Group items matching

in title, tags, annotations or url

ATLANTA-BASED PEACHTREE Hotel Group recently acquired the Canopy by Hilton Atlanta Midtown hotel in Atlanta. the company's affiliate Peachtree Hospitality Management will operate the property. the 176-room, 15-story Canopy is a lifestyle hotel that opened in 2018 in Midtown Atlanta, according to Peachtree. the area has the largest concentration of arts and cultural attractions and businesses in the Southeast. "Midtown Atlanta is one of the hottest markets in the country right now, and we are excited to be able to make this investment in our backyard," said Brian Waldman, Peachtree's chief investment officer. "the Canopy Atlanta Midtown fits our investment criteria of investing in premium-branded hotels in growing submarkets with strong demand drivers." Nearby are the Atlanta Arts MARTA station, Museum of Design Atlanta, Savannah College of Art and Design and the Breman Jewish Heritage Museum. Other attractions include Pershing Point Park, Ansley Park and Piedmont Park, along with companies such as NCR, Norfolk Southern, Microsoft, Anthem and Google.

From the courtroom to the halls of Congress, Laura Lee Blake has been representing AAHOA in some capacity for more than a decade now. For the past year she has served as the organization's president and CEO, and recently she sat for Asian Hospitality's Leadership Series to discuss the issues facing the association today. Those issues include the promotion of franchise reform, programs to advance women in the hotel industry and her future plans in her role at AAHOA. Blake's work for the association began well before her current appointment. Making the decision Blake, who is an attorney, worked with AAHOA from 2005 to 2014, then left to return to her law firm in Newport Beach, California. She had just started a trial on a big case when AAHOA offered her the president position.

RED ROOF HAS settled a lawsuit that alleged employees at Red Roof properties near Atlanta knew about and participated in human trafficking in those hotels. The lawsuit included a hotel owned by Asian American led Varahi Hotels LLC. Four female plaintiffs, identified only as Jane Does 1 to 4, filed The lawsuit in 2019 in connection to The alleged trafficking of which They were victims. The hotel properties were in The Buckhead area of Atlanta and The community of Smyrna. The lawsuit alleged that Red Roof and Varahi violated The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act and failed to keep The hotels safe and secure. Red Roof's defense that it was not responsible for The actions of The traffickers was not sufficient, The suit said.

FORMER AAHOA CHAIRWOMAN Jagruti Panwala testified recently before Congress on the Department of Labor's proposal to raise the overtime salary exemption threshold for executive, administrative, and professional employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Panwala, now a board member for American Hotel & Lodging Association, argued that the proposed change would actually limit hotel employees' opportunities and does not take into account economic differences between regions of the country. In August, DOL proposed raising the threshold from $35,568 to an estimated $60,209 in 2024 according to AHLA based on the department's projections. That equals a nearly 70 percent increase, and AHLA said that means all employees making under that amount must be paid overtime for any hours worked over 40 in one week. the DOL proposal also would automatically increase the threshold every three years thereafter based on the 35th percentile of earnings for full-time salaried workers in the lowest-wage census region, currently the South.

U.S. HOTEL PERFORMANCE increased at the beginning of December as expected, compared to the last week of November, according to CoStar. Hotel occupancy, ADR, and RevPAR improved compared to the previous week. Occupancy increased to 54.2 percent for the week ending Dec. 2, up from the prior week's 49.4 percent, reflecting a year-over-year decrease of 1.6 percent. ADR rose to $144.88, compared to the previous week's $138.29, showing a 0.8percent uptick from the prior year. RevPAR also rose to $78.54, compared to the prior week's $68.32, marking a 0.8 percent decrease from the corresponding period in 2022. Among the top 25 markets, New York City saw the largest year-over-year increases in occupancy, rising by 6.8 percent to 83.5 percent, and RevPAR surged by 17.2 percent to $319.18. Las Vegas recorded the highest ADR increase, rising by 11.2 percent to $232.94.

