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EV HOTEL CORP., the Atlanta-based tech centric "smart hotel" company, is in a "change of control" stock purchase agreement with Plandai Biotechnology, Inc. Plandai will become the parent company to EV Hotel, founded by Ken Patel, for the purposes of going public. Before closing the agreement, both parties must complete independent financial audits, a third-party valuation of EV Hotel Corp. and the company completing corporate actions with the Secretary of State of Nevada, according to EV Hotel. Trading regulatory organization FINRA will change Plandai's name and trading symbol, along with implementing a reverse split of the company's common stock, with management plans at 100:1. Upon closing, Plandai will acquire all of the authorized stock and assets in EV Hotel in exchange for common stock and Patel will acquire all of the company's Series "A" Preferred stock, resulting in a change of control.

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.

REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT competition She Has a Deal (SHaD) started a 10-city tour of U.S. cities to raise equity capital under the name "SHaD Prosperity Fund I." The funds will support women-led hotel projects, a statement said. The tour kicks off in Miami on Feb. 11 and will be open to small groups of qualified individual investors, family offices, small entities and trusts. Cities on the tour include Cleveland, Phoenix, Dallas, New York, Atlanta, Chicago, as well as Oakland, California; Louisville, Kentucky; and Washington, D.C. It will finish in the first week of April. According to SHaD, each event will include a preview of the women-led hotel deals being pitched by participants in the 2022 She Has a Deal pitch competition. "Launching SHaD Prosperity Fund I is the next logical step in the SHaD mission. Now that we have created a powerful platform to expose more women to hotel ownership and educate them about the process, I want to ensure that capital is available for the women to close their hotel deals," said SHaD founder Tracy Prigmore. "This investment vehicle marries two of my passions: creating investment vehicles that open the doors of hotel investing to more people and increasing the number of women owning and developing hotels. The ability to create passive income for investors while leading social change is inspiring."

DRIVEN BY STRONGER-than-expected demand and moderate supply, CBRE has raised its forecast for hotel performance again this year, resulting in increased occupancy. CBRE revised its forecast for 2023 RevPAR to $97.89, up 6 percent year-over-year and an increase of $0.43 rise from the previous forecast. This positive revision is based on a 65-basis-point increase in expected occupancy compared to the previous forecast issued in February, CBRE said in a statement. Furthermore, the ADR is projected to grow by 3.7 percent in 2023, slightly lower than the previous forecast of 4.2 percent. According to CBRE Hotels Research, this is primarily due to slightly lower inflation expectations and a higher proportion of group travel and shoulder-period demand, which typically have lower rates. CBRE's baseline scenario forecast envisages an average GDP growth of 0.8 percent and average inflation of 4.6 percent in 2023. Given the strong correlation between GDP and RevPAR growth, changes in the economic outlook will directly impact the performance of the lodging industry, CBRE noted. "We are already starting to see signs that the easing of travel restrictions in Japan and China, combined with continued improvements in group and independent business demand, are bolstering demand heading into the heavy summer travel season," said Rachael Rothman, head of hotel research & data analytics at CBRE.

AS MANY AS 60 percent of Americans are likely to stay in hotels this year, more than last year, according to two surveys commissioned by the American Hotel & Lodging Association. The survey findings apply to business and leisure travelers, with most saying they are travelling as much as or more than they did pre-pandemic. Hotels are the top lodging choice among travelers for business and leisure in the next three months, the new national Hotel Booking Index survey research commissioned by AHLA and conducted by Morning Consult has revealed. According to the surveys, conducted on Dec. 16 to 19 and Dec. 28 to Jan. 2, 52 percent of adults would choose to stay in hotels in the next three months, while 76 percent of potential business travelers would be most likely to stay in a hotel during the same period. Besides, business travelers indicate that nearly 70 percent of their employers have either returned to the pre-pandemic normal or increased amounts of business travel. The survey said that 51 percent of business travelers said that share of employees expected or encouraged to travel for work is now the same as before the pandemic, while another 20 percent said it's more than before. About 53 percent of business travelers said that the average length of business trips is now the same as before the pandemic, while another 20 percent said it's more than before.

U.S. HOTEL PERFORMANCE was up in the fourth week of January compared to the week before, according to STR. Occupancy was 56.3 percent for the week ending Jan. 28, up from 54.2 percent the week before and decreased 0.3 percent from 2019. ADR was $142.66 during the week, up from $140.16 the week before and up 13.4 percent from three years ago. RevPAR reached $80.32 in the fourth week, increased from $75.97 the week before and up 13 percent from January 2019. Among STR's top 25 markets, Dallas reported the highest occupancy increase, up 10.3 percent to 69.8 percent, over 2019.

U.S. HOTELS WILL generate $46.71 billion in state and local tax revenue, more than ever before, according to a survey from the American Hotel & Lodging Association and Oxford Economics. Occupancy is expected to continue its recovery, the report said, but challenges remain. Average U.S. hotel occupancy is projected to reach 63.8 percent in 2023, just under 2019's level of 65.9 percent, according to AHLA. However, the labor shortage is expected to continue this year as hotels seek to fill jobs lost in the pandemic. As of December, national average hotel wages were at historic highs of more than $23 an hour and hotel benefits and flexibility are better than ever. Nearly 100,000 hotel jobs are currently open across the nation, according to job search site Indeed. "Hotels are making significant strides toward recovery, supporting millions of good-paying jobs and generating billions in state and local tax revenue in communities across the nation," said Chip Rogers, AHLA president and CEO. "To continue growing, we need to hire more people. Fortunately, there's never been a better time to be a hotel employee, with wages, benefits, flexibility and upward mobility better than ever before."

