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1. SBE and Wyndham’s Project HQ To Debut in Switzerland and Detroit
Project HQ Hotels & Residences, the hotel brand launched in January by SBE and Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, will premiere in Switzerland and debut in the U.S. in Detroit, according to a news release. In Europe, the brand will convert The Royal Plaza & Villa Toscane, a 155-room hotel in Montreux, Switzerland, to the HQ Montreux Hotel & Spa, scheduled to open in 2025. The first Project HQ hotel in the U.S. — the HQ Detroit Hotel & Spa — will be a conversion of the 174-room Park Avenue House, which for now does not have an opening date.
SBE and Wyndham officials said there are 15 or so hotels under discussion to add to Project HQ that will be both adaptive-reuse and conversions of existing properties. Project HQ will be operated by SBE and affiliated with Wyndham's Registry Collection Hotels brand.
SBE also said it has put together a $50 million “key money and sliver equity” fund to further the brand’s development. A key investor in the brand is singer Marc Anthony and his Magnus company.
2. STR, Tourism Economics Revise US Hotel Forecast Down
STR — CoStar's hospitality analytics division — and Tourism Economics have lowered their 2024-2025 U.S. hotel forecast.
Analysts from both companies lowered U.S. hotel average daily rate growth down 1 percentage point to 2.1% growth and hotel revenue per available room down 2.1 percentage points to 2% growth. In 2025, the U.S. hotel forecast was downgraded again in ADR growth by 0.8 percentage points and RevPAR growth by 0.9 percentage points. STR and Tourism Economics predict U.S. hotel ADR will grow by 2% and RevPAR will grow by 2.6% in 2025.
Since 2019, U.S. hotel RevPAR when accounting for inflation is forecast to be down 6.2% in 2024 and down 6.1% in 2025.
“We have seen a bifurcation in hotel performance over the first four months of the year, which we don’t believe will abate soon,” said Amanda Hite, STR president. “The increased cost of living is affecting lower-to-middle income households and their ability to travel, thus lessening demand for hotels in the lower price tier. The upscale through luxury tier is seeing healthy demand, but pricing power has waned given changes in mix and travel patterns and to a lesser extent, economic conditions. Travel remains a priority for most Americans, but the volume has lessened as prices on goods and services continue to rise.”
3. Since Pandemic, Debt Doubled in Climate-Change-Threatened Nations
In the years since the COVID-19 pandemic, the debt owed by the 50 nations most threatened by climate change has doubled and is now at its highest point since 1990, according to United Kingdom-based Debt Justice.
Approximately 38% or $50.9 billion of the debt is held by private lenders; 35% or $46.6 billion is held by multilateral institutions; 14% or $18.9 billion is held by China; and 13% or $17.7 billion is attributed to other governments.
According to data sourced from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, Debt Justice said, “for the 50 most climate-vulnerable countries, external debt payments are expected to average at least 15.5% of government revenue in 2024. … External debt payments will be well over four times higher in 2024 than 2010.” Of those nations, Sri Lanka owed the most in relation to its government income at 86.4%.
4. Accor Restructures Lifestyle, Luxury Operations and Prepares for Summer Olympics
Last week, Accor shareholders unanimously approved a resolution from Accor’s board that 100% of the French firm’s luxury and lifestyle operations be moved to a new wholly owned division named Accor Luxury & Lifestyle SAS, which was formed on Jan. 1, 2023, writes Hotel News Now’s Terence Baker.
During the shareholder meeting, Accor executives also gave a preview of the company's role in the Paris Olympic Games and Paralympic Games. Accor is responsible for the reservation process and management of the athletes and media villages at the games. Accor operated similar accommodations in 2022 in Qatar during the most recent FIFA World Cup.
"We managed 80,000 beds in about 400 residences. ... We can do this again wonderfully well," said Accor Group Chairman and CEO Sébastien Bazin.
5. Brooklyn’s William Vale Hotel Sale Approved by US Court
A New York bankruptcy court has approved the sale of the 183-room William Vale Hotel in Brooklyn's neighborhood of Williamsburg to EOS Hospitality for $177 million, The Real Deal reports.
The hotel has been subject to an acrimonious dispute since All Year Holdings — an affiliate of the asset’s developer — filed for bankruptcy. The Real Deal reports All Year Holdings has been in a “tense battle” with fellow developer Zelig Weiss, and EOS’ bid of $177 million will “repay the Israeli bondholders who provided the financing for the Williamsburg property.”
Weiss agreed to walk away from its lease on the hotel in November 2023 and handed management solely to All Year Holdings. Judge Martin Glenn, who sits on the U.S. Bankruptcy Court’s Southern District of New York, oversaw the ruling in which All Year Holdings has agreed to drop an “adversary complaint against Weiss, which potentially left him on the hook for damages.”