Beulah, Four Seasons develop in Melbourne: Melbourne-based property developer Beulah has announced that Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts will be manage the new hotel within its new AU$2.7 billion (US$1.93 billion) development, STH BNK By Beulah. Four Seasons Hotel Melbourne will consist of 210 rooms in the western tower of the development. Guests will arrive through a sky lobby on the 63rd floor. The hotel will also feature a rooftop restaurant and bar. Set to become Australia’s tallest tower, STH BNK By Beulah is on track to become the tallest vertical garden in the world. The vertical garden will reach 5.5 kilometers. Envisioned as a mini metropolis, the development will consist of four collections of private residences, public and green spaces, rooftop sky garden, a 3,000-seat auditorium, commercial spaces, childcare center, health and wellness center and experiential retail space, all within two twisting terraced forms. The construction of the development will start later this year and will take about five years to finish.
Stoneweg, Bain Capital acquire in Ibiza: Stoneweg Hospitality, Geneva, and Bain Capital have acquired the Palladium Hotel Don Carlos in Santa Eulalia del Rio, Ibiza, through their real estate hospitality joint venture. The property features 168 rooms, including 32 suites, two restaurants, a bar, gym and a swimming pool. The JV plans to reposition the property as a lifestyle concept. Palladium Hotel Group will manage the hotel until the end of the season this year, when the management by a new operator and renovation will begin. This is the JV’s third hotel acquisition this year, following the purchase of Hotel Los Monteros Spa & Golf Resort in Marbella and Hotel Mimic in Barcelona.
Kempinski grows in Saudi Arabia: Kempinski Hotels has signed two management contracts for luxury properties in Riyadh and Yanbu in Saudia Arabia. Kempinski will manage the 150-key Kempinski Al Qeshan hotel in Riyadh owned by Sheikh Abdul Kareem Abdullah Al Qeshan. Slated to open in 2026, the 35-story property will also feature 10 serviced apartments, separate ladies and men’s spa, two restaurants, rooftop lounge and a swimming pool. In Yanbu, Kempinski has signed a deal with Al Jazeerah Hotels & Resorts to manage the Kempinski Hotel & Resort Yanbu, which will open later this year. The existing resort has been closed for renovations, which will see a reduction in the number of deluxe rooms to create 23 additional suites, complementing the 12 villas and 48 apartments. Kempinski has other projects in Al Madinah and Makkah in its development pipeline.
JP Rama dies: Jayanti P. (JP) Rama, the brother of AAHOA Founder HP Rama and past AAHOA Chair MP Rama, has died, according to a statement from AAHOA. During his tenure at the helm of AAHOA, JP focused on building the association’s membership through national awareness campaigns, Town Hall meetings, and educational seminars. He was known for being a staunch supporter of young people getting involved in AAHOA and the industry. As vice chairman of the board of Auro Hotels, based in Greenville, South Carolina, JP focused on operations, purchasing, and design and interiors for acquisitions and new developments. Prior to Auro Hotels, JP was founding principal and vice chairman of the board for JHM Hotels, which was one of the nation’s largest hotel owner/operators. In 2017, the JHM Hotels’ name was retired, and four new companies were launched to continue the family’s legacy.
DTC clicks leisure: Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants plans its third boutique hotel in the Denver market by early 2024, being the first lifestyle hotel in the Denver Tech Center neighborhood. The Kimpton Denver Tech Center signifies DTC emerging from a corporate business traveler locale into a leisure destination. KGD Architecture, KARAMANN for interiors and general contractor Harvey Cleary Builders will construct the hotel. The rooftop bar and music venue will offer views of the Rocky Mountains spanning Pikes Peak to Longs Peak, while 7,000 square feet for meetings and events is envisaged.
