Latest news: HAMA bullish; Kimpton growth; Aimbridge adds in Spain

HAMA optimism. The Hospitality Asset Managers Association (HAMA) Fall 2023 Industry Outlook Survey revealed optimistic outlooks from its membership with a majority of 77 asset managers expecting to exceed budgetary predictions for RevPAR and GOP, and many of the biggest concerns that arose during COVID, such as supply chain delays, subsiding. Fully, 61% of respondents forecast RevPAR increases in 2023 compared to pre-pandemic 2019; wage increases, demand and labor availability are the top three concerns of hotel asset managers; and 63.64% believe the country will avoid a recession over the next two years.

PwC holiday outlook. PwC’s 2023 holiday outlook suggests 47% of U.S. consumers are intending to travel this holiday season with spending expected to increase 12% versus the 2022 holiday season. Millennials are spending the most on travel this holiday season ($670), while Baby Boomers are the only age group to decrease their travel spend: -22% from last year. Fully, 64% of holiday travelers will travel for leisure only, while 23% will use their holiday season travel for bleisure. In addition, 59% will travel within their state, while 18% will travel outside the U.S. Concerned about rising costs, travelers are looking for ways to save, as 60% of consumers will redeem rewards to book travel.

Salters add retreat. Salter Brothers has acquired the 225-acre Kingsford The Barossa in South Australia. This transaction is another asset for the Salter Brothers’ Retreat Fund and their first retreat in South Australia. Kingsford consists of 16-suites, Orleana restaurant and extensive conference facilities. The property recently re-opened after a two year, multi-million-dollar redevelopment by owners Leanne and Stefan Ahrens. The retreat will be managed by Salter Brothers Hospitality.

Aimbridge EMEA adds in Spain. Glasgow, Scotland-based Aimbridge EMEA was appointed by Santa Maria Group to manage its independent, 402-key Grand Luxor Hotel & Village resort on the Costa Blanca in Spain. The facility features a 300-room hotel and 102 villas. The Grand Luxor is adjacent to the Terra Mitica theme park, which is also owned by Santa Maria.

Seven Hills closes $17.3M bridge loan. Newton, Massachusetts-based Seven Hills Realty Trust has closed a $17.3 million first mortgage floating-rate bridge loan to recapitalize a recently built 130-key Home2 Suites by Hilton in Scottsdale, Arizona. The loan has a three-year initial term with two one-year extension options. CBRE advised joint venture sponsorship of Irving, Texas-based Highgate and Boston-based Rockpoint.

Kimpton growth in California. Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants broke ground for a new boutique hotel in the Northern California coastal community of Pacific Grove, on the Monterey Peninsula. Marking the boutique hotel brand's first property in the market, the 101-room Kimpton Pacific Grove Hotel is expected to open in late 2025 and is being developed by Cypress 16, LLC, in conjunction with Interport Capital and L&B Realty Advisors. It will become the 10th Kimpton hotel in California. The brand currently has 75 open hotels globally and 50 projects in the pipeline.

Warner Leisure adds in UK. Blackstone’s Warner Leisure Hotels, a Bourne Leisure portfolio company, has acquired two hotels – Dalmahoy Hotel and Country Club, near Edinburgh, and Forest of Arden Country Club, near Birmingham in the U.K. Dalmahoy Hotel and Country Club, Warner Leisure’s first hotel in Scotland, is Grade A manor house set in over 1,000 acres and only 30 minutes from Edinburgh city centre and 50 minutes from Glasgow. The 4-star hotel has 215 bedrooms, with two golf courses, two restaurants, two bars, a leisure club, tennis courts and conference facilities. The Forest of Arden Country Club is a 4-star golf hotel, located in the Midlands and only a 20-minute drive from Birmingham. The hotel is set in over 10,000 acres of woodlands and has 214 bedrooms, multiple lounges and bars, two golf courses, tennis courts, a leisure club and conference facilities. Since acquiring Bourne Leisure in 2021, which includes UK holiday park provider, Haven, Blackstone has invested over £450 million across its holiday parks and hotels. The commitment to Warner Leisure Hotels’ growth story is reflected in its investment of almost £120 million to renovate, refurbish and expand the portfolio.

Valor's second in Pakistan. Valor Hospitality Partners has been named lead operators of a new, multi-use development in Karachi, Pakistan by AAA. The Octa Karachi development consists of 314 commercial, retail and community spaces and will be Valor’s second property in Pakistan. This brings the global brand’s portfolio to more than 6,000 keys—with more than 900 in the Middle East. Valor Hospitality will oversee the hotel complete with 114 rooms and suites. The hotel rooms and residences will be located in the AAA Octa 2 Tower. This is Valor’s second property in Pakistan and follows an announcement last week naming the brand as operator of Petra Sea Resort in the Central Asian city of Batumi, Georgia.

