Anantara lands Krasnapolsky: Anantara Hotels, Resorts & Spas has landed the management contract for Amsterdam’s Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky, which is both its first hotel in The Netherlands as well as the Bangkok-based brand’s first property in Northern Europe. Ahead of the launch, the 402-key property — which will be rebranded to the Anantara Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky Amsterdam — will undergo a soft refurbishment, including renovation of some guest rooms and suites, the garden, and the addition of a new Anantara Spa and gym. The property is set to open in fall 2021.
U.S. weekly occupancy reaches for the heights: U.S. weekly hotel occupancy reached its second-highest level since the start of the pandemic, according to STR. Over May 9-15:
- Occupancy: 59.1% (-16.4%)
- ADR: US$113.54 (-15.4%)
- RevPAR: US$67.05 (-29.2%)
Both Friday and Saturday occupancy came in higher than any weekend since Valentine’s Day weekend in 2020. Additionally, ADR reached its highest point of the pandemic but was still US$20 less than the same week in 2019. Many top 25 markets saw improved business travel volume with noticeable week-over-week demand increases.
- Tampa (+4.8% to 72.1%) was the only market to report an occupancy increase over 2019
- San Francisco/San Mateo saw the steepest decline in occupancy when compared with 2019 (-49.1% to 43.9%)
- In terms of ADR, Miami (+34.8% to US$233.81), Tampa (+10.3% to US$138.47) and Norfolk/Virginia Beach (+0.3% to US$106.46) were the only markets with levels higher than 2019
- For RevPAR, Miami (+32.5% to US$174.55) and Tampa (+15.6% to US$99.90) were the only markets with levels higher than the 2019 comparable
- The largest RevPAR deficits were in San Francisco/San Mateo (-73.7% to US$59.05) and Boston (-73.2% to US$57.31)
Kempinski, Ferragamo play footsie: Kempinski Hotels and Salvatore Ferragamo are officially partnering up, with several projects in the queue. Ferragamo perfumes and home fragrances will be available on Kempinski e-commerce platforms, and, on the flip side, Kempinski will offer top clients exclusive access to events in Ferragamo boutiques. Additionally, Kempinski’s “Lady in Red” concierge position will now additionally don exclusive Salvatore Ferragamo red shoes. The partnership also has a sustainability element — all Ferragamo hotel amenities will be made in Italy out of 100% recycled plastic. Ultimately, as luxury players battle for market share as consumers return post-pandemic, teaming up with a noted luxury brand like Ferragamo is an eye-catcher for Kempinski.
‘Smarter’ short-term booking platform: There’s a new short stay platform on the market — this one from London. “Smarter,” with its luxury, eco-friendly emphasis, comes from Guy van der Westhuizen, who first entered the short stay industry in 2009 with his London agency Ivy. The company, whose homes list from £200 (US$283) to £2,000-plus (US$2,831-plus) per night, places an emphasis on its booking ecosystem, which the company says is going after the environmentally-friendly B Corp certification. The company’s founders also set up a sister charity, the Stay For Good Foundation, which will fund carbon offset projects at a global level. The charity will be funded by a portion of every booking made on Smarter and a 10% profit pledge by the company. The question now seems to be how many and which of these niched home rentals players will survive and when will consolidation start taking place?
Newly brokered sales: Savills represented Bethany Boardwalk Group and Bethany Beach Ocean Inn in the disposition of the 112-room Bethany Beach Ocean Suites Residence Inn and the 100-room Holiday Inn Express in the high barrier to entry beachfront area of Bethany Beach, Delaware. The properties were acquired by EOS Acquisitions.
At the same time, Mumford Company completed the sale of three properties, including the Best Western Plus Regency Park, Walker, Louisiana; Sleep Inn & Suites Evergreen, Alabama; and the Holiday Inn Express & Suites Jackson – Flowood, Mississippi. A lender-owned property, the 63-room Best Western Plus, sold at asking price and closed in less than 90 days. The 56-room Sleep Inn & Suites garnered half a dozen offers, with the winning offer including a substantial non-refundable deposit, and closed in less than 100 days. The 100-room Holiday Inn Express & Suites was the final lodging asset in the sellers’ portfolio and required extensive cooperation between buyer and seller for the assumption of the existing CMBS debt and associated escrow funds.
Increasing optimism for business travel: A new poll indicates increasing optimism and growing momentum for a return to business travel (as well as an increase in bookings) largely attributed to the success of the vaccine roll-out and introduction of vaccine passports. The poll, conducted by the Global Business Travel Association, found that 74% buyer and procurement respondents feel their employees are ‘willing’ or ‘very willing’ to travel for business in the current environment. Additionally, 78% of those surveyed believe that government-issued digital health verification (or digital green certificates and/or vaccination passports) is a good idea in terms of resuming business travel.
However, ‘pandemic mindset’ persists: Even with vaccines on the rise, many in the world’s leading economies remain hesitant around the idea of returning to life as “normal,” even among those fully vaccinated against COVID-19, writes Reuters. A global survey released May 20 suggests that 65% of people described themselves as being “still in a pandemic mindset.” That translated into only 16% feeling safe flying commercial airlines, 23% staying in hotels and 28% dining indoors in restaurants. And those numbers rose only slightly among those who had been fully vaccinated. The findings cast doubts around the line that many policy-makers have held until now: that pent-up demand will soon lead economies to strong recoveries.
Benchmark managing Bermuda resort: Houston, Texas-based Benchmark has added Bermuda’s Cambridge Beaches Resort & Spa to its portfolio. The 90-year-old resort becomes management group’s first property in British territory. The resort has 86 cottage-style suites with four beach areas and a waterfront swimming pool. It also has a 10,000-square-foot spa.
Hard times for Oyo: India’s Oyo Hotels is reportedly trying to raise US$600 million in debt to help its suffering bottom line, according to a Bloomberg report. In March, Oyo said it was pulling out of the U.S. and Europe, as well as breaking ties with its Latin American partnership. The high-flyer posted has really struggled since the onset of the pandemic and reportedly posted monthly losses of US$15 million in 2020. Oyo also cut its global workforce of 30,000 by more than 65%. In addition, SoftBank, Oyo’s biggest investor, reduced Oyo’s valuation to US$3 billion — US$7 billion less than in 2019.