Four Seasons

Shrugging Off the Fed, Hotels Put Heads in Beds

voco hotels celebrated 100 properties signed and opened globally. The emerging IHG Hotels & Resorts’ brand reached the milestone in just five years after its first-ever hotel opening. Island Hospitality Management announced the company added 14 hotels to its third-party management portfolio during 2022. Moxy Williamsburg debuted today as the brand’s first hotel in Brooklyn, New York.

Vietnam Forecasts a Tourism Rebound

STR said hotel RevPAR in China was up 58% year over year for the week ended February 25. The number of foreign tourists arriving in Vietnam in February reached 933,000, up 7.1% versus January. Hilton announced it will bring its Doubletree brand to The Orange City for the first time with DoubleTree by Hilton Nagpur .

Relaxed Covid Restrictions Buoy Singapore, Taiwan and Australia

Singapore signaled an end to the Covid-19 era restrictions , removing nearly all remaining mask rules as well as all border restrictions for arrivals who are not fully vaccinated. All travel restrictions for residents of Hong Kong and Macau wishing to go to Taiwan will be lifted on February 20, three years after they were imposed. STR said Australia’s hotel performance turned a massive corner during the first half of 2022 as the Omicron wave subsided and governments relaxed travel restrictions around the country.

Four Seasons Opening Private Retreats Collection in Los Cabos

Morgan Stanley changed price targets on its covered hotel companies . Hilton’s PT was lowered to $167 from $171, while Wyndham’s PT was upped to $90 from $87. Chatham Lodging Trust announced they repaid in full three mortgages with outstanding principal of $73.3 million and a weighted average interest rate of 8%. Four Seasons Resort and Residences Los Cabos at Costa Palmas will begin taking reservations for its ultra-luxury Private Retreats collection soon.

Upbeat Mood and News Frenzy at ALIS

Truist said they are finding the sentiment at the ALIS Lodging Conference as mostly positive , with lots of “hope” that the most well-anticipated recession in the history of recessions will be a mild one. STR and Tourism Economics made a modest upgrade to the 2023 U.S. hotel forecast released at ALIS. Four Seasons said they started 2023 with new leadership, brand extensions and strategic portfolio growth.

Sonesta to Reflag Two Properties to The James Brand

Lodging stocks were mixed but the biggest movers were to the upside. VCSA and SLNA both rose 6% on the day. The Baird/STR Hotel Stock Index fell -10% in December. That put all of 2022 down -15% from 2021. The Hotel Brand sub-index was down -9.2% in December from November while the Hotel REIT sub-index was down -12.8% Sonesta International Hotels Corporation announced the expansion of its global development strategy to include The James brand as part of the Sonesta Franchise portfolio in the U.S. and in Latin America.

China Pushes Back at Outbound Tourism Restrictions

China’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman told the media that many foreign nations had responded warmly to the country’s newly relaxed Covid-19 regulations. The Macau government said that, as of this Sunday, they will officially end all quarantine requirements for all nationalities entering Macau. Vietnam said its tourism sector raked in about US$408.3 million in revenue during the three-day 2023 New Year holiday .

Year-End Hotel News Roundup

EF Hutton initiated coverage on Selina Hospitality with a Buy rating and $6.50 price target. STR reported US lodging data for the week ended 12/24. RevPAR was down -0.2% year over year while down -7.6% versus the same week in 2019. Bluegreen Vacation Holdings said they had a total of 3,040,882 shares of Class A Common Stock tendered in their cash tender offer to purchase up to 4.5 million common shares at $25 per share.

TFE Hotels, ShriGo Hotels and Grand Amanta Expand

STR said China hotel RevPAR the week ended 12/24  was down -21.9% year over year and down -38.9% versus the same week in 2019. Marriott International said its transformation of the Sheraton Hotels & Resorts brand  continues to build momentum across the globe. TFE Hotels  will launch into 2023,  opening three new-build hotels  in the first half. The  Adina Apartment Hotel Pentridge Melbourne  will open in Australia in February.

Ryman Hospitality Ends Year on High Note

Yesterday, Pebblebrook Hotel Trust lowered guidance for 4Q results and shook up the industry a bit. Today, Ryman Hospitality did the opposite. Lodging stocks were mostly lower with a long list of new lows, many of them REITs. New lows were set by PEB, PK, AHT, SHO, XHR, ABNB and VCSA Marriott International announced that long-time executive Stephanie Linnartz is leaving the company, effective February 24, 2023.