What's Trending in 2024
Visit North Carolina, the state's travel and tourism agency, is advising travelers with trips planned to the state to postpone them as the state recovers from the effects of Hurricane Helene, Travel Weekly reports. Many hotels are temporarily closed until they can assess and repair damage.
CoStar
Governments of the multiple U.S. states affected by Hurricane Helene have been receiving hundreds of consumer complaints of price gouging, Business Insider reports. The complaints focus on the prices of gas, groceries and hotels. While not all complaints meet each states' definition of price gouging, states will investigate claims that have merit.
CoStar
El Cosmico, a hotel and campground near Marfa, Texas, is building 43 new hotel units and 18 residential homes over 60 acres with a 3D printer, Reuters reports. This would make it the world's first 3D-printed hotel.
CoStar
Striking hotel workers in Greenwich, Connecticut, and Providence, Rhode Island, ratified new union contracts that increase their wages and provide more affordable healthcare, Unite Here announced in a news release. The contracts are the first to be ratified amid nationwide strikes that have more than 4,000 hotel workers currently on strike in Honolulu, San Diego and San Francisco.
CoStar
Hurricane Helene made landfall Thursday as a Category 4 storm, leaving more than 3 million homes and businesses without power in the southeastern U.S., the Associated Press reports. The storm has since weakened to a tropical storm, but there is still widespread heavy rain expected in the region.
CoStar
Companies sweeten contract offer to a 62% wage increase to reopen ports from Maine to Texas
The Wall Street Journal
Even as consumer spending softens and household savings run dry, the U.S. hotel sector is holding its ground, with revenue growth largely stabilizing across markets. According to a new report from Moody's Reis, although the industry has bounced back from its pandemic slump, the recovery is far from uniform. Some regions are booming, while others—particularly in the West—continue to lag and face a longer road to recovery.
Globest.com
Oravel Stays, the parent company of India-based Oyo Hotels & Rooms, has agreed to acquire G6 Hospitality from Blackstone Real Estate for $525 million in an all-cash transaction. G6 Hospitality, the parent company of the Motel 6 and Studio 6 economy hotel brands, expects the deal to close in the fourth quarter this year.
CoStar
Gradual interest-rate cuts from the Federal Reserve are likely to serve as a jumpstart to US hotel development and deals, although some industry experts say it may take years to see a major increase in activity. "As we start to see interest rates cut, particularly to a more meaningful measure, we expect that to drive transaction volume rather significantly, whether that's this year or next year," said Zach Demuth, global head of hotel research at JLL's hotels and hospitality group.
CoStar
The August average U.S. daily hotel rate and occupancy rate each increased notably year over year, according to hotel analytics firm STR, which separately noted midweek demand strength, a sign of solid business travel demand.
BTN
Over the last several years, new brands have been rolled out at a dizzying pace by the major franchise companies, all of whom are searching for any white space they can find to grow distribution and consumer loyalty. While not all the brands introduced have gained significant development momentum, a handful have done well out of the gates, so to speak. We go in-depth with five brands—all of which have been launched within the past 24 months—that have effectively captured the attention of developers, as well as the industry at large.
Lodging
Housekeepers represented by the UNITE HERE union have walked off the job at 24 hotels across cities like San Francisco, Honolulu and Boston, demanding higher wages and automatic daily room cleaning.
Yahoo Finance
With more than 10,000 workers going on strike from 25 hotels in nine cities over the Labor Day weekend, officials with Unite Here say they're hoping to send the message that hotel workers deserve to benefit more from growing revenues across the industry.
CoStar
NASHVILLE, Tennessee — There are fewer dollars in the pockets of U.S. guests, and their behavior in accommodation bookings have shifted accordingly.
CoStar
For global hotel real estate investment, the story of the past few years has been all about interest rates.
With many deals fuelled by the post-pandemic fall in borrowing rates, which dropped to little above zero across the US Fed, the Bank of England and the European Central Bank, investors have more recently been struggling to refinance against a backdrop of higher rates introduced to cool over-heating inflation.
Hospitality Investor
Corporate travel managers need to be aware of global risks and have updated contingency and crisis management plans to protect travelers
BTN
Developed in partnership with owner Flag Luxury Group and Unicorp National Developments, IHG Hotels & Resorts is expanding with the launch of a new Intercontinental Hotels & Resorts property in Orlando, Florida, set to open in 2028.
