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Briefs: Sonder prepares IPO | Relevant rescue financing

Sonder and Gores merge, go public: San Francisco-based Sonder Holdings and Gores Metropoulos II, a special purpose acquisition company sponsored by an affiliate of investment firm The Gores Group, have entered into a definitive agreement to combine. The technology-driven hospitality business is expected to have a pro forma enterprise value of US$2.2 billion and over US$700 million of net cash at closing. Sonder officially launched in 2014 and was co-founded by Francis Davidson and Martin Picard. The company expects to achieve approximately US$4 billion of revenue in 2025, driven by “significant real estate supply growth, global travel market recovery and revenue enhancement initiatives.”

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Relevant lands rescue financing: With a US$136 million construction loan coming due on two hotel projects expected to be completed by summer, Relevant Group has landed US$72 million in “rescue” financing from newly formed Machine Investment to complete construction on the 212-key Tommie and 190-key Thompson hotels in Hollywood, California, according to The Real Deal. Relevant also secured a three-year extension on the maturing loan, now backed by the same investment firm. The fixed-rate mezzanine loan carries a three-year term. Machine also secured an extension on the three-year construction loan that was expiring.

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Pebblebrook tops revenue estimates: Bethesda, Maryland-based Pebblebrook Hotel reported a quarterly loss of US$0.42 per share in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate. This compares to funds from operations (FFO) of US$0.13 per share a year ago. A quarter ago, it was expected that this hotel investment company would post a loss of US$0.46 per share when it actually produced a loss of US$0.50, delivering a surprise of -8.70%. Pebblebrook posted revenues of US$83.64 million for the quarter ended March 2021, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 5.09%. This compares to year-ago revenues of US$269.11 million. The company has topped consensus revenue estimates three times over the last four quarters.

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Dalata performance and outlook update: Ireland’s Dalata Hotel Group has reported for the first quarter of 2021, occupancies at our hotels were 14% in Dublin, 16% in Regional Ireland and 13% in the UK. For the first quarter, the Adjusted EBITDA loss was €3.6 million (US$4.4 million). The company had cash and undrawn debt facilities of €272 million (US$330 million) at the end of March 2021. As a result of careful cash flow management, the cash outflow of €21 million (US$25 million) for the first quarter of 2021 is in line with its expectations. It is progressing on its development pipeline of close to 3,300 rooms and expects to open three new hotels before the end of this year.

PPHE Hotel Group trading update: PPHE Hotel Group, an Amsterdam-based real estate group which develops, owns and operates hotels and resorts, reported that Q1 results were, as expected, severely subdued as hotels remained either temporarily closed or at significantly reduced capacity. Total revenue was down to £5.3 million (US$7.3 million) from £51.4 million (US$72 million) YOY, and total room revenue down to £2.6 million (US$3.6 million) from £34.4 million (US$48 million). Occupancy was down to 7.1% from 58.5% YOY. The group is getting ready to reopen all its UK properties on May 17. The quarter included the continued advancement of planned construction and repositioning projects, including Hotel Brioni in Pula, the 27-story Art’otel London Hoxton and the launch of The Residence meeting space at Holmes Hotel London.

New York mayor wants full reopening: New York City aims to “fully reopen” on July 1 after more than a year of closures and capacity restrictions, Mayor Bill de Blasio said, citing satisfactory progress in vaccinating its more than 8 million residents. De Blasio said he had not discussed the city’s reopening date with Governor Andrew Cuomo, but his announcement comes a day after Cuomo lifted restrictions that would clear the way for a revival of the city’s signature nightlife. The state has the power to impose or lift coronavirus-related restrictions.

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Skepticism could affect US outbound travel: Vaccine skepticism coupled with COVID-19 concerns will continue to affect U.S. outbound travel recovery in 2021 and potentially 2022, says data and analytics company GlobalData. A recent poll from the company found that 23% of respondents in North America did not intend to take a vaccine against COVID-19. This was higher than any other region and suggests that a large proportion of the U.S. population may not be vaccinated by this summer as hoped. Although 40% stated that they have already had a vaccination, those refusing to do so will affect outbound tourism recovery.

India hoteliers wants restrictions eased: The Hotel Association of India said it has made submissions to the finance ministry to help the sector in the ongoing pandemic. It has urged the ministry to customize the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) extended through ECLGS 3.0 to cover business enterprises in hospitality, travel, and tourism sector. The association said that in addition to being highly capital intensive, hotels have a high percentage of fixed costs of operations that have become unsustainable owing to nil or negligible revenues. The recovery of hotels will also be long-drawn as borders will be reopened with extreme caution and traveler confidence will return over an extended period of time.

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Marriott International releases statement on India: Marriott International has released the following statement regarding the COVID-19 pandemic’s rapid spread in India: “We join the global community in expressing our heartbreak at the devastating situation in India as the country battles an unprecedented rise in COVID cases. Our Marriott family of associates around the world stands with India. Marriott is donating to UNICEF and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies to support their critical work, and we have made it possible for Marriott Bonvoy members to donate points in support of these organizations as well. Our associates are also stepping up for their colleagues in India to help those associates who have been hardest hit. We are pleased to see both the public and private sectors around the world mobilizing to help. It will take all of us working together to bring an end to this pandemic.”

Fired Boston Marriott workers to boycott: Former workers who were fired in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic are calling for a boycott of a Boston-based Marriott hotel. More than 230 employees whose positions were terminated last September at the Marriott Copley Place are urging people and groups to not stay, eat or hold functions at Boston’s second-largest hotel. The workers did not have a union, but Unite Here Local 26, has said it will support them.

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Thai Anantara staff vaccinated: All five Thailand-based resorts from the Minor Hotels’ Anantara brand located on the islands of Koh Samui and Phuket have provided vaccinations to “qualified” staff against the spread of COVID-19. Each resort has also reinforced health and hygiene measures under the “Stay with Peace of Mind” program. The vaccine drive is part of an ongoing Thai government program to reopen borders to international tourism to Thailand’s two main tourist islands slated for July 1.

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