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HOTEL OWNERS NAVIGATING industry changes wrought by the pandemic face no dearth of challenges: the decline in business travel, competition from home rental apps and ongoing labor shortages are just a few. Too often, the people owning the hotels - many of them small business owners - are figuring out how to adapt to the new hospitality landscape with added complications from the hotel brands that should be their partners. While many hotel owners have struggled to maintain their livelihoods since the pandemic began three years ago, some big hotel chain franchisers sold hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of loyalty point value to credit card companies under a system that often fails to adequately reimburse the franchisees. That is the thanks these hardworking franchisees got as they worked hard to keep hotel doors open. It does not have to be this way. Generations of franchise owners have successfully embraced entrepreneurship through the franchising model. Franchising allows budding entrepreneurs to adopt a known brand name and comprehensive business strategies in exchange for a portion of the revenue. This partnership has nurtured our industry: Hotels owned by our members employ 1.1 million Americans and contribute $368 billion to the economy. But the franchising relationship needs to be a two-way street to be truly successful. That is why we must ensure that the franchise industry engages in sustainable practices that recognize and safeguard the contributions of small business owners.

Giri Bar Harbor Kebo Inc. and Giri Peabody 57 LLC, doing business as Giri Hotel Management led by Ash Sangani, recently acquired Hampton Inn and Homewood Suites Boston Peabody hotels in Peabody, Massachusetts, respectively. The two properties offer a total of 205 rooms. The hotels are within a 10-mile radius of Salem and 13 miles south of Boston. The properties are near the headquarters of Analogic Corp., Neurological, Lahey Medical, North Shore Medical, and Boston Children's Hospital Peabody. "With the acquisition of these two hotels, we're thrilled to announce the expansion of our portfolio to include eight Hilton-branded hotels," said Sagar Malavia, GHM's partner. "Situated along Route 1, these locations offer prime positioning for an exceptional guest experience for short- and long-term guests. We're dedicated to fostering a welcoming, family atmosphere for our new hotel team members and look forward to fostering excellent relationships with the community for mutual economic success."

THE STATE OF the U.S. hotel industry is strong going into 2024, according to American Hotel & Lodging Association's 2024 State of the Hotel Industry report. Average hotel occupancy is expected to reach nearly 63.6 percent in 2024, a slight increase from the 62.9 percent in 2023 but below the 65.8 percent rate recorded in 2019. Nominal RevPAR is also anticipated to rise to $101.82 in 2024, up by 4 percent from 2023 and over 17 percent from 2019. AHLA projects hotels will pay employees a record sum of over $123 billion in wages, salaries, and compensation in 2024, surpassing $118 billion in 2023 and $102 billion in 2019. Hotels are expected to add approximately 45,000 employees this year, while the industry's workforce remains nearly 225,000 below the almost 2.37 million employed in 2019, the AHLA report said. The report, projecting persistent challenges for hoteliers in the face of nationwide labor shortages as they approach 2019 occupancy levels, draws on data and analysis from Oxford Economics. It was developed in collaboration with AHLA Premier Partners: STR, Avendra, Ecolab, Encore, JLL, Oracle, and Towne Park.

Nakul Anand, former executive director of ITC Hotels, has been named chairman of the advisory board for Tricone Luxury Hotels, a subsidiary of U.S.-based Tricone Engineers. Anand brings four decades of hospitality experience. He will oversee the company's continued growth in India, Tricone said in a statement. "We are thrilled to welcome Nakul Anand to our team," Alok Aggarwal, Tricon Luxury Hotels' CEO, said in an article on ANI. "His unparalleled expertise in the hospitality industry will be instrumental in shaping our company's vision and integrating sophisticated hospitality services and sustainability initiatives into our hotels and real estate projects." Tricone Luxury Hotels recently executed memorandums of understanding with Indian hotel brands and acquired land for a real estate project in Alibaug near Mumbai, which will be marketed soon. The company is set to launch luxury hotels and hospitality-oriented real estate projects in Alibaug.

