Wyndham grows European leisure business: Wyndham Hotels & Resorts will add 12 properties in European resort destinations including Spain, Canary Islands, Turkey, U.K., and Austria under a deal made with independent European resort operator CLC World Resorts & Hotels. By November, properties will be converted to Wyndham Grand Residences, Wyndham Residences, Wyndham, Ramada Residences by Wyndham and Ramada Hotel & Suites by Wyndham. The deal expands Wyndham’s portfolio of more than 300 hotels across Europe.
Waramaug inks investment deal: Waramaug Hospitality, Dallas, Texas, has signed a deal with Miami-based PE firm HazelStrem Capital to invest in the company’s asset management platform, Waramaug Ventures. This is HazelStream’s first investment in a U.S. hotel asset management platform after being formed in 2020 to invest in hotel-related real estate and management companies. Waramaug’s managing partners Paul Nussbaum and Leslie Ng will continue as majority holders in the business and oversee daily operations. As part of the agreement, Ferit Ferhangil and Evren Unver will join the board of Waramaug Ventures. The coming together of the two companies will speed up Waramaug’s growth strategy to acquire select- and full-service hotels in the U.S., as well as HazelStream’s growth in the U.S. hospitality sector. Since its foundation, Waramaug has completed more than 60 hotel investments with a total acquisition cost exceeding US$1 billion.
RLJ acquires in Boston: RLJ Lodging Trust, Bethesda, Maryland, has acquired the 205-key AC Hotel by Marriott Boston Downtown for a purchase price of US$89 million (approximately US$434,000 per key). The company funded the purchase with the existing cash on its balance sheet. After stabilization, the property is expected to generate NOI yield of 7.5% to 8%. With this acquisition, RLJ now owns three properties in Boston. The company’s portfolio currently comprises 98 hotels across 23 states and the District of Columbia and ownership interest in a 171-key unconsolidated hotel.
Grupo Posadas advances debt restructuring: Grupo Posadas, Mexico City, has advanced its debt restructuring with additional support from holders of its 7.87% senior notes due 2022. The financial solution is expected to lower the company’s debt service obligations and lengthen its debt maturity schedule by 5.5 years to December 30, 2027, and allow the company to prioritize the use of cash for operating activities. All daily operations will continue without interruption and will use cash from ongoing operations. This will also not affect the company’s relationships with its staff, agencies, guests, loyalty and club members, business partners, shareholders and suppliers. As the company has already secured the necessary support from noteholders, with 100% of those voting having voted to approve the company’s reorganization plan, the process is expected to be completed within 60 days.
JV to launch hotels in Australia, New Zealand: Intrepid Travel, the Melbourne-based adventure travel company, has entered into a joint venture with Drifter Hospitality Group, the newly-launched accommodation venture created by Australian investment bank Barrenjoey, to grow in the hotel sector. Intrepid plans to open 15 hotels in four years across Australia and New Zealand. As part of the agreement, Drifter will raise AUD75 million (US$56.15 million) to acquire distressed assets and transform them into hybrid hotels, targeting premium millennial travelers. Branded as ‘Drifter — An Intrepid Hotel,’ the properties will feature shared rooms and private suites along with onsite F&B and a focus on sustainability. The properties will be managed by the joint venture, with Intrepid as the cornerstone investor in the hotels.
Vivek Chadha dies: Vivek Chadha, millionaire hotel tycoon and owner of Nine Estates Ltd., died in London early on Sunday. While he reportedly died of natural causes, a post mortem is expected soon. Nine Estates currently owns 18 hotels across the U.K., including the four-star London 02 Arena Hotel and four Holiday Inn franchises. The group also owns a pub in Surrey, the Halt & Pull and recently finalized a franchising deal with restaurant chain Pizza Hut. Chadha maintained close links with the Conservative Party and reportedly shared a good rapport with former Prime Ministers David Cameron and Theresa May. He is survived by his father, mother and wife, whom he wed only eight weeks ago.
Choice Hotels announces new headquarters: Choice Hotels International, Rockville, Maryland, announced a new headquarters in North Bethesda, Maryland. The new office will be spread over 105,000 square feet in a mixed-use development building in the Pike & Rose neighborhood. The building is being developed by the owner Federal Realty Investment Trust, which expects to break ground later in the year. Choice is slated to start working in the new building from Q4 of 2023.
