Apperances. The Trump Organization and the Kushner Cos. have terminated their partnership in a New Jersey hotel, Bloomberg reported. A person familiar with the matter said the family company of Jared Kushner had one of its hotels, the Westminter in Livingston, New Jersey, managed by the Trump hotel company. The management contract generated US$20,002 in fees for the Trump Organization last year, according to the president’s May financial disclosure form. The arrangement lasted about a year.
Blackstone buys in Spain. Spanish REIT Hispania Activos Inmobiliarios has agreed to be bought by Blackstone for around €2 billion (US$2.3 billion) following a revised offer from €17.45 a share to €18.25 a share. Hispania’s current portfolio includes more than 180,000sqm in offices, 650 dwellings and 46 hotels. The real estate asset portfolio is currently valued at €2.81 billion (US$3.25 billion).
Mixed May in Europe. Highlights of May performance in Europe, according to STR, included the United Kingdom reporting its first decline in room rates since 2016; France registering its 11th straight month of RevPAR growth; and Poland posting significant performance growth. Across Europe, performance was mixed with occupancy off 0.8% to 74.4%; ADR +1.5% to EUR113.35; and RevPAR +0.6% to EUR84.31.
The year-over-year ADR decline was the first for the U.K. since October 2016. That decrease came even as strong demand (+2%) outpaced healthy supply growth (+1.4%). London overall performance was negative (RevPAR: -4.5%), mainly due to the largest ADR decrease in the market (-3.7%) for any May since 2009.
China keeps rolling. Key takeaways from May performance in Asia Pacific, according to STR, included Mainland China extending performance growth period with strong leisure business; Japan reporting high occupancy, flat performance comparisons; and Vietnam performance increases muted by supply growth and declines in Hanoi. Overall, Asia Pacific saw occupancy +0.8% to 68.9%; ADR +1.1% to US$102.95; and RevPAR +1.9% to US$70.90.
Mainland China has now experienced 13 consecutive months of year-over-year RevPAR growth. The 83.2% occupancy level in Japan was the second-highest for any May in STR’s Japan database. Solid demand growth (+7.1%) in Vietnam was somewhat countered by significant growth in supply (+6.1%) – the largest uptick in new rooms in the country since March 2016.