100-Story Waldorf Astoria Hotel and Residences to Rise in Miami

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 16

Construction is beginning on Miami’s first supertall tower, reported the Miami Herald. A 100-story Waldorf Astoria tower is set to break ground in downtown Miami on October 27. Developers of the proposed $426 million Waldorf Astoria Hotel & Residences Miami include PMG, Greybrook, Mohari Hospitality, S2 Development, and Hilton. The tower’s 360 condo residences are 87% sold. In addition to the condo units, the project will include a 205-room Hilton hotel, a restaurant, event spaces, boardrooms, fitness center and spa, and a resort-style pool with private cabanas. The tower will surpass today’s tallest building in Miami, the Panorama Tower, a residential high-rise that’s 85 stories high.

A landmark hotel in Los Angeles’ Sunset Strip is being fought over. The former Standard Hollywood was set earlier this year to be sold to Ian Schrager and Ed Scheetz in a $120 million deal. The deal included $30 million in rights for the billboard above the company. “Osik Media leased the billboard in 2011 from the Ferrado Group, which once owned the hotel, and the company claims its lease is valid through 2027, reported The Real Deal. “Rittersbacher and Osik Media are currently duking it out in L.A. Superior Court, and Rittersbacher [Schrager and Scheetz’s entity] says it has accumulated $5 million and counting in fees related to the delay.”

Developers are expanding the Fontainebleau Miami Beach is being expanded. Jeffrey Soffer’s Fontainebleau Development plans to add a 50,000 square foot events center, scheduled to open in 2025. Plans call for two ballrooms, 10 breakout rooms and a 9,000 square foot rooftop deck, adding to the hotel’s existing 200,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor meetings and events space, according to the Commercial Observer.

Skift Note: The Miami Waldorf will probably become the city’s highest building for years to come because regulations prevent anything higher because the city is in the flight path of the local international airport.

Monday, October 17

The Baird/STR Hotel Stock Index fell -9.1 percent in September. Despite continued strong RevPAR, both year over year and 2019 comps, the stock index has dropped -20.6 percent in the first 9 months of the year. The Hotel Brand sub-index was down -7.7 percent from August while the Hotel REIT sub-index was down -13.5 percent.

In Australia, Singapore’s Far East Organization is planning to develop a new hotel in Sydney’s Rocks district, with a proposal to redevelop the Clocktower Square into a high-end 200-room hotel. The site will also include the 61-room Rendezvous Hotel. “The development is one of a series of hotel proposals in Sydney, with Mulpha planning a four-star hotel in Sussex St. and operator Accor just opening the Porter House Hotel and the rebranded Mercure Sydney Martin Place,” reported the Australian.

Chartres Lodging Group bought The Muse hotel, in New York City, for $49.5 million from asset manager Barings. The 200-room hotel will leave the IHG brand. Plans haven’t been publicizied.

Kimpton Hotel Fontenot, located in New Orleans, expects a January 2023 completion of a property expansion into the historic building next door. The new addition to the boutique hotel will include 22 new guestrooms and suites, over 12,000 square feet of meeting and events space, and a three-meal French brasserie with outdoor patio dining.

Skift Note: Australia’s hotel market is heating up despite a tough year for hotel equities worldwide.

Tuesday, October 18

According to a new study by HotelTechReport, Hawaii has ranked No. 1 on a list of highest-earning hotels in the country, with hotels statewide generating an average annual revenue of more than $25.8 million, out of 277 hotel businesses sampled. District of Columbia is No. 2 on the list with 119 hotel businesses generating an average revenue of about $21.6 million, summarized Pacific Business News. New York comes in at No. 3.

Hilton Columbus Downtown has opened its 463-room second tower, making the hotel the largest in Ohio. It has 1,000 guest rooms, over 75,000 square feet of meeting and ballroom space, and four new food & beverage concepts across both towers. A skybridge connects the hotel’s two towers, as well as the Greater Columbus Convention Center.

In Saudi mountain tourism news, Hotel Development, the Neom division responsible for building a future-centric hospitality ecosystem in the northwest corner of Saudi Arabia, signed Ennismore as its inaugural hotel partner. The inaugural tie up will see Ennismore’s 25hours Hotels and Morgans Originals brands open properties in Trojena, which is Neom’s mountain tourism destination that features a ski village. The main construction work on the ski village in Trojena will begin at the end of 2022.

Skift Note: Interesting that Hawaii, which doesn’t have as many hotels as larger states such as California and Florida, topped the tables in the HotelTechReport study.

Wednesday, October 19

The South China Morning Post painted a picture in Hong Kong of hotels slashing rates to fill rooms now that quarantine stays are gone. SCMP said hotels are trying to get guests away from serviced apartments and the leasing market. Despite some positive steps, most believe the only way for the hotels to do well will be to reopen the border with the mainland and a 0+0 policy. Hotels are empty now that the need for quarantine hotels is gone. The article said very few business travelers and tourists have returned.

Marriott International said it would buy the City Express hotel portfolio from Mexico-based Hoteles City Express for $100 million, as the hotel giant sought to push further into Latin America. The deal includes 152 hotels across five brands. Analysts at Bernstein gave the deal mixed reviews on first glance.

Skift Note: Poor Hong Kong.

Thursday, October 20

Hyatt Hotels announced the opening of Hyatt Centric Kota Kinabalu, marking the debut of the lifestyle brand in Malaysia and Southeast Asia. The 222-room hotel is centrally located in the heart of the city’s dining and entertainment district. The 23-story hotel features modern guestrooms with balconies, 16 suites and is crowned with an infinity pool, duplex restaurant and bar on the rooftop, offering sweeping views overlooking Signal Hill, the islands at Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park and the South China Sea.

Absolute Hotel Services Group announced the first Absolute Collection property in Vietnam with the signing of Lamia Bao Loc Resort, a member of Absolute Collection, located in Loc Chau in Lam Dong Province in the Central Highlands region of Vietnam. Absolute Hotel Services signed the management agreement with owner Eras Da Lat Investment Joint Stock Company. The resort is expected to open in 2025. The 100-room hotel is a 4-hour drive from Ho Chi Minh City. It will include a signature restaurant, a swimming pool and a fully-equipped gym. Absolute said they plan to add more properties to their Absolute Collection portfolio in Vietnam before the end of 2022 to join those in Thailand and Indonesia.

Skift Note: Malaysia and Vietnam are attracting heavy interest from hotel developers.