Two Miami hotels sell: TPG Real Estate Partners, through its national hotel platform Odyssey Hotel Partners, has acquired from a conglomerate the 153-room AC Hotel Miami Midtown and the neighboring 151-room Hampton Inn & Suites for US$61 million. TPG paid US$32.3 million for the AC Marriott and US$28.7 million for the Hampton Inn, which converts to US$211,274 per room and US$190,007 per room, respectively. The sellers reportedly were Aztec Group based in Miami; 3H Group, Chattanooga, Tennessee; and the family business Arti Hersi.
Travel intent increases further: MMGY Travel Intelligence’s 2021 “Summer Edition” of its Portrait of American Travelers survey suggests Americans’ interests in leisure travel have rapidly increased as vaccinations have become widely available and states peel back related COVID-19 restrictions. In fact, results of the study conducted in April show the MMGY Traveler Sentiment Index (TSI) rose to an all-time high of 129, an increase of 10 points compared to last quarter. The intent to take a vacation over the next six months has increased significantly, with 72% of U.S. adults planning to do so – up from 62% recorded during the last Portrait of American Travelers survey conducted in February 2021. This jump in travel intent – predominantly domestic – was observed across all generations except for Gen Z, who had already shown a high level of intent in the last survey. The biggest rise in intent to travel in the next six months is among Boomers, increasing from 54% to 70%.
Airbnb, Vrbo team up for safety: Airbnb and Vrbo have announced a partnership to develop the Community Integrity Program, an industry collaboration to address community safety by sharing important information on listings and strengthening action on the community threat posed by repeat “party house” offenders. While both companies have worked separately to address the challenge of disruptive party houses, the challenge persists, as repeat offenders may be delisted by one platform, only to pop up on another. The Integrity Program aims to solve that issue. It is intended to launch in the U.S. in the coming months.
State of hospitality in India: The pandemic has created a need, and opportunity, to evolve the services playbook at hotels. The underlying principles equally apply to other service sector operations. Vijay Thacker, Horwath HTL India, has released his latest thoughts and reflections of the state of hospitality amidst the current pandemic outbreak.