on Paradise Island near The Ocean Club, A Four Seasons Resort, Bahamas. Four Seasons
currently has 53 residential properties around the world.
Travelodge buys 66 hotels from REIT. U.K.-based budget hotel
giant Travelodge Group will pay £210 million to its biggest landlord, London-based
LXi REIT, to acquire 66 Travelodge-branded hotels on a freehold and long
leasehold basis. LXi will use the cash to pay down debt. The deal, expected to
close on February 28 and getting done with support from Travelodge owner
GoldenTree Asset Management (GTAM), will change Travelodge's proportion of
group rent to 11% from 18%. The acquired portfolio includes hotels in London,
regional cities such as Birmingham, Bath, Leeds, Liverpool, and roadside
locations. LXi will remain Travelodge’s largest landlord continuing to own 69 hotels.
The purchase is expected to be funded through a combination of a further
shareholder investment from GTAM, the proceeds of a third-party financing
facility secured on the assets acquired in the transaction, and approximately
£35 million of cash from Travelodge. The newly created property holding group
that will acquire the assets will be held by a newly formed parent company of
Thame and London Ltd. and will not guarantee or be subject to the covenants
under the existing Travelodge senior secured notes due 2028.
Ohana names president. Austin,
Texas-based Ohana Real Estate Investors has promoted Franco Famularo to president, effective immediately. Previously, Famularo served as chief investment officer and will continue in that role in addition
to the expanded role. Famularo previously worked at
Blackstone.
Highgate defaults on $250M debt. New York-based
Highgate Hotels has defaulted on a balloon payment of approximately $250
million on the 686-key Hyatt Regency Downtown SOMA in San Francisco. The
default comes a year after it completed a $70 million renovation of the
hotel. Highgate purchased the property for $315 million in 2018, when it was known
as Park Central Hotel.
U.S. hotel performance increases. Hotel performance in
the U.S. increased for the week of December 24-30 from the previous week, according to CoStar. Occupancy was 50.1% (down 7.1% YOY), ADR was at $163.58 (down 2.8% YOY) and RevPAR was at $82.01 (down 9.7% YOY).
CoStar said year-over-year comparisons were negative as the comparable week in
2022 ended with New Year’s Eve. Among the Top 25 markets, Miami saw the largest
YOY increase in occupancy (up 3.9% to 79.6%), while Anaheim, California, posted the highest
gain in ADR (up 11.9% to $219.71) and RevPAR (up 12.5% to $160.25). The steepest
RevPAR declines were in Las Vegas (down 28.3% to $112.79) and Nashville (down
27.0% to $80.19).
Coury to operate in Louisville. Irving,
Texas-based Coury Hospitality will operate a 140-key boutique hotel that once
housed the Downtown Louisville Post Office in Louisville, Kentucky. Renovations
are ongoing at the property, built in 1907 and owned by Liberty Landmark Hotel
LLC, an affiliate of Cleveland, Ohio-based GBX Group LLC.
Caledonian acquires in Blackpool. Caledonian Leisure
has acquired the 67-key Liberty’s Hotel in Blackpool, U.K., for an undisclosed
amount. The hotel will be rebranded as The Caledonian Tower Hotel.
Linchris buys Provincetown Inn. Plymouth,
Massachusetts-based Linchris Hotel Corp. has bought the 102-key Provincetown
Inn for $24 million. The six-acre waterfront property was sold by the Evans
family, which has owned it since 1977. The company said the hotel will become
employee housing to support its other hotels in the city.