Group items tagged

LAS VEGAS SAW 18.5 percent year-over-year growth in group business this May, while Oahu Island, Hawaii, ranked second with a 17.9 percent year over year increase, according to Knowland. The average meeting space in the top 25 markets was 3,615 square feet, compared to 3,625 square feet in secondary markets. The top 25 markets averaged 128 attendees, while secondary markets had 127 attendees, Knowland said. Las Vegas led the top 25 U.S. markets in meeting growth in May, with an average space of 7,803 square feet and 287 attendees, the report said. Key drivers included technology events like the Electronic Distributor Show and national associations such as the International Council of Shopping Centers.

NOBLE INVESTMENT GROUP in Atlanta has acquired the Hilton Garden Inn Boise Downtown. The transaction caps more than $1 billion investment over the past year, according to a statement. The 132-room hotel is near the city's leisure and business centers, which includes the Idaho State Capitol, Boise State University, Jack's Urban Meeting Place, Idaho Central Arena, and the Boise Centre, according to Noble, which is led by Mit Shah as CEO. Hotel amenities include an indoor pool, 4,098 square feet of meeting space and it is pet friendly. "The Boise market demonstrates the key macro trends we are looking for in cities which we believe will outperform as we enter a new lodging cycle," said Dustin Fisher, Noble's senior vice president. "This acquisition aligns with our strategy to acquire high-quality, well-located assets in growth markets poised to benefit from the ongoing recovery in travel."

GOPPAR FOR U.S. hotels in February exceeded the levels of the pre-pandemic comparable time period and was the highest since October 2022, according to STR's February 2023 Profit & Loss data. EBITDA was the only key bottom-line metric on a per-available-room basis to come in lower than February 2019, STR said in a statement. GOPPAR reached $77.37 for the month, up 1.6 percent over the same month in 2019, TRevPAR stood at $217.20, up 3.7 percent, and EBITDA PAR was $51.63, down 0.6 percent against February 2019. Labor costs were $73.70, a 2.9 percent increase. "The profit-and-loss metrics followed typical industry trends, improving from the prior month," said Raquel Ortiz, STR's director of financial performance. "Both GOPPAR and GOP margins were the highest since last fall, while profit margins came in just one percentage point below 2019. Profit margins for limited-service hotels are further behind in recovery than full service, likely due to increasing labor costs that bear heavier weight on the bottom line." "An increase in top-line group demand is beginning to show in the bottom line, as catering and banquet revenues are inching closer to 2019 levels and meeting space rentals and services charges surpassed that threshold. On a per-operating-room basis, nearly all F&B revenues outpaced the pre-pandemic comparables," Ortiz added. Of the major markets, 10 realized both GOPPAR and TRevPAR levels higher than the 2019 comparables, the statement said. "February was a slower month for markets that are more dependent on groups and conventions, such as Atlanta, San Francisco and Minneapolis," Ortiz further said. "Warmer markets have remained at the top, with Phoenix showing the highest TRevPAR recovery and second highest GOPPAR recovery for the month, helped by peak season and Super Bowl LVII."

NOBLE INVESTMENT GROUP recently acquired two hotels in Savannah, Georgia. The hotels are the Hampton Inn Savannah Historic District and Holiday Inn Express Savannah Historic District. Chattanooga, Tennessee-based Noble, led by Mit Shah as CEO, acquired the hotels because of their position in Savannah's historic district. The city recently was named Travel + Leisure magazine's No. 3 Top City in the U.S. and included on TIME's list of The World's Greatest Places of 2021. The 7-floor, 143-room Holiday Inn Express has 2,765 square feet of meeting space, a rooftop pool and the Port Royal Tavern in the lobby. The 147-room Hampton Inn has an outdoor pool, a fitness center and a business center. In the historic district, the hotels are near museums, historic landmarks, mansions, and monuments from the Revolutionary and Civil War eras. Both hotels are on East Bay Street across the Savannah River from the Savannah Convention Center and River Street shopping and entertainment area.