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1. San Francisco Hoteliers Optimistic About Escaping 'Doom Loop'
Hoteliers and officials in San Francisco, which has struggled to return to pre-pandemic prosperity, say they are confident the California city can escape its “doom loop,” where empty offices lead to shop and restaurant closures. Hotel News Now’s Bryan Wroten and CoStar News’ Katie Burke report that only Wednesdays show signs of normal business activity, as it is the one day a week many offices mandate employees come to the office.
Read and listen to the CoStar News special report on San Francisco:
- Beyond the Doom: San Francisco Stakeholders Bet on Slow Road to Recovery
- Poor Public Image, Lack of Citywide Event Compression Frustrate San Francisco Hoteliers
- Investor Interest in San Francisco Hotel Market Requires Long-Term View
- Podcast: Listen to the Story Behind Our San Francisco Report
- CoStar Insight: The Case for San Francisco's Hotel Market
Anna Marie Presutti, vice president and general manager of the Hotel Nikko San Francisco near Union Square, said her hotel relies on convention business, the individual business traveler and international visitors.
“Right now, unfortunately, none of those are performing well,” she said.
Kastle Systems, which has tracked badge swipes in the 10 largest U.S. markets since the beginning of the pandemic, said that for the week ending Aug. 28, San Francisco buildings had one of the lowest utilization rates at less than 42%.
2. Oil Prices Rise to 10-Month High
The price of oil has increased to a 10-month high amid fears that there will be a shortfall in supply over the upcoming winter. The price of Brent crude oil, the major pricing benchmark for the commodity, opened on Sept. 19 at $94.43 a barrel, MarketWatch reports.
The International Energy Agency announced that a decision earlier this year by Russia and Saudi Arabia to cut production “could cause a significant supply shortfall by the end of this year,” the BBC reports. The price of Brent crude in June 2022, a few months after the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, reached $120 per barrel.
3. Germany Mandates New Buildings Switch to Renewable Energy
The German government, the Bundestag, has mandated all new buildings including hotels must have heating systems powered mostly by renewable energy, a policy outlined in its Building Energy Act.
The original law was passed in 2020, but the update passed this month will go into effect starting Jan. 1, 2024, according to legal firm Pinsent Masons. The law's stipulations will include “requirements for the energy quality of buildings, the preparation and use of energy certificates and the use of renewable energies in buildings.”
Sönke Gödeke, a partner in the law firm’s Düsseldorf office, said “the amendment is a further building block in achieving the targeted climate neutrality in 2045.”
4. Pestana Hotels Acquires Vila Sol Resort
Portuguese hotel firm Grupo Pestana has acquired the 189-room Vila Sol hotel in Vilamoura, Portugal, for €43 million ($46 million) from Madrid-based Santander Asset Management, news site Portugal Resident reports.
Pestana will manage the hotel, which will be renamed the Pestana Vila Sol, which has two 18-hole golf courses.
5. Thai Hotel Firm Dusit Launches Two Brands
Bangkok-based hotel firm Dusit International has launched two new brands for its portfolio, Dusit Collection and Devarana-Dusit Retreats. They are the company’s seventh and eighth brands.
Dusit Collection is a collection brand, and Devarana-Dusit Retreats is a repositioning and “reimagining its former luxury brand, Devarana,” from the luxury segment to the ultra-luxury segment, according to a company news release. The Devarana brand has already signed its first property, which will be a hotel in China. The portfolio’s parent firm Dusit Hotels & Retreats now has 54 properties in operation and more than 60 in its pipeline.