IHG Hotels & Resorts

Asia Is Open but Recovery Is Slow

The Wall Street Journal published an article on how  Asia Pacific may have reopened to tourism, but the recovery is slow . Oyo Hotels filed new financial documents with the Securities and Exchange Board of India. Japan plans to resume visa-free air tickets in October and  Taiwan plans to open its borders from mid-to-late October.

Two Perspectives on Hotel Recovery

The  DJIA  fell 139 points on Friday while  Nasdaq  was down 104, the  S&P 500  fell 28 points and the  10-year treasury yield  was down .01 to 3.45%. Citigroup cut its rating on IHG Hotels & Resorts to Sell from Neutral. Citi believes the incomplete recovery in corporate travel will weigh on IHG’s RevPAR. Berenberg , on the other hand, sees hotels as the top travel play . The brokerage firm says concerns about the hotel industry are overblown and the outlook for RevPAR for 2023 and 2024 will strengthen further.

Upbeat Expectations for 2023

The DJIA  rose 30 points while Nasdaq was up 86, the S&P 500 rose 13 points and the 10-year treasury yield was down .01 to 3.41%. Truist reported on a call they held with the CEO of hotelAVE . The takeaways included that they saw leisure demand start to slow in May while group and corporate recovery is now benefiting from urban and convention hotels. JP Morgan reported on meetings held with Wyndham Hotels’ CEO and SVP, IR. JPM said the meetings were generally upbeat, reflective of strong demand and pricing trends as well as steady new development and conversion signings.

Bay Area Hotel Purchased Drop in H1 2022

Any hope the Fed would be slowing down interest rate hikes just went right out the window with today’s inflation numbers. Lodging stocks were hit rather hard. According to Atlas Hospitality Group , during the first half of 2022, the total dollar volume for hotels bought in the Bay Area market in California was $660.5 million, down 66.8% from the $1.99 billion in hotel purchases during the first six months of 2021. Sonesta International Hotels Corporation announced several key developments to support future expansion in Latin America and the Caribbean , including the renewal of its ongoing master franchise relationship with GHL Hoteles.

IHG’s Data Breach Concerns

The  DJIA  rose 230 points while  Nasdaq  was up 154, the  S&P 500  rose 43 points and the  10-year treasury yield  was up .04 to 3.36%. Lodging stocks were modestly higher. IHG’s hack appears to be a lot worse than the ones at other hotels as the ransomware attack may very well impact their 3Q results as they continue to have their online reservation system crippled by the attack. Watermark Lodging Trust  said the proposed acquisition of the company by private real estate funds managed by  Brookfield  was approved by its stockholders.

Ennismore Signs First Tribe Hotel in Thailand

Ennismore announced the signing of TRIBE Bangkok Sukhumvit 39. Thai property developer Boutique Corporation has partnered with Oakwood and launched Oakwood Studios Sukhumvit Bangkok. InterContinental Hayman Island Resorts announced the opening of a new extension – 12 new free-standing Beachfront Pavilions.

Equity Markets Make a Dramatic Recovery

The equity markets made a dramatic recovery considering investors in Treasuries gave the Fed a no-confidence raspberry, not liking the comments from one of the Governors today at all. Finishing touches are wrapping up on the Virgin Hotel, a 28-story tower in Midtown, Manhattan. K&K Hotel Group is planning to build a new Hampton Inn & Suites in Shenandoah, TX.

Chengdu Covid Fears Spurs Lock Down

STR reported China hotel RevPAR was up 48.2% year over year against very easy comps. When compared with this week in 2019, RevPAR was down -20.4%. Absolute occupancy in China last week was 59.1% versus 43.1% in the same week last year. Chengdu reported 1,000 Covid cases and the Southwestern city in China has pretty much been sealed off. About 70% of the flights have been suspended to and from the city. Hong Kong is targeting an end to hotel quarantine in November , ahead of a summit of global bankers and an international rugby competition.

Short-Term Rental Demand Is Up

The  DJIA  ended the day down 280 points while  Nasdaq  was down 67, the  S&P 500 fell 31 points and the 10 year treasury yield was up .02 to 3.13%. Lodging stocks were lower.  MCG  fell -8% today and hit a new all time low.  SOND  was up 5%. STR  said  U.S. hotel RevPAR  for the week ending August 27 th  was up 18.2%.  RevPAR versus the same week in 2019 was up 12.1%. Speaking during a session at the  Hotel Data Conference ,  AirDNA Director of Product Max Bernstein  said as of June 2022,  demand for short-term rentals  is up 21% indexed to 2019

Macau Reopens to Foreign Citizens

Tomorrow is the first day that foreign citizens from 41 countries will be allowed to enter Macau  since the start of this crisis. The travelers will still have to undergo seven days of quarantine in a designated hotel followed by another three days of self-health monitoring. Control of theme park  Huis Ten Bosch Park in Japan  is being transferred to Hong Kong-based asset management firm  PAG . IHG Hotels & Resorts  announced the opening of its  600th hotel in Greater China with the debut of Kimpton Bamboo Grove Suzhou.