Read the latest hotel industry news from around the Americas region.

Publicly traded hotel brand companies and hospitality real estate investment trusts have begun reporting first quarter performance results, with some already noting the upcoming summer travel season will exceed 2021.

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts President and CEO Geoff Ballotti, for example, told analysts that its franchisees are "feeling that the summer of '22 could replace the summer of 2021 as the best ever."

"We've been crisscrossing the country talking to our franchisees ... and we always start with a show of hands for how many believed they had a better 2021 than they did back in 2019. And most of the hands are up in the air. I asked them to keep their hands up if they feel that 2022 is going to be better than the 2021 and most of those most of those hands remain in the air," he added.

Real estate investment trust Hersha Hospitality Trust announced it will sell seven non-core, urban, select-service hotels outside of New York for gross proceeds of $505 million, allowing the company to further refine its portfolio, reports Hotel News Now's Bryan Wroten. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter of this year.

“By divesting our non-core, urban, select-service portfolio, we are sharpening our focus on our luxury and lifestyle portfolio, where we have been generating excellent operational and financial results as demonstrated in our first quarter financial results announced today and where we see great opportunity for growth,” said Hersha President and Chief Operating Officer Neil Shah.

In a series focused on women in hospitality leadership roles, this latest installment dives into how female hoteliers rose through the ranks in the industry by working longer hours, raising their hands to take on less glamorous projects and relocating cities, reports HNN's Dana Miller.

However, some women may not apply or be considered for some higher-ranked positions due to lack of confidence, said V Villas Phuket Resort Manager Pannaphat Lapa.

Annemieke Dunlop, senior vice president of sales and revenue at Aparium Hotel Group, said companies must place more immediate emphasis on developing true succession planning and promoting from within to better pave a path for women in leadership roles.

HNN's Sean McCracken reports that group business is coming back strong in 2022, which is giving hoteliers exceptional pricing power for this year, according to experts speaking at the spring conference for the Hospitality Asset Managers Association.

"We're obviously on the upswing, and we're hearing a lot of optimism about the recovery of group," said Janine Alsalam, vice president of sales for Hospitality Cloud at Cvent. "Obviously, it's not as fast as leisure, but it's definitely coming back and our conversion rates are pretty comparable to 2019."

• Pacifica Hotels, an owner and operator of boutique hotels along the Pacific Coast, announced The Wayfarer Downtown LA joined Hilton's Tapestry Collection portfolio.
• Tishman Realty and Cross Lake Partners purchased the 400-room Wyndham Grand Orlando Bonnet Creek for $120.5 million, or $301,250 per room, from Wyndham Hotels & Resorts.
• Matt De Guzman has been appointed as hotel manager of Mission Pacific Hotel in Oceanside, California.
• Ryan Smith has been appointed hotel manager of The Seabird Resort in Oceanside, California.
• The Hutton Hotel in Nashville has appointed Larry Tsoumas as director of sales and marketing.
• Ryan Kirby has been appointed general manager of The Westin Tempe in Tempe, Arizona, which is set to open this fall.
• John Pedlow has been named chief operating officer of Pacifica Hotels. Pedlow brings more than 25 years of operations and revenue experience to the team.
  
• Braemar Hotels & Resorts announced it completed the previously announced acquisition of the 96-room Dorado Beach, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve in Dorado, Puerto Rico.
• The Luxury Collection has added The Ocean Club, a Luxury Collection Resort, Costa Norte in the Dominican Republic's northern coast to its portfolio. The hotel has 64 suites.
• Pueblo Bonito Golf & Spa Resorts, a Mexican hospitality company, launched a new upscale brand called Pueblo Bonita Vantage. The first property to debut under the new brand is the new-construction Pueblo Bonito Vantage San Miguel de Allende, which is scheduled to open in 2023.
• Tru by Hilton opened its first property in Brazil with the Tru by Hilton Criciúma. This is also the brand's first property in the Caribbean and Latin America.
• JW Marriott opened the JW Marriott Hotel Guadalajara, which is managed by Aimbridge Prisma and developed by Grupo Favier.
• Hyatt Hotels Corp. opened the 138-room Hyatt Centric San Salvador.
  

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