Choice reinstates dividend, share repurchase program: Choice Hotels International announced that its Board of Directors has declared a cash dividend on the company’s common stock of US$0.225 per share, payable on July 16, 2021 to stockholders of record on July 1, 2021. In addition, the Board approved the resumption of the company’s share repurchase program, which has 3.4 million shares authorized for repurchase.
Auberge managing Wildflower: Mill Valley, California-based Auberge Resorts Collection will manage Wildflower Farms, a new resort in New York’s Hudson Valley. The 65-room resort sits on grounds that include orchards, animals, heirloom gardens, a namesake farm and fields of wildflowers. The culinary program will be a central focus at the property, which will have a restaurant with a bar, open kitchen and farm-based cuisine. Guests can engage in experiences like foraging, organic vegetable farming, cooking classes and picnics around the property.
NoMad to foreclosure? Billionaire investor Ron Burkle and hotelier Andrew Zobler are facing a foreclosure on their equity in the trendy NoMad Hotel in New York City, according to a Real Deal report citing a notice for the UCC foreclosure auction. Lenders Ohana Real Estate Investors and Ellington Management Group, which hold US$102.5 million in mezzanine debt on the hotel, have scheduled the auction for June 30.
Chelsea owners sue city for US$100M over renovation delays: The current owners of New York City’s Chelsea Hotel— hoteliers Ira Drukier, Richard Born and Sean MacPherson, who also own the Jane Hotel and the Bowery Hotel — have filed a lawsuit against the city, the Department of Buildings and the Department of Housing Preservation and Development, alleging that delays around plans to renovate have cost them at least US$100 million. The renovation plans, which have been in the works since at least 2012, were temporarily halted in 2018 after the city issued a stop-work order.
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Norwegian Cruise CEO says U.S. ships unlikely to sail: The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is allowing cruise ships to resume operations this summer, but Norwegian Cruise Line CEO Frank Del Rio says that will be unlikely given the agency’s tough requirements. “I seriously doubt we will be able to stand up a vessel out of a U.S. port in July. August is also in jeopardy and it’s all because of the disjointed guidelines from the CDC,” Norwegian Cruise Line CEO Frank Del Rio told CNBC. The company announced international cruises will resume in July from Greece, Spain, Italy, the Dominican Republic and Jamaica.
Expedia beats estimates with travel demand ‘roaring back’: Expedia Group has blitzed analysts’ estimates for several growth metrics in its first quarter, buoyed by a surge in domestic travel and vacation-rental demand. Gross bookings were down only 14% compared with a year earlier — a significant improvement from the nearly 70% decline in the previous two quarters and better than analysts had expected. Revenue fell 44% to US$1.25 billion, the Seattle-based company said Thursday in a statement, slightly ahead of analysts’ estimates. Shares climbed about 7% in extended trading.
Tripadvisor reports rising demand in Q1: Tripadvisor says “the clouds have started to part” in the first quarter of this year, as expanded availability of vaccines is driving demand for leisure travel on its platform, particularly in the United States. In a letter to shareholders reporting its Q1 financial results, the company says key metrics were slightly better than expected. Revenue came in at US$123 million in the first quarter, down 56% year-over-year and at about 33% of 2019’s comparable period. Net loss in the first quarter was US$80 million and adjusted EBITDA was negative US$26 million.
Hilton CEO says biz travel back to about 50%: In a recent interview, Hilton CEO Chris Nassetta told CNBC there are reasons to be optimistic about the recovery of corporate travel following a prolonged coronavirus-related slowdown. “This is as good as I’ve felt since the pandemic started in terms of where we are and what I see in forward-looking trends and bookings in the business,” Nassetta said. Leisure travel has been propelling the industry’s recovery so far, and Nassetta expects to see record numbers in that category this summer. However, a return of business travelers is crucial for a complete rebound.
Switzerland update from Horwath: Switzerland’s hotels proved the most resilient within Europe with a relatively more robust decrease of 59% in RevPAR, which also pushed Switzerland to the number 1 spot in actual values (as per EUR denominated data recorded by STR), according to Horwath HTL. Switzerland’s hotel market suffered acute demand and supply imbalance in 2020 with a 45% decrease in room nights with only a 11% decrease in rooms available, compared to 2019. The full report includes regional, city and destination market data, in addition to an overview of the chain hotel landscape for Switzerland.
Canada’s Q1’21 pipeline: Analysts at Lodging Econometrics report that at the close of the first quarter of 2021, Canada’s hotel construction pipeline stood at 259 projects/35,432 rooms. The construction pipeline in Canada is down 15% by projects and 12% by rooms, year-over-year (YOY). However, compared to pre-pandemic totals at the end of Q1 2019, Canada is down a mere 2% by projects and up 7% by rooms. Canada’s lodging industry has been hard-hit by the drop in leisure travel, largely due to stay-at-home orders and restrictions barring inter-provincial travel. Currently, the country is experiencing a high level of positive cases and domestic and international travel remains limited.
U.S. hurt by lack of int’l. business travel: The Leisure & Hospitality industry gained 331,000 jobs in April — outperforming the overall U.S. jobs increase of 266,000, and offsetting jobs losses in other sectors. The sector’s unemployment rate continued to decline, from 15.9% in January to 13.0% in March and just 10.8% April — but remains significantly worse than overall U.S. unemployment (6%). Despite the gains in recent months, 17% of Leisure & Hospitality jobs have been lost (and not yet recovered) since February 2020. Leisure & Hospitality also accounts for 35% of all U.S. jobs still lost since February of last year.
U.S. Travel reacts to U.K. placing U.S. on ‘Amber’ list: U.S. Travel Association President and CEO Roger Dow issued the following statement on Friday’s release of the U.K.’s “traffic light system” for international travel:
“The U.K.’s decision to put the United States on their amber status for reopening just isn’t backed by the science. Putting the U.S. on amber status ignores the scientific data regarding increasing vaccination rates, lower infection rates and that the U.S. has the right strategies in place to mitigate risk.
“The U.S. needs to demonstrate leadership and come to the table with the U.K. and increase dialogue to allow for a reopening of travel with one of our most important international partners. The U.S. economy will lose US$262 billion and 1.1 million jobs if its borders remain shut, and putting a roadmap and timelines forward to quickly create a U.S.-U.K. travel corridor would be low-risk for both countries and high-reward economically.”