FF&E PROVIDER HÄFELE and Like Magic, a guest experience platform, are producing a new multifunctional hotel room concept. The "Work and Sleep" concept allows hotel operators to transform rooms into offices, meeting spaces and other functional areas using digitally enabled furniture, fitting solutions and specialized software. Work and Sleep integrates a booking engine, guest platform, employee interface and monitoring tools into one central hub, streamlining hotel management, the companies said in a joint statement. It will combine Like Magic's guest and employee experience platform with Häfele's hardware systems, the statement said. The collaboration aims to introduce new revenue models by activating otherwise vacant rooms while reducing outfitting costs. "Our goal is to lead the way in hotel industry innovation with our forward-thinking concepts," said Gregor Riekena, Häfele's CEO. "We are currently testing these new ideas at the ibis Styles Hotel in Nagold, Germany, which serves as a valuable proving ground for our initiatives. This innovation not only allows us to gather essential insights and refine our concepts, but also demonstrates our commitment to pushing the boundaries of what modern hotels can offer. By continuously evolving and enhancing our solutions, we aim to set new standards for guest experience and operational efficiency."

TWO HOTELS HAVE converted to the AmeriVu brand founded in 2015 by Wisconsin hotelier Nick Rai. Rai said the company's continued expansion despite the current economic downturn is because of its affordable business model. The hotels are both in Wisconsin. They are a 50-room former Super 8 in Shawano, about 40 miles northwest of Green Bay, and a 47-room former independent in Saint Croix, about 55 miles northeast of Minneapolis-St. Paul. "In today's financial environment, owners are drawn to our unlimited free online reservations and our modest $20 per room per month royalty / marketing charge," said Rai, who now is CEO of Vishav Hotels. "Also popular is our yearly exit opportunity and that we have few mandated amenities." Amerivu is now part of Atlanta-based Hospitality Lodging Systems after Rai signed a long-term exclusive licensing agreement with HLS in 2016. HLS also licenses the Budgetel and Haven Hotel brands. "After a year of economic pain in 2020, hotel owners are ready for the return to more stable, more profitable results that our three brands deliver," said Doug Collins, HLS chairman and CEO.

WAYSIDE INVESTMENT GROUP of Houston and Iridescent Hotels of Dallas are partnering on the management of two hotels in San Antonio, Texas, and Houston. Both companies are relatively new ventures by established hoteliers. The hotels are the 126-room Hyatt Place San Antonio-Northwest/Medical Center and the 113-room Holiday Inn Houston West - Westway Park, and the hotels' new owners are also based in Houston. The Hyatt Place is near San Antonio International Airport, several company headquarters, medical centers and the University of Texas at San Antonio. The Holiday Inn is near USA Baseball, Memorial City Mall, Houston's Energy Corridor, the Galleria, Downtown Houston, Reliant Park and Minute Maid Park. "The addition of these two hotels is testimony to the continued steady growth and expansion of Iridescent Hotels' third-party management team and the collaboration with Wayside Investment Group," the companies said in a statement. "Several more additions are on the horizon for late first quarter and early second quarter."

URBAN PARK HOTELS just launched a new flag brand, Urban Park Motel. It is an economy conversion brand intended specifically for small motel owners. Founded in 2020 by long-time hoteliers Jay Patel and John Parkin, Urban Park Hotels is designed to attract hoteliers away from larger franchises with simplified standards and lower fees using membership over franchising. The new brand, which joins existing brands Urban Park Hotel & Suites and Urban Park Hotel Express, follows that same philosophy. "After collaborating with our team, especially during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, we noticed that a lot of small motel owners were either closing their properties or trying to 'wait it out' and see what happens," Parkin said. "We also had to readjust our development strategy and wait for the industry to rebound. During this period we created Urban Park Motel, a flag that will reward good motel owners with an opportunity that the large hotel franchise companies have overlooked due to size, location and total expected revenue."

