Group items tagged

U.S. EXTENDED-STAY HOTELS set new records for demand, ADR, RevPAR and room revenues in the fourth quarter of 2022, according to a report from hotel investment advisors The Highland Group. Also, the report showed rate resistance is apparent at lower price points due to recession and the economy extended-stay segment reported nine consecutive months of declining demand and three successive quarterly falls in occupancy. According to the Highland Group's "U.S. Extended-Stay Hotels: Fourth Quarter 2022" report, mid-price extended-stay hotels reported their second consecutive quarterly decline in occupancy in fourth quarter. Similar occupancy declines occurred for about two years starting in mid-2015 before ADR growth moderated and occupancy recovered. Extended-stay hotel supply growth was the lowest since 2013 during the quarter, below its long-term historical average for 20 consecutive quarters. The last time extended-stay supply growth was consistently near its current level was from 2010 fourth quarter through third quarter of 2014. "Extended-stay hotel RevPAR was more than 12 percent higher than in fourth quarter of 2019. There were 567,770 extended-stay hotel rooms open at the end of the quarter. Excluding 2020, the 6,481 net gain in rooms open over the last year was the lowest annual increase since 2012. Room nights available increased 1.2 percent over the last year which was the smallest annual gain in supply for nine years," the report said. "Fractional net economy and upscale segment supply gains compared to 2021 are largely due to re-branding moving rooms between segments in our database, de-flagging of hotels which no longer meet brand standards, as well as the sales of some hotels to multi-family apartment companies and municipalities."

THERE WAS A family in need, and California hotelier Sunil "Sunny" Tolani could not stand by and idly watch. So, he took action, even though the family was thousands of miles away in Afghanistan. A young girl's life was literally at stake. And now, Tolani is joining an effort to help other refugees from the war-torn country. It began when Tolani saw the story in the Wall Street Journal of Najiba, a 3-year-old girl who was facing being sold to a man to cover her family's $550 debt to the man. Najiba's mother, Saleha, is a housecleaner in western Afghanistan earning only 70 cents a day cleaning homes and her elderly husband does not work at all,according to the non-profit Afghan Assist. Saleha has six children altogether and also raises the children of her sister who died in childbirth. Najiba would not marry the man to whom the family owes money,the charity said.

U.S. HOTEL PERFORMANCE increased in the fourth week of September compared to the week before, according to STR. Performance also improved when compared to 2019. Occupancy was 70 percent for the week ending Sept. 24, increased slightly from 69.6 percent the week before and decreased just 1.5 percent from 2019. ADR was $157.99 for the week, up from $155.58 the week before and increased 15.7 percent from three years ago. RevPAR reached $110.60 during the week, increased from $108.25 the week before and up 13.9 percent from 2019. Among STR's top 25 markets, Orlando reported the highest occupancy increase for September's fourth week, up 7.9 percent to 72.2 percent, over 2019.

JIM ALDERMAN HAS stepped down from his position as CEO for the Americas at Radisson Hotel Group Americas "to pursue other opportunities," the company said in a statement. Tom Buoy, Radisson's chief commercial officer, will serve as interim CEO while the company searches for Alderman's replacement. The company did not release details of where Alderman is going but said only that it is looking for a full-time replacement while remaining "focused on the future." "Our plan is to continue to move forward with the vision set forth by our board and executive team to grow the company," Buoy said. "We have an exceptional internal team of leaders focused on making Radisson Hotel Group Americas better for owners, franchisees, team members, and investors alike, and I am very confident we will continue to grow in 2022 and beyond." Alderman was appointed to the CEO position in March 2020 to replace Ken Greene, who stepped down as the company's president for the Americas in December due to personal reasons. Greene is now president and CEO at AAHOA.

