A roundup of the most memorable quotes from the past week's stories.
With the 34th annual Hunter Hotel Investment Conference as the backdrop, we present you with pithy and memorable quotes to help give you further perspective to manage hotel assets.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“There is still a [considerable] bid-ask spread between buyer and seller. The cost of debt is a major factor in that. We are finding success being more creative with the seller on the equity stack to solve for whatever that spread is, whether it's an earn out, whether it's staying in the deal or whether it's a piece for seller financing. At this point, however, I don't think the market has shifted nor has what the seller is expecting in terms of return pressure.” – Mike Wilbert, Mission Hill Hospitality, commenting at the Hunter conference Read story
“Highly traded markets this year have been Spain and Italy
with the best assets in the best cities or resorts achieving robust pricing
from long-term capital or owner operators.” -- Hilltop Hospitality Advisors CEO
Tom Oakden on Western Europe deal flow Read story
“When we think about 2024-25 and beyond and the $1.2
trillion spent on the infrastructure bill, and the other $300-400 billion that
will be spent on the Chips and Science Act, the opportunity ahead in the next
10 years is just beginning… All the panels have been talking cautiously
optimistic about select-service development, obviously in reference to
financing and getting those built, but I’m really optimistic in terms of what’s
to come during the midweek, end of weekend from that infrastructure bill.” –
Geoff Ballotti, president, CEO, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, at the Hunter
conference Read story
What we're seeing across the board from a lending perspective is that many lenders are de-risking, which means that they can take on better credits and stronger sponsors with less risk and lower LTV and get paid better for it. So, everything kind of pushes down from there.
Brian Waldman
“Four years from now, we’ll certainly be a top 25 company
within the third-party list.” – Charles Oswald, CEO, Aperture Hotels, on the
brand’s launch Read story
“In my world when there’s disruption that creates
opportunities. But this potential banking dislocation may not materialize too
much… Given what happened with SVB, First Republic, Signature banks, I think most
lending institutions will be cautious about what they’re doing in the near
term. So, that will clearly just sort of slow things down... For us, if we can
find something that’s interesting, that fits a hole geographically or a segment
that we’re not in, we’ll spend time on it. Remember, there’s $13 billion of
hotel loans coming due this year.” – Pyramid Global Hospitality CEO Warren
Fields Read story
“There's a lot of debt maturing, and different lenders are
taking different approaches as to how they're going to handle that. In majority
of the cases, we're seeing that lenders are going to want something. They're
not just going to let you extend. There might be a pay down for the extension.
There might be additional reserves. There might be recourse. You have to have
the ability to do that whether or not your loan requires this or that reserve.”
– Brian Waldman, chief investment officer Peachtree Hotel Group, commenting at
the Hunter conference Read story
“Lenders today are less inclined to take risk because of the
macro market. So, they want to see a double-digit number in place today or in
year one.” – Mike Wilbert, managing director, Mission Hill Hospitality, commenting at the Hunter conference Read story
“If you're going to a balance sheet lender at 50%, and you're
putting up recourse, that's going to look really different than going to a debt
fund where you might need 65%. What we're seeing across the board from a
lending perspective is that many lenders are de-risking, which means that they
can take on better credits and stronger sponsors with less risk and lower LTV
and get paid better for it. So, everything kind of pushes down from there.” –
Brian Waldman, Peachtree Hotel Group, commenting at the Hunter conference Read story
“Recap will be meaningful over the next few years. There are
a variety of ways to structure it, including a recap where you agree to a value
and then new equity comes in and you carry on as partners.” – Ben Brunt, managing
principal, chief investment officer, Noble Investment Group, commenting at the
Hunter conference Read story