Airbnb expects regional boom in 2021: Even as countries are beginning to roll out vaccines, travel in 2021 will be focused on regional destinations rather than international tourist meccas, according to a new report released by Airbnb. Major cities like Toronto, New York, and London were some of Airbnb’s biggest destinations in the second half of 2019. But the pandemic swooped in and shut down travel for months last year. As restrictions eased over the summer, smaller, low-profile destinations were in high demand, a trend Airbnb sees continuing this year.
U.S. pipeline at year’s end: According to Lodging Econometrics’ U.S. Construction Pipeline Trend Report, the U.S. construction pipeline stands at 5,216 projects/650,222 rooms. These are year-end 2020 results, and are down only incrementally, as the U.S. grappled with the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, an election, civil unrest, and the large and rapid partisan shift taking place. However, the announcement of various vaccine developments and distribution was undeniably good news for the general public, businesses, hotel development and the lodging industry as a whole, especially going forward. The industry has found optimism in the fact that as the vaccine rolls out travel demand will increase rather quickly, resulting in increased confidence in hotel development activity.
VM Hotel Acquisition’s IPO: Toronto-based VM Hotel Acquisition Corp. has filed a preliminary prospectus in Canada for a US$100 million initial public offering; the special purpose acquisition corporation (SPAC) intends to acquire a U.S.- or Canadian-located hotel or resort as part of the company’s objective to aggregate a North American portfolio of hotel/resort properties.
How friendly are global governments? This is the fifth version of this report from Horwath HTL, which examines what governments around the world are doing, or not doing, to support hospitality businesses. Without fail, some governments are more supportive than others. This is for a variety of reasons, Horwath says, not least of which some countries are unable to afford the levels of support required.
New equity for REIT: Active capital players in the hotel sector, BentallGreenOak and Highgate have provided US$50 million of preferred equity to American Hotel Income Properties REIT. The new partners will take two board seats, earn an 8% per annum dividend for the first three years and receive five-year warrants (priced at a 30.5% premium to the most recent closing stock price) that represent a 19.99% ownership interest on an as-converted basis.
Casa buys SoBe boutique for US$8M: Chilean investment firm Casa Hotels Group closed on a boutique hotel in South Beach, Florida for US$8.1 million. Casa Hotels, led by CEO Jose Aguera, bought the Eva Hotel, a four-story, 30-key property. The hotel, which is not currently operating, will be renovated and rebranded as a Casa property. Property records show the seller is Lender West. The 21,832-square-foot building sits on an 8,000-square-foot lot. It last sold out of foreclosure for US$3 million in 2019.
More from The Real Deal South Florida
Pacifica adds four to Tapestry Collection: Aliso Viejo, California-based Pacifica Hotels will transition four California properties that joined Tapestry Collection by Hilton in January 2021. The properties that joined Tapestry Collection include The Belamar Hotel in Manhattan Beach, The Kinney in San Luis Obispo, Jamaica Bay Inn in Marina del Rey and The Redondo Beach Hotel in Redondo Beach.
Australia travel bubble update: Australia may resume its travel bubble with New Zealand in coming days, its health minister said Friday, as the state of Victoria eased border controls ahead of hosting the first tennis Grand Slam on 2021, the Australian Open. Health officials are reassessing daily a pause on Australia’s travel corridor with New Zealand after the Pacific nation’s strong response to an outbreak of a contagious strain of COVID-19, while borders between Australia’s two most populous states may next week open freely for the first time this year.
Take the YHS employer survey: The Young Hoteliers Summit (YHS), an arm of the Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne, has published an “Employer’s Expectation” report as a way to form a bridge between employer expectations and potential employees’ wants and needs. It is conducting the survey again to create new findings and a further analyze trends. “Due to the drastic changes in our industry caused by COVID-19,” the group writes, “it is crucial to understand the changes in the workplace through the employer’s point of view.”
Hyatt’s Alila Napa Valley: Hyatt Hotels Corp. is expanding its luxury lifestyle Alila with the addition of Alila Napa Valley in St. Helena, California. Slated to join Hyatt’s portfolio on March 1, and at this time, scheduled to resume operations on March 15, the 68-room adults-only retreat will add to Hyatt’s growing Alila brand portfolio, joining Ventana Big Sur, an Alila Resort, and Alila Marea Beach Resort Encinitas, which is slated to open in March 2021. Previously known as Las Alcobas, a Luxury Collection Hotel, the hotel is built around a Georgian-style guesthouse originally constructed in 1907 and is now used to house the restaurant, bar and seven guest rooms.