Editor's Note: Some linked articles may be behind subscription paywalls.
1. Highgate To Acquire Viceroy
New York City-based private equity firm Highgate will acquire Viceroy Hotels & Resorts for an undisclosed sum, reports HNN's Terence Baker. The transaction is due to close in early 2023.
Los Angeles-based Viceroy has 11 hotels in operation and two in its pipeline. It recently opened the Viceroy Kopaonik Serbia, and plans to open the Viceroy at Ombria Resort Algarve, Portugal, next year and the Viceroy Bocas del Toro Panama, to open in 2024. The deal adds to Highgate’s portfolio of more than 500 owned and/or managed hotels comprising more than 84,000 rooms across Europe, Latin America, the Caribbean and United States.
2. UK To Scrap Some Airport Baggage Security Rules
Starting June 2024, the United Kingdom government plans to scrap some airport baggage security rules, such as those requiring travelers to remove electronic devices from their carry-on luggage and limiting fluids to only 100 milliliters, according to the BBC. The government is requiring most U.K. airports to install new 3D scanners that provide more detailed images of luggage by then.
The limits were put into place in November 2006 amid fears of terrorist attacks and other incidents at airports or on planes.
The new scanner installation deadline had been pushed back because of the pandemic.
3. NYC, Tampa Lead Hotel Occupancy in Latest Weekly Results
The U.S. hotel industry reported mostly improving performance for the week ending Dec. 10 against the comparable week in 2019, according to data from STR, CoStar's hospitality analytics firm. While overall occupancy dipped 1.2% to 59.6%, average daily rate grew by 15.4% to $144.79 and revenue per available room increased by 14% to $86.29.
Among the top 25 markets, Tampa reported the largest increase in occupancy, growing 10.2% to 80.1%. New York City achieved the highest occupancy level at 90.2%.
4. Fed Raises Interest Rates Half a Point
The U.S. Federal Reserve raised interest rates by 0.5%, increasing the benchmark federal-funds rate range to 4.25% and 4.5%, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Fed also signaled its intent to raise rates through the spring, likely in smaller amounts.
The latest increase brings the range to a 15-year high, and it was also the fastest pace the Fed has increased rates since the early 1980s.
5. Hotel Owner Takes Lagos Continental Sale To Nigerian Supreme Court
The Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria and hotel owner 11Plc have jointly filed an application before Nigeria’s Supreme Court over a lower court's judgment that “nullified the sale” of the 358-room Lagos Continental Hotel, formerly an IHG Hotels & Resorts-managed property, reports the Nigerian Lawyer.
AMCON bought the hotel as an “eligible bank asset, following the failure of Milan Industries Ltd. to repay its loan to Skye Bank (now known as Polaris Bank),” according to the publication. In 2020, AMCON “assigned its interest in the hotel to 11 Hospitality Limited, a subsidiary of 11Plc, but the sale was challenged by Milan at the Federal High Court, which dismissed the suit and affirmed the sale by AMCON, after it found no merit in Milan’s claim of having repaid the huge loan it took from Polaris."