Loge Camps expansion. Outdoor lodging and hospitality brand Loge Camps has expanded east in the U.S. with five new properties coming on line in the first half of 2024, stretching from Asheville, North Carolina, to Southport, Maine. This brings the number of Loge Camp locations to 17. Properties will be based in the following locations: Berkshires: Lenox, Massachusetts; Catskills: Palenville, New York; Maine Oceanfront: Southport, Maine;, Northeast Skiing: Mt. Snow, Vermont; Blue Ridge Mountains: Asheville, North Carolina. This news comes on the heels of a $16 million capital infusion from DCA Family Office, which the Loge team is using to add new destinations, experiences, and amenities to the current network of properties.

Extended-stay performance data. With the summer travel season now over, extended-stay hotels continued to achieve mostly better performance metrics than all hotels in August, according to The Highland Group. Supply, demand and room revenues made considerable relative gains and extended-stay hotels reported slightly stronger growth in ADR and RevPAR compared to all hotels.  “Extended-stay hotel’s 12.7 percentage point occupancy premium above the overall hotel industry in August is within the long-term annual average range over the last 25 years,” said Mark Skinner, partner at The Highland Group.

IHG grows in Indonesia. IHG Hotels & Resorts has partnered with MMS Land to debut the first Vignette Collection hotel in Indonesia. Rumah Luwih Bali, with its 74 rooms and suites, will join the IHG system later this year, before fully converting to a Vignette Collection property in 2024 following an extensive refurbishment. IHG has 24 open hotels in Indonesia and 15 hotels in the pipeline.

Mammoth development in Hainan. Luxury retailer DFS Group announced it will open a luxury retail and entertainment destination with luxury accommodations, DFS Yalong Bay in Sanya, Hainan, China by 2026. While no details about hotel components were announced, DFS is creating a 128,000 square meter site with plans to attract more than 1,000 luxury brands once fully operational. The project is estimated to attract over 16 million visitors per annum by 2030 and will create sizeable economic opportunities in Yalong Bay. Hong Kong-based DFS is privately held and majority owned by luxury conglomerate LVMH, alongside DFS co-founder and shareholder Robert Miller.

Lodging Dynamics Hospitality Group will manage the Residence Inn by Marriott Los Angeles/Redondo Beach.

Lodging Dynamics to Redondo Beach. Provo, Utah-based Lodging Dynamics Hospitality Group will manage the Residence Inn by Marriott Los Angeles/Redondo Beach, its ninth in Southern California. The two-story, 248-key hotel was developed and is owned by Utah-based Mogul Capital.

Minor adds in UAE. Bangkok-based Minor Hotels will manage the 22-key Anantara Santorini Abu Dhabi Retreat, set to launch in Q4 2023. The property is located in Ghantoot, an enclave on the coast approximately halfway between Dubai and Abu Dhabi. With this opening, Minor Hotels will have eight Anantara hotels and resorts in the UAE and a total of 11 in the region.

2024 meetings data for UK. A survey of business owners in the U.K. suggests that 27% are likely to hold fewer offsite events in 2024, compared with just 16% saying they are likely to hold more and the balance (48%) expecting roughly the same amount, according to BVA BDRC. Over half (54%) of the businesses with a negative outlook said the reason for reducing the number of events was weaker anticipated financial performance next year. In contrast, 28% were expecting to spend more on external facilities versus 22% expecting to spend less, partially fueled by an expectation of increased prices, rather than increased volume of events, creating the potential for stronger profits at venues. Nearly half of the 1,200 respondents said they will have held at least one meeting in an offsite location by the end of this year. Hotels and similar meeting venues remained the category with the broadest market penetration, with nearly two thirds (64%) saying they had used, or would use, these types of venues. Nearly half (49%) would have used meeting rooms in shared or serviced offices, and just under one in 10 (9%) have or would use “other” types of venues (such as museums, galleries, stadia or cinemas).

Charlestowne grabs first in Michigan. South Carolina-based Charlestowne Hotels will manage the The H Hotel in Midland, Michigan, its first in the state and seventh in the Midwest. The 139-key hotel is transitioning from a Dolce by Wyndham to an independent property. It features 25,000 sq. ft. of meeting space and three restaurants.

Aligned Hospitality adds 2 in Arizona. Arizona-based Aligned Hospitality Management is expanding its portfolio in the state by adding the 64-key Wingate by Wyndham Chandler/Phoenix and the 93-key dual-branded Motel 6/Studio 6 in Willcox. Aligned Hospitality has grown from managing two hotels in 2021 to nearly 20 with these additions.