A US$540M Ritz-Carlton for Nashville: Florida-based developer M2 Development Partners will build a US$540 million Ritz-Carlton hotel, condominiums, rental apartments and a signature restaurant in downtown Nashville. There will be 240 luxury branded rooms and suites, 150 condos for sale, 185-plus multi-family rental units, a 6,000 square foot spa, 30,000 square feet of meeting and banquet areas, 10,000 square feet of supporting retail, a 560-space structured parking garage and a roof-top restaurant. The targeted completion date is 2025.
More jingle mail in NYC: Tribeca Associates, owner of the 298-room Moxy Hotel in New York City’s Financial District, has handed the keys back to its lender having transferred the ground lease to AllianceBernstein, The Real Deal reported, citing public records. The lease was valued at US$108.8 million in the transaction.
ECE fund buys in Venice: Luxembourg-based ECE European Lodging Recovery Fund, established by the fund management company ECE Real Estate Partners, has acquired its first seed asset in the heart of Venice, investing more than €100 million (US$122 million) in a joint venture partners Soravia and Denkmalneu. The Bonvecchiati building ensemble includes the 191-room Hotel Bonvecchiati, one of the largest hotel buildings in the city. The property was acquired directly from the owning families, who had previously also run the business. As part of the investment, planning is now underway for extensive renovation and redevelopment during the early market recovery. The fund leaders said interest from many international brands is already high. The fund is targeted at institutional investors and intends to invest approximately €300 million (US$365 million) of equity into select hotel assets with value-add opportunities. The already existing investors are the Family Office of the Otto family and the fund management team.
MGM Resorts selling Massachusetts properties: MGM Resorts International and MGM Growth Properties have entered into a definitive agreement whereby MGM Growth Properties will purchase the real estate assets associated with MGM Springfield in Western Massachusetts. MGM Resorts will lease the property from MGP and continue to operate the property following the consummation of the transaction, with no expected change to its employees, vendors, customers, and the community. MGM Growth Properties will pay total consideration of approximately US$400 million in cash.
Lodging tax bill could stifle Hawaii: Hawaii’s hotel tax will likely go up by nearly 30% if legislation passes that would give the four counties the option of raising the fee. State legislators have now advanced the bill, which eliminates the US$103 million annual county share of revenue from the transient accommodations tax, on to Gov. David Ige. Instead of sending the money to the counties, the state will keep it. “If the four counties were to enact [the tax increase], it would make Hawaii the state with the highest lodging taxes in the nation, which will undoubtedly affect our ability to compete,” said Mufi Hannemann, president and CEO of the Hawaii Lodging & Tourism Association.
Ka‘anapali golf courses sold to Host: The Hawaii Employees’ Retirement System has sold its two Ka’anapali Golf Courses, amenities and facilities for US$28 million to Rockville, Maryland-based Host Hotels & Resorts. Nathan Tyrrell, chief investment officer at Host said: “Host is excited to expand our investment in the Ka’anapali Beach Resort area through the acquisition of nearly 300 acres of land adjacent to the Hyatt Regency Maui, where we recently completed a transformational renovation. We anticipate near-term potential to generate synergies through creative programming and experiences for which the resort is known.”
Latin America’s pipeline: According to Lodging Econometrics’ Construction Pipeline Trend Report for Q1 2021, the Latin America Hotel Construction Pipeline stands at 604 projects/104,275 rooms, down 14% by projects and 16% by rooms, year-over-year (YOY). These are the lowest project and room counts seen in the region since Q2 2012. Projects currently under construction ended Q1’21 at 323 projects/60,332 rooms. The number of projects in this stage remains unchanged YOY, however it does show a 5% increase in rooms. Projects scheduled to start construction in the next 12 months saw an 11% decrease YOY, but a slight increase since Q4’20, totaling 181 projects/27,773 rooms. Projects in the early planning stage experienced a 43% decline YOY, standing at 100 projects, accounting for 16,170 rooms.
