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1. Trinity, Credit Suisse To Buy Florida Resort for $835 Million
The Wall Street Journal reports Trinity Investments and Credit Suisse Asset Management have agreed to buy the Diplomat Beach Resort in Hollywood, Florida from Brookfield Asset Management for $835 million, the highest price paid for a hotel since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The deal for the 1,000-room resort could close as soon as today, according to anonymous sources cited by The Journal, and is being brokered by JLL.
The property recently underwent a $90 million renovation, and the new ownership group plans further renovations and a conversion to Hilton's Curio brand. Trinity Investments President and CEO Sean Hehir told HNN's Sean McCracken Trinity's long-term plans are to convert the property to the Signia by Hilton brand, which is focused on meetings and conventions business.
"Hilton doesn't have a large presence with big-box assets in South Florida, so we saw that as a real opportunity," Hehir said. "We just have a tremendous relationship with them, and the senior leadership at Hilton really stepped up to make this deal happen."
2. Execs Say Hotel Industry Dropped the Ball
In a rush to try to achieve pre-pandemic normalcy, hoteliers have missed an opportunity to reinvent their industry, be better responsive to guests’ requirements and be more profitable, writes Hotel News Now’s Sean McCracken.
Ted Darnall, partner and CEO of lodging and technical services at HEI Hotels & Resorts, said at the recent Americas Lodging Investment Summit that in the industry “missed an opportunity to really understand the evolution of the customer, what’s important to the customer and rewrite the rules. … We did what we shouldn't have done and went right back or are trying to go right back to how we did business before the pandemic when the customer has changed.”
3. Hyatt Completes Dream Hotel Group Acquisition
Hyatt Hotels Corporation has completed its acquisition of the Dream Hotel Group and its brands, Dream Hotels, The Chatwal and Unscripted Hotels, which the two parties agreed to in late November. The Chicago-based firm said the "asset-light acquisition includes 12 lifestyle hotels (nine managed and three licensed), with another 24 signed long-term management agreements for hotels expected to open in the future.”
The Feb. 2 statement added that three Dream executives are remaining with the company: CEO Jay Stein, Chief Development Officer David Kuperberg and Chief Operating Officer Michael Lindenbaum. In addition, Dream’s founder Sant Singh Chatwal will continue “as an owner of four open and two future hotels that are expected to join the Hyatt portfolio.”
4. Demand for Hotel Employees Surges in China
As China emerges from its strict COVID-19 protocols, demand for employees in its hotel industry is surging, especially amid high demand for travel around Chinese Lunar New Year festivities, according to Reuters.
The news agency added “job openings in the hotel and catering sectors surged 40% from the same period a year earlier,” quoting statistics in a survey by Zhaopin, one of China’s principal recruitment companies.
The survey also showed those seeking employment are prioritizing job security.
"About 33.9% … said they would look for stable jobs, without layoff risks, more than last year’s 26.8%," the news agency reported.
5. UK Recession 'Shorter and Less Severe' Than Anticipated
The United Kingdom’s central bank, The Bank of England, has said the recession expected to hit the country this year will be “shorter and less severe than previously thought,” according to the BBC. The comment from the bank’s governor, Andrew Bailey, came a day after it raised interest rates by 50 basis points to 4%.
Bailey added the country is not forecast to bounce back to pre-COVID 19 levels until 2026, which he claimed is “extraordinary."
The COVID-19 pandemic "has had bigger long-run effects than we thought it would, particularly in terms of things like the labor supply and people choosing to come out of participating in the labor force,” he said.
Some countries are struggling more than others with inflation. Argentina, where inflation rose by almost 95% year-over-year in December, has responded by issuing a new bank note valued at 2,000 Argentine pesos ($10.67), the BBC reports. Previously the country's highest-value note was 1,000 Argentine pesos, which it said is “worth just $2.70 on the alternative markets.”