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1. Iran, US have framework of peace deal
A framework of a peace deal between Iran and the U.S. paves the way for the Strait of Hormuz to reopen and energy-supply logistics to return to normal, according to The New York Times. The newspaper said Iran’s nuclear program was not mentioned, but officials on both sides said the framework would allow the U.S. blockade to be lifted and more talks to be conducted.
The price of oil fell due to the news. U.S. President Donald Trump, who said the strait will be “permanently toll-free,” will meet Monday with the heads of the other Group of 7 nations in Évian-les-Bains, France. The New York Times added that Israel’s national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, commented that Israel “was not bound by the U.S.-Iran agreement, which … did not ensure Israel’s security.”
2. Braemar starts process to be self-managed and terminate Ashford union
Braemar Hotels & Resorts plans to start a process to “simplify its corporate structure, reduce costs, enhance governance and position the company for long-term profitability and value creation,” according to a company news release. Two parts of that process is to set itself up as a “self-managed” real estate investment trust and to terminate its advisory agreement with Ashford Inc. and its affiliates, CoStar News' Bryan Wroten reports. Braemar added it will remain publicly traded and that there will be no changes to its management team.
The Dallas-based firm said in its release that “this new structure is expected to reduce [our] general and administrative costs by more than $25 million annually. Furthermore, by cancelling the Ashford master agreements, [we] will be free to utilize any third-party company to provide property management, project management or other services.”
3. Experts say next phase of AI in hospitality is on the corporate side
Artificial intelligence already is fundamentally changing the hospitality industry. A panel of experts said that for hoteliers the main drivers for investment in the new technology will continue to be around “cutting costs, driving revenues and transforming guest search tendencies,” according to CoStar New Hotels’ Trevor Simpson.
Richard Valtr, founder of Mews, said AI will “have a huge impact on the industry” and “serve as a coordination connector between the teams on the operations side. … The hotel itself can actually step out of its own property to actually start to redefine more of a 24-hour, 72-hour journey of that customer, rather than staying in the eight-hour, bed-and-a-bath box,” he said.
4. AX acquires Barcelona Caza Luz Hotel
Luxembourg-based private equity investor AX Partners, which also has an office in Barcelona, completed the acquisition of the 65-room Casa Luz in Barcelona for approximately €40 million. According to CoStar, an agreement was first made in March and the seller was Barcelona-based developer Salomon 1965.
Iberian Property reports the deal for the 1890 hotel has AX Partners now owning more than “€200 million in gross asset value within its hotel division, as part of a total portfolio that already exceeds €300 million in assets under management.”
5. Corporate travel booking tools still lose to third-party sites
Almost 40% of companies with corporate online booking tools state that approximately 20% or travel spend is booked outside approved platforms. Fifty-three precent said that the main reason for this was “missing content,” and 69% reported their travelers frequently find flights or hotels on consumer websites that are unavailable within approved corporate channels, according to a news release.
Trip.biz, a division of Trip.com, said its research highlighted that “many organizations assume spend is under control as long as they have a managed travel program. The study, however, shows that gaps in content and cross-regional travel mean a significant portion of travel occurs outside the program, resulting in ‘invisible spend.’”