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DALLAS LEADS THE top five U.S. markets in the largest construction pipeline as of the first quarter of 2024, according to Lodging Econometrics. The Dallas market has 185 projects with 21,882 rooms, slightly below the record highs at the close of the fourth quarter of 2023. Next came Atlanta, with 153 projects comprising 17,929 rooms, then Nashville with 127 projects and 16,199 rooms, as LE's U.S. Construction Pipeline Trend Report showed. Phoenix followed with 123 projects and 16,198 rooms, and the Inland Empire in Southern California set a new record high with 121 projects and 12,324 rooms. U.S. markets with the most projects already under construction by the end of the first quarter include New York with 47 projects and 7,655 rooms, Dallas with 25 projects and 3,059 rooms, and Nashville with 22 projects and 2,828 rooms. Atlanta had 21 projects and 2,588 rooms, and the Inland Empire currently has 20 projects and 2,181 rooms under construction.

NETHERLANDS-BASED CITIZENM HAS inaugurated its first hotel at Meta's Menlo Park campus in California, marking its second U.S. opening this year after the launch of citizenM Miami Center. CitizenM currently operates 14 hotels in the U.S. and has plans for additional openings in 2024, including locations in Austin, Boston, and another in South Beach, Miami. The global hospitality company was founded by Rattan Chadha in 2015. The five-story hotel, spanning 79,400 square feet, features 240 modular rooms, citizenM said. The brand's modular design has not only reduced construction waste by up to 60 percent but has also shortened the development timeline by three to four months compared to traditional construction methods. The hotel at Meta's Frank Gehry-designed headquarters campus has been designed by citizenM's architectural partner, Baskervill. "We're excited to open in Menlo Park, a burgeoning tech hub," said Robin Chadha, chief brand officer at citizenM. " CitizenM, designed to seamlessly connect remote and in-person work with private nooks and versatile workspaces in our Living Rooms, along with societyM meeting rooms. This dynamic property will provide a unique experience for Meta employees and mobile citizens in the area."

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.

DALLAS TAKES THE lead in top five U.S. hotel construction markets in the third quarter of 2023, setting a record with 189 projects and 21,840 rooms, according to Lodging Econometrics. The top markets all saw growth in new openings as well. Atlanta follows closely with 140 projects and 17,775 Rooms, while Nashville comes next with 122 projects and 16,046 rooms. Phoenix recorded 119 projects, totaling 16,455 rooms, while the Inland Empire reported 117 projects comprising 11,784 rooms, according to the third quarter United States Construction Pipeline Trend Report by LE. New York City leads with the highest number of projects under construction, totaling 46, and 8,386 rooms at the close of the third quarter, LE said. Phoenix follows with 26 projects and 5,353 rooms, followed closely by Atlanta with 26 projects and 4,354 rooms. Dallas trails with 25 projects and 3,178 rooms, and the Inland Empire with 23 projects and 2,386 rooms.

U.S. EXTENDED-STAY HOTEL occupancy declined across 59 MSAs in 2023 compared to 2019, primarily due to significant ADR growth over the past three years, according to The Highland Group. Additionally, extended-stay hotel RevPAR surged in more than 80 percent of MSAs, with ten of them, including four major hotel markets, experiencing gains exceeding 10 percent. Despite an 8 percent increase in the number of extended-stay hotel rooms under construction in the 100 largest MSAs over the past year, the figures remain below pre-pandemic levels, the report said. The resurgence in occupancy was notably led by smaller markets, where strong ADR increases and supply expansion played pivotal roles in driving the lowest occupancy recovery indices for MSAs in 2023.

ATLANTA-BASED EV Hotels, a new technology-centric hotel brand founded by Ken Patel, has partnered with Spanish firm CLERHP to construct a luxury resort in the new Larimar City & Resort project in Punta Cana, the Dominican Republic. The 400-room hotel will be built on an area of nearly eight acres, the company said in a statement. Larimar City & Resort will be on the Promenade on the Farrallón de Verón, which has a view of Punta Cana, said Leonardo Padron Hermes, CEO of Blacklions International Group, a company associated with CLERHP in the development of real estate projects in the Dominican Republic. The area includes restaurants, clubs, shops and an 18-hole golf course. "After many years of working behind the scenes to develop a hotel brand that both innovates and revolutionized the industry, it is truly rewarding to now see EV make an impact across the globe. And believe me, we are just getting started," Patel said. "Larimar City & Resort will be one of the best tourist attractions around the globe and our team at EV is excited to be part of this Smart-City. Growth doesn't come with a single action. It is the consequence of persistence, courage, and hard work. What we are accomplishing here is to create an experience that brings hospitality back and gives it life again. Innovation is a team sport."

