Quotes of the Week: Weller Development Partners, Stonebridge Companies, JLL

QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“The blending of these two companies will create a dynamic, leading hotel management group that will drive innovation and create exciting growth opportunities for our team members.” – Navin Dimond, Stonebridge Companies  Read story

“It allows us to consider, look at and pursue projects throughout North America and the Caribbean. It gives us financial support and some of the experience and support that the Mohari team brings to the table while allowing us to grow without worrying as much about how or where we’ll be looking for our funding for these various projects.” – Marc Weller, Weller Development Partners  Read story

“Investors [in Europe] are just not going to be interested in an asset or a company unless it is well down the line on sustainability and the problem is, it is expensive and if you are playing catch up it is even more expensive.” – Russell Kett, HVS  Read story

“Our 10-year strategy for China remains valid – that China has a long way to go before reaching per capita hotel keys ratios of developed countries, and that our midscale and upscale brands, should benefit from the growth of the middle class… No one is putting China on hold; they are all going to be more cautious though.” – KP Ho, Banyan Group  Read story

“Lagging Asian travel is a function of reduced air capacity, ongoing U.S.-China tensions, and visa wait-time challenges (these have started to abate which will be a major in the coming months).” – Zach Demuth, JLL Hotels & Hospitality  Read story

“We speak the language, we understand the language, we know how to get through the process of construction,” Sacal told Hotel Investment Today. “We deal with the unions within the government and we know exactly how to have good relations to develop things… We are like a good door for those who want to come in and invest in Mexico.” – Elias Sacal, Murano Global Investments  Read story

“The segment of the market that is arguably the most active, relative to what it’s been in the recent past, is in the large loan space, specifically executions doing SASB CMBS (single-asset, single-borrower, commercial mortgage-backed securities).” – Kevin Davis, JLL Hotels & Hospitality  Read story

“Slower RevPAR growth reflects softer demand, stickier inflation and high interest rates,” said Michael Nhu, senior economist and CBRE’s head of global hotels forecasting. “People have already spent a significant portion of their pandemic-era savings, and on top of that, the lingering inflationary pressures are putting a strain on discretionary spending, especially for more price-sensitive consumers.” – Michael Nhu, CBRE  Read story

“STR stands by its long-standing practice of providing the hotel industry with competition-enhancing analysis. Since its founding in 1985, STR has been committed to providing the industry with the highest-quality insights, while simultaneously protecting the confidentiality of client data through aggregation and anonymization. STR will therefore vigorously defend itself in the lawsuit.” – CoStar/Smith Travel Research  Read story

“Recent conversations with investors [in Florida], expectations for no more rate hikes, and indications of a return to stabilized RevPAR growth in 2024 give us optimism that harmony will return to the investment market and significant amounts of capital will be on the move in the near-term.” – JLL Hotels & Hospitality  Read story

“Today’s full-service construction pipeline increases are being driven by ‘better than most’ operating performance during the pandemic. Luxury/all-inclusive style resorts continue to grow in popularity, especially as they are a closer and more convenient destination for American tourism. Central and South American markets remain second in the world for full-service development.” – Bruce Ford, Lodging Econometrics  Read story