Latest news: Apple sells 4 for $31M; WorldHotels hard brands; record Ryman result

Apple announces sales. Richmond, Virginia-based Apple Hospitality REIT said its RevPAR grew 0.8% and its comparable hotel EBITDA was $139.2 million, up 0.3% year-over-year, as part of its third-quarter earnings. The REIT also tightened its 2024 guidance by lowering its RevPAR growth forecast, hotel EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA for the rest of the year. The acquisition-heavy REIT also said it was disposing of four assets for $31.1 million: the 90-key Courtyard Wichita East in Kansas; the 97-key TownePlace Suites Knoxville Cedar Bluff and the 76-key Homewood Suites Chattanooga-Hamilton Place in Tennessee and the 117-key Hilton Garden Inn Austin North in Texas. Analyst Michael Bellisario of R.W. Baird said the results were ahead of expectations on better margins, which drove the earnings upside, and full-year guidance ranges were tightened… He said October RevPAR growth was ~4%, which likely includes some hurricane-related lift.

First hard-branded WorldHotels in EMEA.BWH Hotels and its soft-brand WorldHotels are partnering with Capitol HPS to open WorldHotels’ first hard-branded property in Europe in the country of Georgia. The 1,100-key WorldHotels Kobuleti is scheduled to open Kobuleti in 2028. The luxury resort will have two 47-story towers.

Ryman Q3 earnings. Nashville-based Ryman Hospitality reported record hospitality revenue in the third quarter and said its same-store hospitality portfolio had a record third-quarter Total RevPAR of $431, which was a 4.2% increase year-over-year and was driven by a strong banquet and AV revenue. The REIT said its hospitality portfolio also had a record third-quarter ADR of $245, a 6.2% increase YOY. Analyst Patrick Scholes of Truist Securities said Ryman’s results were most in line with or ahead of consensus. “We see the upside coming from better than expected F&B profits… More relevant in the near term is the 2024 guidance cut, which has come alongside a dividend raise. We think investors should focus on the 30,000-foot view here: the fundamental strength of the group, renovation activity and future room expansions, which should drive EBITDA and AFFO growth long-term, and that some of the guide cut is one-time in nature.”

Hotel refi in Washington. Bellevue, Washington and Lehi, Utah-based West77 Partners have secured a refinance for the 254-key Hilton Garden Inn Seattle Bellevue Downtown in Washington. JLL helped arrange the financing, a fixed-rate, five-year loan through a national life insurance company. The proceeds were used to pay off an existing bank loan and return equity to the borrower.

Extended-stay still higher than industry. Despite reporting a third successive occupancy decline in the third quarter, extended-stay hotels posted new record high demand, ADR and RevPAR, according to research by The Highland Group. According to Highland, occupancy declines have been small and average occupancy remains more than 11% above the overall hotel industry. “While RevPAR growth is low compared to the last three years, if forecasts for the overall hotel industry materialize, more new performance records from extended-stay hotels are expected during the near term,” Mark Skinner, partner at The Highland Group, said.

Activum, GHIC acquire in London. UK-based ActivumSG, on behalf of ActivumSG Fund VII, wth advisory services from Global Hospitality Investment Group to acquire Sutton Point, a hotel-led mixed-use asset in London, from an undisclosed buyer for £21 million. Upon closing, the development’s non-hospitality elements (residential, retail and freehold interest) were successfully sold in multiple back-to-back disposals. This significantly de-risked the transaction and allowed for the retention of the two hotels (a 99-key Ibis hotel and a 59-key Adagio aparthotel), where ActivumSG will leverage its expertise to enhance their value. The site was originally developed in 2019.

Aprirose sells in Liverpool. London-based Aprirose has sold the Liverpool Premier Inn to an undisclosed investment charity at an undisclosed price. Aprirose acquired the 165-key hotel in 2014. Aprirose has divested a number of assets over the last 12 months and the company is gearing up for acquisitions. “We are embarking on a period of strategic acquisitions as the company looks to take advantage of our track record to buy well and identifying both long income and asset management opportunities across a range of sectors in the UK,” said Ari Boyd, CFO at Aprirose.

Hyatt adds in Nepal. Hyatt Hotels Corp. has entered into a management agreement with Cochin, India-based Veda Hospitality Private Ltd., a part of the Golyan Group, for 175-key Hyatt Regency Lumbini. The property will be the fourth Hyatt-branded hotel in Nepal and is scheduled to open by 2028. Hyatt’s current portfolio in India and Southwest Asia consists of 52 properties, 50 in India and two in Nepal, across nine brands.

Hawaii strike ends. Over 1,800 Hilton Hawaiian Hotel workers returned to work on Tuesday as they ratified a new contract and ended a 40-day strike that began on September 24. However, the union said more than 3,200 of its members at seven other hotels are still working without a contract and could strike at any time.

Blue Diamond resort joins Autograph. Barbados-based Blue Diamond Resorts said the previously announced 220-key Royalton CHIC Barbados will join Marriott International’s Autograph Collection when it opens in spring 2026. This is Blue Diamond’s first property in Barbados and will be part of a portfolio of over 80 properties in eight countries in the Caribbean.

Financing for UK hotel. London-based Firethorn Trust has secured £18 million in financing to renovate the 150-key Malmaison York hotel in York, which it acquired in June 2024. It’s the first hotel in Firethorn’s portfolio. Chicago-based GCM Grosvenor arranged the financing.

New Kempinski in Bahrain. Manama, Bahrain-based GFH Financial Group is partnering with Manama-based Infracorp and Kempinski to launch the 260-key Harbour Heights Kempinski Hotel and branded residences. The hotel is scheduled to open at the end of 2025, with the residences scheduled to open in the first half of 2026.