Breaking news about M&A, development, data and more.
Dragon Group will
manage Hyatts in China. Hyatt Hotels
Corp., Zhejiang Dragon Hotel Management Group Co. (The Dragon Group), and the
Hangzhou Trade and Tourism Group entered into a strategic agreement that will
have The Dragon Group serve as Hyatt’s third-party management company for 60 Hyatt-branded hotels being developed in China over the coming decade. The
first expected to open will be a Hyatt Place in Hangzhou.
CapitaLand sells in Singapore. CapitaLand Ascott
Trust (CLAS) is divesting of the 154-key Citadines Mount Sophia Singapore to an
undisclosed buyer for S$148 million. CLAS said the property will be sold at
19.4% above book value and net proceeds are expected to be approximately S$138.6
million. The transaction is expected to be completed in the first quarter. In
December, CLAS said it was divesting from three hotels in Japan for JPY 10.7
billion (S$99.8 million) as part of its reconstitution strategy of its active
portfolio.
Group business drives growth in U.S. revenue. Improvement in
group business, especially in the top 25 markets and upper-upscale chains,
drove growth in U.S. hotel revenue and profits, according to CoStar. Per available room metrics for 2023 were up year-over-year in four key
categories, including GOPPAR: ($75.83, up +8.2%), TRevPAR: ($211.49, up +9.6%),
EBITDA PAR: ($53.05, up +7.6%); and LPAR (Labor Costs): ($71.56, up +13.2%).
Overall, 14 of the Top 25 Markets reported double-digit increases in GOPPAR
(see graphic above), with New York City leading the way with 47% growth. The
data also showed that F&B labor costs on a per-occupied room showed the
largest growth of any department in 2023. Year-over-year, F&B revenues per
occupied room were up 9.1% but remained down compared to 2019, when adjusted
for inflation.
Extended-stay sets new records. Extended-stay
hotels set new fourth-quarter records for supply, demand, ADR, RevPAR, and room
revenues in 2023, according to The Highland Group. The report also found that extended-stay occupancy
fell and ADR and RevPAR growth slowed throughout the year, which resulted in
the smallest Q4 increase for RevPAR for the segment since 2019, excluding
contractionary periods. Mark Skinner, partner at The Highland Group, said
the risk of extended-stay oversupply nationally is low in the near term,
despite the launch of several new brands.
Saltwater acquires Wilmington boutique. Wilmington, North
Carolina-based Saltwater Holdings has acquired a 15-key local boutique hotel,
The Hive, for an undisclosed price. The sellers were Robert Rosenberg and
Kaylie O’Conner, who opened The Hive in 2019. Wilmington-based BlueStar Real Estate
will manage the property. Saltwater owns other hotels in Surf City, North
Carolina, the Saltwater Suites and the Saltwater Resort, which opens in April.
Refinance of Utah hotel. An affiliate of
Irving, Texas-based Huntington Hotel Group has secured a $25.4 million
refinancing loan for a 149-key Courtyard by Marriott in Cotton Heights, Utah.
The financing was a floating-rate, interest-only loan from NYL Investors. The
loan proceeds were used to repay existing bank loans, and the cash-out was used
towards a partnership buyout. JLL Capital Markets assisted with the transaction.
DKN Hotels restructures, adds CEO. Irvine,
California-based DKN Hotels has named Ana Almada as its CEO. As part of the
transition, DKN Hotels will be split into two companies: DKN Hotels, which will
be led by Alamada and will operate and manage the company’s portfolio, and DKN
Ventures, which will be led by founder and former CEO Kiran Dahya, and will
acquire, divest and develop hotels. Almada has been with the company for 25
years.
Azur acquires in France. Athens-based The
Azur Selection is acquiring France-based Hôtels Du Groupe Boucau for an undisclosed price,
giving it three hotels in Cannes, France. This will mark Azur’s first hotels in
the country and is part of a strategy by the company to expand outside of
Greece.
Meliá adds in Madrid. Meliá Hotels
International will open its fourth luxury hotel in Madrid with the Casa De Las
Artes. The 137-key hotel, formerly known as Madrid Atocha, affiliated with
Meliá, has undergone a renovation and will reopen in May under the Meliá
Collection brand.
Senator expands into Morocco. Spain-based
Senator Hotels & Resorts is expanding into the Moroccan market with a new
beachfront resort. The 50-key Senator Babylon will open in May in the southern
Moroccan city of Dakhla.
Occupancy in London above 2019 levels. December occupancy in London surpassed pre-pandemic levels for the first
time, according to RSM Hotels Tracker. Occupancy rates were 80%, exceeding the 78.3% in December 2019. Occupancy in the U.K. fell from
76.8% in November to 70.1% in December, slightly below the pre-pandemic level
of 70.8%.