Breaking
news about development, M&A, performance and more.
Dallas still leads construction. Dallas still
leads the U.S. in hotel construction pipeline with 185 projects and 21,882 rooms through the 1Q24,
according to Lodging Econometrics. No. 2 was Atlanta, with
an all-time high of 153 projects and 17,929 rooms; Nashville was No. 3 with
127 projects and 16,199 rooms. No. 4 was Phoenix, with 123 projects and 16,198
rooms, and No. 5 was the Inland Empire in California, with a new record high of
121 projects and 12,324 rooms. U.S. markets with the greatest number of
projects already under construction were New York with 47 projects and 7,655
rooms, Dallas with 25 projects and 3,059 rooms, and Nashville with 22 projects
and 2,828 rooms. Dallas has the most projects scheduled to start in the next 12
months with 77 projects and 9,269 rooms. Early planning projects and room
counts hit a new all-time high with 2,662 projects and 300,686 rooms. Renovation and brand conversion
projects continue to increase with 2,041 projects and 266,405 rooms in the
renovation/conversion pipeline through the first quarter. In the first
quarter, 114 new hotels and 15,506 rooms opened in the U.S., with the top 50
markets accounting for 60 hotels and 10,036 rooms.
Accor adds in Makkah. Accor is partnering with Saudi Arabia-based
Alesayi Holding to open a new hotel and residence development in Makkah in the
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The Abraj Omar Hotel & Residences Makkah –
MGallery Collection will have 276 rooms and 214 branded residences and is
scheduled to open in 2028.
Travelodge owner explores sale? New York City-based hedge fund GoldenTree
Asset Management, the owner of Travelodge, is in talks to buy £40 million worth
of hotels from its landlords as the company explores a sale, according to a
report in The Sunday Times. Travelodge leases hotels from third-party
landlords, and the move to purchase freeholds has fueled rumors of a potential
sale, according to the story. Travelodge bought 66 U.K. hotels for £210 million
from its largest landlord, LXi REIT, in March and acquired six hotels in Spain
from Louvre Hotels Group earlier this month. Goldentree explored a £1.2 billion sale
of Travelodge last summer.
LVXP arena project in Las Vegas will
include hotels. Las Vegas-based development company
LVXP has announced plans for a new mixed-use development on the Las Vegas Strip
that will be anchored by an entertainment and sports arena and also include several
luxury hotels. The 27-acre site will be adjacent to the Fontainebleau Las Vegas
and near Resorts World Las Vegas and could serve as the home for an NBA
expansion franchise.
WeWork deal to get out of bankruptcy. WeWork Inc. and SoftBank Group Corp. and its other major financial backers have
agreed to a new restructuring deal to get the company out of bankruptcy, according
to a report from Bloomberg. The proposal spurns a financing proposal from
co-founder Adam Neumann. WeWork’s lenders
have agreed to provide roughly $450 million in Chapter 11 and exit financing in
exchange for equity in the reorganized business. The company filed for bankruptcy
in November.
BWH adds in Africa. BWH Hotels said the Panari
Resort in Nyahururu, Kenya will be the first in Africa to join its BW Signature
Collection. The 300-key The Panari Resort has cottage-style rooms and three
restaurants.
Saudi Arabia to add 320,000 hotel
rooms by 2030. The
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is planning to build 320,000 new hotel rooms by 2030,
according to research by London-based Knight Frank. The study said
approximately 67% of the proposed room inventory in the country would
fall under the upscale or luxury categories and cater to the estimated 150
million domestic and international tourists anticipated by 2030, a 50% increase
from its previous goal. That amount of hotels would mean the country would need
between 232,000 and 387,000 workers to operate them, according to the study.
Dubai occupancy, ADR rise during
holidays. Dubai’s occupancy and ADR reached elevated levels during Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr,
according to CoStar. During Ramadan (March 11-April 9),
Dubai saw its highest daily occupancy levels on March 29 (78.9%), coinciding
with the Easter holiday weekend. The market’s ADR levels peaked on March 30
(AED901.25). Eid al-Fitr celebrations started on 10 April, with Dubai seeing
its highest daily occupancy levels on April 12 (92.9%) and highest ADR on April
11 (AED891.48).