Subdued Tone Among Hotel REITs at Nareit Conference
The DJIA was up 443 points while Nasdaq was up 232, the S&P 500 rose 61 points while the 10-year treasury yield was up .12 to 4.51%. Lodging stocks were higher. BHR was the mover of note, up 5%.
The common opinion from those at the NAREIT conference was that the tone was more subdued than from the C-Corps, which was interesting considering uncertainty was the conclusion in describing the tone at NYU. The public hotel brands always seem more bullish, but the private companies, consultants, and other non-REIT executives were cautious. Truist said they think the subdued tone could be because of frustration with REIT stock prices, as insiders at the hotel REITs have been buyers of their stocks lately. It could also be the lackluster transaction market, interest rate volatility, and, once again, the general uncertainty. As far as business is concerned, none of them said business has taken a turn in the negative direction, but they also didn't say things are better than they look. Baird said their take is that the shorter booking window, calendar shift impacts, consumer pricing sensitivity, and general macro uncertainties are keeping management team outlooks and convictions held in check. They expect REITs to continue to be net sellers of assets and purchasers of their own stock.
The Baird-STR Hotel Stock Index showed a rebound in hotel stocks in May, up 9.3% from April, the first month-to-month gain since January.
Century Development Group announced that The Westin Flushing LaGuardia Airport officially opened its doors. The 13-story property was developed by Century Development Group and is in Queens, NY. The hotel features 148 king rooms, 79 double rooms, 14 queen rooms, and 5 suites. The expansive lobby includes a 16-foot ceiling, a lush biophilic living wall, while the property includes amenities like WestinWORKOUT Fitness Studio, Spa Features, over 6,000 square feet of meeting and event spaces, and the Blu Ember upscale New American restaurant.
HHM Hotels announced the launch of the Courtyard by Marriott Philadelphia Downtown, which was recently renovated and rebranded. The property has a prime location near City Hall and the convention center, refreshed guestrooms, a renovated lobby bar and restaurant, plus flexible meeting and event spaces with city views. This is the only Courtyard in Center City.
Opal Hospitality announced the opening of Hotel Railwayparc Montreal, Tapestry Collection by Hilton. The 73-room boutique hotel was developed by Sergakis Holdings. Key amenities include a lobby restaurant and bar, a hidden speakeasy bar, a fitness center, and flexible meeting rooms.
IHG Hotels & Resorts is gearing up to open a variety of new hotels and resorts this summer in locations across the globe - from the US to Japan to Australia. New/upcoming hotels in the Americas include: voco Laguna Hills, now open in Laguna Beach, California; Real InterContinental Lima Miraflores, opening June 2025 in Peru; Atwell Suites Corpus Christi, opening July 2025 in Texas. In Europe, The Chania Hotel Crete, Vignette Collection is now open in Chania, Greece; The Holiday Inn Resort Szklarska Poreba Happy Valley is opening in September 2025 in Poland; opening H2 2025 is the voco Antalya Konyaali in Turkey; and the Crowne Plaza Dushanbe is opening H2 2025 in Tajikistan. IMEA openings include the Kimpton KAFD Riyadh, opening in June 2025 in Saudi Arabia; InterContinental The Red Sea Resort, opening in H2 2025 in Saudi Arabia; and Ciel Dubai Marina, Vignette Collection opening in H2 2025 in the UAE. The ANA Holiday Inn Tokyo Bay and the ANA Crowne Plaza Resort Uruma Hills are both now open in Japan. In Southeast Asia, voco Bandung Setiabudi is opening in July 2025 in Indonesia; InterContinental Halong Bay Resort is opening in Summer 2025 in Vietnam; and the Crowne Plaza Bangkok Rama 9 is opening in Q3 2025 in Thailand. Hotels opening in Australia include the Hotel Indigo Melbourne Little Collins & Holiday Inn Melbourne Bourke Street Mall opening Q3 2025, marking IHG's first Australian dual-branded hotel; and the Crowne Plaza Shell Cove Marina is opening in August 2025.
The circular-shaped Holiday Inn on Hillsborough Street in Raleigh, North Carolina, is being rebranded into a Hotel Indigo. There is no timeline for the transformation. Tidal Real Estate Partners bought the hotel in 2021 and originally planned to tear it down and build a new 20-story tower with a Kimpton hotel and high-end apartments.
