Accor’s Q3 report: Accor on Wednesday reported third-quarter revenues of €589 million (US$683.4 million), up 79% year-over-year. RevPAR improved by 20 percentage points from last year, while hotel services revenues gained 96% to €440 million (US$510.52 million). Accor opened 82 hotels, representing net network growth of 2.5% over the past 12 months, and is now forecasting net network growth of around 3% for the full year 2021. “This third quarter of 2021 saw a genuine pick-up in demand. Our business was very strong this summer in Europe, the Middle East and the Americas, particularly for our leisure destinations. These trends are expected to persist out to the end of the year,” said Accor CEO Sébastien Bazin.
SCP grows in California: Soul Community Planet (SCP), Laguna Beach, California, announced the acquisition of Hotel Seven4one, a boutique hotel in Laguna Beach. The hotel features 12 rooms, including two suites with kitchenettes, and an outdoor courtyard with a fireplace, a second-story sundeck with panoramic ocean views and a living wall. The hotel will undergo renovations to include new furniture, flooring and zen design features. The property is expected to complement SCP’s recently-acquired Laguna Riviera Beach Resort, which will be rebranded as the SCP Laguna Beach. This is SCP’s second acquisition in California and the seventh addition to their portfolio. The company has added three properties to its portfolio in 2021 and aims to launch at least 25 SCP locations across the U.S. by the end of 2023. As part of the recent acquisitions, SCP has moved its headquarters to Laguna Beach.
Occupancy declines in US: Hotel occupancy in the U.S. declined by a percentage point even as room rates saw a slight increase, according to STR’s new data through October 23.
- Occupancy: 63.9% (-9.1%)
- ADR: US$134.14 (-0.6%)
- RevPAR: US$85.74 (-9.6%)
Although there was no increase in occupancy in any of the top 25 markets over 2019, Tampa came closest to its 2019 figures (-3.1% to 68.5%) and reported the largest rise in ADR (+16.1% to US$138.33) and RevPAR (+12.6% to US$94.71) as compared with 2019. Oahu Island (-39.7% to 49.6%) and San Francisco/San Mateo (-39.7% to 53.0%) saw the steepest dip in occupancy, while the largest RevPAR dips were recorded in San Francisco/San Mateo (-58.9% to US$92.26) and Washington, D.C. (-49.9% to US$81.21).
Marriott leads US construction pipeline: Marriott International led with the largest U.S. hotel construction pipeline with 1,286 projects/166,174 rooms, according to the third quarter report by Lodging Econometrics. Hilton came next with 1,223 projects/139,742 rooms, followed by InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) with 769 projects/77,558 rooms. The total construction pipeline for these three franchise companies constituted 68% of the total construction pipeline. Leading brands by project count were Hilton’s Home2 Suites by Hilton (402 projects/41,846 rooms), IHG’s Holiday Inn Express (301 projects/28,852 rooms) and Marriott’s Fairfield Inn (246 projects/23,653 rooms). These three mid-market brands accounted for 20% of the projects in the construction pipeline. In Q3, Marriott launched 60 hotels/7,882 rooms constituting 30% of all new hotels that opened in the U.S. Hilton opened 45 new hotels/4,923 rooms, accounting for 19% of new rooms, while IHG opened 25 new hotels/2,459 rooms, accounting for 9% of rooms.
Asia Pacific poised for recovery: The Asia Pacific region recorded the steepest decline in international visitor arrivals during the first seven months of 2021, with number of visitors plunging 81% y-o-y, according to the ‘Hotel investment poised to gain momentum as investors target recovery cycle’ report by CBRE. However, the region is set for a recovery with the International Air Transport Association forecasting global air passenger volume to recover to the pre-COVID numbers in 2023-2024. Countries with a large volume of domestic travelers — Australia, New Zealand, mainland China and Japan — have been leading recovery, thanks to the implementation of government policies and investment to boost domestic travel. Resort destinations have helped drive recovery as they outperformed urban locations in H1 2021, although some urban locations and important cities in countries — mainland China, Japan and Australia — have been showing signs of nascent recovery. Hotel transaction volume in the region reached US$6.5 billion in the first three quarters of 2021, a 5% increase than the volume in the same period last year.
DC mayor announces US$40 million grant: Muriel Bowser, Mayor of District of Columbia, announced a US$40 million program to provide additional relief to qualified hotels, inns, bed and breakfasts which were affected by the pandemic. This is the second package, amounting to a total of US$60 million, for the hospitality industry provided by the district. Under the program, eligible hotels will be provided with at least US$2,000 per room, capped at 300 rooms. Priority will be given to hotels that didn’t receive Paycheck Protection Program loans. In 2020, Mayor Bowser and the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development announced a US$100 million Bridge Fund which was distributed through four programs — Restaurant Bridge Fund, Hotel Bridge Fund, Entertainment Bridge Fund and Retail Bridge Fund.
Dusit partners to launch multi-culinary academy: Dusit International, Bangkok, has entered into a joint venture with Glowfish Co-Working Space, Allied Metals and La Scuola Internazionale di Cucina Italiana (ALMA) to develop The Food School, an academy of multi-cuisine gastronomy with business incubation facilities for food and beverage startups. The 336 million Thai Baht (US$10.08 million) development, which will come up at the new Creative & Startup Village in Bangkok, is set to open in Q1 2022. Dusit’s own Dusit Thani College, Japan’s Tsuji Culinary Institute and ALMA will come together for the academy, with each offering long-course modules in Thai, Japanese and Italian cuisines and bakery, respectively. Regular events will showcase new food and beverage trends and bring together industry players to evaluate concepts.
Sandals partners with FIU, UWI: The Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management at the Florida International University (FIU) has partnered with Sandals Resort International, Montego Bay, and The University of the West Indies (UWI) to create the Gordon “Butch” Stewart International School of Hospitality & Tourism at the Western Jamaica Campus of the UWI, Mona in Montego Bay. The partnership, created under the leadership of Sandals executive chairman and FIU hospitality alumnus Adam Stewart, will help students study hospitality in two top tourist destinations — Miami and Jamaica. The school will offer a bachelor’s in tourism management and a PhD in tourism/hospitality through UWI, along with a new bachelor’s degree in hospitality operations and in attractions and events management. While construction and curriculum plans are being developed, students can apply for admission in fall 2022.