Clarifying Hyatt’s 4Q21 EBITDA: Despite some confusion about the accounting treatment of deferred revenues and costs, Hyatt Hotels Corp. on Wednesday released 4Q21 earnings that actually showed an adjusted EBITDA beat of US$139 million, which was above consensus of $125.5 million. To get to the US$139 million, wrote Truist Securities, take the base adjusted EBITDA of UA$112 million and add Apple Leisure Group’s net deferred income of US$19 million and net financed contracts of US$8 million. This, Truist wrote, best reflects the “economic financials,” which removes volatility associated with deferrals, more accurately represents the company’s cash flows, and is in-line with how the company manages the business internally. For 4Q, total fees were US$128 million, while comparable RevPAR was -26.1% on a two-year basis versus -31.8% in 3Q21 and -49.8% in 2Q21. Owned hotel margins at 24.8% were materially above forecasts. Organic net rooms grew 6.1% year-over-year versus 6.9% in 3Q21, 7.1% in 2Q21, and 6.5% in 1Q21. Guidance was for greater than 6%.
US weekly performance peaks since December: Weekly hotel performance in the U.S. reached its highest levels since December 2021, according to STR’s latest data through February 12.
- Occupancy: 54.6% (-14%)
- ADR: US$133.72 (+1.3%)
- RevPAR: US$73 (-12.9%)
Although none of the Top 25 Markets saw an occupancy increase over 2019 levels, Phoenix came closest to its pre-pandemic comparable (-3.2% to 80.5%). San Francisco/San Mateo recorded the largest occupancy decrease from 2019 (-50.5% to 42.4%). Boosted by Super LVI weekend, Los Angeles recorded the highest increases in ADR (+50.1% to US$277.30) and RevPAR (+25% to US$191.60) over 2019. The steepest RevPAR deficits were in San Francisco/San Mateo (-74.8% to US$66.89) and Seattle (-43.1% to US$59.11).
Singapore to allow quarantine-free international arrivals: Singapore will allow fully vaccinated travelers from Hong Kong, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the U.A.E to enter the country without quarantine from February 25, following an expansion of the Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) scheme. Fully vaccinated travelers from Thailand will soon be allowed to enter Singapore without quarantine. Singapore will start VTLs from March 4 for Philippines and Israel to initiate two-way quarantine-free travel with both the countries. The authorities announced they are aiming for quarantine-free travel for all vaccinated travelers. The government is gradually lifting a 50% cap on the number of VTL travelers that was implemented in December 2021.
Radisson plans to add 400 hotels: Radisson Hotel Group will continue the expansion of its luxury lifestyle Radisson Collection brand and plans to add 400 new signed hotels this year across EMEA and Asia. Openings in key gateway cities include the recently renovated Radisson Collection Hotel, Berlin; Mansard Riyadh, A Radisson Collection Hotel; the Radisson Collection Resort, Galle; and the Radisson Collection Hotel, Gran Via Bilbao. Radisson Individuals, the group’s conversion brand, aims to open over 13 new destinations this year, including in Russia, the U.K., India, Belgrade, Paris, Athens and Istanbul.
Under Canvas invests US$25 million across brand: Under Canvas, the company specializing in upscale, safari-style accommodations, has announced a major investment of over US$25 million across the brand’s nine existing camps and its new camp location for this year’s season. The funding will help introduce new culinary programming, including a coffee culture partnership with Bluestone Lane, lifestyle brands that support sustainability commitments like Rivian Waypoints charging at some camp locations and experiences, and locally-curated adventure programming. As part of their expansion, Under Canvas will launch a new solar-powered location near Bryce Canyon National Park, the brand’s fifth location in Utah, on June 2.
2021 ends at occupancy rate of 58% in US: Despite a weak performance in December, 2021 in the U.S. ended at an occupancy rate of 58%, which was still short of the 2019 occupancy of 66% but better than the forecast of 57%, revealed the US Lodging Market Overview: December 2021 report by Horwath HTL. U.S. hotel sales volume ended the year at around US$44.5 billion after a strong December, where sales volume stood at around US$6.5 billion for the month, marking a strong end to the year after a few sluggish months. The total dollar volume of sales throughout the year was 238% higher than 2020 and 15% higher than 2019. The strong performance could be partially due to the need for liquidity as owners disposed of assets with the worst of the pandemic behind them. According to data by AllTheRooms Analytics, short-term rental bookings revenues ended 2021 up over 2019 and 2020 figures by a significant margin despite bookings being softer for most of the year. This could be attributed to the increases in ADR for short-term rental bookings due to jumps in demand in high-priced markets. ADR for all property types in December 2021 jumped over 30% from the previous year to stand at US$256.76.