Read the latest news from around the Americas region.

Improved COVID-19 vaccination efforts and increased travel confidence in the U.S. has "unleashed pent-up demand," writes Isaac Collazo, STR vice president of analytics.

STR is CoStar's hospitality analytics firm.

According to STR's weekly U.S. hotel performance data, U.S. hotel demand reached 21.8 million room nights sold over the seven-day period ending March 20. This is in increase of 3.7 million from the two weeks prior and the highest for any two-week window since late February/early March 2020.

"As a result, U.S. hotel occupancy — on a steady rise since late January — hit yet another pandemic high of 58.9%. Even factoring in hotels temporarily closed due to the pandemic, occupancy was at 44.7%," Collazo writes.

Blackstone Real Estate Partners and Starwood Capital Group announced March 15 they will purchase Extended Stay America and its paired-share real estate investment trust ESH Hospitality for $6 billion in cash, reports HNN's Dan Kubacki.

The board of directors for both ESA and ESH Hospitality unanimously approved the deal, with an expected completion date for the transaction being in the second quarter of 2021.

However, the deal is now facing hurdles, with "three more sizable shareholders saying they plan to vote against the deal," Bloomberg reports.

According to the article, the three shareholders have said "the $6 billion purchase price undervalues the company. They also argue it comes at a time when Extended Stay's prospects are strong, and have concerns about why the company chose to sell."

Real estate investment trust Host Hotels & Resorts announced March 17 it acquired "the fee simple interest in the 448-room Hyatt Regency Austin, Texas, for $161 million in cash," according to a news release.

Host President and CEO James Risoleo said in the release it was an off-market deal.

"We are excited to have executed an off-market, opportunistic acquisition of a high-quality hotel in one of the nation’s fastest growing cities, which continues to be a top beneficiary of corporate and people relocation. As travel resumes, we expect the well-located Hyatt Regency Austin to benefit from a strong rebound led by Austin’s multiple leisure and business demand drivers that are anchored in world-renowned music festivals, sporting events and blue-chip corporations," he said.

HNN contributor Peggy Berg, chair of Castell Project, a nonprofit advancing women in leadership in the hospitality industry, writes that almost a quarter of board members are now women; however, there is concern that women will be limited to that level.

Through Castell's February 2021 report, it was found that many hospitality company boards are chaired by the company's founders or the founders' sons.

Out of 31 public hospitality companies, only two of those companies have Black founders: RLJ Lodging Trust and Park Hotels & Resorts. Five out of the 18 total Black board members across the industry are at RLJ, Berg writes.

"There is no Black representation on two-thirds of the boards. In comparison, 13% of the U.S. population identifies as Black," she writes.

HNN's Dana Miller reports Atlantica Hotels International is poised for expansion across Brazil by instituting a disciplined approach for growth through acquisitions and strategic partnerships, according to CEO Eduardo Giestas.

“For the secondary markets, we are growing through proprietary brands … and we’re also growing much more through franchise agreements than with management agreements,” he said. “We also created a strategy to grow faster in these secondary markets by creating a soft brand.”

• The 321-room Cincinnati Marriott at RiverCenter completed a multimillion dollar renovation, which included its guestrooms, meeting spaces and public spaces. AWH Development renovated the property and Spire Hospitality manages it.
• Omni Hotels & Resorts appointed Mary Bennett as vice president of marketing and digital strategy for the brand.

• Hawkeye Hotels acquired the 99-room Fairfield Inn & Suites in Cambridge, Ohio, as well as the 134-room Aloft Oklahoma City Downtown — Bricktown for an undisclosed price. These are the company's second and third acquisitions of 2021.
• Soul Community Planet has purchased the 138-room Hilo Seaside Hotel in Hilo, Hawaii. The property will undergo a $4.6 million renovation and rebrand to the SCP Hotel Hilo for a June 1, 2021, opening.
• JLL Hotels & Hospitality represented and completed the sale of the 336-key Gallivant Times Square hotel in New York.

Compiled by Dana Miller.