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1. Wyndham’s Board Urges Shareholders To Reject Choice Offer
Wyndham Hotels & Resorts released a statement today urging its shareholders to reject Choice Hotels International’s latest acquisition offer. Choice announced an exchange offer of all outstanding shares of Wyndham on Dec. 12.
Wyndham states that the offer “ignores significant regulatory and business risks” and that Choice is misleading shareholders with “inconsistent and inaccurate statements.”
“Choice has, once again, failed to address the major value gap and risks of their offer — which remains virtually unchanged from the terms outlined in their previous unsolicited proposal,” said Stephen Holmes, chairman of Wyndham’s board. “The core issues we have articulated remain the same: a likely prolonged regulatory review period of up to 24 months with an uncertain outcome; the pure inadequacy of the offer from a valuation standpoint, including the significant equity component of Choice stock; and the lack of consideration for Wyndham’s superior, stand-alone growth prospects.”
2. Rainstorms Cause Delays in Northeast
An estimated six inches of rain is forecast to hit the Northeast U.S. today, prompting officials in Philadelphia, New York and Boston to warn residents of possible flooding and power outages, the New York Times reports.
Several New York City transportation services have been delayed due to flooding, and the New York City Ferry suspended some services because of high winds, the newspaper reports. New York City officials are urging residents who live in basements to move to higher ground amid the flooding.
Tens of thousands of residents across the Northeast were without power Monday morning, and several states have flood warnings until the evening.
3. Two DC-Area Hotels Expect Election Boost in 2024
Tobias Arff, general manager of the 241-room Alexandrian Old Town, Autograph Collection, and the 45-room Morrison House Old Town Alexandria, Autograph Collection, said he anticipates both of his Alexandra, Virginia, properties will benefit from high demand from group business during the 2024 U.S. presidential election, HNN’s Dana Miller reports.
Business travel, however, has been lagging in the D.C. area, and Arff said this is due to the new norm of remote or hybrid work.
"If you look at office vacancy numbers within our markets, it just means less travel for us and still something that will take a little time to recover. ADRs are great but we don't have the same amount of guests coming to our hotels at this point," he said.
4. CapitaLand Sells Three Hotels for $75 Million
CapitaLand Ascott Trust, a Singapore-based investment firm, sold three hotels in Osaka, Japan, to an undisclosed buyer for 10.7 billion Japanese yen ($75.35 million) on Sunday, HNN’s Terence Baker reports.
The deal for the three hotels — the 182-room Hotel WBF Hommachi, the 168-room Hotel WBF Kitasemba East and the 168-room Hotel WBF Kitasemba West — is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2024.
“The divestment of the three properties is part of our active portfolio reconstitution strategy. The properties are situated outside the prime districts in Osaka, and the divestment enables [us] to unlock the value of the properties, redeploying capital to assets and/or asset enhancement initiatives that can generate stronger yields, uplifting the overall value of our portfolio,” CapitaLand Ascott’s CEO Serena Teo said.
5. LA Hotel Workers End Contract Dispute
More than 1,700 hotel employees at 10 Los Angeles-area hotels signed a tentative agreement to end a long-standing contract dispute, NBC Los Angeles reports. The deal includes wage increases, affordable healthcare and improved pensions.
The employees work at Marriott and Hilton properties, the news outlet reports. Unite Here Local 11 pushed back against Aimbridge Hospitality for “refusing to meet the new hotel contract standard” and said more workers could join employees from the Aimbridge-operated Sheraton Park Anaheim on strike.
“If the world’s largest hotel companies, Marriott and Hilton, agreed to raise the standard for hotel workers, what makes other hoteliers such as … Aimbridge Hospitality think their workers will accept anything less?” said Kurt Petersen, co-president of Unite Here Local 11. “Our members are more determined today to win a living wage than the first day of this historic strike. Nothing will stop them.”