Travel Pulse
The start of interest rate cuts is imminent, according to remarks made Friday by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, who expressed confidence that inflation is within reach of the U.S. central bank’s 2 percent target.
Commercial Search
If an expected interest-rate cut occurs next month, it is likely to jump-start hotel sales, help encourage more hotel construction and aid owners struggling to repay debt. Rate cuts could also result in a higher interest in branded residences, lower debt servicing costs and greater demand for travelers to spend money on vacations.
Skifit
Block Out the External Voices and Trust in Your Team To Deliver Your Vision
CoStar
Citing "weaker-than-expected leisure travel and slowing corporate profit growth," CBRE Hotels Research on Thursday for the second time in three months lowered its projected year-over-year increases for full-year 2024 U.S. average daily rate, occupancy, and revenue per available room
Chris Davis
Money market funds have seen an increase of $106 billion so far in August as assets climb to a record. Investors are pouring cash into these funds as they look to lock in yields before the Federal Reserve starts to reduce interest rates. In the week to Aug. 21, money market funds drew $24.9 billion, bringing the total amount of cash sitting in money market funds to a record $6.24 trillion, according to the Investment Company Institute.
Bloomberg
Housing is a key issue in the presidential campaign, with both Kamala Harris and Donald Trump calling for increased supply. Harris wants to add 3 million housing units during her first term and offer down-payment assistance to support first-generation homeowners. She also supports a measure that would deny certain deductions for landlords with more than 50 single-family homes. Meanwhile, Trump has said that "we're going to open up tracts of federal land for housing construction." The Republican economic platform also says the party wants to cut regulations and provide tax incentives to promote homeownership.
Bisnow
In 2018, the International Air Transport Association's "leaderboard" of 21 airlines that were part of IATA's New Distribution Capability initiative had a goal of processing 20 percent of indirect bookings through NDC channels by 2020. That didn't happen, in part due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
BTN
Hotel operator Marriott International (MAR.O), opens new tab lowered its forecast for 2024 room revenue growth on Wednesday, citing softer domestic travel demand in China and North America, sending its shares down about 4%.
Reuters
In Q2 2024, hotels in the total pipeline grew 9% annually, with extended stay remaining popular and upper midscale leading other segments, according to Lodging Econometrics.
Hotel Dive
The U.S. hotel industry reported improved performance results from the previous month, according to June 2024 data from CoStar. CoStar is a leading provider of online real estate marketplaces, information, and analytics in the property markets.
CoStar
Florida’s population crossed the 23 million residents mark for the first time this year because of the influx of people moving from other states, according to state demographic estimates.
As of April 1 of this year, Florida had 23,002,597 residents, according to estimates released earlier this month by the state Demographic Estimating Conference.
Orlando Sentinel
In 2018, the International Air Transport Association's "leaderboard" of 21 airlines that were part of IATA's New Distribution Capability initiative had a goal of processing 20 percent of indirect bookings through NDC channels by 2020. That didn't happen, in part due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
BTN
The U.S. hotel industry reported improved performance results from the previous month, according to June 2024 data from CoStar. CoStar is a leading provider of online real estate marketplaces, information, and analytics in the property markets.
CoStar
Due to the Fourth of July, the U.S. hotel industry reported lower performance results from the previous week and mixed comparisons year over year, according to CoStar’s latest data through July 6. CoStar is a leading provider of online real estate marketplaces, information and analytics in the property markets.
CoStar
AAA projects nearly 71 million people will travel 50 miles or more from home over the Independence Day holiday week in the U.S., according to a news release. That number includes nearly 61 million people traveling by car, which is an additional 2.8 million travelers compared to last year.
CoStar
The U.S. hotel industry reported higher performance results from the previous week but mixed comparisons year-over-year (YOY), according to CoStar’s latest data through June 15.
Hotel Business
Interest from international investors in commercial real estate assets in the U.S. fell by almost half in just one year, as the slump in prices and transaction activity has taken its toll on cross-border investment.
BisNow
Tech integration and training can help hotels streamline operations, drive direct bookings and improve the guest experience, per NYU’s Jonathan M. Tisch Center of Hospitality
DiveLive
Hotels in the US had a strong performance in May, with the average daily rate increasing 2.4% year over year to $160.40, revenue per available room rising 4% to $105.46 and occupancy up 1.5% to 65.7%, per CoStar data. New York City had an occupancy rate of 88.9%, the highest level among the top 25 markets, as well as the highest ADR and RevPAR, while Minneapolis and Detroit had the lowest occupancy.