THE U.S. HOTEL industry will be well on the way to recovery in 2022, according to consulting firm HVS Americas. However, a full recovery in real terms, after adjusting for inflation, remains a few years away, it added. With more assets, both distressed and well performing, expected to come to market this year, 2022 will be an exciting year for the industry, said Rod Clough, president of HVS, in an article titled 'ALIS 2022 Takeaways - Our Industry Braces for a Big Year Ahead'. A near full recovery in RevPAR at $85 for U.S. hotels is likely to happen by the end of 2022 when compared to $86 in 2018-19. "The higher inflationary environment will continue to bode well for hotels, resulting in ADR pricing power leading to a lift in revenue on top of still lean operational models. Group travel is still lagging the recovery, but near-term, smaller-group bookings (at newly raised room rates) should help bridge the gap while the industry waits for larger meetings to return," Clough wrote in the article. "Rising development costs due to supply-chain disruptions, labor shortages, and overall inflation are leading to a general contraction in new hotel openings. Moreover, development challenges are intensifying for major CBDs, attributed to slow office re-openings, a lag in larger convention bookings, higher operating/labor costs, and even higher construction costs than your average project."

THE U.S. HOTEL construction pipeline ticked up in September for the third consecutive month, according to STR. Also, year-over-year declines have been lessening each month since May. In STR's pipeline, 156,861 rooms were in construction during the month, down 8.9 percent from the same time last year. Another 173,932 rooms were in final planning, down 15.5 percent, and 282,225 rooms were planning, up 7 percent. New York City, Phoenix and Nashville are set to see the largest supply percentage increases from current construction, according to STR. Among the chain scales, the luxury and upscale segments led in that measurement.

THE U.S. HOTEL construction pipeline was slightly up at the end of the first quarter of 2022, according to Lodging Econometrics. Dallas was the top U.S. market for building. The pipeline stood at 5,090 projects containing 606,302 rooms, up 2 percent by projects, but down 3 percent by rooms, during the period. There are 961 projects with 128,784 rooms currently under construction in the first quarter, down 27 percent by projects and 28 percent by rooms compared to 2021, stated the latest trend report by LE. There are 1,911 projects with 223,030 rooms are scheduled to start in the next 12 months, up 2 percent by projects and 3 percent by rooms. Projects and rooms in early planning reached a record high in the first quarter, with 2,218 projects containing 254,488 rooms, up 24 percent by projects and 12 percent by rooms, compared to a year ago.

U.S. HOTEL PERFORMANCE fell slightly in the first week of February from the week before, according to STR. Occupancy was 55.3 percent for the week ending Feb. 4, down from 56.3 percent the week before and decreased 7.3 percent from 2019. ADR was $145.35 during the week, increased from $142.66 the week before and up 13.9 percent from three years ago. RevPAR reached $80.45 in the first week, slightly up from $80.32 the week before and up 5.6 percent from January 2019. None of STR's top 25 markets saw an occupancy increase during the week. Las Vegas came closest to its 2019 occupancy at 78.2 percent, down 1.4 percent. It also reported the highest ADR, up 79.5 percent to $221.38 and RevPAR, up 76.9 percent to $173.20, over 2019 mainly due to Design & Construction Week 2023 and the NFL Pro Bowl Games.

DESPITE PROJECTIONS OF persistent inflation and a moderate economic recession, CBRE's November 2022 Hotel Horizons forecast calls for a 5.8 percent increase in RevPAR in 2023. This is up from CBRE's previous forecast of a 5.6 percent increase in RevPAR for 2023. Propelling CBRE's increased outlook for RevPAR is an expected 4.2 percent rise in ADR, driven in part by the continuation of above long-run average inflation. For 2023, CBRE is forecasting the Consumer Price Index in the U.S. to increase by 3.5 percent year over year. Inflation continues to have a mixed impact on the hotel industry, bolstering top-line growth while pressuring margins. Supply and Demand Inflation is also impacting development activity. The combination of rising construction material costs, a tight labor market, and high interest rates will serve to keep supply growth over the next five years 40 percent lower than historical trends. Instead of construction, we expect cash flows in the near term to be focused on debt reductions, renovations and remodels given the backlog of Capex that built up during the pandemic. Given its forecast for a 0.2 percent decline in 2023 gross domestic product, CBRE lowered its expectations for demand growth from 3.3 percent in their August 2022 forecasts to 2.9 percent in the November update. With the projected supply increase remaining at 1.2 percent for 2023, the net result is a reduction in CBRE's occupancy growth estimate for the year to 1.6 percent, down from the 2 percent increase previously forecast. The lowering of occupancy expectations will somewhat offset the enhanced outlook for ADR growth.

