Oxford acquires hometown Thompson: Oxford Capital Group, Chicago, has acquired the 247-room Thompson Chicago. Its wholly owned affiliate, Oxford Hotels & Resorts, immediately takes over management of the property. Thompson Chicago, which will remain affiliated with Hyatt’s Thompson Hotels brand, initially opened its doors in 2013. Thompson Chicago will be Oxford’s 25th lifestyle hotel transaction and 15th hotel project in Chicago. Oxford, its affiliates and principals have been involved in over US$3 billion of real estate and private equity investments, with a primary focus on hospitality (15,000-plus hotel rooms).
Hyatt Q2 earnings: Hyatt Hotels Corp.Q2 non-GAAP earnings per share (EPS) was announced Tuesday at -US$1.15 a consensus miss by US$0.30; GAAP EPS of -US$0.08 beat estimates by US$0.71. Adjusted EBITDA increased compared to the second quarter of 2020 to US$55 million. Comparable system-wide RevPAR increased to US$72.47 in the second quarter of 2021, and decreased 49.8% compared to the second quarter 2019 on a reported basis. Comparable owned and leased hotels RevPAR increased to US$86.66 in the second quarter of 2021 and decreased 53.4% compared to the second quarter 2019 on a reported basis. For 2021, the company expects net rooms growth to be greater than 6%.
Big deal in supply space: Consolidated Hospitality Supplies Holdings (CHS), a consolidation platform backed by HCI Equity Partners, has acquired the inventory and select North American operating assets of American Hotel Register Co., including American Hotel’s “Registry” brand. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Since 1865, American Hotel Register has supported the growth of the hospitality industry with more than 70,000 products. In 2017, HCI entered into the hospitality supply business with the purchase of Amtex and its “Infinti” and “Hotelo” brands, which have a strong presence in the value and mid-tier hotel markets. Following this transaction, CHS, with the newly acquired assets of American Hotel and its Amtex business, will create a hospitality supply platform that it said will enhance the company’s market share, expand the product portfolio and improve customer engagements through its national fulfillment and salesforce coverage.
Hamilton Development acquires Congress Inn: Hamilton Development, an investor group led by Nashville, Tennessee-based real estate investor and developer Tyler Cauble, has acquired the 52-room Congress Inn in conjunction with Red Rover Hospitality. The group will reimage the space into a boutique hotel called Salt Ranch, launching the brand’s flagship location in Nashville. The Congress Inn was said to be an early Civil War hospital that housed injured soldiers and operated as Maple Manor and Restaurant in the 1950s. The new Salt Ranch will maintain its historic feel.
Castlelake invests Millenium REIT: Alternative investment manager Castlelake, Minneapolis, Minnesota, will acquire up to 49.9% of the shares of Millenium Hotels Real Estate, a listed real estate investment company that specializes in luxury hotel properties in Spain and Portugal. Castlelake will become the primary shareholder of the company and have three seats on its board of directors. The Millenium portfolio is currently comprised of 10 hospitality assets across the main tourism destinations of Madrid, Alicante, Sevilla, Bilbao, Córdoba, Alcaidesa and San Sabastian, which Millenium has stated to be valued at approximately €500 million, once fully redeveloped. Castlelake has acquired more than 7,000 assets across 12 European countries since its founding in 2005.
Butcher comes back to Langham: Langham Hospitality Group, Hong Kong, has welcomed back Brett Butcher as chief executive officer. He previously served in the same role for five years from 2009. He left the group in 2014 and returned as chief executive officer of GE Hospitality Asset Management in 2017, a position that he will continue to hold. Butcher will provide guidance in the operations of the group’s hotels, spearhead all hotel owner relations, and solicit new management contracts in key destinations around the world. Butcher was previously senior vice president of sales, marketing and brand for Langham, as well as managing director of Langham Place, Mongkok, Hong Kong (later rebranded Cordis, Hong Kong.) Prior to LHG, Butcher served in various operational and executive roles for nearly 20 years across the Pacific, North America, and China.
IntercityHotel in Lübeck: IntercityHotel, the Deutsche Hospitality brand of upper mid-range, urban hotels headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, will open its first property in Lübeck in northern Germany by 2023. The 176-room hotel will extend over six storeys and will include a lobby, restaurant, bar and several conference facilities. The hotel’s interior design will be done by the Italian architect Matteo Thun. The project is part of the agreement between Deutsche Hospitality and the Commerz Real Institutional European Hotel Fund, through which Commerz Real, a subsidiary of Commerzbank, acquired the hotel from the developer GBI. The hotel is the fourth acquisition made by the Commerz Real Institutional European Hotel Fund.
Hotels with wellness centers perform better: Hotels with wellness revenues exceeding US$1 million generated nearly 75% more in TRevPAR in 2020 than those with wellness revenues of less than US$1 million, as per the latest Wellness Real Estate Report from RLA Global. Hotels with significant wellness offerings were able to harness pent-up leisure demand to drive both revenues and 65% higher ADR, despite restrictions on travel. The GOP margin of major wellness hotels — those with annual wellness revenues exceeding US$1 million — was lower at 6.6% than properties with minor wellness (10.2%), which was 4.1% higher than GOP margins in hotels with no wellness. This shows that running a major wellness operation doesn’t necessarily lead to a better bottom-line performance.