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1. Marriott To Spend $500 Million on Sheraton Grand Chicago
Marriott International will spend a combined $500 million — $300 million for the hotel and $200 million for the ground beneath it — to buy the 1,218-room Sheraton Grand Chicago, closing out a six-year saga that started with litigation over Marriott's 2016 purchase of Starwood Hotels & Resorts.
CoStar News' Ryan Ori reports the hotel brand is picking up the property from Tishman Realty, which sued Marriott in 2017 claiming the Starwood deal violated a non-compete clause in the hotel's management contract. The ability to force a sale was part of the settlement of that lawsuit.
Tishman has owned the hotel since it opened in 1992.
2. Travel Companies' Growth Expectations Lower Than Wall Street's
Reuters reports one of the early trends from this earnings season for travel and hotel companies is full-year guidance being issued at lower levels than Wall Street's projections.
The overarching takeaways seem to be normalization and slow-but-steady growth.
"We expect travel demand to remain relatively healthy, but we expect growth rates across the world to decelerate," Expedia Chief Executive Officer Peter Kern said on his company's fourth quarter and full-year 2023 earnings call.
3. Hoteliers Balance Experience With Feasibility
There's constant talk about the need for experiences in the hotel industry, but hoteliers say those experiences must add up to profitability, HNN's Terence Baker reports from the Hotel Investment Conference, Central & Eastern Europe.
Some offerings can increase the relative attractiveness of a property and make them seem more stylish or unique, but hoteliers also have to be practical, said Takuya Aoyama, vice president of development for Central and Eastern Europe at Hyatt Hotels Corp.
“Control the ego. A rooftop bar is not always possible,” he said.
4. Marcus Picks Up Minneapolis Loews Through Joint Venture
Marcus Hotels & Resorts has formed a joint venture with Hempel Real Estate and Robinson Park Investments to buy the Loews Minneapolis Hotel, HNN's Bryan Wroten reports. No terms were disclosed for the deal.
In a news release announcing the pending purchase, Marcus Hotels President Michael Evans called it "an exciting opportunity to create value by investing in an attractive asset with a focused management strategy, while adding another premier destination to our portfolio of branded and independent lifestyle hotels."
This will be the third property Marcus has managed in Minneapolis since 1993. The deal is expected to close in March.
5. TUI Leaving London Stock Exchange
Travel company TUI plans to exit the London Stock Exchange in June and instead only be listed in Frankfurt, Germany, where executives said the bulk of its trading takes place, CNN reports.
“The vote by TUI shareholders … is undeniably a blow for the London markets,” Delphine Currie, a partner at law firm Reed Smith, told the news outlet. “Whilst some may argue that the move makes sense for TUI… it is yet another example of a high-profile company turning its back on London.”