CHOICE HOTELS INTERNATIONAL is accusing the board of directors for Wyndham Hotels & Resorts of not being forthcoming with the company's shareholders regarding Choice's exchange offer to acquire Wyndham. In its counter to the Wyndham board's rejection of the offer, Choice took issue with Wyndham's concerns about getting regulatory approval for the deal and said Wyndham shareholders support the "industrial merits of a transaction." In its original proposal, made public in October, Choice said it sought to acquire all the outstanding shares of Wyndham at a price of $90 per share and shareholders would have received $49.50 in cash and 0.324 shares of Choice common stock for each Wyndham share they own. Choice claimed that is a 30 percent premium to Wyndham's 30-day volume-weighted average closing price ending on Oct. 16, an 11 percent premium to Wyndham's 52-week high, and a 30 percent premium to Wyndham's latest closing price. Wyndham's board unanimously rejected Choice's proposal, calling it unsolicited, "highly conditional" and not in the best interest of shareholders. On Nov. 14, however, Choice sent a letter to the Wyndham board with an "enhanced proposal" intended to address Wyndham's concerns about clearing federal regulations. On Dec. 12, Choice launched its public exchange offer to acquire Wyndham and on Dec. 19 the Wyndham board officially rejected the offer and urged shareholders not to tender shares for the deal.

THE RevPAR OF U.S. hotels in THE third week of May was THE highest it has been since mid-July 2019, according to STR. Also, all metrics in April as a month improved compared to March, and hotels reported all-time high room rates during THE period. Occupancy was 68.6 percent for THE week ending May 21, up from 66.5 percent THE week before and down 3.5 percent from 2019. ADR was $151.75 for THE week, increased from $148.31 THE week before and up 13.4 percent from three years ago. RevPAR reached $104.06 percent during THE week, up from $98.59 THE week before and rose 9.5 percent from 2019. STR's top 25 markets saw THEir highest weekly occupancy, ADR and RevPAR levels of THE pandemic-era during THE week.

U.S. HOTELS REACHED record-breaking ADR level during the last week of December, particularly by luxury resorts, according to STR. STR's top 25 markets also led the expansion. Occupancy was 54.3 percent for the week ending Jan. 1, up from 44.3 percent the week before and increased 10.7 percent when compared to 2019. ADR was $157.91 for the week, up from $129.67 during the fourth week and up by 15.1 percent compared to two years ago. RevPAR was $85.74 during the week under review, up from $57.46 the week before and increased 27.4 percent compared to 2019. STR's top 25 markets all together reached almost $200 in ADR, led by Miami with $455.31 and Oahu with $411.47. Norfolk/Virginia Beach recorded the largest occupancy increase during the week, up 25.3 percent to 49.4 percent. Phoenix registered the largest ADR increase, increased 36.9 percent to $155.71.

ANOTHER ASIAN AMERICAN developer has signed on to build two properties under Choice Hotels International's upscale Cambria brand. VRL Hotels, led by Victor Patel as president, has signed on to build a Cambria in Gatlinburg and anoTHEr in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. THE 140-room Cambria Hotel Gatlinburg hotel is expected to open in 2022. It will feature a rooftop bar and restaurant overlooking THE tourist town in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Local attractions include Ober Gatlinburg ski resort, THE Gatlinburg SkyLift, which carries passengers 1,800 feet up to THE top of Crockett Mountain, and THE Gatlinburg Space Needle. Also nearby are Ripley's Aquarium of THE Smokies and Haunted Adventure, THE Rocky Top Sports complex, several bourbon distilleries, breweries and wineries and THE Gatlinburg Convention Center. THE 140-room Cambria Hotel Pigeon Forge is expected to open in 2024. Nearby attractions include Dollywood amusement park, THE SouTHErn Gospel Music Association Hall of Fame and Museum, THE LeConte Center at Pigeon Forge, Titanic Museum Attraction, NASCAR SpeedPark Smoky Mountains and seasonal outdoor events throughout THE year, such as Winterfest. Both hotels will have multi-function meeting and event spaces and fitness centers among oTHEr amenities.

HAWKEYE HOTELS IS making its premier in downtown Milwaukee with a dual brand Home2 Suites by Hilton and Tru by Hilton along with a neighboring Holiday Inn Express. The hotel campus will employ more than 100 workers and provide a total of 331 rooms. The 115-room Home2 Suites and 100-room Tru will occupy one of The two buildings in The campus with The 116-room Holiday Inn Express next door. Along with being The first properties Hawkeye Hotels has opened in The city's downtown, each hotel is The first of its brand in that part of The city. "We are very excited to be a part of The Downtown Milwaukee community. Although The market has slowed down in recent times due to Covid, we are extremely optimistic that Downtown Milwaukee will continue to grow in The years to come," said Jay Patel, Hawkeye Hotels development manager. "We look forward to hosting a grand opening next year once it is safe to do so."

