Latest news: PwC's sluggish forecast; Biki Oberoi dies; Kempinski to Caribbean

Legend Oberoi passes away. Indian luxury hospitality legend Prithvi Raj Singh “Biki” Oberoi, chairman emeritus of the Oberoi Group, has passed away at age 94. He was credited with placing Oberoi hotels on the international luxury travelers map with the opening of several luxury hotels in important global cities. His attention to detail was known far and wide as his group developed three brands, Vilas (uber luxury), Oberoi (luxury) and Trident. He was the son of the late Rai Bahadur MS Oberoi, the founder of The Oberoi Group. He had stepped down as executive chairman of EIH Ltd. and EIH Associated Hotels Ltd. last May.

US forecast revision. PwC has revised its 2024 forecast, suggesting demand growth will continue to be sluggish during the first half of next year before gradually accelerating in H2, resulting in 63.2% occupancy for the year. Growth in ADR will gradually decelerate throughout the year as the Fed continues to apply pressure on inflation, leading to 2.4% growth for the year.  As a result, RevPAR growth will continue to moderate and ed up 2.7% for the year. “A continued tightening of financial conditions has begun to have an impact on the overall economy,” said Warren Marr, US Hospitality & Leisure Managing Director, PwC. “Since our last issue of Hospitality Directions US in May, we've seen two consecutive quarters of decline in hotel occupancies and expect to see two more in Q4 this year and Q1 2024 before a gradual rebound. We expect to see RevPAR growth to once again exceed PCE inflation beginning in Q2 next year.”

Kempinski being developed in Turks and Caicos. Geneva, Switzerland-based Kempinski Hotels has been named operator of a new luxury beachfront residences and resort at Grace Bay Beach in Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands. The project is being developed by European real estate developer JTRE. An 11-acre stretch of Grace Bay Beach will include luxury residences and a resort that feature 431 feet of beachfront. The low-footprint design offers four beachfront villas and 72 condominium residences. Pre-construction pricing and availability will be announced in early 2024. Kempinski, currently has more than 80 properties under management in 36 countries.

Asia Pac pipeline. Asia Pacific’s total construction pipeline, excluding China, continued to show steady year-over-year (YOY) growth through 3Q23 at 1,929 projects/398,199 rooms, up 3% by projects YOY, according to Lodging Econometrics. Projects currently under construction in the region stand at 954 projects/220,336 rooms, up 1% by projects YOY. Projects scheduled to start construction in the next 12 months stand at 295 projects/51,756 rooms. Projects in the early planning stage of the pipeline stand at 680 projects/126,107 rooms, up 7% by projects YOY. Furthermore, the luxury, upper upscale, and upscale chain scales each hit peak project counts at the end of Q3 and account for 53% of the projects in the region’s hotel construction pipeline. At Q3, countries with the largest hotel construction pipelines in Asia Pacific, excluding China, are led by India, with 481 projects/57,879 rooms, accounting for 25% of the region’s total pipeline. Next is Vietnam with 243 projects/87,062 rooms, then Indonesia with 212 projects/35,333 rooms. Japan follows with 156 projects/31,085 rooms, and then Thailand with 155 projects/38,706 rooms. Asia Pacific cities outside of China with the largest construction pipelines are led by Bangkok, Thailand, with 60 projects/14,895 rooms. Next is Jakarta, Indonesia, with 49 projects/9,369 rooms, and Melbourne, Australia, with 41 projects/7,612 rooms.

Arist rendering of the Hotel101 in Los Angeles.

Hotel101 adds first U.S. property. Hotel101, a subsidiary of Manilla-based DoubleDragon, will build a hotel in the Westlake North District of Los Angeles, its first in the U.S. The 622-key hotel will also have about 20,000 sq. ft. of meeting and event space and is expected to have sales revenue of $183 million. Hotel101’s model has one type of room and individual owners for each room. LA is the third international project for the company, which also has hotels in Niseko Hokkaido, Japan, Madrid and the Philippines.

voco milestone. IHG Hotels & Resort’s voco hotel brand announced the signing of its 25th Americas property in Missoula, Montana, nearly three years after launching in the region. The soon-to-renovate, 193-room voco Missoula Downtown is scheduled to open in mid-2025 under the ownership of McDermid Management.  The brand now has more than 100 signed and opened hotels across more than 20 countries and has a goal of reaching 200 global in-system hotels by 2028. The brand also anticipates opening new hotels in Mexico City, Cincinnati, and Sarasota and Destin, Florida – among others – in the coming months.

Yotel to Kuala Lumpur. Yotel, in partnership with High Steet Holdings, has signed the 290-room Yotel Kuala Lumpur, at a mixed-use complex in the heart of the capital's Central Business District and scheduled to open in the summer of 2025. Asia continues to be a key territory for Yotel growth with Kuala Lumpur joining a pipeline that includes Tokyo and Bangkok.