Hyatt Hotels Corporation announced that all required regulatory approvals have been obtained for its cash tender offer to purchase all the outstanding ordinary shares of Playa Hotels & Resorts NV for $13.50 per share in cash. Hyatt said they expect to complete the tender offer following the expiration at 5 PM NYC time on June 9th.
Shade Hotels by hotelier Michael Zislis is unveiling a new era for its Manhattan Beach and Redondo Beach locations. The full-scale refresh across both properties includes new guestroom designs, revamped restaurant menus, and rooftop programming. With the relaunch comes a new name for each hotel: Shade at the Beach (Manhattan Beach) and Shade at the Marina (Redondo Beach). Shade at the Beach is celebrating its 20th anniversary and features an indoor-outdoor restaurant, The Skydeck, complete with a new pool and cabanas, and refreshed meeting and event spaces. Shade at the Marina features a re-imagined Aquadeck rooftop and Sea Level Restaurant & Lounge.
Appellation joined forces with Deepak Chopra to create a transformative wellness destination community: AMEYALLI Park City by Appellation, set to debut in 2026. Appellation will manage and operate AMEYALLI Park City by Appellation, comprised of an 80-key hotel, a restaurant and bar, along with a Wellbeing Center complete with an expansive spa, luxury pool, and additional restaurant. The surrounding wellness development will also feature the AMEYALLI Center of Excellence in partnership with Deepak Chopra, as well as three types of private luxury residences.
Cushman & Wakefield Hotel Group announced it sold the 152-room full-service Best Western Gateway Grand in Gainesville, FL. The property was sold through a discreet & confidential marketing process. This was the first time the hotel was ever "on-market." The property was sold for $14.1 million and a 5.9% Cap Rate on 2024 figures. C&W said they have another 19 hotels under contract and expect 2025 to be a record-breaking year for hotel sales.
Paramount Lodging Advisors announced the sale of the 114-room Aloft Marriott Sacramento Airport Natomas in Sacramento, California. PLA represented the seller in this transaction.
European Highlights
Zeal Hotels appointed James Ferdinando as sustainable development lead, as the group expands around the UK. Zeal Hotels will draw on Ferdinando's extensive experience in sustainable construction practices and sustainable development. He joins the group from RED Construction, which constructed the voco Zeal Exeter Science Park, where he was group head of sustainability.
Hilton is set to open a McLaren Racing-themed suite at The Trafalgar St. James London Hotels, a part of its Curio Collection, to mark the Formula 1 British Grand Prix at Silverstone. The suite will be available for booking from July 8 through July 20, 2025. This initiative is part of a celebration for Hilton's 20-year partnership with McLaren Racing.
Criterion Capital has acquired the London office building Mansell Court, with the intention of turning it into a 200-room Zedwell hotel. The project joins Criterion's pipeline of 22 hotels, which will add to its current sites at Greenwich, Piccadilly Circus, Tottenham Court Road, and Knightsbridge in London and Zedwell Manchester, which is expected to open in 2026.
Ares Management Corp., with funds from Ares Real Estate, has acquired the entire UK hotel portfolio and operating platform from London-based Landsec for $501 million. The sale has been rumored for months, but Landsec confirmed the 21-hotel deal on Wednesday. Landsec said the net proceeds of the sale will initially be used to repay debt. Ares' partner on the Landsec hotel portfolio acquisition is London-based hotel-operating partner EQ Group.
Tristan Capital Partners completed its acquisition of budget hotel brand EasyHotel, which it announced on May 1. The deal for 100% of the hotel firm's shares was completed via Tristan Capital's discretionary fund, European Property Investors Special Opportunities 6. The terms of the cash deal comprised the acquisition of approximately 189.5 million shares for an aggregate price of $224 million.
KE Hotels secured planning permission for a major expansion and refurbishment of the Holiday Inn Luton Airport, which will include the addition of 89 new guest bedrooms and a series of external upgrades. The approved plans include a multi-story rear extension, which will increase the hotel's capacity significantly from 124 to 213 rooms.
Scandic Hotels is expanding its presence in Sweden with a new property in the ski resort area of Salen. The hotel, currently under development, will feature 120 rooms and 16 apartments, along with conference facilities. The property is being developed in partnership with Lima Besparingsskog and is positioned to provide direct ski-in, ski-out access. Plans for the hotel also include a wellness area complete with a sauna, gym, and pool that extends from indoors to outdoors. A new ski lift will facilitate easy transport from the hotel to the ski slopes. The ground floor will feature large windows in the lobby, restaurant, and bar areas, and multiple fireplaces are planned to create a cozy ambiance.
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