Hotel Management
The Federal Reserve has left its benchmark interest rate unchanged during a two-day policy meeting, and officials' median projection suggests one rate cut in 2024. However, officials also project four rate cuts in 2025. "There has been modest further progress" in bringing inflation back toward the Fed's 2% target, Chair Jerome Powell says.
Associated Press
Millennials are the most likely demographic to take a business trip, with 34% of workers planning to travel in the next year, according to a Morning Consult study, followed by Gen Z at 33%, Gen X at 23% and Baby Boomers trailing at 13%. The most common business travel bookings are hotel stays, but planned use of hotel chains dropped from 59% in January 2022 to 44% in March 2024, while intended use of independent hotels declined from 26% to 17%.
BTN
Estimated increases in US hotels' average daily rate in 2024 were downgraded by 1 percentage point and projected growth in revenue per available room went down 2.1 percentage points in an adjusted 2024-25 US hotel forecast from STR and Tourism Economics. While the upscale to luxury segments are still seeing healthy demand, the impact of inflation has led to reduced spending in the budget market.
Hotels Magazine
Major changes could be coming to the United Kingdom's government much sooner than anticipated. Hospitality leaders say this creates uncertainty, but also opportunity.
CoStar
The Internal Revenue Service recently announced its plans to significantly increase audits on the wealthiest taxpayers, large corporations and large, complex partnerships for tax year 2026.
Wealth Management
Nearly a third of them are still providing financial support to adult-age children and extended family members.
Wealth Management
CoStar Group and six major hotel brands named in a price-fixing lawsuit are asking a judge to drop the case, citing a lack of evidence and labeling the allegations “fanciful.”
The request comes on the heels of a February lawsuit brought by a group of renters who claim hotel operators conspired with CoStar to access sensitive information stored in a CoStar database to charge higher prices.
Bisnow
The average April U.S. hotel daily rate increased slightly year over year, as did revenue per available room and occupancy rate, according to hotel analytics firm STR. It was the first such year-over-year monthly increase in occupancy in at least a year.
BTN
The AAA Auto Club Group predicts a record-high number of Floridians will travel on Memorial Day Weekend. Below is an official statement from AAA. AAA forecasts more than 2.5 million Floridians will journey 50 miles or more. That’s 126,500 more holiday travelers than the previous high, which was set last year. Nationally, AAA projects the second highest traveled Memorial Day on record.
Florida Trend
According to data released by Moody's, CRE transactions appear to be recovering, with a -8.0% decline in Q1 2024 compared to -18.4% in Q4 2023. Despite improvement, sales remain below early pandemic levels when interest rates were significantly lower.
Moody's
Starwood has utilized a credit line for its $10B property fund as it faces a surge of investor withdrawals. Starwood has drawn more than $1.3B of its $1.6B unsecured credit facility since the beginning of last year.
Finantial Times
The U.S. hotel industry reported higher performance from the previous week and positive comparisons year over year, according to CoStar’s latest data through May 11. CoStar is a leading provider of online real estate marketplaces, information and analytics in the property markets.
CoStar
More than 2.5 million Floridians are expected to journey 50 miles or more this Memorial Day weekend. That’s 126,500 more holiday travelers than the previous high, which was set last year.
FloridaTrend
For those of us seeking loans for hotels, this is not the easiest of times.
Debt is expensive for new construction or acquisitions, which makes it hard for developers, buyers and those who require refinancing. Most debt is priced in the 8% range with a 60% to 70% loan-to-value. The commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) market appears to be gaining momentum for five-year, fixed-rate debt, slightly lower than the 8% range. These higher rates are not going away soon, as the U.S. Federal Reserve seems to be backing off its prior comments about a few rate cuts this year.
CoStar
Airbnb is now anticipating a weaker second quarter than it initially expected despite a record-setting start to the year.
The San Francisco-based online marketplace for short- and long-term homestays now projects revenue of $2.68 million to $2.74 billion in the three months through June. Analysts had forecast revenue to come in at $2.74 billion for the company considered a competitor to traditional lodging providers such as hotels and inns.
CoStar
The growth in public hotel company stock values finally reversed course in April.
The Baird Hotel Stock Index decreased by 7.1% in April, its first decline of 2024. The index comprises 20 of the largest hotel brand companies and real estate investment trusts publicly traded on a U.S. stock exchange by market capitalization.
