Pebblebrook Sues San Francisco Over Hotel Valuations
Pebblebrook has challenged the market value assessments that the city assigned to and used to collect taxes from a group of downtown hotels purchased by the REIT in 2018.
The DJIA surged 741 points, the Nasdaq was up 462 (2.5%) and the S&P 500 was up 2% at 119 points. The 10-year treasury yield was down .08 to 4.43% and lodging stocks were higher. The big winner today was BHR with a 22% rise followed by INNup 8%, SVR up 6%, and then PEB and HST both up 5%.
Baird reported on investor meetings they hosted with Host Hotels & Resorts' management team. Baird was impressed as they designated HST as a Bullish Fresh Pick. HST said that top-line performance in May has been tracking better than expected and the company is not seeing any incremental demand deterioration or pricing sensitivity. We really don't need to go much further than that. HST continues to view share repurchases as an attractive use of capital, especially at current levels.
Hyatt Hotels Corporation announced they extended the offering period, again, for its cash tender offer to purchase all the outstanding ordinary shares of Playa Hotels & Resorts NV for $13.50 a share in cash. The tender offer is now expected to close on June 9th at 5 p.m. Eastern Time.
The Element by Westin Calgary Downtown plans to open early this summer with 226 suites, a café, and a rooftop restaurant.
Grayson Capitol announced the construction of a 132-room Tribute Portfolio Hotel, in Kansas City, Missouri, adjacent to the new Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. The new hotel will include an upscale restaurant and a rooftop bar.
The town of Wasaga Beach, Ontario, announced Sunray Group will now move forward with plans to build an approximately 120-room Marriott hotel on town-owned land. The Marriott hotel will include a year-round restaurant; convention facilities; a fitness, spa or pool area; commercial shops, and wedding facilities. The hotel is phase one of what will be a four-phase project near the town's iconic beachfront. Sunray Group will invest over $45 million to build the hotel and will pay full development charges for all four phases of the project. The company will also invest $1.5 million to design and build 'Festival Square' next to the hotel, near the beachfront which will be used by the municipality for outdoor entertainment and special events. The town and Sunray have also entered into a joint profit-sharing agreement for three additional phases of development, which are expected to include additional amenities and homes near Beach Area 1.
A-1 Hospitality Group broke ground on a new 163-room AC Hotel by Marriott in Kennewick, Washington. Located at the Three Rivers Convention Center, the hotel will operate as a franchise owned by A-1 Three Rivers Hotels, LLC and managed by A-1 Hospitality Group. The new five-story property will include an indoor pool, fitness center, rooftop restaurant and bar, and six meeting rooms with a combined 12,000 square feet of functioning meeting space.
Vision Hospitality Group, Inc. broke ground on a new dual-branded Home2 Suites by Hilton and Tru by Hilton Lookout Valley in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Construction is now underway, with an expected opening in the fall of 2026. The hotel will be a key component of the newly planned 10-acre, mixed-use master development, also being developed by Vision. In addition to the hotel, the development will feature nationally recognized restaurants and retail concepts. The hotel property will feature 150 guest rooms (82 Home2 Suites/68 Tru by Hilton); an expensive, resort-style outdoor aquatic recreation area with a pool, in-water sun shelf, water features, a slide, a poolside bar with lounge seating, grilling stations, and fire pits. On the inside, the hotel features a lobby bar with a gaming area, fitness center, and laundry facilities.
Magna Hospitality Group sold the Hilton Garden Inn, in Evanston, Illinois, to a venture led by Parag Patel for $18 million, after buying for $23 million in 2016. The purchase is the latest in a string of acquisitions in the Chicago area led by Patel.
Swire Properties' planned Residences at the Mandarin Oriental Miami hit a sales milestone with the South Tower reaching $1 billion in condo deals, making the 66-story structure 50% sold. The two-tower project is expected to rise on the site of the existing 326-room Mandarin Oriental hotel that will be demolished next year. The hotel is closing its doors at the end of the month to make room for the new project that will include Mandarin Oriental's North American flagship hotel in the proposed North Tower. The South Tower comprises 228 residential units. Plans for the North Tower include 121 hotel rooms, 28 hotel residences and an additional 66 private residences, with sales expected to launch later this year. Completion of the project is expected in 2030.