JUST OVER ONE year ago, President Biden signed an executive order directing an "all-of-government approach" to assessing the status of the nation's supply chains to repair disruptions that are currently plaguing businesses large and small. the order led to the creation of a new plan, based on a six-month study, that the administration announced on Feb. 24 and which has earned the approval of the U.S. Small Business Administration and AAHOA. Biden's order a year ago led to the creation of the Supply Chain Disruptions Task Force. the report includes data from seven cabinet agencies, the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security, Commerce, Energy, Agriculture, Transportation and Health and Human Services. the administration announced additional actions to build long-term resilience across critical supply chains and formally institutionalize supply chain resilience.

FRANCHISEE RESILIENCE AND determination was the focus of Choice Hotels International's 66th annual convention in Las Vegas last week. In keeping with that theme, in a press conference at the convention, corporate leadership for Choice said they are working with AAHOA on ways to implement the association's recently updated 12 Points of Fair Franchising. More than 5,200 people attended the conference, including franchisees and their families. Other news from the event includes the announcement of a new program to promote women ownership of hotels and the hiring of two new franchise development directors. "GO" was the theme of the convention, in recognition of the struggles Choice's franchisees have faced over the past three years of pandemic and economic downturn. the company overcame those challenges, driving new business, advocating for government aid and reducing operating costs for franchisees, said Patrick Pacious, Choice's president and CEO. It also surpassed 2019 system-wide performance levels.

U.S. HOTEL PERFORMANCE improved in the second week of May compared to the week before, according to STR. Occupancy, ADR and RevPAR all rose from the previous week and the latter two rose from 2019 levels. Occupancy was 66.5 percent for the week ending May 14, up from 63.9 percent the week before and down 5.9 percent from 2019. ADR was $148.31 for the week, increased from $147.24 the week before and up 10.5 percent from three years ago. RevPAR reached $98.59 during the week, up from $94.10 the week before and rose 4.1 percent from 2019. Among STR's top 25 markets, Phoenix saw the highest occupancy increase, up 4.5 percent to 73.8 percent, over 2019. Miami posted the highest ADR, increased 62.8 percent to $282.26, when compared to 2019.

CALIFORNIA-BASED HOTELIER Sunil "Sunny" Tolani has been named a top entrepreneur by Yahoo Finance. Tolani's the Prince Organization was named one of the fastest growing private companies in Orange County, California, by the Orange County Business Journal. In the Yahoo listing, Tolani is recognized not only for his work operating multiple hotels but also charity work, youth empowerment and education. It also mentions the organization's receipt of several honors and awards, including the 2016 Tripadvisor Certificate of Excellence and, more recently, the Nelson Mandela Leadership Award from the Non Resident Indian Welfare Society. "Sunil Tolani is a self-made man, highly respected and publicly admired worldwide Indian American CEO, social entrepreneur, philanthropist and humanitarian," the Yahoo article said. "[the Prince Organization is] regularly commended by various third-party organizations as one of the best and top places to work. Prince has also been named the fastest growing private companies and top minority-owned organization three times in a row."

WYNDHAM HOTELS AND RESORTS launched the new "Extra Mile" initiative to show support and gratitude towards flight attendants, ahead of the International Flight Attendant Day on May 31, a statement said. the hotel company is partnering with TV personality and former flight attendant Lauren Lane for the project. As part of the scheme, when flight attendants check-in at select hotels across the U.S., some will receive a $10 gift cards, in the form of reward points, to popular retailers like Starbucks and Amazon while others will receive a free weekend stay at the Wyndham hotel of their choice. "Our Wyndham team members consistently go the extra mile and the same is true of our travel counterparts in the sky, so many of whom are the first touch point on our guests' journey to us," said Jurgen Schafers, Wyndham brand leader and vice president of operations. "With thousands of attendants staying with Wyndham, often in between routes, this is our way of saying thank you and letting them know we appreciate all they do."

THE U.S. TRAVEL Association is urging Congress to implement short-term priorities to stimulate leisure and hospitality sector as 61 percent or nearly two-thirds, of all jobs still lost due to THE pandemic are in this segment. THE revised job data from THE Bureau of Labor Statistics for THE past several months confirmed that 10 percent of leisure and hospitality jobs now remain lost. "While THE overall jobs report may be good news for some, THE revised BLS data now confirms an even bigger revelation," said Tori Emerson Barnes, USTA executive vice president of public affairs and policy, in a statement. "THE uneven recovery of THE travel sector is due in large part to THE lack of inbound international travelers, and THE deep reduction in business travel and professional meetings and events. THEre could not be a more pressing time to support this vital contributor to THE U.S. economy and rebuild American jobs."

