Quotes of the Week: Hilton, Wyndham, CapStar, Athens Group

QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“Nothing is a cure all but if you are looking for something additional to increase the potential return on your investment, think about how the general managers of your past investments have impacted your returns and how aligning their goals with yours may benefit everyone involved. Then look at how to make sure the position that has the most direct impact on your investment is aligned with you.” – David McCaslin, CapStar Advisors   Read story

“Our focus… is on getting back to brand building the way we do it, where we see legitimate white spaces that are opportunities to continue to build our network and add to our growth. So, the entire organizational focus is there… We’re not out bounty hunting to do acquisitions. So, the way you should think about the 6% to 7% (NUG growth) is that it does not imply that we’re going to go out and buy anything. That implies our existing and new brands are going to deliver that kind of growth.” – Chris Nassetta, Hilton   Read story

“We delivered another solid quarter growing our global system by 4%, expanding our development pipeline by 5%, increasing our ancillary revenues by 19%, and continuing to execute our strategy focused on higher FeePAR segments and markets, which is driving growth in both domestic and international royalty rates. Amid a softer domestic RevPAR environment, we grew comparable adjusted EBITDA by 5% and comparable adjusted EPS by 11%... With consistent development, royalty rate, and ancillary fee growth, we remain very confident in our ability to create long-term value.” – Geoff Ballotti, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts   Read story

“I think a number of tertiary and secondary markets that historically haven’t gotten $1,000 ADRs have opportunity. Some of the non-coastal markets. We continue to explore places that have a rich and deep history, that have an ability to provide that authentic regional experience.” – Rob McIver, The Athens Group   Read story

“This tool [Opportunity Zone investments] is great for investors who are willing to be patient. It is not a tool for investors who are looking for distributions in the short term or looking to exit the investment in the short term.” – Natalie Mason, Capital Square   Read story

“We greatly appreciate the continued support of our lending partners through the upsizing and extension of our credit facility. Maintaining low leverage and no debt maturities until 2028 increases our financial flexibility and positions the company to take advantage of internal and external capital allocation opportunities over the next several years.” – Briony Quinn, DiamondRock Hospitality Co.  Read story

“Limited-service and midscale extended-stay hotels had median per-room costs in the $167,000-169,000 range. The median cost for hotels in the upscale extended-stay and select-service categories was around $265,000 per room and $223,000 per room, respectively. The cost to develop full-service hotels is noticeably higher than select-service hotels, with a median cost of $409,000 per room for full-service projects. Lastly, the median cost to develop luxury hotels was recorded at over $1,057,000 per room. In summary, the median hotel development cost across all surveyed properties was reported at $219,000 per room, similar to 2024’s survey, supporting the stabilization of construction costs.” – HVS   Read story

“Las Vegas is typically seasonally slower in the hotter spring and summer months, and we continue to see the return of normal seasonality after several years of elevated pent-up-demand spending.” – John DeCree, CBRE Capital Advisors   Read story