Breaking news about deals, development, data and more.
Azora grows in Portugal. Azora, the Madrid-based European
real estate investment manager, on behalf of its Azora European Hotel and
Lodging Fund, has completed the acquisition from Oxy Capital / Fondo Aquarius
of the 177-room Marriott Praia d’El Rey in Óbidos, Portugal. The transaction
includes two 18-hole golf courses and the management of a large rental pool of
apartments in Praia d’El Rey. The hotel will continue to be operated with the
Marriott brand under a franchise agreement and managed by Blue & Green. The
acquisition strengthens Azora’s position in the Portuguese market, expanding
its presence to seven hotels. Azora currently has more than 12,000 keys under
management.
7 new hotels for Coury. Coury Hospitality is announcing
three new openings and four developments across the U.S. It will open Hall Park
Hotel, owned by Hall Group and the first Autograph Collection lifestyle hotel
in Frisco, Texas, in September 2024. The 105-room Seahaus Hotel in Atlantic
City, New Jersey, will open in the first quarter of 2025. The Elmore Hotel in
Southlake, Texas, will join Marriott’s Tribute Portfolio in Q2 of 2025. Four
new developments include the 181-room Chisholm Creek in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma,
part of Marriott’s Autograph Collection and set to open in Q4 2026; the
125-room Hotel Vin Pinnacle Hills, anticipated to open as part of the Autograph
Collection in Rogers, Arkansas, in 2027; another 176-room Autograph Collection
hotel is scheduled to open in early 2027 in Fort Worth, Texas; as well as a
181-room Autograph Collection hotel in Flower Mound, Texas.
Mixed results in US. For the week ending May 25, the U.S.
hotel industry reported mixed performance results from the previous week but
positive comparisons year over year, according to CoStar data. Occupancy
was 67.7% (+1.6% YOY); ADR was $160.67 (+2.3% YOY); and RevPAR was $108.73
(+3.9% YOY). Among the Top 25 Markets, Houston saw the highest
year-over-year increases in occupancy (+20.9% to 74.1%) and RevPAR (+29.2% to $89.15).
Las Vegas reported the only double-digit lift in ADR (+10.9% to
US$217.53). The steepest RevPAR declines were seen in Detroit (-13.0% to $80.20)
and San Francisco (-8.3% to $136.79).
easyHotel expanding. U.K.-based budget chain easyHotel has
secured £48.5 million in funding for carbon reduction initiatives and expansion
plans across Europe. The funding injection comes via two refinancing
agreements: a £42.5 million loan facility from Santander UK to improve energy
efficiency at several properties, and an additional £6 million loan from BRED
Banque Populaire to expand in France, including the financing for a new
110-bedroom hotel in Marseille. The group is currently building hotels in
Barcelona, Alicante and Valencia and expects further refinancing deals to be
announced for Spain ‘soon.’ EasyHotel CFO Charles Persello said during its
earnings call: “Looking ahead, our development team are working across
more new hotel deals than ever before as we step up our growth of low carbon
and great value hotels across Europe over the coming years.”
Brand opportunities in Spain. International hotel brands will
continue to pour into Spain, according to Global Asset Solution’s Spanish Hotel
Market Outlook 2024. The company said that it expected to see budget brands
join the swelling numbers of luxury flags as both domestic and international
tourism grew. The study reported that the recovery of purchasing power in Spain
and Europe and Spain's greater geopolitical stability in relation to competing
countries would boost the tourism sector to new records in 2024. This year was
expected to see a 2.3% increase on the year in ADR, with occupancy up 1.1% and RevRAR
rising by 3.4%. “Secondary destinations are now catching the eye of budget
hotel brands such as Ibis, Holiday Inn Express and B&B in cities like Lugo,
Girona, Logroño, Mataró, and Sant Cugat. The breadth of offering is ever
expanding in this inspiring country,” said report author David Bóveda. He added,
“Despite the popularity of coastal areas, major international luxury hotel
chains have focused on big cities like Madrid, Seville, Barcelona, and Bilbao.”