Ryman Hospitality announces leadership transition: Ryman Hospitality Properties, Nashville, Texas, announced its Chairman and CEO Colin Reed will transition to executive chairman after more than 21 years as CEO. On January 1, 2023, President Mark Fioravanti will succeed Reed as CEO under the title president and CEO. As executive chairman, Reed’s role will include his responsibilities as executive chairman of the board of directors and as chairman of the Opry Entertainment Group Board of Directors. He will also work with OEG strategic investor Atairos and with NBCUniversal. Reed will continue his role with artist and shareholder relations along with Fioravanti.
IHG signs second voco in Paris: IHG Hotels & Resorts has signed its sixth voco in France, the voco 264-room Paris Porte de Clichy. IHG now has 64 hotels open in France and 18 more in the pipeline. The voco Paris Porte de Clichy is a conversion and was recently signed with Catella Hospitality. The hotel, which will be a voco flagship, will be designed by Maison Numéro 20 and is slated for a summer 2023 opening. This marks the second voco hotel in Paris after the 102-room voco Paris Montparnasse opened in 2020. Launched in 2018, voco has opened 40 hotels in over 25 countries, with 34 more properties in the pipeline. In Europe, there are 15 open hotels with 13 more in the pipeline. IHG plans to deliver 200 voco hotels within 10 years of the brand’s launch.
Accor signs dual-brand in Thailand: Accor has signed a management deal for a new dual-branded hotel in Bangkok, to strengthen its midscale and economy portfolio in Southeast Asia. Mercure and ibis Bangkok Siam Ratchathewi will open in 2025 and will be a part of a vertical mixed-use development including retail and office spaces. The Mercure hotel will comprise 200 rooms, while the ibis hotel will offer 154 rooms. The property will have shared public spaces like a restaurant, lobby bar and lounge, pool and two meeting rooms. This will be the third dual-branded concept in Thailand. Accor presently operates 372 hotels across Southeast Asia, South Korea and Japan. In Thailand, the group operates 83 hotels, with 18 in the pipeline.
Trez Capital closes US$18.75M loan for SpringHill Suites: Trez Capital, Dallas, Texas, has closed an US$18.75 million construction financing loan for Phoenix, Arizona-based Virtua Partners for a new 128-key SpringHill Suites by Marriott in Avondale, Arizona. The hotel will be a part of a 58-acre mixed-use development and will be developed by Quyp Hospitality, an affiliate of Virtua Partners. Hotel construction will start from November and the opening is scheduled in 2023. Once completed, the mixed-use project will offer retail, restaurant, single-family and multi-family developments. The hotel will be the third limited-service property financed by Trez Capital for Virtua Partners.
Berlin’s performance improves: Berlin saw better occupancy and record highs in ADR and RevPAR, as per preliminary September data by STR.
- Occupancy: 83.4%
- ADR: €158.55 (US$153.95)
- RevPAR: €132.30 (US$128.46)
While ADR and RevPAR were the highest for any month in the market, occupancy was the highest since October 2019 but 6.1% below the pre-pandemic figure. In terms of daily data, Berlin recorded its highest occupancy levels on September 20 and 21 at 92.5% and 94.4% respectively. Events, like the InnoTrans conference (held between September 20-23) and Berlin Fashion Week, helped improve performance metrics.
Pandemic-era highs in Sydney: Monthly performance in Sydney witnessed a pandemic-era high in September, according to STR’s preliminary data.
- Occupancy: 71.8%
- ADR: AU$252.13 (US$158.35)
- RevPAR: AU$181.05 (US$113.70)
Occupancy and RevPAR levels were their highest since February 2020, while ADR was the highest since February 2018. In terms of daily data, Saturdays saw the highest occupancy levels — September 17 (89.4%) boosted by the AFL Preliminary final and September 24 (88.1%) helped by multiple sporting and cultural events.
Stable meetings recovery: Hospitality meetings and events in the third quarter in the U.S. has shown stable performance, pushing slightly ahead of the Q2 forecast, according to Knowland’s quarterly update to its U.S. Meetings Recovery Forecast and associated top 25 U.S. Meetings Recovery Forecast. With recovery touching 89.5% of 2019 levels, Q3 was the strongest of the year. Since the July forecast, the outlook for the country has been raised to 73.1% recovery from 72.6% by the end of the year. Meeting levels will recover to 106.4% of 2019 figures in 2023 and 129.2% in 2024. Among the top 25 markets, the recovery forecast improved for 14 markets from the July projection, while recovery forecast was lowered for seven markets and kept unchanged for the remaining markets. Three markets — Dallas, Nashville and Phoenix — are expected to fully recover by the year-end. These three markets were unchanged from the last quarter. A total of 23 markets will achieve 100% or more recovery by 2024. Philadelphia and Chicago will achieve 90% or higher recovery in 2024.
GHA revenue up 68%: Global Hotel Alliance, the U.A.E.-based alliance of independent hotel brands, posted a nine-month performance with total revenue rising by 68% in 2021 and reaching 84% of the 2019 levels on a like-for-like basis at over US$900 million. Higher average rates and a 20% increase in the average length of stay worldwide from January to September compared to the same period last year helped improve performance. The top countries for GHA Discovery member stays were the Maldives, Thailand and the U.A.E., while Dubai (48% growth in stays compared to 2021), Singapore and Bangkok were the most-visited cities. The most visible signs of a travel rebound were seen in Phuket and Bangkok, with 535% and 345% growth in revenues respectively, followed by Honolulu, Hawaii (305%) and London, the U.K. (300%).
Accor launches ‘Emergency Shelter’: The Fondation des Femmes, a French foundation for the protection of women’s rights, and Accor have launched a platform dedicated to ‘Emergency Shelter,’ which aims at providing safety and accommodation in Accor hotels to women and children who are victims of abuse. Financed by Accor, Fondation BNP Paribas and Alternative Patrimoine, the platform will ensure that emergency accommodation is provided securely and quicker. Since March, 148 women and children have benefited from this program, which is now being rolled out across France. ‘Emergency Shelter’ expands Accor’s emergency scheme launched during the pandemic, which offered overnight stays at a cost price.