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HYATT HOTELS CORP. plans to open more than 50 new luxury and lifestyle hotels globally within two years, with Europe projected to see a 52.8 percent increase in luxury hotel stock by 2028. Future openings include Park Hyatt Kuala Lumpur, Park Hyatt Johannesburg, Andaz Miami Beach and Andaz Gold Coast, Hyatt said in a statement. Hyatt, with 70 percent of its global rooms in luxury and upper-upscale categories, added 28 luxury hotels in the past three years and doubled its luxury room count since 2017, the statement said. "2024 has been a strong year for the Europe, Africa, and Middle East region, driven by luxury and lifestyle segments, as shown by the strong performance of our hotels and excitement around openings like Park Hyatt London River Thames and Park Hyatt Marrakech," said Javier Águila, Hyatt's group president, EAME. "Our future in these sought-after segments looks brighter than ever, thanks to recent acquisitions like Mr & Mrs Smith and Standard International, as well as our commitment to building dedicated teams and leveraging specialized talent to enhance our luxury and lifestyle offerings."

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.

DALLAS LEADS THE nation's hotel construction pipeline with 204 projects totaling 23,669 rooms, according to Lodging Econometrics. Atlanta follows with 168 projects and 19,431 rooms. Nashville and Phoenix each report 130 projects with 17,029 and 16,824 rooms, respectively. The Inland Empire rounds out the top five with 122 projects and 12,234 rooms, according to LE's latest U.S. Construction Pipeline Trend Report. New York City leads the under-construction pipeline with 36 projects and 5,928 rooms, followed by Phoenix with 31 projects and 4,788 rooms. Dallas has 31 projects with 3,467 rooms, Atlanta 27 projects with 3,211 rooms, and the Inland Empire 19 projects with 1,962 rooms.

CALIFORNIA'S HOTEL DEVELOPMENT hit a decade-low in 2024, with just 35 new hotels and 3,798 rooms added, according to Atlas Hospitality Group. This marks a 34 percent drop in hotel openings and a nearly 40 percent decline in new rooms compared to 2023. Atlas Hospitality Group's 2024 Year-End California Hotel Development Survey attributed the decline to rising costs, high interest rates and reduced lending for new projects. "We predict the hotel construction outlook will remain weak in the near term, as investors focus on acquiring existing hotels at discounts to replacement costs," said Alan Reay, Atlas Hospitality's president.

TECHNOLOGY HOTEL BRAND EV Evolution and construction solutions firm ServiceTry recently created a joint venture, EV Hotel Corp. The $400 million deal will fund the development of EV Evolution Venue hotels in international markets. Their new hospitality concept, The Eloise Project, is set to debut its first property by late 2025. ServiceTry will acquire a 40 percent equity stake in EV Hotel Corp., gaining access to all of EV's global revenue streams, the companies said in a joint statement. "We're not just building hotels; we're crafting worlds," said Ken Patel, EV Hotel Corp's., chairman and CEO. "The Eloise Project is about immersing guests in luxury and wonder. We're creating spaces where every moment is memorable, and every stay is extraordinary." The partnership will expand EV Hotel's global presence with ServiceTry as its largest shareholder, the statement said. The concept offers Dubai-style amenities and guest-centric experiences.

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."

INDIA'S KAMAH HOTELS & Resorts recently signed a $70 million agreement with Wyndham Hotels & Resorts to develop four new hotels-three in India and one in the UAE-under the Trademark Collection by Wyndham. Kamah Hotels plans to add 25 more properties globally, including in North America, over the next three years. Fine Acres Group will develop the Indian properties, while Global Branded Residences will build the Dubai project. Fine Acres, which operates in India, and international developer GBR previously created Kamah Hotels. Kamah Hotels finalized locations for lifestyle resorts in Coorg, Karnataka; Jawai and Udaipur in Rajasthan; and Al Jaddaf Waterfront, Dubai, UAE, the statement said. The partnership marks the debut of the Trademark Collection by Wyndham in the UAE, the companies said in a statement.