THE GRADY HOTEL is now open in Louisville, Kentucky, after an extensive renovation by owner Vision Hospitality Group of Chattanooga, Tennessee. It will be operated by Humanist Hospitality, a division of Vision. THE 51-room luxury lifestyle Grady is Vision Hospitality's most recent upscale property, such as THE recently opened Kinley Chattanooga Southside in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Work began on THE restoration in March 2020. "THE Grady is a special project for Vision, and we are excited to see how this restored, historic building tells its story to all who step inside," said Mitch Patel, Vision Hospitality Group President & CEO. "THE Grady represents Louisville's one-of-a-kind spirit and welcomes both locals and guests to experience its refined comfort and cordial service." THE Grady is near THE Muhammed Ali Center, Frazier History Museum and THE Louisville Slugger Museum. THE building originally housed a medicinal bourbon apoTHEcary built in THE late 1800s by pharmacist J.B Wilder.

A JOINT VENTURE between NewcrestImage and Hospitality Capital Partners recently acquired 16 hotels for $137.3 million from Service Properties Trust, a Massachusetts-based REIT. The deal includes a total of 2,155 rooms in nine states. The portfolio consists of 13 Courtyard and three Residence Inn hotels by Marriott hotels, which are in Georgia, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia. Eleven of The properties underwent major renovations between 2018 and 2019, The company said in a statement. "This transaction suits our company's style of strategically acquiring properties with strong fundamentals, especially during times of a difficult or slowed down economy," said Mehul Patel, managing partner and CEO, NewcrestImage. "It's an opportunity for our joint venture with NewcrestImage to add revenue immediately, while also growing long-term profit potential and asset value," said HCP principals Keith Mishkin and Primo Parmar. The transaction was handled by Al Calhoun and Mark Fair at CBRE in Atlanta. "Closing this transaction was particularly satisfying given The size of The deal and The challenges we're facing in The debt markets," added Al Calhoun, vice chairman with CBRE Hotels in Atlanta. "We were able to complete this transaction by breaking it up into three deals with three different lenders. These lenders had great confidence in The sponsorship and The quality of The brands and markets."

GEORGIA HOTELIER NAVIN Patel has contracted with Hospitality Ventures Management Group to manage his 111-room boutique Darwin Hotel in Atlanta. HVMG oversaw the complete rebranding and renovation of the hotel. the four-story Darwin is in Atlanta's Old Fourth Ward and features eight individually themed suites and a lobby that displays a collection of local art. It is named after evolutionary biologist Charles Darwin and the themes include the Bar Room, featuring a full bar for entertaining; the Bunk Bed Room, with bunk beds and extra space for families and young adults; and the Audiophile Room, which includes a turntable and access to the hotel's vinyl music library. Navin Patel and his two sons, Shyam and Sagar, purchased the property in 2016. "We hope to showcase the best of what Atlanta has to offer," Navin Patel said. "This hotel is a love letter to our ever-changing city and pays homage to its history. Being in the heart of a large metropolitan city creates opportunities for artists, businesspeople, world travelers and people from all walks of life to all unite in our space."

LINA PATEL IS Red Roof's new director for strategic franchise initiatives. In the new role, Patel will direct the growth of Red Roof among diverse and underrepresented corporate and franchise communities. Patel has been a hotel owner for 23 years, according to the statement. Prior to joining Red Roof, she was the member of one of the industry's largest franchise advisory committees. In 2007, Patel joined the board of LPS of USA, a non-profit religious, cultural, and non-political organization providing support to American immigrants from India's Leuva Patidar region. She will report to Matthew Hostetler, Red Roof's chief development officer, the company said in a statement. "Lina is one of the strongest advocates for growth and diversity in our industry, and we are delighted to have her join our team as director of strategic initiatives," said George Limbert, president of Red Roof. "She brings a unique and multi-faceted background as a franchise owner, industry executive and AAHOA board member to her new role," Limbert added. Patel, who joined the board of AAHOA in 2017, played a role in launching the organization's HerOwnership program in 2022 - to help further foster, promote, and empower women entrepreneurs in hospitality sector. "With six years on the board of AAHOA, Lina has a deep understanding of the challenges everyday hotel owners face, as well as their paths to success, which she has demonstrated by example in her own career," Hostetler said. Hostetler said 35 percent of Red Roof's franchise system is represented by women.