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1. Sporting Events Boost Madrid's Hotels in April
The Spanish capital of Madrid saw a bumper set of April hotel industry metrics thanks to sporting events, according to preliminary CoStar data. Hotel demand in the city received a boost from the two-week-long Madrid Open tennis tournament — which took place from April 22 to May 5 — and the second leg of UEFA Champions League soccer competition that saw Real Madrid take on Manchester City.
Hotel occupancy increased 6.6% year over year to 79.5%, average daily rate increased 16.6% to €184.20 ($199.81) and revenue per available room increased 24.2% to €146.43. The city’s ADR and RevPAR peaked on Saturday, April 20, at €229.37 and €208.08, respectively.
2. Ashford Hospitality Trust Execs To Remain on Board After Vote
Ashford Hospitality Trust board members Monty Bennett, chairman and CEO of Ashford Inc., and Kamal Jafarnia, executive vice president, general counsel and secretary at Lonsdale Digital Management, have remained in their positions at the real estate investment trust.
Ashford’s nominating and corporate governance committee refused to accept their resignations following a push by shareholder Blackwells Capital's “attempted withhold proxy campaign.” In a May 14 news release, Ashford said Blackwells' action “had no meaningful impact on its outcome. Based on estimated preliminary results, only 7% of outstanding shares voted on the Blackwells proxy card.”
In a May 15 press release, Jason Aintabi, Blackwells’ founder and chief investment officer, said “the voting results are a conclusive indictment of the board’s failure to act in the best interests of stockholders [who have] … sent an unequivocal message that they demand directors who will act as independent fiduciaries for stockholders and stand up to Monty Bennett’s tyrannical ‘leadership’ and self-interested personal agenda.”
3. Las Vegas’ Mirage to Cease Operations in July
Hard Rock International has announced it will close Las Vegas’ Mirage Hotel & Casino on July 17 to start renovation work on the hotel and reopen it at an undisclosed date as the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino and Guitar Hotel Las Vegas.
The highlight of the new property will be its shape, that of a 700-foot-long guitar. The Mirage has been a presence in the city for 34 years. Hard Rock added that it “will pay approximately $80 million in severance packages for eligible union and non-union employees remaining with the property through cessation of operations.”
4. US Hotel Performance Grows in Mid-May
In the week of May 5-11, U.S. hotel occupancy rose 2.1% to 66.1%, ADR increased 4.4% to $162.14 and RevPAR jumped 6.6% to $107.24, according to CoStar hospitality data. San Francisco reported the highest year-over-year gains in each of the three key performance indicators.
Meanwhile, Canada's hotel industry saw pluses and minuses in the same period. Its ADR increased 2.2% to 198.14 Canadian dollars ($145.40), but its occupancy fell 3.8% to 66.2% and its RevPAR fell 1.7% to CA$131.19.
5. Minor International Appoints 25-Year Accor Veteran Dhawan as Head of Asia
Thai hotel firm Minor International, which owns brands such as NH, Nhow and Anantara, has appointed Puneet Dhawan as its head of Asia, reporting to Minor Hotels’ CEO Dillip Rajakarier.
Dhawan joins Minor International after 25 years at Accor, where he was most recently senior vice president of operations, India and South Asia. Minor’s hotel pipeline includes more than 200 hotels, approximately 50% of which will be in Asia, and there are plans to open 50 hotels in India in the next 10 years.