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.

THE REVPAR OF hotels in Phoenix is forecasted to reach $419 for Super Bowl weekend of February 10-12, the second-highest level for the event, according to STR. As the city also hosts Phoenix Open this week, the Friday through Sunday night occupancy may touch 94 percent and ADR to hit $445. According to STR, a unique volume of demand would push occupancy slightly higher than Phoenix's last host year in 2015 (93.7 percent) even though supply increased by 11.7 percent this year. The ADR level would rank third among host markets behind Miami in 2020 and San Francisco in 2016. "Phoenix's jump in RevPAR during its last Super Bowl host year was staggering, and this time around will be no different with big-time growth contribution from both occupancy and ADR," said Isaac Collazo, STR's vice president of analytics. "Demand speaks for itself, especially with consumer behavior around the event free of pandemic concerns-unlike the last two Super Bowls. Phoenix's ADR situation has different influences than recent host markets given inflation and having less upper-tier supply than a Los Angeles or Miami." The overall Phoenix market comprises 544 hotels with 70,488 rooms.

U.S. HOTEL CONSTRUCTION increased slightly in December after 25 consecutive months of decline, according to STR. Projects in the later stages of development saw a reversal in their decline and luxury projects were up. There are 159,344 rooms in construction during the month, up 0.3 percent, over Dec. 2021. As many as 213,066 rooms are in the final planning state, an increase of 15 percent over last year. STR pipeline data added that 240,092 rooms are under planning, a decline of 15.6 percent. New York City, Phoenix and Dallas are set to see the largest supply percentage increases from current construction. The luxury and upscale segments would see the most supply. "While the overall pipeline continued to contract year over year, December showed strength in the later phases of development," said Alison Hoyt, STR's senior director of consulting. "Over the past year, we've seen late-stage pipeline rooms consistently decline from 2021 levels, while rooms in the planning phase often showed double-digit growth. We started to see a change in this pattern in November, when final planning rooms significantly jumped year over year and planning rooms came down pretty firmly. The same occurred in December, with the only difference being construction increasing slightly over 2021. When looking strictly at volume, the in-construction phase has been fairly stable throughout the year, remaining under 160,000 rooms and showing month-over-month increases from July through October and again in December."

HYATT HOTELS CORPORATION has signed franchise agreements with 3H Group and Presidio Hotel Development to open Hyatt Studios in two states. Led by founder Hiren Desai, 3H Group will introduce the studios in Mobile, Alabama, while Guneet Bajwa heads the effort for Presidio Hotel Development in Marysville, California, and both are expected to open by late 2024 to 2025. Following its April launch, Hyatt has garnered letters of interest for more than 100 Hyatt Studios, marking its inaugural upper-midscale extended-stay brand in the Americas, the company said in a statement. "Hyatt's expansion into these new markets through Hyatt Studios hotels underscores our dedication to developers, guests, and World of Hyatt members," said Dan Hansen, global head of Hyatt Studios. "We've learned that when Hyatt guests stay with a competing brand, they appear to do so for one of two reasons: the absence of a Hyatt hotel within five miles or the choice to stay at a lower chain scale. By offering Hyatt options in these fresh markets, we foster brand loyalty without internal competition and present developers with untapped opportunities."

U.S. HOTEL PERFORMANCE increased in the second week of December, according to STR. ADR was up during the week when compared to same period in 2019. Occupancy was 57.4 percent for the week ending Dec. 11, up from 54.8 percent the week before and down by 4.8 percent for the same period in 2019. ADR for the week was $128.35, up from $127.92 the week before and increased 2.3 percent when compared to two years ago. RevPAR increased to $73.73 during the week from $70.08 for the week before but dropped 2.7 percent for the same period in 2019. Among the Top 25 Markets, Norfolk/Virginia Beach saw the only occupancy increase among STR's top 25 markets during the week, up 4.2 percent to 55.2 percent over 2019. New York City reported the highest weekly occupancy level of any STR-defined U.S. market at 81.5 percent. However, its occupancy level was 13 percent lower than two years ago. Miami registered the largest ADR increase during the period, up 30.1 percent to $229.34, when compared to 2019.

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.

HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS brand from IHG Hotels & Resorts has reached a milestone of more than 3,000 hotels across the globe, a statement said. The brand accounts for more than a third of IHG's global pipeline, and nearly 650 properties are expected to open in the coming years. According to the statement, Holiday Inn Express opened 100 new hotels every year and now offers 300,000 rooms in 2100 cities. Columbus, Georgia-based RAM Hotels, owns four Holiday Inn Express properties and Mitesh "Matt" Patel, executive vice president, described it as a power brand. "Holiday Inn express is and has always been a power brand. It performs very well in the markets we own them in," he said. "We always set Hampton as a benchmark for our Holiday Inn Express and tend to drive comparable RevPAR to Hampton Inn brand. Our Holiday Inn Express did very well during the pandemic and recovered within two to three months post pandemic."

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."