Quotes of the Week: Trinity, HE, Kasa, Hilton, Whitestone

QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“We anticipate the strongest customer-segment growth from group and business transient – group will remain the primary engine of topline and profitability gains, supported by improved booking pace, shorter lead times, and stronger meeting planner confidence. Business transient is projected to show continued recovery as corporate travel budgets stabilize- leisure transient will remain an important contributor, though growth is expected to be more moderated. With tighter compression from group, we expect to yield out lower-rated discounted leisure and strengthen ADR across peak periods.” – Sean Hehir, Trinity Investments   Read story

“Distress and fatigue may cause M&A to tick up, albeit with Marriott’s embarrassing Sonder problem it likely won’t be coming from the big flags. Management companies are looking for alternatives as a lot of CEOs/owners/founders held on through COVID and are now five years out looking for things to do. Hence the ‘fatigue’ commentary. Properties themselves are going to find themselves in distress and something may actually happen this year.” – Ben Rafter, Hotel Equities   Read story

“This deal is proof that the alternative accommodations sector is maturing. As the category evolves, owners are prioritizing disciplined operators with the infrastructure and processes to perform consistently across market cycles. In this context, discipline supports durability. Mint House ran a comprehensive strategic process and selected Kasa because the combined platform delivers clear benefits: deeper operational expertise, stronger commercial capabilities, and a more resilient operating model for owners.” – Roman Pedan, Kasa   Read story

“After an extensive search, Hilton is proud to partner with Placemakr to introduce Hilton’s new lodging category. We’ve long seen the opportunity to deliver hospitality-driven apartment stays, offering spacious accommodations, thoughtful amenities, and authentic connections to local neighborhoods, and Placemakr shares that vision. For nearly a decade, they’ve demonstrated a strong commitment to guests through high product standards and exceptional service.” – Chris Silcock, Hilton   Read story

“In 2021-23, we really, as an industry, had no clue what was going to happen. We were optimistic that things would return to 2019 levels at some point. Well, that hasn't quite happened,” he said. “Obviously, nobody knew what impact inflation was going to have and how it was going to trickle down to every line item on our P&L, and that's had a big impact.” – Jay Batra, Whitestone Capital   Read story

“We see these rates of growth [in limited-service] better than the approx. +1%-1.5% that most industry forecasters and Wall Street consensus are currently expecting.” – C. Patrick Scholes, Truist Securities   Read story

“We are honored to lead Sonesta into its next phase of growth. Over the past several years, Sonesta has transformed its management business, franchise business, technology, and commercial infrastructure under John’s leadership, creating a strong foundation for the future. Building on this progress, we are committed to advancing Sonesta’s ‘asset-right,’ franchise-focused growth strategy, leveraging innovative technology, and driving operational excellence to expand market share and deliver an exceptional guest experience across all segments.” – Keith Pierce, Jeff Leer, Sonesta Hotels International Corp.   Read story

“With the Indian hospitality industry at an important inflection point, we look forward to leveraging Warburg Pincus’ global network and deep real estate and hospitality experience to scale responsibly, advance digital-led capabilities and embed sustainability as a core pillar of Lemon Tree’s and Fleur’s long-term growth journey.” – Patanjali Govind Keswani, Lemon Tree Hotels   Read story

“Many [World Cup] cities have seized this opportunity to embrace a global trend: building hospitality and entertainment districts around sports stadiums. With numerous new brands and nearby convention centers, this approach is a natural fit for the right developers.” – Bruce Ford, Lodging Econometrics   Read story

“We discussed with Accor about converting the management agreements for our Novotel and Ibis [in Chiang Mai] to a franchise. When we did that, we saw an improved cost management and a significant uplift in performance due to us as owners directly handling the revenue management. That gave us the conviction that franchising is a pretty good model.” – Prab Thakral, Boutique Corp.   Read story

“While we continue to see opportunities to diversify our footprint across all segments, the signing of our first Four Points Flex by Sheraton marks an exciting milestone, and we see strong potential to further grow our midscale brands across the Kingdom.” – Karim Cheltout, Marriott International   Read story