STR AND TOURISM Economics made significant downward adjustments to the 2024-25 U.S. hotel forecast, reflecting lower-than-expected performance and reduced growth projections for the remainder of the year. Projected gains in ADR and RevPAR were downgraded by 1 and 2.1 percentage points, respectively. Occupancy is also expected to decline, contrasting with the previous forecast's projection of year-over-year growth in this metric. While an occupancy growth projection was maintained for 2025, ADR and RevPAR were adjusted downward by 0.8 and 0.9 percentage points, respectively, STR and TE said in a joint statement. "We have seen a bifurcation in hotel performance over the first four months of the year, which we don't believe will abate soon," said Amanda Hite, STR's president. "The increased cost of living is affecting lower-to-middle income households and their ability to travel, thus lessening demand for hotels in the lower price tier. The upscale through luxury tier is seeing healthy demand, but pricing power has waned given changes in mix and travel patterns and to a lesser extent, economic conditions. Travel remains a priority for most Americans, but the volume has lessened as prices on goods and services continue to rise."

THE HOTEL PROPERTY types most associated with business travel, upper upscale hotels, are well represented in the U.S. hotel construction pipeline. The volume of projects in the segment points to confidence in the future of business travel, according to STR. "Upper upscale saw the slowest recovery, but a steady climb in performance and the business travel indicators have supported developer confidence in the segment," said Isaac Collazo, STR's vice president for analytics. "The more than 23,000 upper upscale rooms in construction right now represent 3.4 percent of the segment's existing supply. That is well above the long-term growth average, up 2 percent in the U.S." According to STR, a total 154,284 rooms were under construction in March, down 0.5 percent compared to the same period last year. As many as 239,995 rooms are in the final planning state, an increase of 34.6 percent over last year. STR pipeline data showed that 232,517 rooms are under planning, a decline of 21.6 percent compared to March 2022. After three consecutive month-over-month increases, the overall number of U.S. rooms in construction fell slightly in March, which aligns with patterns in previous years. Among the chain scale segments, luxury shows the highest number of rooms as a percentage of existing supply. Luxury segment reports the highest increase in hotel construction in March, up 5.2 percent containing 7,136 rooms, followed by upscale, up 4.1 percent with 36,089 rooms and upper midscale, increased 3.7 percent containing 43,470 rooms.

AC Hotel Detroit is now open in the Bonstelle neighborhood of Detroit. The 154-room, 10-story hotel, jointly developed by Peachtree Group and Roxbury Group, is the first AC Hotel in southeast Michigan and the third in the state. The AC Hotel Detroit at the Bonstelle will be Roxbury's third hospitality project in Detroit, Roxbury said in a statement. The hotel is near Little Caesars Arena, Orchestra Hall, Wayne State University's Mike Ilitch School of Business and the Detroit Medical Center. It will feature a rooftop venue and restore the historic Bonstelle Playhouse, located on Woodward Avenue, to its original 1903 Albert Kahn-designed exterior and 1925 interior redesign by theater architect C. Howard Crane, both slated to open this spring. Stonehill, a Peachtree Group company, funded the project along with Flagstar Bank, Bank of Ann Arbor and Invest Detroit, the statement said.

U.S. HOTEL CONSTRUCTION reached record levels in the fourth quarter of 2024, with 6,378 projects and 746,986 rooms in the pipeline, according to Lodging Econometrics' latest Hotel Construction Pipeline Trend report. This reflects 7 percent year-over-year growth in projects and an 8 percent increase in rooms. The U.S. hotel pipeline showed strong activity across all stages, LE said. Projects under construction totaled 1,149, with 142,238 rooms, a significant year-over-year increase, the report said. Furthermore, 2,259 projects with 259,108 rooms are scheduled to break ground in the next 12 months. Early planning reached a record high with 2,970 projects and 345,640 rooms, marking 15 percent growth in projects and a 19 percent rise in rooms compared to the previous year.