Sunstone Hotel Investors IPO: Sunstone Hotel Investors has priced an underwritten public offering of 4,000,000 shares of its 6.125% Series H Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock for gross proceeds of US$100 million. The company has granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 600,000 shares solely to cover over-allotments, if any. The offering is expected to close on May 24, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.
Oto acquires Courtyard by Marriott in LA: Spartanburg, South Carolina-based Oto Development has purchased the Courtyard by Marriott Los Angeles Woodland Hills. The six-story, 122-room hotel will get a refresh over the course of the next 12-18 months.
Wynn’s US$3.2B gaming deal: Wynn Resorts is spinning off its mobile gaming and sportsbook business through a special purpose acquisition company formed by Vegas Golden Knights owner Bill Foley. The deal results in a US$3.2 billion valuation for Wynn Interactive, which houses mobile casino and sports betting offerings WynnBet, BetBull and WynnSlots. The Foley-led Austerlitz I SPAC will bring as much as US$640 million in cash to the newly independent business, and Foley’s privately held Cannae Holdings will backstop financing the deal, covering any redemptions by shareholders of the blank check who wish to cash out.
Queensland’s speedy recovery: New statistics from Accor indicate that Queensland has recorded the fastest and most sustained rate of tourism recovery over the past year compared to all other States in Australia. Accor, which operates 101 hotels in Queensland, said the overall level of occupancy for the group’s hotels had increased from an average of 23% in April 2020 to 74% in April 2021. The recovery rate has intensified since the re-opening and stabilization of borders, with year-on-year occupancies in Queensland growing 21% vs the national occupancy demand declining at 6% (year-to-date until end of April 2021).
U.S. travel leaders want int’l travel reopened: Heads of 23 global travel companies have sent a letter to U.S. President Biden Tuesday urging greater progress toward reopening international travel and warning of dire economic consequences if U.S. borders remain shut. The letter notes that current science, the success of the U.S. vaccine rollout, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)’s own guidance allows for steps toward a safe resumption of international visitation.
North Carolina hotels file for bankruptcy: The Aloft Charlotte Airport, which is owned by Aarna Hotels LLC, and the Courtyard Charlotte Steele Creek, owned by Sri Vari CRE Development LLC, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection at the end of April. Both bankruptcy petitions report assets of just over US$10 million to US$50 million — and debts in the same amount. “Our goal continues to be to find the best solution for all stakeholders and we believe that Chapter 11 allows us the opportunity to do so,” says AnujNarayan Mittal, CEO of Raleigh-based MJM Group. That hotel group is part owner of both facilities.
Edition reopening NYC locations: Luxury lifestyle hotel brand Edition will reopen its two NYC hotel locations in Times Square and Madison Square Park. The 271-room New York Edition will reopen May 11 with brand new one-bedroom Flatiron Suites and offerings at The Lobby Bar, and the 452-room Times Square Edition will reopen June 1 with all of its outdoor space available, including the Terrace and Garden restaurants as well as The Lobby Bar.
Preferred’s ‘Where Next?’ campaign: Newport Beach, California-based Preferred Hotels & Resorts has launched a new global campaign to target and reassure potential travelers. Kicking off the campaign with “Where Next Experiences,” travelers are invited to choose from more than 200 participating hotels, where they will receive two nights’ accommodations or longer at the best available rate, complimentary daily breakfast for two, a locally-oriented experience for two, and a fast track to I Prefer Elite status.
Save Hotel Jobs Act: A national survey commissioned by the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) shows more than seven in ten Americans (71%) support the federal government providing targeted economic relief to the hotel industry as called for in the Save Hotel Jobs Act, legislation that would provide assistance to hotel employees, providing up to three months of full payroll support. Recently, AHLA and hospitality workers union Unite Here joined forces to call on Congress to pass the bill. The two groups say that “hotels are the only major hospitality and leisure segment yet to receive direct aid. Without targeted relief from Congress, nationwide, hotels are expected to end 2021 down 500,000 jobs.”