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

Choice Hotels International publicly announced on Oct. 17 its latest proposal to purchase all outstanding shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts at $90 per share. The proposed transaction is valued at approximately $9.8 billion.

The Rockville, Maryland-based company decided to take the proposal public after Wyndham had decided to disengage from further talks, following almost six months of dialogue, a news release states.

"A few weeks ago, Choice and Wyndham were in a negotiable range on price and consideration, and both parties have a shared recognition of the value opportunity this potential transaction represents. We were therefore surprised and disappointed that Wyndham decided to disengage. While we would have preferred to continue discussions with Wyndham in private, following their unwillingness to proceed, we feel there is too much value for both companies' franchisees, shareholders, associates, and guests to not continue pursuing this transaction. Importantly, we remain convinced of both the many benefits of the combination and our ability to complete it," Choice President Pat Pacious said in a release.

Wyndham officials have responded to the offer calling it risky and "not in the best interest of shareholders," according to a company news release that followed Choice's announcement.

Chicago-based First Hospitality has agreed to buy Hostmark Hospitality Group. Through the deal, First Hospitality will take over a majority of Hostmark's hotel management agreements, reports Hotel News Now's Bryan Wroten.

This will grow First Hospitality's management portfolio to more than 70 hotels across the U.S. by adding 17 Hostmark hotels with more than 10,000 rooms.

“This acquisition positions us for further accelerated growth in key markets throughout the U.S. and builds deeper relationships with hotel ownership groups that prioritize superior financial performance, enriched guest experiences, and increased associate satisfaction,” David Duncan, president and CEO of First Hospitality, said in a news release.

Historically, higher occupancy and rates due to a robust citywide convention calendar has made San Francisco a target for hotel investors. But the combination of higher cost of capital, lower demand, distressed hotels and a wide bid-ask gap on pricing has made some owners cautious, Wroten reports.

Pebblebrook Hotel Trust Chairman and CEO Jon Bortz said he holds both a long-term outlook on the market as well as clear eyes on its current challenges.

“If it was me and my personal money and I was investing in hotels and I had a five- to 10-year horizon, I’d be buying in San Francisco,” he said.

Kevin Davis, CEO of the Americas for JLL's Hotels and Hospitality Group, predicts 2024 will be the "year of the great reconciliation" between capital markets and hotel asset prices, resulting in strong transaction activity in the new year, reports Hotel News Now's Dana Miller.

"From a capital markets debt perspective, I think we are in a higher-rate environment. Just fundamentally, I think this is a secular shift. And as a result, asset prices have to adjust to accommodate a higher cost to capital. That adjustment will take time. It's not going to happen overnight, so I think you will start to see a reconciliation of the challenges in the capital markets and higher cost to debt relative to asset prices," Davis said during a podcast interview with Hotel News Now. "In industry speak, what that means is that there will be a narrowing of the bid-ask spread between what sellers want to receive and what buyers want to pay."

Recent weather patterns and inflation are among the factors leading to higher insurance costs and downward pressure on hotel owners across the U.S., Miller reports.

Chris Green, president of Remington Hospitality, said premium increases have been significant for hotels in coastal locations that are frequently battered by storms.

“It’s putting extreme downward pressure on hotel performance, because even as [markets are recovering] we’re using up all that recovery with insurance costs, which ultimately creates more pressure on [earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization] for owners,” he said.

Preliminary data from STR, CoStar's hospitality analytics firm, shows room demand was the second-highest ever for the month. The best September hotel room demand on record was in 2022. Occupancy during that period was 0.3 percentage points higher than 2023.

"San Francisco, the slowest of the top 25 markets to recover from the pandemic, posted the highest weekday (Monday-Wednesday) occupancy in the last week of September at nearly 90%. For the full week, San Francisco occupancy was 83.2%. So far in 2023, the market has had two weeks of 80%-plus occupancy; in 2022, it had three weeks above that mark," the analysis states.

• Apple Hospitality REIT purchased the 175-room Courtyard by Marriott Salt Lake City Downtown for $48.1 million and the 159-room Hyatt House Salt Lake City/Downtown for $34.3 million.
• Mission Hill Hospitality bought the 129-room Residence Inn by Marriott in Breckenridge, Colorado, for $40.3 million.
• MCR Hotels purchased the 150-room Canopy by Hilton Charlotte Southpark from Tara Investments for an undisclosed sum.
• A partnership of Crawford Hoying and Shaner Hotel Group purchased the 109-room Homewood Suites by Hilton Columbus OSU.
• The first Spark by Hilton Hotel opened in Mystic, Connecticut, with the Spark by Hilton Mystic Groton. The hotel features 120 rooms.
• Vai Resort, dubbed Arizona's largest resort, is scheduled to open in late 2024 with four towers totaling 1,100 rooms. The project is led by Scott Hillig, president of design and development for Vai Resort, in collaboration with design firms such as Davis Ink, DH Companies, Gensler and KTGY + Simeone Deary.
• Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants broke ground for a new-build boutique hotel in Northern California, with an expected opening date of late 2025. Kimpton Pacific Grove Hotel is owned by Cypress 16 in conjunction with Interport Capital and L&B Realty Advisors. RRM Design Group will be the property and Narrative Architect will be responsible for the hotel's interior.
• Stacy O'Reilly has been named area general manager of the Hyatt Place Portland-Old Port and the Docent's Collection.
  
• Hyatt Hotels Corp. opened Secrets Tulum Resort & Beach Club with 300 suites. This marks its 12th Secrets Resort & Spa branded hotel in Mexico.
• Black Creek Mexico announced affiliates of Alojica have completed the purchase of the 433-room Marriott Puerto Vallarta Resort and Spa from an affiliate of Marriott International. The sale price has not been disclosed.
• Sandals Resorts will open its ninth Caribbean destination in March 2024 with the Sandals Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, an all-inclusive resort.

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