The Bright Group announced the opening of Dayton Vitality Hotel located in Dayton, Ohio, and directly connected to the Dayton Convention Center via skywalk. The Dayton Vitality Hotel features self-check-in, a pool, fitness center, communal spaces, a rooftop bar, and expansive meeting and event spaces. The Bright Group plans five additional Vitality openings through 2026 including Marietta, Georgia - targeting a late-August 2025 debut. Orlando, Florida; Tulsa, Oklahoma; and Reading, Pennsylvania - scheduled for phased openings through 2025 and 2026.
The Compass Hotel by Margaritaville Flagler Beach opened on May 21. Located in Flagler Beach, Florida, the hotel has 100 rooms and suites, a restaurant and a rooftop bar.
A long-vacant Sears in Titusville, Florida, is set for a major transformation. The Brevard County Commission and the city of Titusville approved plans to redevelop the 22-acre site into a new project called 'Titusville Resort and Destination.' The proposed development includes apartments, a hotel, an assisted living facility, restaurants, and other amenities. Demolition is expected to begin soon, followed by construction.
Last week, the city of San Francisco was hit with a lawsuit by Pebblebrook, which has challenged the market value assessments that the city assigned to and used to collect taxes from a group of downtown hotels purchased by the REIT in 2018, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. While the dispute is rather technical, Pebblebrook's allegations are straightforward: it has accused the city of using 'erroneous, invalid, and illegal assessment methodologies' in determining the fair market values of four hotels in the Union Square and SoMa neighborhoods that Pebblebrook acquired through a portfolio merger with its one-time competitor, LaSalle Hotel Properties. Pebblebrook is now seeking a refund of 'any and all' taxes it paid based on the city's original assessments of the properties.
Personnel News
Mr. J. Robison Hays, III, tendered his resignation from the Board of Directors ofAshford Hospitality Trust, Inc., to be effective as of that date, according to an 8K filed by the company. On May 23, 2025, the Board appointed Mr. Stephen Zsigray, the Chief Executive Officer and president of the company, as a member of the Board, effective immediately, to serve until the next annual meeting of stockholders of the company and until his successor is duly elected and qualified. Mr. Zsigray will not serve on a Board Committee.
The Elser Hotel, a luxury 49-story tower in the heart of Downtown Miami, announced the appointment of Sean Flanigan as acting manager director and Vice President of Operations at Highgate, the property's management company and a leading global hospitality management company. Flanigan will oversee all facets of The Elser Hotel's operations, including performance management, sales, revenue strategy, marketing, and guest services. Flanigan most recently served as Regional Vice President for AKA Hotels & Residences in Florida.
Whitbread appointed Christine Hodgson as chair, taking effect on September 1. Hodgson will replace Adam Crozier, who will step down and retire from the Board on the same date. Hodgson is also chair of Severn Trent and has worked for Capgemini.
Edgar Suites has appointed Casilda Mulliez as Director of Real Estate Development for Spain and Portugal. Mulliez's responsibilities will include identifying new real estate opportunities, particularly on the Iberian Peninsula, to support Edgar Suites' growing portfolio of high-end aparthotels. Mulliez's experience spans roles at Deloitte, Aquila Asset Management, Batipart, and Urban Campus.
Global Highlights
Kerzner International Holdings Limited and Sunset Hospitality Group entered a strategic joint venture to drive the global expansion of the Tapasake concept. SHG and Kerzner will join forces to expand the Tapasake brand as a stand-alone lifestyle concept outside the One&Only portfolio for the first time. Building on its existing presence in Dubai, the Maldives, Montenegro, and Mauritius, this joint venture will scale the brand across additional key international destinations, with further global markets currently in development. As part of the evolved vision, Tapasake's location in Dubai, perched atop The Link, will temporarily close in June 2025 for a complete transformation. Tapasake Dubai will reopen in the fourth quarter of 2025 with refreshed interiors, a new culinary direction, updated brand identity, and an immersive guest journey.