CoStar
U.S. hotel performance showed mixed results from the previous week, according to CoStar’s latest data through May 4. CoStar is a leading provider of online real estate marketplaces, information and analytics in the property markets.
CoStar
The Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged at the conclusion of its policy meeting, with Chair Jerome Powell noting that "inflation has shown a lack of further progress toward our 2% objective." However, Powell also noted that he expects inflation to ease "over the course of this year."
APNews
Many US hotels are beefing up their security to ensure the safety of both guests and workers by adding high-tech AI camera systems, hiring security guards, keeping entry and exit doors locked, providing panic buttons and implementing a keyless check-in process. The American Hotel & Lodging Association is also prioritizing safety through its 5-Star Promise, a voluntary pledge taken by about 20,000 hotels to improve security training, resources and policies.
CoStar
Wyndham Hotels & Resorts' first-quarter systemwide RevPAR increased by 1 percent year over year, and executives cited a new corporate travel program and increasing levels of U.S. infrastructure spending as reasons for optimism.
BTN
Hertz plans to sell an additional 10,000 electric vehicles from its fleet, on top of the 20,000 it announced in January it would sell, the company said during its first-quarter earnings call.
BTN
Southwest Airlines will pull out of four airports, reduce service at Chicago O'Hare and Atlanta and reduce headcount by 2,000 employees, executives announced during a dour Thursday earnings call. Business travel demand nevertheless was a bright spot.
BTN
BTN’s Meetings Strategy survey showed a concerted push among organizations to get their hands around meetings activities. How meetings strategy crosses with travel management—or not—can be seen in the following data story, concluding BTN’s special coverage.
BTN
Occupancy rates at US hotels continued to decline in March, dropping to 63.7%, a year-over decline of 2.5%, according to data from STR, which says some of the decline is due to lessening demand from lower-to-middle income leisure travelers. In the same period, the revenue per available room went down year over year to $101.81, while the average daily rate had a slight 0.4% increase to $159.79.
BTN
As seen in the Q1 2024 U.S. Hotel Construction Pipeline Trend Report from Lodging Econometrics (LE), at the end of the first quarter, there were 6,065 projects with 702,990 rooms in the pipeline. This new all-time high represents a 9 percent year-over-year (YOY) increase in projects and a 7 percent YOY increase in rooms compared to last year. The details can be seen directly within the stages of the pipeline, which all saw YOY growth in Q1.
Lodging Magazine
Overall distress rate increases 440% in 2023, led by the office sector at 16.2%. 44.6% of the distressed loans have passed their maturity and have not paid off, in breach of their loan terms
CredIQ
Florida cities are pretty clean compared to many metropolises in other states, according to the newest American Lung Association “State of the Air” report.
FloridaTrends
Loan modifications in 2023 more than doubled compared to 2022. Of the $162 billion in securitized commercial mortgages which matured in 2023, 542 loans were modified with cumulative balances just over $20 billion
CredIQ
A pressing issue echoing throughout the commercial real estate world is how inflation will continue to impact day-to-day activity. The latest Consumer Price Index Report seems to offer little reassurance for those worried that the economy may be at risk of a recession — but is the reality as the government paints it?
BisNow
The first half of this year was supposed to be when interest rates began coming down, providing a lifeline to struggling commercial real estate owners. But it now appears the Federal Reserve may not be coming to the rescue anytime soon.
BisNow
Florida home values have more than doubled in the past decade
Home values have increased in every American state since 2013, according to a study from Architecture Lab. However, Florida is one of the states where values have increased the most dramatically. Using data from the Zillow Home Value Index, Architecture Lab ranked every U.S. state based on the difference between average home values in 2013 and 2023. Florida ranked No. 2: A decade ago, the average home was valued at $144,464. Last year, however, that value had jumped 164% to $381,922.
South Florida Agent
To mitigate overtourism, Amsterdam has banned the construction of new hotels and set an annual limit of 20 million hotel overnight stays by visitors, although new hotels that already have a permit are exempt from the rule. Also, a hotel can be built if another hotel shuts down, provided it does not increase the number of guestrooms and is an improvement over the shuttered property.
CNN Travel
IHG Hotels & Resorts has become the first hospitality company to offer Apple AirPlay in its guestrooms, with the capability now available at over 60 North American properties. Guests can stream content from their iPads or iPhones to the TV in their rooms by scanning a QR code to the hotel's Wi-Fi network.
