Briefs: Two Alofts acquired; US construction decline eases
October 19, 2022 - Categories: Hospitality News, Hotels: News,
TMGOC Ventures acquires Aloft: TMGOC Ventures, a partnership between The Montford Group and Opterra Capital, has acquired the 136-room Aloft Charleston Airport and Convention Center hotel by Marriott. TMGOC acquired the fee simple interest in the hotel, marking their third Aloft-branded acquired hotel. TMGOC will invest around US$3 million in renovations and Aimbridge Hospitality will operate the hotel. The hotel's purchase also marks the group's fifth hotel acquisition in Charleston, South Carolina. TMGOC has 708 keys in the Charleston market, including four ground-up construction projects.
Aloft Sugarloaf in Atlanta, Georgia
RADCO acquires Aloft Sugarloaf: The RADCO Companies, Atlanta, Georgia, has acquired the 112-key Aloft Sugarloaf in Atlanta, a newly developed five-story hotel. Additional terms of the deal were not disclosed. Opened just three weeks ago, the hotel will be managed by Hospitality Ventures Management Group. This will be the third RADCO-owned hotel to be managed by Hospitality Ventures Management Group, along with two other hotels north of Atlanta. The deal marks the 10th acquisition by RADCO's hotel division, which was launched in early 2021. The sale was brokered by Monty Levy and Ketan Patel of Hospitality Real Estate Counselors.
US construction decline eases: This September was the third consecutive month to see an uptick in hotel construction in the U.S., with YOY declines reducing each month since May, according to STR.
In construction: 156,861 rooms (-8.9%)
Final planning: 173,932 rooms (-15.5%)
Planning: 282,225 rooms (+7%)
At a market level, New York City, Nashville and Phoenix are projected to see the highest supply percentage increases from current construction. Among the chain scales, luxury and upscale segments lead in the measurement. Despite the concerns of another recession, new supply for most markets is not expected to be an additional headwind in the short term. Although the declines have slowed, activity is still down YOY and the industry is 63,000 rooms below the construction peak from 2020. Luxury chain scales have the highest number of rooms in the existing supply.
Luxury (5.7%, 7,777 rooms)
Upscale (4.6%, 40,620 rooms)
Upper Midscale (3.5%, 41,422 rooms)
Upper Upscale (2.9%, 19,434 rooms)
Midscale (2.5%, 10,870 rooms)
Economy (0.9%, 6,206 rooms)
New York City leads the major markets in rooms in construction as a percentage of existing supply.
1. New York City (9.4%, 12,000 rooms)
2. Phoenix (6.6%, 4,558 rooms)
3. Nashville (5.6%, 3,181 rooms)
4. Detroit (5%, 2,343 rooms)
5. Miami (4.8%, 3,106 rooms)
Canyon Ranch announces new resort: Canyon Ranch, the integrative wellness brand, has partnered with VICI Properties to secure up to US$200 million in capital to open a new resort in Austin, Texas. Work on the project will start in 2023 with an opening scheduled in 2025. The property, which will be built ground up, will begin Canyon Ranch's expansion plans to create an app and a wellness "ecosystem" with the addition of urban-based Wellness Clubs launching in 2023. The Austin resort will join the brand's properties in Tucson, Arizona; Lenox, Massachusetts; and Woodside, California. The first Canyon Ranch Club will open in Fort Worth, Texas, in late 2023, followed by one in Houston, Texas, in 2024.
XSS Hotels, DelMonte add in Saratoga: XSS Hotels, Hooksett, New Hampshire, in partnership with Rochester, New York-based DelMonte Hotel Group, has acquired the Homewood Suites by Hilton Saratoga Springs in New York. The four-story extended-stay hotel offers 113 suites, including 56 studio suites, 53 one-bedroom suites and four two-bedroom suites. The hotel marks the XSS Hotels' second acquisition in Saratoga.
Okura resort in Vietnam: Hotel Okura Co. Ltd., Tokyo, Japan, has announced that the Okura Resort & Spa Phu Quoc will open at the resort of Long Beach on Phu Quoc Island in Vietnam in 2027. Trading Construction Works Organization will manage the new property. The hotel will feature 200 rooms, six dining outlets and lounges, a fitness center, outdoor pool, spa, here banquet and meeting spaces and 65 beachfront villas.
easyHotel Benelux sells for €145M: Xcentric Hotels BV, an affiliate of London-based Crossroads Real Estate, has sold its eight-hotel easyHotel Benelux portfolio to long-term franchisor easyHotel Ltd., London, for €145 million (US$142.78 million). The portfolio totals 793 rooms and includes hotels across Amsterdam, The Hague, Rotterdam, Brussels and Maastricht. The deal also includes a management platform and the easyHotel Benelux master franchise agreement. A new loan facility has been agreed with the existing lender. JLL served as the exclusive sell-side M&A advisor to Xcentric Hotels.
