Chelsea Hotel Owners Talking So Brave and So Sweet

Daily Lodging Report

Skift’s Daily Lodging Report is a subscription-required, email-only newsletter read by anyone and everyone in the hotel investor, owner, and operator space, including CEOs of some of the industry’s top brands. It covers North America and Asia Pacific with two separate regional editions.

Here are some excerpts from Daily Lodging Report from the past week. If you’re not a subscriber, you should be. Get news on hotel deals, development, stocks, and career moves. Sign up here, now.

Sunday, October 9

The luxury hotel industry in New York is booming. Vijay Dandapani, president and CEO of the Hotel Association of New York City, says high-end demand is at an all-time high, according to Barron’s. “Dandapani says the city’s swankiest hotels are seeing occupancy rates upwards of 80 percent the most expensive they have ever seen.”

Somera Capital Management has bought Quorum Hotels & Resorts. Todd Moreau will lead the new ownership group as its president. Somera continues to invest capital and says its portfolio is valued at more than $900 million.

Skift Note: Aman New York, Ritz-Carlton Nomad, The Ned Nomad, The Wall Street Hotel, Hotel Chelsea, The St. Regis New York, and The Carlyle have all roared with high-paying guests.

Monday, October 10

The Hotel Chelsea’s owners had a win in their legal battle with New York City. “A judge denied the city’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought by the hotel’s owners, who allege that stop-work orders issued by the city improperly delayed renovations to the historic property and cost them $100 million,” reported The Real Deal. Since 2016 the owners have invested more than $200 million in the hotel, which is open for business. The owners believe they’ll win their lawsuit, thanks to a recent finding that the city had classified the building as a luxury hotel in 1997, which is relevant information to the case, which hinges on how the city should classify the buildings and which regulations are relevant. The owners say a settlement will be good for the city, given their investment in high-class lodging for a historic renovation.

Skift Note: The Hotel Chelsea was once famous for being a home for famous and eccentric artists, including musician Leonard Cohen, who penned the song Chelsea Hotel #2.

Tuesday, October 11

Savills Hotels Asia Pacific predicts that in the next three years, the number of hotels and resorts in key destinations in Vietnam will grow at an average rate of 20 percent a year. Yet even before the pandemic there were concerns about overbuilding in Vietnam. Vietnamnet published a blunt story on how hotels, especially coastal ones, are offering discounts of more than 40 percent on room rates. The Khanh Hoa is one example where experts say there has been an overbuilding of hotels and resorts, especially resorts of 3 stars or less.

Hilton announced its Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts brand would enter the Vietnam market with the signing of Waldorf Astoria Hanoi. The hotel is owned by BRG Group and will be managed by Hilton when it opens in 2025. The Waldorf Astoria Hanoi will join Hilton’s pipeline of nine other hotels and resorts that will open in Vietnam in the coming years. The upcoming Waldorf Astoria, with 187 rooms and suites, is a conversion of the current Hilton Hanoi Opera.

Skift Note: Big cities like Ho Chi Minh City or Hanoi may still not have enough hotels, especially in the premium and luxury categories. But in coastal Vietnamese places like Cam Ranh, Phu Quoc, and Ho Tram, the total supply in the next few years is expected to exceed demand.

Wednesday, October 12

Braemar Hotels & Resorts Inc. reported the company expects to report occupancy of approximately 71 percent for the third quarter of 2022 with an average daily rate of approximately $403. It’s average revenue per available room, a key industry metric, was $288, which roughly reflects a hike of 19 percent compared to the pre-pandemic third quarter of 2019.

A San Francisco hotel slated to be Virgin Hotels’ eclectic flagship before a dispute between the owner and manager happened, will open around November 8 as Canopy by Hilton San Francisco SoMa. The 12-story, 194-room property has been at the center of dueling lawsuits between manager Virgin and hotel owner Jay Singh, CEO of Paradigm Hotels Group. A court awarded Virgin $11.5 million in damages in a breach of contract verdict. More at the San Francisco Business Journal.

STR, the gold standard for hotel performance data, reported U.S. lodging data for the week ended October 8th.US hotel RevPAR was up 21.2 percent year over year while up 12.7 percent versus the same week in 2019.

Skift Note: For more context, watch this compelling global hotel performance presentation from STR President Amanda Hite at Skift Global Forum.

Thursday, October 13

InterContinental Sydney announced the completion of its extensive renovation program to welcome the hotel’s next chapter. Located in Sydney’s Treasury building of 1851, the landmark hotel has undergone a comprehensive $120 million transformation.

Hyatt Place Jaipur Malviya Nagar, the first Hyatt Place hotel in Rajasthan and the seventh Hyatt Place hotel in India, is open. The new hotel features the Hyatt Place brand’s intuitive design and amenities. Heritage Motels Private Limited developed the hotel. The hotel includes 116 guestrooms, Zing open-kitchen restaurant, the Market, an open-air bar with cabana seating. It will also offer 6,626 square feet of meeting, indoor and outdoor meeting function space and the fitness center, which includes a rooftop swimming pool.

Hyatt Hotels announced the opening of the Fuji Speedway Hotel in Shizuoka, Japan, the first property within The Unbound Collection by Hyatt brand in Japan. The hotel is one of several attractions in the new Fuji Motorsports Forest project developed by the Toyota Group. The hotel features 120 accommodations including 21 suites, all with private balconies offering views of Fuji Speedway race circuit or Mount Fuji. Five dog-friendly villas feature individual private garages.

Skift Note: Recession talk? Hoteliers worldwide are instead focused on long-term opportunities.