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Briefs: Accor’s Q4 results | Nobu to Hamburg

Nobu in Hamburg: Nobu Hospitality is expanding into Hamburg, Germany. The hotel and restaurant will be located within the Elbtower, a project by Signa Real Estate, a European property company. The 191-room Nobu Hotel Elbtower Hamburg will also have a 200-seat Nobu restaurant, a terrace bar, and a fitness and wellness facility. The Elbtower, a mixed-use development, is designed by architectural firm David Chipperfield Architects, and the tower itself will be comprised of flexibly designed office spaces, as well as the Nobu properties. The ground floors will comprise of a variety of retail shops, restaurants, and co-working spaces.

Accor’s Q4: Accor reported an annual loss on Wednesday, as coronavirus lockdowns and border closures weighed throughout the year, but noted signs of improvement in Asia, Middle East and Africa and South America in the fourth quarter and in January. The French company, which operates more than 5,000 hotels in around 110 countries, noted that 82% of its hotels were open as of end-December, compared with 90% at end-September. The group, which houses high-end brands like Raffles and Sofitel, as well as budget brands such as Ibis, swung to a €391 million (US$474.87 million) loss before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) in 2020, compared to a profit of €825 million (US$1 billion) in 2019. Its net loss for the year reached almost €2billion (US$2.4 billion). Accor also confirmed the swift rollout of the €200 million (US$243 million) recurring cost savings plan announced in August 2020.

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UK airline bookings surge, following plan: UK holiday-goers reappeared en masse, showering airlines with summer bookings after Prime Minister Boris Johnson outlined a roadmap for air travel to return. EasyJet ticket sales more than quadrupled in the hours after Johnson said Monday that international trips may restart as soon as May 17. Tour operator TUI AG said reservations to Spain, Turkey and Greece jumped six-fold overnight, while Ryanair Holdings cited Italy as another popular destination.

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Delta airline chief on potential upside: Delta chief executive officer Ed Bastian has spent much of 2021’s first quarter talking about the “year of recovery” to come. Buoyed by the hope that vaccinations will restore consumer confidence in aviation and give fuel to the fire of pent-up demand, he is preparing to turn a profit by midyear — something sorely needed after record losses of US$12.39 billion in 2020. Another meaningful step, Bastian says, will be the reopening of international borders, specifically in Asia. He forecasts a return in 12-18 months. 

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Courtyard San Diego sells: The 245-room Courtyard San Diego Downtown hotel in Downtown San Diego, California has sold for US$64.5 million. Hersha Hospitality Trust made them sale to a private buyer. The hotel is a 14-story building featuring a lobby restaurant; billiards room; 24-hour fitness center; and in-room dining service, same day laundry and dry-cleaning service; and valet parking. The property was originally built in 1927 as the San Diego Trust & Savings Bank and was converted to a hotel in 1999 and most recently renovated in 2013.

Extended Stay expands in Oklahoma: Extended Stay America has added three properties in Oklahoma (Bartlesville, McAlester, Lawton) through franchise conversions. The properties are all owned by Dallas-based Provident Realty Advisors and will be operated by Plano, Texas-based Aimbridge Hospitality.

Godfrey in Detroit moves forward: Plans for a new 227-room hotel in Detroit’s Corktown took a step forward Tuesday, even as occupancy rates for the city’s downtown-area hotels are near record lows. The proposed seven-story, US$74-million Godfrey Hotel is a joint venture by Chicago-based Oxford Capital Group and Farmington Hills-based Hunter Pasteur Homes, and received approval Tuesday from the Michigan Strategic Fund to round out its future US$5.1-million state- and local-level brownfield tax capture at the site as a development incentive. Once built, it would be the fifth Godfrey Hotel in the country, including locations in Chicago, Boston and Tampa, Florida.

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JLL’s H1 2021 Construction Outlook: Although the economic recovery is underway, the construction industry has not yet reached the bottom. The coming year will look unlike anything seen during the last recession and recovery cycle. Nonresidential construction, including hotels, is declining, single-family construction is booming, and construction cost growth is picking up steam. JLL’s 2021 H1 Construction Outlook addresses what the intersection of these trends means for the construction industry and construction costs in the coming year.

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Industry vets launch management co.: Hospitality industry veterans Chris Manley, formerly with Stonebridge Companies, and Jeff Blackman, founder and president of Bedford Lodging, have launched hotel management company Five Senses Hospitality Management. Focused on careers, guests and owners within the hotel management industry, the Denver, Colorado-based Five Senses manages the day-to-day operations of hotel properties for existing owners, enabling an accelerated cash flow recovery and investment in acquisition opportunities.

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