U.S. EXTENDED-STAY HOTELS set new performance records for demand, ADR and RevPAR in the third quarter of 2022, according to a report from The Highland Group. However, rate resistance is growing at lower price points as recession fears loom. The "U.S. Extended-stay Hotels: Third quarter 2022" report by the Highland Group said that the economy extended-stay segment reported six consecutive months of demand drop and two successive quarterly falls in occupancy in the quarter ending September. "Mid-price extended-stay hotels reported first quarterly decline in occupancy since fourth quarter of 2020. Excluding the last 15 months, extended-stay hotel ADR is still increasing at the fastest rate for 20 years but, like the overall hotel industry, ADR growth continues to decelerate," the report said. "The slowdown in ADR growth is greatest at higher price points although mid-price and upscale extended-stay ADR is still increasing faster than the economy segment."

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 BAIRD/STR HOTEL Stock Index dropped 2.4 percent to 5,600, influenced by increasing interest rates affecting both real estate stocks and investor sentiment, according to STR. Moreover, U.S. hotel demand saw a 1.3 percent decrease in October, linked in part to a calendar shift. This marks the third consecutive month of stock decline after a surge in July. "Hotel stocks declined for the third straight month in October, aligning with broader market trends," said Michael Bellisario, senior hotel research analyst and director at Baird. "Elevated interest rates continued to drive performance, with real estate stocks bearing the brunt. Hotel REITs stood out as relative outperformers. The global hotel brands experienced a roughly 2 percent decrease, closely mirroring the S&P 500's retreat in October." In October, the Baird/STR Index fell behind the S&P 500, down 2.2 percent, but surpassed the MSCI US REIT Index, down 4.5 percent.

THE U.S. SUPREME Court has "vacated as moot" a case that experts in the hospitality industry said could have set a precedent making it harder to file a "tester lawsuit" against hotels for alleged violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. However, in its decision the court said it may still in the future address the core issue of the case, whether a person can file an ADA lawsuit against a hotel even if they have no intention of staying at that hotel. The case, Acheson Hotels, LLC v. Laufer, was originally filed by Deborah Laufer against Acheson Hotels in Maine. Laufer had sued saying the hotels in the case had failed to state on their websites whether they had accessible rooms for the disabled. "After a lower court sanctioned her lawyer, Laufer voluntarily dismissed her pending suits, including her case against Acheson Hotels, LLC, and filed a suggestion of mootness in this court," the court said. "Though Laufer's case is moot, the circuit split on the issue briefed and argued in this court is very much alive."

NEXGEN HOTELS HAS acquired EVEN Hotel Miami - Airport in Miami, marking its first wellness-focused brand in the portfolio. Managed by Missouri-based Genuine Hospitality Group, this upscale hotel represents NexGen's third acquisition in a brief two-week span under the leadership of Chris Patel. Located one mile from Miami International Airport and minutes from the Port of Miami, the hotel offers guests access to Waterford Business District, Brickell City Centre, and Miracle Mile, according to NexGen. Nearby attractions include DRV PNK Stadium, LoanDepot Park, the University of Miami, Florida International University, South Beach, Miami Seaquarium, and the future Miami Freedom Park Stadium. "We see Florida as a growing market for us and this acquisition offers an assortment of value opportunities for our company," Patel said. "We are also excited to add the EVEN hotel brand to our portfolio as it is well received by health-conscious travelers."

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."

EXTENDED-STAY HOTELS continue to outperform other types of hotels on a regular basis, even during the pandemic. Now, large hotel companies are expanding their interests in the segment. Choice Hotels International is seeing strong performance and growth in its extended-stay brands, and Wyndham Hotels & Resorts recently announced plans to launch a new extended-stay brand this year, its first in the economy segment. Coming off a good year Occupancy, ADR and RevPAR all exceeded pre-pandemic levels for Choice's established extended-stay brands, the economy brands WoodSpring Suites and Suburban Extended Stay as well as midscale brand MainStay Suites, according to the company. The company's new midscale Everhome Suites, launched in early 2020, also saw strong interest by franchisees. The overall performance is similar to what the brands saw in 2020.