Madrid record. Madrid’s October ADR and RevPAR reached the highest monthly levels on record, according to CoStar data. Occupancy was 81.9% (+2% YOY); ADR was EUR204.35 (+23.1%); and RevPAR was EUR1 67.26 (+25.6%). The market’s occupancy level was the highest for any month since October 2019.

Riyadh's big October. Riyadh in October reported its highest ADR and RevPAR level on record, according to CoStar data.  Occupancy hit 77.5% (+8% YOY); ADR was SAR1,055.28 (+38.3%); and RevPAR was SAR818.05 (+49.3%). Riyadh’s hotel performance was helped by the World Combat Games and the Future Investment Initiative 7th Edition.

Accor in Romania. Accor and Construcții Erbașu have signed management agreements for new hotels in Bucharest and Oradea in Romania and extended an existing management agreement until 2033 for ibis Styles Bucharest Erbas. The 150-room extended-stay Novotel Living Bucharest Baneasa is under construction and scheduled to come to market in June 2025. A 120-room ibis Styles in Oradea Erbas will start construction in 1Q24 and welcome its first guests in 2026.

IHG resorts for KSA. IHG Hotels & Resorts has signed two resorts in Saudi Arabia – the Holiday Inn & Suites Taif and Staybridge Suites Taif in partnership with Al Jumaiah Group. Both properties are set to open in 4Q25 in the Al Shafa, Taif. The dual signing will add 280 rooms with the Staybridge Suites Taif featuring standalone villas, studios, one, two, and three-bedroom apartments. The Holiday Inn & Suites Taif will be situated in the Al Shafa Mountains. IHG currently operates 40 hotels across five brands in Saudi Arabia and has a pipeline of 32 hotels due to open in the next two to five years.

Sage senior appointment. Sage Hospitality Group, Denver, has appointed Don Li as executive vice president of Business Development & Head of Asia Pacific. Li will support new business growth and the optimization of performance for existing assets, with an additional focus on seeking out partners and capital opportunities from overseas. In the last 10 years, Li served as executive vice president and head of Asia Investment Group with both Interstate and Aimbridge Hospitality.

Record hotel pipeline in China. China’s total construction pipeline reached a record high of 3,720 projects and 686,017 rooms at the end of the third quarter, according to data from Lodging Econometrics. That number is up 3% by project and unchanged by rooms year-over-year. Upscale and upper midscale projects hit record numbers in the quarter, with upscale at 850 projects and 198,277 rooms and upper midscale at 1,222 projects and 194,515 rooms. Those two segments account for 53% of the projects and 55% of the rooms in China’s total hotel construction pipeline. At the end of 3Q23, there were 2,661 projects and 480,538 under construction, up 5% YOY. Brand conversion is also at a record high, with 156 hotels (+44% YOY) and 24,885 rooms (+36% YOY). Chengdu has the largest pipeline, with 155 projects and 29,207 rooms. Shanghai came in second with 121 projects/23,222 rooms, and Guangzhou was third with 108 projects/22,686 rooms.

Mint House adds Nashville boutique. New York-based operator Mint House is developing n o t e by Mint House, an upmarket boutique residential-style hospitality property in Nashville, in partnership with Historic Renovations. The project will be the fifth Nashville property for Mint House, and it will be located in the city’s arts district. The hotel, which was built in 1901, will relaunch in November.

Hard Rock Hotel Long Beach

Hard Rock to open in Long Beach. Florida-based Hard Rock International is partnering with Washington-based Steinhauer Properties to open the Hard Rock Hotel Long Beach, the first new full-service hotel built in Long Beach, California, in 30 years. Construction is scheduled to begin next summer, and the opening is planned for Spring 2027. The 31-story, 427-key hotel will feature the tallest rooftop bar on the coast of Southern California, two restaurants, a “speakeasy” and a 250-seat concert hall.

Four Seasons in Hangzhou. Toronto-based Four Seasons will open its second hotel in Hangzhou, China, in 2024. The project is in partnership with Greentown China Holdings Limited, China Resources Land Limited and Hangzhou Metro Development Company Limited and will sit in the city’s newest mixed-use development, Hangzhou Centre Towers. The 214-key Four Seasons Hotel Hangzhou at Hangzhou Centre will sit on a 1.6 million sq. ft. complex and have two 426-feet towers and nearly 21,000 sq. ft. of indoor and outdoor event space.

Choice names new SVP. Choice Hotels International has named Ricardo Losada Revol as senior vice president and general manager, International. He is charged with driving the growth and performance for Choice, which now supports more than 1,200 franchised hotels and counting in over 40 countries and territories outside the U.S. Revol joins Choice from Amazon, where he was director of Corporate Development Finance, covering the company’s global operations and international consumer verticals.

Soho names COO. Soho House & Co Inc. has announced that Tom Collins, previously Soho House & Co.’s UK, Europe and Asia managing director, has been appointed chief operating officer effective November 1, 2023. Before his current role, he held senior leadership roles at Soho House during his 10-year tenure, starting in UK operations and moving to management of the European region in April 2022, opening four Soho Houses in eight months.