Cobblestone founder, CEO dies: Brian Wogernese, CEO and founder of Cobblestone Hotels, died on Tuesday 10 months after being diagnosed with advanced esophageal carcinoma. Wogernese launched Cobblestone Hotels in 207 and opened the first Cobblestone Hotel in Clintonville, Wisconsin, in 2008 and ensured it would be a "franchisee-first" business. Beginning his career in the hotel industry as a shuttle driver in a hotel in Minneapolis in 1992, he worked in every department of a hotel going on to found a hotel brand. He founded WHG Companies in 1999, which is now Slate Hospitality Group and now manages several brands and restaurants. Wogernese's son Riley Wogernese joined the Cobblestone Hotels team in multiple capacities in the past several years and is "prepared to be the second generation" of the company.
Essex adds first IHG hotel: Essex Hotel Management, Rochester, New York, has added the 246-key Crowne Plaza Lake Placid in Lake Placid, New York, marking its first IHG property. The hotel has been owned and operated by the Lussi family for over 50 years and was rebranded as Crowne Plaza in 2005 following several expansions. This is Essex's second hotel in Lake Placid.
Banyan Investment Group acquires Castle Hotel: Banyan Investment Group, Miramar Beach, Florida, has acquired the 213-room Castle Hotel, Autograph Collection by Marriott in Orlando, Florida, for an undisclosed price. The hotel recently underwent an US$8.2 million investment to upgrade its rooms, public spaces and the building's exterior.
Luxury hospitality outlook: Consumers continued to 'trade up' when traveling, with Leading Hotels of the World (LHW) suite and villa bookings up 36% above 2019 levels, according to the Leading Hotels Fall Luxe Report. The desire for additional space and privacy remained a persistent trend this year. Today, LHW's ADR is above 40% of 2019 levels. International travel has returned, but not at the expense of domestic travel. U.S. travel to Europe increased 225% YOY and flat to 2019. The U.S. and many other European countries, like Switzerland and Italy, continue to record comparatively high levels of domestic travel compared to 2019. Travelers have a renewed interest in city destinations. LWH's properties in metro cities witnessed a 100% jump in revenue since 2021. LHW's booking revenue has surpassed 2019 levels each week from February 2022 onwards.
Radisson launches new loyalty program: Radisson Hotel Group has launched a new Radisson Rewards loyalty program, which will allow guests to access exclusive benefits faster, with VIP members progressing to the highest tier twice as fast as before. These benefits can be accessed from the first day and are available across the entire member journey, which includes in-stay privileges like complimentary upgrades, F&B discounts and more experiences, along with post-stay benefits like the option to make a stay carbon neutral by redeeming 325 points per day. The new "discount booster" for future reservations will enable members to boost their discount by reducing the number of points they earn. The new dynamic redemption model will allow members to book any room type in any hotel.
Rockledge, Churchwick acquire Cleveland Sonesta: Rockledge, led by David Kaye and Joe Listhaus, along with Churchwick Partners, has closed the 104-key Sonesta ESA Suites in Cleveland (Westlake), Ohio. This is the third property acquired in Ohio, bringing the Ohio key count to 368. This also marks their 11th Sonesta acquisition, bringing their total hospitality assets to 15 and key count to 1,745. The deal was brokered by Ryan Bodine of NewGen Advisory.
CMR, Crawford Hoying announce hotel in Ohio: Columbus-based Cameron Mitchell Restaurants and its long-time development partner and mixed-use developer Crawford Hoying have partnered to launch an upscale hotel in downtown Dublin, Ohio. This will be Cameron Mitchell's first venture into hotels. The boutique hotel will include a new signature CMR restaurant, multiple dining outlets, outdoor spaces and a conference center. The hotel will be part of a mixed-use expansion of Bridge Park. Crawford Hoying has built 17 hotels and has two more under active development besides this project. The company's portfolio includes 11 open and operating hotels across five states.