CHOICE HOTELS INTERNATIONAL and Wyndham Hotels & Resorts announced the launch of a new brand and a new prototype respectively during the Americas Lodging Investment Summit in Los Angeles this week. Choice bills its Everhome Suites as a new-construction midscale extended-stay brand while Wyndham's Arbor new-build prototype for its Wyndham Garden brand focuses on reducing construction costs. Choice broke ground on the first Everhome Suites in Corona, California, shortly after officially launching the brand. It also has agreements for the development of 13 more of the new brand in Austin, Texas, and Los Angeles, and the company expects the first opening in 2021. Everhome Suites is meant to fill a gap in the extended-stay market, said Patrick Pacious, Choice's president and CEO.

CHOICE HOTELS INTERNATIONAL issued a last-minute appeal to Wyndham Hotels & Resorts shareholders to tender shares toward a proposed acquisition with a March 8 deadline to do so. At the same time, a U.S. senator has written to the Federal Trade Commission expressing concerns about the proposed merger. The fate of the proposal may hinge on getting more Wyndham share holders to show interest by tendering shares, Choice said in a statement. The company pointed out that tendering shares would not obligate shareholders to accept Choice's current offer. "Tendering shares will send a clear message to Wyndham's board of directors to constructively engage with Choice to reach a consensual agreement on the terms of a transaction," Choice said. "Depending on participation, Choice intends to either extend or terminate the exchange offer and will evaluate next steps related to its nomination of a slate of independent directors for election to the board of directors of Wyndham."

HOTELS IN THE Americas performed above 2019 levels, although RevPAR is stabilizing amidst decreasing consumer travel spending, according to real estate firm JLL. This has affected resort markets heavily dependent on leisure travel. In contrast, urban travel demand is on the rise, driven by group, corporate, and inbound international travel. According to JLL's Global Real Estate Perspective for February 2024, global hotel RevPAR surpassed 2019 levels by 11.7 percent in the first 11 months of 2023. The global urban market strengthened with increased international travel and the return of business and group demand. London, New York, and Tokyo are expected to lead global RevPAR performance in 2024 as urban travel rebounds. Stabilization has weighed heaviest in resort markets, particularly in the Americas and EMEA, while Asia-Pacific continues to accelerate as intraregional travel grows following border reopenings, the report added. Foreign capital, absent since the onset of COVID, is expected to become more active over the next 12 months. Middle Eastern and Asian investors are likely to lead, with urban markets in Europe and select U.S. cities as primary recipients of capital.

STONEHILL CRE, THE commercial real estate group of investment firm Stonehill, has originated and purchased $200 million in first mortgage loans since being launched in the second quarter of 2022. The companies expect to complete an additional $100 million in loan originations and other transactions by year's end, based upon deals in its pipeline, and Stonehill CRE is targeting over $500 million in transaction for 2023. Stonehill CRE, formed in May with Daniel Siegel as its president, is designed to work in all real estate sectors to navigate ongoing market volatility and enable real estate owners to execute their business plans, according to the company. Its work has made Stonehill the 10th largest U.S. hotel lender in 2021, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Atlanta-based Stonehill and Stonehill CRE are affiliates of Peachtree Group, led by Jatin Desai and Mitul Patel as managing principals. "Stonehill CRE's formation came at a fortuitous time as market conditions have created a dislocated lending environment for commercial real estate," said Siegel. "Traditional lenders have not only slowed commercial real estate lending but also tightened underwriting standards, which allows us to provide needed liquidity for maturing loans, new acquisitions and construction projects."

PEACHTREE GROUP RECENTLY received I-956F approval from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the agency overseeing the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program, for developing a Home2 Suites by Hilton in Boone, North Carolina. USCIS adjudicated the I-956F petition for the hotel development in five months, Peachtree said in a statement. "It is a testament to the due diligence of the Peachtree team that it was able to get the project approved so quickly, especially when the published processing time is over 15 months," said Adam Greene, Peachtree's executive vice president of EB-5. The company, led by Greg Friedman as CEO and managing principal, Jatin Desai as managing principal and Mitul Patel as principal, originated $21.7 million in fixed-rate construction financing over a five-year term for Narsi Properties to develop the 105-room Home2 Suites near downtown Boone, Peachtree said. Narsi Properties is led by Deven, Neel and Rupal Patel as principals.

DURING HIS LIFE and career, Jayanti P. "J.P." Rama touched a lot of lives and inspired people on all levels of the hospitality industry. Below are tributes from some of Rama's many friends and colleagues, as well as two of his brothers, following his death on Thursday. Hasmukh "H.P." Rama, brother "My bother JP was man of principle and in his own way he pursued what he strongly believed in. He was man of tremendous courage and stood up for a number of causes, many of which he made his life's mission. He was, like a coconut : from outside he appeared tough but inside was very soft and willing to accommodate anyone and do the right thing at the right time. He was a great entrepreneur who willingly learned all trades of the hospitality business, be it technology, understanding all aspects of the construction process or absorbing or financial information.