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La Quinta by Wyndham Selma is now open in Selma, North Carolina. Owned by Jay Sai Corp., it is the 120th hotel to open using the La Quinta Del Sol prototype. The 80-room hotel is near Raleigh-Durham International Airport and Smithfield Community Park. Amenities include an outdoor pool. Another Del Sol hotel is expected to open in Galveston, Texas, this summer, according to Wyndham. There are 175 La Quinta hotels in the development pipeline and openings scheduled this year in several markets, such as Nashville, Tennessee; Santa Cruz, California and Denver.

Isaac Collazo is the new vice president of analytics for STR. Previously, he was vice president of capacity at InterContinental Hotels Group. Previously, Collazo conducted performance analysis, predictive analytics, modeling and macroeconomic interpretation for Marriott International, Promus Hotel Corporation and La Quinta Inns & Suites. He also is a content committee member for STR's Hotel Data Conference. "Isaac will be an immediate voice in conversations around STR methodology as well as our ongoing product development in the CoStar platform," said Amanda Hite, STR president. "Long-term, he'll contribute to the evolution of the holistic solution we will deliver to the industry." Commercial real estate research company CoStar acquired STR in 2019. Collazo called the new position a "dream come true."

THREE LARGE HOTEL companies took advantage of last week's 2021 AAHOA Convention & Trade Show at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas to announce new brand prototypes and refurbishments. They include two new extended-stay concepts and investments in existing midscale brands. Red Roof Inn introduced its new HomeTowne Studios prototype that the company said features a cost-effective development footprint, and a layout that offers improved operational efficiency. Also, G6 Hospitality, parent company for Motel 6 and Studio 6, introduced its Studio 6 Suites to meet what it sees as increased demand of extended-stay brands. Also, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts announced it would invest more than $40 million over the next three years in its Microtel and La Quinta by Wyndham brands. The company's Microtel Lift Incentive Program aims to encourage renovations that will bring existing properties parallel to the new build prototypes followed by the brands.

VIRDEE, THE CONTACTLESS check-in technology firm, secured $12.4 million in an oversubscribed Series A funding round led by Moneta Ventures, bringing its total funding to $21 million. These funds will be used to finance research, expand product features, grow the workforce, and strengthen the company's presence in the hospitality sector, the company said. Other participants in the latest fundraising process include Silverton Partners, Koch Real Estate Investments, Alumni Ventures, DJR Advisors, Capital Factory, and strategic partners, Virdee said. This investment follows Series Seed financing led by Silverton Partners in February 2022 and a 2020 angel investment led by Rajiv Trivedi, former brand president for Wyndham Hotels & Resorts Inc.'s La Quinta Inn and chairman of TST Capital.

MARCH IS WOMEN'S History Month, a time to focus attention on women's role in business and society. It also is the second month for Wyndham Hotels & Resorts' new "Women Own the Room" program that aims to open the door for more women to achieve hotel ownership. Two of the first participants in the program are Trusha Patel, founder and CEO of Platinum Holdings in Austin, Texas, and Neha Jadhav of Chantilly, Virginia, founder of Luminous Hotel Management. Both women are opening dual-brand La Quinta and Hawthorn Suites hotels with assistance from WOTR assistance. Correcting an imbalance Wyndham launched WOTR in January in an effort to overcome the common barriers women face in developing, opening and running their own hotel. The program provides assistance with financial solutions, personalized operational support and networking and educational opportunities. Programs such as WOTR are needed to counter hospitality industry data that shows women are significantly underrepresented in hotel ownership, real estate, and investment funding roles, Wyndham said in a press release. The company cited the most recent annual report from the Castell Project, a nonprofit focused on promoting women in the industry, that found that while there are more women in the hospitality industry they still lag behind in leadership roles.

OFFICIALS OF THE "She Has a Deal" annual hotel investment pitch contest announced the five teams selected to advance to the final round of SHaDPitch 2023. The competition allows early career women to compete for the prize of $50,000 of equity in SHaD's Prosperity Fund I, following the conclusion of a virtual, preliminary round of pitching, SHaD said in a statement. SHaD 2023 will be held at the new Marriott Headquarters in Bethesda, Maryland, on April 27 to 28. According to the statement, the goal of SHaD is to increase the number of women owning and developing hotels. It provides participants with the ability to source, analyse, raise capital and close hotel real estate investment deals. During the preliminary judging round, eight teams comprising 15 participants pitched their hotel investment acquisition or development projects live on Zoom to a judging panel of hotel business executives, entrepreneurs, and investors. The judges evaluated and selected the following five teams: Sydney Young and Rachel Nicholson with SpartanStone, graduates of Michigan State University, pitching a La Quinta Inn & Suites in Lewisville, Texas. Chandler Williamson with Chanders Core Commitment, graduate of North Carolina Central University, pitching a Hilton Garden Inn in Raleigh/Durham, North Carolina. Isabella Suffredini, Veronica Lewis and Alexandra Neoman with CROWN, graduates of Cornell University, pitching a TownePlace Suites in Houston, Texas. Makenna Price with Hookipa Hospitality, graduate of Washington State University, pitching a Fairfield Inn & Suites in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida Allison Busch and Hannah Takekawa with AH Hospitality, graduates of San Diego State University, pitching a Staybridge Suites in Austin, Texas "Every year, I grow more encouraged that we are making an impact," said Tracy Prigmore, founder of SHaD. "These are brilliant women who benefit from the education and programming that SHaD provides, and their hotel investment acumen has grown by leap

WITH DISNEYWORLD AND Universal Studios as a backdrop, the AAHOA Convention & Trade Show 2024 got under way in Orlando, Florida, Tuesday. The show had just begun but attendees were already feeling excited about the week. "I think that is great, the venue is great, and the turnout," said Raj Patel, CEO of Apsilon Hotels in Atlanta. "This is going to be an excellent show. Looking forward to it." More than 6,000 people registered to attend the trade show with more than 1,000 booths and 520 exhibitors. Keynote speakers included: Kevin O'Leary, businessman, SPAC investor, director of Stream Global Services, chairman of O'Shares ETF Investments and Beanstox. Rashmi Airan, professional speaker and coach, speaking at the HerOwnership Women Hoteliers Luncheon and Session. Rahul Kapoor, mindset coach, motivational speaker and author. "It's going to be a fantastic show. It's going to be some great conversations, good educational seminars too," said Raj Trivedi, former La Quinta Hotels head and now managing principal at TST Capital in Dallas. "Most importantly, it's a lot of fun. I think people are going to have a great time."