PEACHTREE GROUP RECENTLY surpassed $2 billion in hotel development, with 48 hotels nationwide, including 10 in qualified opportunity zones. The company is expanding into urban infill markets through underwriting, project management, local partnerships and larger investments. The Atlanta-based company began developing hotels 17 years ago with a $10 million Fairfield Inn in Alabama, focusing on suburban, highway and tertiary markets in the Southeast and Midwest, Peachtree said in a statement. Peachtree is led by Greg Friedman, managing principal and CEO; Jatin Desai, managing principal and CFO; and Mitul Patel, principal. "Our early projects taught us how to build efficiently and effectively, setting the stage for the more complex developments we're delivering today," said Friedman. "From suburban mainstays to urban landmarks, our team's adaptability and expertise have been key to our success."

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."

ADR is projected to rise by 0.1 percentage points in 2024, with occupancy and RevPAR remaining unchanged from the previous forecast, according to STR and Tourism Economics' initial U.S. hotel forecast for 2024 at the Americas Lodging Investment Summit. Yet, 2025 projections for key performance metrics were revised downward due to stabilized long-term average trends: occupancy down 0.1 percentage points, ADR down 0.3 points and RevPAR down 0.5 ppts. "U.S. ADR and RevPAR reached record highs in 2023 with solid travel fundamentals and a big year for group business underpinning performance," said Amanda Hite, STR president. "We expect to see continued growth as fundamentals remain more favorable for the travel economy. The indicator that is especially important is the low unemployment rate among college-educated individuals, those most likely to travel for business and leisure." The STR and Tourism Economics forecast a rise in GOPPAR growth due to increased TRevPAR levels and stable labor costs. Among chain scales, luxury and upper upscale hotels are expected to see substantial cost increases, driven by growing group demand.

GENCOM, A U.S.-BASED real estate investment and development firm, recently acquired The Ritz-Carlton New Orleans and the Courtyard New Orleans French Quarter/Iberville, a 758-key, two-hotel portfolio in New Orleans' French Quarter in Louisiana. The Miami-based firm is led by founder and principal Karim Alibhai. Chicago-based Monroe Capital provided financing for the acquisition, while New York-based Eastdil Secured represented both parties in the transaction, Gencom said in a statement. "We continue to build on our legacy of investing in and enhancing hospitality assets with this acquisition, expanding our presence in this key destination," Alibhai said. "New Orleans is a strong market for luxury hospitality, and we look forward to bringing our expertise to further elevate these properties. We are excited to work with Marriott to ensure The Ritz-Carlton, New Orleans, and Courtyard French Quarter continue delivering exceptional guest experiences."

IHG HOTELS & RESORTS reported a 23 percent increase in profit from reportable segments in 2023, surpassing the $1 billion milestone for the first time. The company also noted a 16.1 percent rise in RevPAR, a 5.1 percent increase in ADR, and a 6.4 percentage point uptick in occupancy during the previous year. It anticipates returning more than $1 billion to shareholders through dividends and share buybacks this year, IHG said in a statement. "Travel demand was strong across all markets, with RevPAR up 16 percent from last year and 11 percent ahead of the 2019 pre-pandemic peak," said Elie Maalouf, IHG Hotels & Resorts' chief executive officer. "Combined with the power of our enterprise and efficient operating model, profit from reportable segments grew by 23 percent, exceeding one billion dollars for the first time, and adjusted EPS grew by 33 percent." This marks one of the company's most significant quarters for development activity, IHG said. The company reported full-year revenue of $4.62 billion, marking a nearly 19 percent increase from $3.89 billion in 2022.

Marco Selva is the new senior vice president of business development and operations at Stonebridge Cos., focusing on expanding its luxury, lifestyle and resort portfolio in the Southeast, Caribbean and Latin America. His appointment supports the company's efforts to strengthen its market presence, Stonebridge said in a statement. Stonebridge is led by Founder and Chairman Navin Dimond. Selva will open a Miami office and target high-end projects across the region, aligning with Stonebridge's growth strategy, the company said. Rob Smith, Stonebridge's president and CEO, said Selva's appointment is a step in expanding the company's luxury, lifestyle, and resort footprint in the region. "With my background in the Caribbean and Aruba, combined with Marco's extensive experience and focus on these key markets, we are well-positioned to drive growth in the Caribbean and Latin America," Smith said. "We look forward to building a strong team around Marco in the Miami office to support this exciting new phase of expansion."