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BarEhud Barak: Israel Must Back Trump's Gaza Deal
U.S. President Donald Trump greets Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he arrives at the White House on April 7, 2025, in Washington, D.C. Credit - Alex Wong—Getty Images In the coming few days, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will face a defining choice between a politically motivated "war of deception" in Gaza and a deal to release all hostages while ending the war. He must choose between his extreme-right ministers—Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich—or aligning with Donald Trump. There is no symmetry here. Accepting a hostage deal, ending the war, and working with Trump and free world leaders, won't be effortless. Any choice requires detailed negotiations and compromises. But this path is far superior to any realistic alternative. Based on the achievements of the Israel Defense Forces—including damage to Hamas, weakening Hezbollah, destroying Syria's military arsenal during Assad's collapse, and demonstrating Israel's capability to strike deep into Iran—Israeli leadership could, from a position of strength, pursue releasing all hostages simultaneously, halt this senseless war, end the humanitarian crisis, and uproot Hamas from power. This would enable Israel, though belatedly, to join Trump's vision of a New Middle East, including normalization with Saudi Arabia, regional deployment to tackle the Iranian challenge, and participation in the trade corridor project from India through the Gulf to Europe. Choosing a "war of deception" instead—where misleading propaganda presents political warfare as serving Israel's security—would be a grave mistake. It's highly doubtful that continuing the war could produce results different from previous Gaza rounds over the past 20 months. But it would certainly constitute a death sentence for some or most living hostages and deepen the diplomatic tsunami and International Criminal Court claims Israel already faces. This approach might make sense if it could achieve "total victory" over Hamas, but that won't happen. When this new war inevitably halts—under diplomatic pressure, humanitarian crisis, battlefield events, or domestic political developments—we would find ourselves in precisely the same situation as today. To understand, examine recent history. The October 7th barbaric attack created a compelling imperative for Israel to ensure Hamas could never again reign over Gaza or threaten Israel from there. The question was how to achieve this goal. Since Ben-Gurion, Israel has followed four strategic maxims: wars should be aggressive, fought on enemy territory, ended quickly to translate battlefield results into diplomatic and political realities while maintaining international legitimacy, and—extremely important—never lose the moral high ground. That's how we won in 1967 in six days and 1973 in three weeks. Netanyahu has betrayed almost all these principles. Read More: The Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Was Never Going to Last Another strategic maxim, from Clausewitz to Kissinger, holds that war must have a clearly defined, operationally feasible political purpose. As the Roman saying goes: "If you don't know which port you want to reach, no wind will take you there." This maxim was deliberately ignored. Netanyahu has blocked any discussion of this issue since October 7th, 2023. It was clear to any serious observer that Hamas suffered major military blows daily, losing most weapons systems and leadership figures since October 7th. However, since any Hamas group or individual can easily "disappear" within minutes, hiding among the Strip's 2 million civilians and emerging from tunnels or building windows to attack Israelis, their absolute elimination remains a Sisyphean task. Even after 58 years in the West Bank, we never fully eliminated Hamas' presence in Jenin or Tulkarm. The only way to ensure Hamas cannot reign over Gaza and threaten Israel is by replacing it with another governing entity legitimate to the international community, Arab neighbors like Egypt, UAE, and Saudi Arabia, and Palestinians themselves. Practically, this means a temporary inter-Arab force backed by the Arab League, potentially supported by UN Security Council resolution, funded by Saudi Arabia and UAE, with a technocratic government overseeing Palestinian bureaucracy and a new, non-Hamas security body trained by the inter-Arab force under U.S. supervision. Israel would present only two conditions: no Hamas military branch member could participate in the new entity's organs, and the IDF, initially deployed to the Strip's perimeter, would withdraw to the border only after all pre-agreed security benchmarks are met. This plan, easily implementable a year ago, and appearing to save Gaza and Gazans from further destruction, is harder now, because it could be interpreted as saving Israel from sinking into Gazan mud. But the plan remains viable despite the Israeli government's refusal to consider it. Since this is the only practical "day after" plan, there's no sense sacrificing hostages' lives or endangering Israeli troops in pointless warfare. Who can look into the eyes of future bereaved parents, newly widowed spouses, new orphans, disabled and traumatized soldiers, and claim with clear conscience that everything was done to prevent loss, or that it had justification? 