Latest news: Ashford refi, update on debt payoff; US up last week; RLJ's positive Q3

AHT refinances, updates on payoff. Dallas-based REIT Ashford Hospitality Trust (AHT) said it has successfully refinanced its loan for the 703-key Crystal Gateway Marriott in Arlington, Virginia, which had a final maturity date in November 2026. The non-recourse loan totals $121.5 million and has a three-year initial term with two one-year extension options. The loan is interest only and provides a floating interest rate of SOFR + 4.86%. The REIT also announced a reduction in the exit fee on its strategic financing from 15% to 12.5% of the original loan balance through December 15, 2024, provided that the outstanding loan balance had been reduced to $50 million or less by November 15. Ashford said it made significant progress on this plan with year-to-date asset sales of approximately $311 million and the REIT has paid off more than $100 million of strategic financing since the start of 2024.

US hotel performance up. The U.S. hotel industry for October 27 - November 2 reported positive year-over-year comparisons, according to CoStar data. Occupancy was 60.8% (up 1.9% YOY); ADR was $154.99 (up 1.2% YOY) and RevPAR was $94.22 (up 3.1% YOY). Among the top 25 markets, Tampa saw the largest occupancy lift (+34.7% to 80.5%) because of continued displacement demand from Hurricane Milton. New Orleans saw the highest increases in ADR (+27.7% to $222.51) and RevPAR (+53.3% to $169.73) driven by Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour. The steepest RevPAR declines were seen in Las Vegas (-28.8% to $151.47) and San Francisco (-14.9% to $123.16).

RLJ has a strong Q3. Bethesda, Maryland-based REIT RLJ Lodging Trust reported strong RevPAR, ADR, occupancy and revenue growth as part of its third-quarter earnings. RLH said RevPAR grew 2%, ADR grew 0.6%, occupancy grew 1.4% and total revenues grew 3.4%. Hotel EBITDA was $100.7, up 2.6% year-over-year, while expenses grew 3.1% (well below expense growth in the first half of 2024). The REIT’s full-year guidance remained unchanged. Analyst Michael Bellisario of R.W. Baird said RLJ’s results were better than expected across the board. “Last quarter, RLJ significantly reduced its 2H24 outlook, which came as a surprise to us at the time, but that outlook is unchanged today and reflects 3Q24 outperformance and a slightly softer 4Q24 forecast primarily due to hurricane-related impacts. Overall, RLJ’s update was solid, especially given low analyst/investor expectations, and consensus numbers are likely to increase a bit.”

Playa reports net loss. Fairfax, Virginia-based Playa Hotels & Resorts reported a net loss of $2.7 million as part of its third-quarter earnings. Its net package RevPAR decreased 6.4% year-over-year to $252.12, driven by an occupancy drop of 7.3%. This loss was partially offset by a 4.3% increase in net package ADR. CEO Bruce Wardinski said occupancy in Jamaica and the Pacific Coast was better than expected in Q3. Demand improved with the REIT moving past the most disruptive portion of its renovation work in Los Cabos and trends in Jamaica resumed their recovery following Hurricane Beryl. Analyst C. Patrick Scholes of Truist Securities said Q3 earnings were a beat.

Rochester hotel revamp. Developer Angelo Ingrassia is partnering with Buffalo-based Ellicott Development to transform the former Rochester Riverside Hotel in New York, which is currently closed, into a mixed-use development, according to the Rochester Business Journal. The property will feature three floors of hotel rooms, eight floors of apartments, a ground-level restaurant and/or retail space, and three floors of lobby, meeting space and exhibit space.

San Jose hotel bankruptcy. San Francisco-based Throckmorton Partners has filed bankruptcy on a prominent San Jose, California, hotel for the second time in three years. The 541-key Signia by Hilton San Jose will remain open while the owner looks for new financing. Los Angeles-based BrightSpire, which has provided financing for the hotel since June, has filed a notice of default and scheduled an auction, according to a story in Siliconvalley.com.

Waldorf in Costa Rica opening in spring. Hilton’s Waldorf Astoria flag is targeting a spring opening for its new Costa Rica resort. The 188-key Waldorf Astoria Costa Rica Punta Cacique is scheduled to open on March 13.  The property will have six F&B outlets. It will join the luxury brand’s portfolio of 34 properties globally.

KE adds three in UK. London-based KE Hotels has added three U.K. hotels to its management portfolio by adding three Hampton by Hilton hotels in October. This marks KE’s first Hampton by Hilton hotels in the country. The properties are Hampton by Hilton Newcastle, Hampton by Hilton Birmingham Broad Street, and Hampton by Hilton Sheffield. KE now operates seven hotels across the U.K. and six hotels in the U.S.

Concorde acquires in Singapore. Singapore-based Luxury Peak Pte Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hotel Properties Ltd., has acquired the Concorde Hotel & Shopping Mall in Singapore from an undisclosed seller for S$821 million ($621.6 million). The property has almost 100,000 sq. ft. and is zoned for a hotel with a 10-story height control. Savills Singapore brokered the transaction.

Dusit adds in India. Bangkok-based Dusit Hotels and Resorts is entering a hotel management agreement with Bangalore, India-based Shravanthi Hotels and Resorts Private Ltd. to operate the 75-key Devarana Sakleshpur, Karnataka - A Dusit Retreat in India. It’s the first Devarana - Dusit Retreat signed outside of China. The hotel is scheduled to open in March 2028 and Dusit’s portfolio now includes 301 properties across 18 countries.

Bank of England cuts rate. The Bank of England cut interest rates as expected on Thursday. Interest rates were lowered by a quarter point to 4.75%, but it was emphasized that future rate cuts were likely to be very gradual as inflation pressures still persisted and recent government tax and spending plans. The rate was the second since August, before which rates had been held at a 16-year high for about a year.