Lack of pricing confidence: Growth projections for U.S. RevPAR have been downgraded to the worst since the last recession to less than 1% for 2019 and 2020, according to STR and Tourism Economics’ final forecast revision of this year. The previous version released in August called for RevPAR increases of 1.6% and 1.1%, respectively. With occupancy at flat to slightly lower levels year over year, ADR has been the sole driver of growth in RevPAR and it has grown below the level of inflation for five consecutive quarters, according to STR.
Fourteen of the Top 25 Markets are forecasted for a decrease in RevPAR for 2019. The steepest declines are projected for Seattle, Washington, and New York, New York. Of the 11 key markets projected to report RevPAR growth, four are expected to post an increase of 3.0% or higher: Atlanta, Georgia; Denver, Colorado; Phoenix, Arizona; and San Francisco/San Mateo, California.
Nineteen Top 25 Markets are projected to see a RevPAR increase for 2020, led by Miami/Hialeah, Florida. New York is expected to record the steepest decline in the metric. The highest overall rate of RevPAR growth is expected in the Luxury segment (+1.6%), while the steepest decline is projected among Upscale chains (-0.5%).
Cost of resort fees: Expedia Group announced last week at its annual conference that it will push hotels that charge resort fees lower in the search results on Expedia.com. It cited transparency and “showing respect for hotel partners” as its reason for the move. In May, Booking.com notified hotels that it will begin collecting commissions on the resort fee portion of hotel rates. The attorneys general of both Washington, D.C. and Nebraska have sued Marriott International and Hilton for what it calls a deceptive and misleading custom.
Record Bellagio sale closes: The Blackstone Group has closed its more than US$4 billion purchase of the Bellagio, in what appears to be the most expensive sale ever of a Las Vegas resort. MGM Resorts International was set to receive a 5% ownership stake in the joint venture and around US$4.2 billion in cash. MGM has leased back the Strip property and continues to operate it.
Read Las Vegas Review Journal report
IHG to New Caledonia: IHG will enter New Caledonia with the signing of three hotels that will open between 2021 and 2024 as part of a long-term management agreement with owner Société de développement et d’investissement des Îles Loyauté, a government organization of the Loyalty Islands Province, one of three administrative subdivisions of New Caledonia. The new-build InterContinental Lifou Wadra Bay Resort will be a 50-room luxury hotel located on Lifou, the largest island of the Loyalty Islands., and will open in November 2021. Hotel Paradis d’Ouvéa will convert to a 34-room Holiday Inn Resort Ouvéa in November 2021 following a full refurbishment on the beachfront at Mouli Beach on the UNESCO World Heritage site of Ouvéa Island. The 30-room Holiday Inn Resort Lifou will convert from the current Hotel Drehu Village in 2024, following an extensive refurbishment program in the town center of Wé.
Radisson to Addis Ababa: Radisson Hotel Group has signed a deal for the 125-room Radisson Hotel Bahir Dar, located in the North East of Addis Ababa. It will be the first Radisson branded hotel and the group’s fourth hotel in the country. This achievement brings Radisson Hotel Group’s African portfolio to almost 100 hotels in operation and under development. The Radisson Hotel Bahir Dar will be located on the shores of Lake Tana, Ethiopia’s largest lake.
Hold the Sauerkraut: Clarity Development and GreenSlate Development will reopen the former Blackstone Hotel in Omaha, Nebraska, as the 205-room Kimpton Cottonwood Hotel in spring 2020. The hotel will be managed by Pivot Hotels & Resorts. Built in 1916, the Reuben sandwich was invented by Reuben Kulakofsky during a weekly poker game held at the hotel and the sandwich was later introduced to the world in 1925 on a hotel menu.
CitizenM coming to Miami: CitizenM and developer Miami Worldcenter Associates have announced the start of construction for the 12-story, 351-room citizenM hotel at Miami Worldcenter, a US$4 billion mixed-use development in downtown Miami. Opening is tentatively scheduled for the latter half of 2021. CitizenM has two additional in-development properties in Miami, and further hotels underway in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle and Washington, DC.
Rocking Prague: Hard Rock International has announced the 523-room Hard Rock Hotel Prague, set to open in 2023 in the city center overlooking Letna Park and the Prague Castle. Hard Rock will manage the property for local owner EP Real Estate.
Karisma goes big in Jamaica: Karisma Hotels and Resorts is set to break ground early next year for its US$1 billion Sugarcane Bay multi-resort development in Llandovery, St Ann, in Jamaica. The project will add 4,800 new rooms over 10 years. The project is expected to create approximately 8,000 new jobs and engage another 5,000 people indirectly.
Meininger to Tel Aviv: Meininger hotel group has signed a contract for its first property in Israel, to be located on Levanda Street in Tel Aviv. The new budget hybrid hotel, located in a 28-story, mixed-use building will offer 800 beds across 210 rooms with an exclusive lobby on the ground floor. Meininger’s strategy calls for growing to 35,000 beds worldwide by 2024.