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.

The Le Méridien St. Louis Downtown in St. Louis is open. It was developed by Hawkeye Hotels, led by Ravi Patel as president, and Paris-based Le Méridien Hotels & Resorts. The 96-room hotel was converted from the Hotel Majestic, located in a building built in 1913, one of the city's oldest landmarks listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is near the Dome at America's Center, America's Center Convention Complex, Busch Stadium, Gateway Arch National Park, Citygarden Sculpture Park, City Museum and Stifel Theater. Other nearby landmarks include the Gateway Arch, the Civil Courts Building and St. Louis City Hall. Hotel amenities include a fitness center, 1,210 square feet of meeting and event space, American blended with French Creole and Cajun cuisine restaurant Prime 55 Restaurant & Lounge and gelato stand Le Scoop by Le Méridien. Hawkeye will operate the hotel.

On the whole, travelling as a vegan can be tricky. Some countries don't offer much in terms of plant-based options on a menu, while certain hotels don't have anything vegan-friendly whatsoever. Thankfully, though, as awareness spreads, the accommodation options for vegan travellers are beginning to increase with it. In fact, in recent times, vegan-friendly hotels have been popping up all over America. Whether you're in New York or California, a number of vegan-friendly hotels are providing fantastic experiences for vegans. Some venues offer animal-free bedding, furniture and cleaning products, while other hotels might not go to such lengths but at least appreciate that vegans need to eat and therefore tailor their menus accordingly. This new phenomenon is certainly encouraging for vegans who perhaps don't feel comfortable staying in a place that doesn't cater for them and their beliefs. Usually, vegans might have to use their powerful smartphone devices not only for entertainment purposes like having a YouTube binge or playing the Thai Paradise online slot game, but also to turn to apps like HappyCow for mealtimes as they venture out of the hotel to find suitable places to eat. It can certainly make a hotel stay feel like more of a hassle than a relaxing break away.

THE FIRST QUARTER of 2022 brought better than the national average performance for Twenty Four Seven Hotels. The Newport Beach, California-based third-party hospitality management company also acquired two new hotels in Southern California. Steady growth in year's beginning Occupancy for Twenty Four Seven properties rose steadily during the first three months of the year, hitting 62.9 percent in January, 67.8 percent in February and 76 percent in March. ADR also rose during the same three months, from $142.66 to $160.99 to $174.02. RevPAR followed the same trend, rising from $89.73 to $109.10 to $132.25. Each metric also rose compared to the first quarter of 2021. "We continue to ride the massive wave of momentum that began for Twenty Four Seven Hotels in 2021, when our portfolio grew by 25 percent with the addition of seven new hotels now totaling 25 hotels with more than 3,100 rooms," said David Wani, CEO of Twenty Four Seven. "We will continue to seek third-party management opportunities with well-respected partners and brands in the western U.S., expanding our concentration in these unique markets where we have firsthand experience improving bottom lines and guest satisfaction scores."

HAWKEYE HOTELS AND HOS Management recently sold three hotels in the Savannah, Georgia, area for approximately $100 million. Both companies have plans to continue to expand their development pipelines. The Montford Group and Opterra Capital purchased the Aloft Savannah Airport while Mission Hill and KSL Capital Partners bought the Fairfield Inn & Suites Downtown Savannah Historic District and the Aloft Savannah Historic District, according to Hawkeye, which is led by Ravi Patel as president. All three hotels have more than 400 rooms and each were developed by Savannah-based HOS and Hawkeye Hotels in the last 24 months. HOS and Hawkeye together have more than 40 hotel projects in the pipeline, including more than a dozen projects starting construction this year. Both have been actively buying and selling multiple assets in addition to developing new hotels, and last month Hawkeye opened The Le Meridien St. Louis Downtown in St. Louis.