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He's caught in a dilemma: 80% of the public sees him as primarily responsible for the country's worst day, 60% believe he should resign. A heavy majority perceives his judicial reform, initiated immediately after January 2023 elections, as a "judicial coup d'état"—an attempt to castrate the legislative branch and demolish Supreme Court independence. Many believe the aim of his blatant attack on democracy is to escape his bribery, fraud, and breach of trust court case. For him, any pause in the war—even 60 days, certainly longer—would immediately bring reckoning and accountability: accelerated court proceedings; demands for national inquiry committee investigating October 7th, and events before, during and after; coalition meltdown; and probable disgraced ejection from public life. I believe Netanyahu genuinely wants all hostages home. But when this clashes with immediate threats to his political survival, he prefers leaving them in Gaza. He has already torpedoed several hostage deal opportunities, and seems to be doing it once again over the weekend, by resisting U.S. guarantee to Hamas for an end to the war in exchange for release of all hostages and entering, together with the Trump Administration, into Trump's New Middle East Order (to include the replacement of Hamas, described above). Netanyahu sticks to his eternal war in order to avoid a pause in fighting, which might lead to the end of his political career. This behavior is unacceptable to Israel and Israelis. We are, as former Supreme Court President Aharon Barak wrote years ago, 'defending democracy' that "should be capable of defending itself against those who try to use the very freedoms and tools it provides to destroy it from within." We're led by someone who lost his strategic and moral compass, dragging the nation into war motivated by personal political interests against our security and common future. Israel urgently needs new, sober leadership with clear realistic vision and self-confidence—leadership capable of reading our people's soul, understanding partners' and rivals' minds, and above all, having courage to make decisions and power to implement them. The world will pass judgment. But the burden of bringing Israel back on track is ours—Israeli citizens. I believe we will overcome. This war will end soon, and Israel's worst ever government will be replaced by a responsible, effective one. A long path of repair must follow. Contact us at letters@
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Palm Beach Police: 'SIM swap' scam tried to steal more than $200,000 from Palm Beacher
Two Westlake residents have been arrested by Palm Beach Police, who say the pair executed an elaborate financial fraud known as "SIM swapping" that attempted to steal more than $200,000 from a Palm Beach resident. And the scheme could extend far beyond the island, police said. The pair were taken into custody May 28, Palm Beach Police spokesman Capt. Will Rothrock said. A 29-year-old woman faces charges of organized fraud and fraudulent use of personal information of a person age 60 or older, and a 31-year-old man was arrested on a charge of fraudulent use of personal information, according to arrest reports. Both remained at the Palm Beach County Jail on May 29. The woman was held without bond, and a Palm Beach County judge ordered that she have no contact with the Palm Beach resident or the man arrested in the case, according to court records. She also cannot have any devices that can access the internet, and she is not allowed to use the phone except to contact her attorney, court records show. The man's bond amount was set at $350,000, and he also cannot use or have any devices that connect to the internet, court records show. He was directed not to contact the Palm Beach resident or the woman, and while in jail, he cannot use the phone except to contact an attorney, according to court records. If he makes bond, he will be on in-home arrest with a GPS monitor, records show. On April 10, a Palm Beach resident called police to say someone had fraudulently accessed his AT&T and bank accounts, and had tried to transfer money and login to several websites, according to an arrest report. The Palm Beach resident said he received a call on April 8 from someone who said they were with AT&T, and that he needed to validate his phone numbers using a code sent to him via text message, an arrest report said. About 20 minutes after that phone call, phone numbers connected to the resident's AT&T account stopped working, police said. The scam is known as "SIM swapping" or "SIM hijacking," according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Internet Crime Complaint Center, also called the IC3. Fraudsters will gain control of a person's phone number and then use it to access their banking and other financial and personal accounts, the agency said. The resident provided the code that he received to the person, but later discovered that the code was used to forward his phone number to a different provider, Verizon, police said. By giving that code to the person who said they were from AT&T, he allowed them to complete the final step to move all three of the phone numbers on his account to the other carrier, police wrote in the arrest report. In 2024, there were 982 complaints of SIM swapping with a total reported loss of $25,983,946, the IC3 said in its annual report. The previous year, 1,075 SIM swapping complaints were made with a reported loss of $48,798,103, according to the IC3. Once the phone numbers were transferred, someone tried to withdraw money and make a wire transfer from the Palm Beach resident's bank account, police said. Someone also successfully took over one of the man's email accounts. Transactions made through the resident's accounts included $2,300 sent via Zelle to a St. Petersburg