Hotel Management
US hotels are expected to generate an all-time high of almost $83.4 billion in federal, state and local tax revenue in 2024, with California, New York and Nevada receiving the largest share, according to projections from the American Hotel & Lodging Association. Amid an ongoing staffing shortage, hotels are also expected to pay record salaries of $123.4 billion, compared to $118 billion last year.
Hotel Management Online
Miraj Patel, a second-generation hotelier and president of Wayside Investment Group, was named the new chair of the Asian American Hotel Owners Association at the group's 35th annual Convention and Trade Show. Patel, 26, is the youngest chair in the association's history and has served on the AAHOA board of directors since 2019.
Asian Hospitality
Hilton has announced a deal to acquire the Graduate Hotels brand from AJ Capital Partners for $210 million. AJ Capital will retain ownership of the real estate, and Hilton will enter into franchise agreements for all existing and signed pipeline properties. The deal is expected to finalize in the second quarter.
CoStar Group
Hotel companies and real estate investment trusts that are part of the Baird/STR Hotel Stock Index saw a 6.3% increase in stock values in February compared with the prior month. On a year-over-year basis, the top performers were InterContinental Hotels Group, which rose 55.6%; Marriott International, up 47.6%; and Hilton Worldwide Holdings, which increased 41.4%.
CoStar Group
The producer price index was up 0.6% in February, according to the Labor Department, surpassing the 0.3% gain seen in January. A core measure that strips out food and energy prices gained 0.3% last month.
CNBC
Some cities are rolling out fresh incentives for office-to-residential conversions or expanding existing programs, but obstacles to these projects remain. In some cases, the physical characteristics of a building can make conversion challenging; in others, it can be difficult to make the financial aspects work out. It's clear that more housing is needed, but "fulfilling that demand in the way that it needs to be fulfilled is very difficult to make work when you're putting numbers down on paper," said CBRE's Julie Whelan.
The Business Journals
Market interest rates are unlikely to return to levels seen before the pandemic due to current market realities and forecasts in the private sector, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says.
Bloomberg
Hyatt Hotels Corporation, for 2023, reported net income of $26 million in the fourth quarter and $220 million for the full year, which exceeded the full-year outlook for last year. Comparable systemwide RevPAR increased 9.1% in the fourth quarter and 17.0% for the full year compared to the same periods in 2022, and exceeded the full-year outlook for 2023.
Hotel Business
As the number of high-net-worth people around the world increases, spending on luxury hotels has spiked, making it a desirable sector for investors. Luxury hotels accounted for 21.4% of global single-asset hotel liquidity last year, while single-asset luxury hotel pricing hit $640,000 per room, an all-time high.
Hotels Magazine
A group of banks led by JPMorgan Chase will provide a refinancing loan of approximately $1 billion to Great Wolf Resorts that will be used to repay part of a $1.7 billion CMBS loan on a 14-property portfolio. Blackstone has a 65% controlling interest in Great Wolf, which has had a strong rebound since pandemic closures.
CoStar
How much longer will rate lead hotel performance when occupancy continues to slip? Hard to say, but it was still happening in January.
BTN
Las Vegas is already a market accustomed to hosting big events, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that the market's first Super Bowl set a new record in hotel rates for cities hosting that event. STR's Isaac Collazo, Chris Klauda and William Anns report that Las Vegas hotels recorded the highest average daily rate in the history of the event at $747 for Friday and Saturday.
CoStar
Hoteliers must be innovative in their use of AI and other new technologies to remain efficient and attract more guests, particularly younger travelers from Generation Z, said hospitality leaders at the 2024 Americas Lodging Investment Summit. At the same time, hotels need to balance the connectivity afforded by tech with personalized service and old-fashioned hospitality.
CoStar
Record-high wages and unprecedented mobility in hospitality career paths are boosting recruitment, according to AHLA.
BTN
Amidst a burgeoning hotel development pipeline in the U.S., marked by the highest counts recorded since Q2 2008 by Lodging Econometrics (LE), there’s been a significant rise in the popularity of extended-stay hotels. This noticeable surge of extended-stay hotels is a result of the way Americans approach lodging.
Hotel Business
A report from Research and Markets forecasts estimates that the global business travel market, which was around $665.3 billion in 2022, will grow to $928.4 billion by 2030, with much of the increase to come from a strong rebound in China. Spending on lodging and food is expected to rise 5% annually and reach $509.8 billion by 2030.
Business Traveler