U.S. HOTEL PERFORMANCE was down in the third week of January compared to the week before on account of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, according to STR. Occupancy was 54.2 percent for the week ending Jan. 21, slightly down from 54.8 percent the week before and decreased 6.2 percent from 2019. ADR was $140.16 during the week, dropped from $144.81 the week before and up 11.3 percent from three years ago. RevPAR reached $75.97 in the third week, decreased from $79.38 the week before and up 4.4 percent from January 2019. Among STR's top 25 markets, Tampa reported the highest increase over 2019 in all metrics during the week, with occupancy up 6.8 percent to 78.8 percent, ADR rising 31.9 percent to $174.78 and RevPAR up 41 percent to $137.76.

U.S. HOTELS REPORTED improved performance in the second week of January compared to the week before, according to STR. The weekly performance was mixed over the same period in 2019. Occupancy was 54.8 percent for the week ending Jan. 14, up from 47.2 percent the week before and decreased 5.5 percent from 2019. ADR was $144.81 during the week, increased from $142.82 the week before and up 15.7 percent from three years ago. RevPAR reached $79.38 in the second week of 2023, sharp increase from $67.40 the week before and up 9.3 percent from January 2019. None of STR's top 25 markets reported an occupancy increase during the week when compared to 2019. However, Dallas came closest to its 2019 comparable, down just 2.1 percent to 69 percent.

ALL RECOVERY INDICES of U.S. extended-stay hotels were lower compared to 2019 in May than in April, according to hotel investment advisors The Highland Group. The demand for economy extended-stay hotels declined 1.3 percent for the second consecutive month in May compared to same period last year mainly due to sharp increase in ADR in last few months, the report said. The U.S. Extended-Stay Hotels Bulletin: May 2022 by The Highland Group said that the extended-stay room supply growth was just 1.9 percent during the month. It is the second successive month that the growth was below 2 percent since 2013, and the eighth consecutive month of 4 percent or lower supply growth. The report added that the supply increase will be well below pre-pandemic levels during the near term. According to STR, all hotel room revenue was up 43 percent in May 2022 compared to last year. "In May, mid-price and upscale extended-stay segments reported their lowest monthly change in demand in 2022. Except for February 2021, due to the leap year in 2020, economy extended-stay hotels reported only the second monthly fall in demand in 23 consecutive months," the report said. "Overall hotel occupancy gained more than extended-stay hotels in May compared to one year ago, decreasing extended-stay hotel's occupancy premium to 12 percentage points, and remains within its long-term average range."

THE BAIRD/STR HOTEL Stock Index dropped in June for the second consecutive month. The index dropped for the first time, after rising continuously for five months, in May. Baird/STR recorded a sharp fall of 19.3 percent in June, according to STR. The index dropped 5.8 percent in May. It went up 0.7 percent during April. It increased 2.2 percent in March after rising 4.1 percent in February. The index decreased 21.6 percent during the first six months of 2022. The Baird/STR Index fell behind both the S&P 500, dropped 8.4 percent from May and the MSCI US REIT Index, down 7.9 percent respectively during June. The hotel brand sub-index fell 19.3 percent from May, while the Hotel REIT sub-index dipped 19.5 percent during the month. "Hotel stocks continued on their downward trajectory in June and were significant relative under-performers as investors began to factor in an increasing likelihood of an impending recession," said Michael Bellisario, senior hotel research analyst and director at Baird. "While the upcoming summer travel months are expected to be strong, investors are looking beyond the near-term fundamental strength to a period when demand and ADR growth are likely to moderate, which is supported by the many macroeconomic indicators that are flashing signs of broader slowing."

THE PROFITABILITY OF U.S. hotels was above 2019 level for the third consecutive month in May, but was lower compared to April, according to STR. The GOPPAR and EBITDA PAR levels were down in May compared to the month before. GOPPAR was $88.63 for the month, down from $90.96 reported in April. In March, GOPPAR stood at $83.81. EBITDA PAR was $67.80 for May, TRevPAR was $219.58 and labor costs per room were $66.27. "After the top-line metrics showed mixed results in May, it wasn't a surprise that the bottom-line metrics came in a bit lower," said Raquel Ortiz, director of financial performance, STR. "Regardless, each of the four key P&L metrics showed improvement when indexed to 2019, with GOPPAR and EBITDA PAR coming in higher than May 2019 levels. We continue to keep a close eye on F&B as group demand levels rise. F&B revenues are gradually moving closer to 2019 levels, but catering and banquet revenues continue to lag."

THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC did not slow Magnuson Hotels' growth as it added 80 franchise agreements for its Independent Collection in the U.S. and United Kingdom in 2021. The company said its business model and focus on local markets and dynamic pricing helped it weather the storm. Magnuson is expecting continued strong performance in 2022 for the Independent Collection, which is made up of independent hotels receiving support from Magnuson. Occupancy for the collection rose 31.3 percent and RevPAR rose 43.5 percent over 2019 levels during 2021, according to a statement from the company. At the same time, according to data from STR, U.S. total occupancy for 2021 dropped 12.6 percent, ADR dropped 4.8 percent and RevPAR went down 16.8 percent. "The pandemic has seen a shift in hotel source markets, with corporate travel and international travel as we've known it removed from hotels' options. Our teams have instead looked domestically and locally at those businesses which are key to success and solid, long-term business," said Thomas Magnuson, the company's CEO. "Local government, medical, public safety, energy, transportation, construction, government, long-term corporate. The business market is now driven by essential business travel-the must-take trips, those small and medium-sized enterprises which have been getting in their cars and hitting the road."

THE U.S. TOPS the global hotel construction pipeline in terms of project count, according to Lodging Econometrics. Overall, the pipeline increased 5 percent by projects and 4 percent by rooms over the same time last year with several stages of the pipeline hitting peaks by project and rooms counts. LE's most recent Global Hotel Construction Pipeline Trend Report released Thursday found the pipeline contains 14,779 projects with 2,412,736 rooms. There were 1,230,572 rooms in 6,896 projects under construction, all-time high. Another peak is in projects scheduled to start in the next 12 months with 4,599 projects and 651,133 rooms at the end the second quarter. There are an additional 3,283 projects and 531,031 rooms in the early planning stage of the pipeline. U.S. projects made up 38 percent of the pipeline with 5,582 projects and 687,801 rooms. China was second with 3,574 projects and 647,704 rooms, or 24 percent of the pipeline, meaning both countries make up 62 percent of the total pipeline.

THE BAIRD/STR HOTEL Stock Index rose again in April, continuing a trend the index has followed for the past four months. Investors' optimism is driven by the travel industry's ongoing recovery due to pent-up demand that is overriding negative influences, such as the Russia/Ukraine war and rising interest rates. Baird/STR went up 0.7 percent during the month, according to STR. The index rose 3.1 percent over the first four months of 2022. In March it increased 2.2 percent in March after rising 4.1 percent in February. The index also surpassed both the S&P 500, which dropped 8.8 percent in April, and the MSCI US REIT Index, which went down 4.6 percent. The hotel brand sub-index rose 0.5 percent from March, while the hotel REIT sub-index jumped up 1.5 percent.

U.S. EXTENDED-STAY hotels registered an increase in occupancy and ADR in the first quarter of this year, according to hotel investment advisors The Highland Group. Record high demand, low supply growth and rising overall ADR are driving the strong performance. Economy and mid-price extended-stay hotels recovered RevPAR to their nominal 2019 values and the former is leading the recovery, the U.S. Extended-stay Hotels: First Quarter 2022 report said. However, the upscale extended-stay segment is lagging the overall recovery but reporting slightly better recovery performance as demand is at an all-time high, the report added. "There were 564,257 extended-stay hotel rooms open at the end of the first quarter. However, the 17,165 net gain in rooms open over the last year was the lowest annual increase since 2014, excluding 2020. Room nights available increased 3.1 percent over 2021, but supply growth dropped 50 percent from 2016 across all three segments," the report said.