Whitbread warns of labor shortage in UK: Premier Inn owner Whitbread, Dunstable, United Kingdom, said it plans to spend about £23 million (US$31.66 million) on salary hikes and one-off bonuses as the company grapples with a “material number of vacancies” which remain unfulfilled, and warned of labor shortage across the hospitality industry. Whitbread, which has 30,000 employees in 1,200 of its hotels and restaurants across Britain, reported narrowing of its adjusted pretax loss to £56.6 million (US$77.92 million) for the half year ending August from £367.4 million (US$505.83 million) from the previous year. The company said RevPAR in the U.K. is likely to recover fully in 2022.
US construction pipeline declines: The total construction pipeline in the U.S. fell 8% (4,837 projects/592,259 rooms) by projects and 10% by rooms y-o-y, according to analysts at Lodging Econometrics. Although project numbers saw a slight increase in the second quarter, the overall construction pipeline was largely muted over lesser inflow of new projects in the pipeline compared to pre-COVID levels and significant number of hotel openings in the first half of the year. However, the number of projects in the early planning stages have increased 27% by projects and 25% by rooms y-o-y and reaching a cyclical peak this quarter(1,978 projects/239,831 rooms). Projects expected to start construction within the next 12 months fell 14% by projects and 15% by rooms y-o-y, with 1,824 projects/210,189 rooms at the end of Q3. Projects under construction were also down in Q3, ending the quarter at 1,035 projects/142,239 rooms.
Brazil ADR surpasses 2019 figures: Brazil’s hotel industry has exceeded its 2019 figures in ADR for two of the past three months, according to September 2021 data from STR. The country’s ADR touched Brazilian Real 327.21 (US$58.27) in September, a 6.4% jump from Brazilian Real 307.56 (US$54.77) in September 2019. Brazil also outdid its 2019 comparable during July with an ADR of Brazilian Real 336.45 (US$59.92). The country’s occupancy level of 49.4% in September 2021 was the highest in the pandemic era but still down by 18.9% from last year.
New York trio acquire in Atlanta: Certares Management, in partnership with Highlands Investments and Monomoy Property Ventures, all based in New York, announced the acquisition of the new-build, 181-room Embassy Suites Atlanta Midtown in Atlanta, Georgia. The deal also included the acquisition of a land parcel adjacent to the hotel and an income-generating parking component. HEI Hotels & Resorts, Norwalk, Connecticut, will operate the hotel. HEI operates 84 hotels and resorts across the U.S.
US lifts travel restrictions, imposes new vaccine norms: U.S. President Joe Biden signed an order imposing revised vaccine norms for most foreign national travelers, while lifting strict restrictions on India, China and most of Europe from November 8. Children under 18 years and people with some medical conditions are exempt from the new vaccine norms. Exempted persons will, however, be required to be vaccinated within 60 days of arrival into the U.S. Airlines will be required to check traveler’s vaccination status before they board the flight. Reacting to the development, U.S. Travel Association Executive Vice President of Public Affairs and Policy Tori Emerson Barnes said: “Today’s guidance detailing how international air travelers can prepare for resumed travel to the United States provides much-needed clarity for planning. We are grateful this additional detail has been made available as we move to reopening to fully vaccinated international travelers, and we look forward to similar guidance for those qualified visitors who plan to enter via our northern and southern land borders as well.”
Scottish vaccine passport scheme a “disaster”: Scotland’s vaccine passport scheme has been an “unmitigated disaster,” as per hospitality body Scottish Hospitality Group. The group said footfall fell as low as 40% and staff had to face “intolerable levels of abuse” during the first weekend since the scheme was introduced. The scheme, enforced from October 18, mandates proof of full vaccination to enter large events and nightclubs. The hospitality group has called on the government to scrap the scheme.
Dellisart acquires Candlewood Suites: Dellisart LLC, Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, has acquired the 73-key Candlewood Suites Columbia in Columbia, Tennessee. The hotel, which is slated to open next month, was acquired during development by Columbia Hospitality LLC.
IHG partners with CVS Health, PCMA: IHG Hotels & Resorts has partnered with CVS Health and Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) for its Meet with Confidence program. IHG will serve as the education sponsor for its deal with PCMA to develop a Digital Event Strategist Introductory Certificate Course for Hotels and Venues, in partnership with Encore. As people resume in-person or hybrid events, CVS Health will be offering onsite rapid testing through Ready to Return at IHG properties across the U.S.