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Briefs: Post documents Trump woes | Voco likes Australia

Trump hotel woes: The Trump Organization says gun violence, not the president’s name, is responsible for revenue decline at its Chicago property since Trump entered the presidential race in 2015, according to the Washington Post. Separately, the Post quoted a Trump consultant who said business at the 643-room Trump Doral in Miami Beach have been in sharp decline since 2015 with the family business citing fears of the Zika virus in 2016, and hurricanes in 2016 and 2017, for driving tourists away from South Florida. In Chicago, the Post’s review of internal documents and figures submitted for tax purposes determined that between 2015 and 2018, the Trump Tower’s average daily rate dropped 5% and RevPAR fell 18%, compared with 6% and 15% respectively, experienced by competitors. Back in Florida, in two years, the resort’s net operating income had fallen by 69%, according to the post report.

Read Washington Post report

Choice-AMResorts deal: Choice Hotels International has entered into a strategic agreement with AMResorts, an Apple Leisure Group (ALG) related brand known for its portfolio of all-inclusive resorts in Mexico, the Caribbean and Central America, that by yearend will allow Choice Privileges members to earn and redeem points at AMResorts properties. The alliance is expected to add more than 25,000 upscale rooms to the Choice Hotels’ network and double the number of upscale rooms that Choice offers globally. Choice said it also will position the company as having the largest all-inclusive luxury resort offering of any major U.S. hotel company.

Voco takes Sydney: IHG has signed its fifth Voco in Australia since the brand’s global launch in June of 2018, partnering with Linzhu Australia Pty Ltd to open the 301-room Voco Sydney Central by 2020. Part of Linzhu Australia’s 430 Pitt Street mixed-use development, the property boasts a 17-storey tower with a sloping roof featuring unique “green waterfalls.

Chatham sells: Chatham Lodging Trust, a West Palm Beach, Florida-based REIT, has sold two non-core assets: the 105-room Courtyard by Marriott Altoona, Pennsylvania, as well as the 86-suite SpringHill Suites by Marriott Washington, Pennsylvania, for approximately US$10 million. Inclusive of brand-required improvements of over US$4 million, Chatham sold the hotels at an approximate 6% net operating income capitalization rate (after an assumed annual capital reserve of 4% of total hotel revenues).

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