resident, $77.97 spent at a Circle K in The Acreage, $1,500 in ATM withdrawals, and a $215 Venmo payment, an arrest report said. There was also a $4,006.08 payment made to designer clothing retailer Farfetch U.K., along with Airbnb charges of $2,341.79 and $660, an arrest report said. Because the resident was concerned that his Apple account had been compromised, he used the "Find My" feature on his iPhone, which can be used to locate devices connected to an Apple account, police said. The resident saw an unknown iPhone on Liberty Lane in Westlake and told police that he has never been to that address and has no connections there. A Palm Beach Police detective later drove by that address several times and saw two vehicles, a 2022 black Cadillac Escalade and 2024 gray BMW SUV, parked there. Both vehicles were registered to the 31-year-old man, whose driver's license lists an address in North Lauderdale but who police learned was staying at the house in Westlake with the 29-year-old woman, who shares registration on the BMW SUV. Palm Beach Police detectives discovered that the ATM withdrawals from the resident's account were made at a bank in The Acreage, about 2 miles from the house in Westlake, an arrest report said. On April 9, the Palm Beach resident received a request to wire transfer $138,237, which was unsuccessful, police said. That same day, there was another request for a wire transfer for $82,469. The banker in that case confirmed the wire with who he believed to be the account holder, and the transfer was initiated, police said. However, once the resident received an email to confirm the transfer, he called the bank's fraud team and was able to secure the money, but it could take up to three months to get that money back, the arrest report said. Both wire transfer requests were made to a Pompano Beach resident, police said. The resident hired a private investigator who recovered photos taken by the Liberty Lane-located iPhone after someone took over the resident's Apple account, police said. Data for seven photos show all were taken at that home in Westlake, according to the arrest report. On May 7, a Palm Beach Police detective talked with a person in Las Vegas, Nevada, who had been the victim of a similar scheme and had reported the crime to the FBI. That person gave police about 50 images someone took after gaining control of his Apple account, and officers found data that connected the photos back to the Westlake address. The images provided by the person in Nevada also included photos of driver's licenses, passports, bank account numbers, emails and more, an arrest report said. When Palm Beach Police and the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office searched the Westlake home on a warrant on May 5, they found the 29-year-old woman and 31-year-old man, along with a Louis Vuitton backpack, three iPhones, two pairs of sunglasses and a yellow notebook with "Work $" written on it, the arrest report said. Inside the notebook, officers said they found bank account details, Social Security numbers, addresses, names and more personal details about more than 50 people in Florida and across the United States. Officers also said they found electronic devices and a ledger that contained the Palm Beach resident's personal information. They also took $15,243 in cash from the woman's bedroom, the arrest report said. Detectives determined that once the couple gained access to a person's phone line, they could "circumvent two-factor authentication and gain access to victims' financial accounts, resulting in substantial unauthorized wire transfers and fraudulent transactions," the arrest report said. Palm Beach has cautioned residents to be wary of potential scams. "Most of these cases nationally go unsolved," Rothrock said. "The work and tenacity that our detectives put into this to follow the leads to the end and bring a successful conclusion are noteworthy." He added that the department is grateful for PBSO's help in the investigation, including to serve the search warrant. "Finding local perpetrators was a rarity and did make the investigation coordination smoother," Rothrock said. Those who believe they may have been victims of the scam should call the Palm Beach Police Department's non-emergency number at 561-838-5454, he said. This story was updated to add new information. Kristina Webb is a reporter for Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach her at kwebb@ Subscribe today to support our journalism. This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Palm Beach 'SIM swap' scam could extend across U.S., police say
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‘Out Of His Mind': Critics Aghast At Trump's ‘Detached From Reality' New Message
President Donald Trump shares a lot of outlandish messages on his social media pages, but critics say a single repost over the weekend might be his most 'unhinged' yet. Trump on Saturday night reposted a message on Truth Social claiming that former President Joe Biden had been executed in 2020 and replaced by 'clones doubles & robotic engineered soulless mindless entities.' Trump frequently posts or reposts conspiracy theories on any number of subjects. Last year, the New York Times found Trump had shared or amplified 330 conspiracy theories in a single six-month period describing 'a false, secretive plot against Mr. Trump or the American people and a specific entity supposedly responsible for it.' Since taking office, Trump has continued to promote conspiracy theories, and has even elevated conspiracy theorists to key positions. But many critics say this latest message is on a whole new level:
