Oberoi to Build 7-Star Hotels in India

Daily Lodging Report

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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

Deutsche Bank said they were a bit surprised at the ALIS conference as they realized their views on 2023 RevPAR and margins were more measured than what they sensed from the companies. Most management teams did not seem all that moved by the spate of corporate layoff announcements. DB said they still are more skeptical that corporate travel budgets won’t be reduced in conjunction with layoffs, even if it takes a while to show up in the weekly and monthly numbers. While management teams have a different view than DB, so does their peer sell side group as consensus is baking in about 75bps of margin expansion and DB said that feels aggressive to them.

New York City’s latest plans to crack down on illegal short-term rentals, possibly removing as many as 10,0000 Airbnb listings later this year, is sparking furious debates about housing, hotels, the tourist market and residents’ rights. The new rules will hit those New Yorkers who make extra income by hosting, renting out apartments on Airbnb and similar platforms but flout city laws, reported the Guardian.

Skift Note: Short-term rentals and vacation homes grew in popularity during the pandemic, but data from AirDNA shows that interest is losing momentum. "Data from AirDNA show revenue per available room for U.S. short-term rentals is forecast to decline this year from a year earlier after many years of growth," reported the Wall Street Journal.

Monday

Skift Note: We didn't have a newsletter on this day.

Tuesday

Despite projections of persistent inflation and a moderate economic recession, CBRE’s November 2022 Hotel Horizons forecast calls for a 5.8% increase in revenue per available room, or RevPAR in 2023, up from CBRE’s previous forecast of a 5.6% increase. Inflation is helping. Luxury and upper-upscale properties have lagged due to their dependence on individual corporate and group demand. Many may not see a RevPAR recovery until the end of 2023 across 65 of the largest U.S. markets. At the end of the spectrum, the leisure-centric destinations of Savannah, Miami, St. Petersburg and the Coachella Valley in California are forecast to exceed their 2019 RevPAR levels by more than 20% in 2023.

The Oberoi Group of Hotels entered a Memorandum of Understanding with the Andhra Pradesh Tourism Department to construct a 7-star hotel in Tirupati in India, New India Express reported. The tourism department formally handed over 20 acres of land parcel on Zoo Park road near Alipri to the Oberoi Group on a lease-cum-rent basis. The Oberoi Group also discussed interest in constructing 7-star hotels at Gandikota, Visakhapatnam, Pichchukalanka and Horsley Hills. Bheemili, one of the most visited and upcoming tourist destinations near Visakhapatnam in India will soon have a seven-star facility from Oberoi Group. Sources said the Andhra Pradesh Government has agreed to allot 40 acres of land for the construction of the hotel and other facilities. The new Oberoi will be 25 km from the new upcoming Bhogapuram Airport and will cost 350 crores to develop.

Skift Note: As recent data suggests, trends remain optimistic for U.S. and Indian hoteliers.

Wednesday

Commonwealth Hotels and Homewood Suites by Hilton announced the “topping off” of its new hotel in Newport, Kentucky. The Homewood Suites Newport Cincinnati is projected to be up and running by mid-summer. The 5-story, 133-suite hotel is developed and owned by Corporex. When completed, the new Homewood Suites Newport Cincinnati will provide a rooftop bar and a fitness center.

IHG Hotels & Resorts announced the opening of the Holiday Inn Chicago O’Hare Airport. Located in Chicago, Illinois, the 139-room hotel offers 3,623 square feet of meeting space, a business center, a fitness center, and an onsite restaurant. The Holiday Inn Chicago O’Hare Airport is owned by Gateway Rosemont LLC and managed by Hostmark Hospitality Group.

KSL Capital Partners, through a 2018 strategic partnership with Australian luxury lodge operator Baillie Lodges, bought Huka Lodge in the Lake Taupo region of New Zealand’s North Island in 2021, said a CoStar report. They also recently went offshore to acquire the Clayoquot Wilderness Lodge on Vancouver Island, Canada and Chile’s Tierra Hotels.

Skift Note: It's a time of renewal in the hotel sector in many parts of the world.

Thursday

STR, the gold standard for hotel performance benchmarking, reported China hotel RevPAR for the week ended January 28^th was up 177.8% year over year. When compared with the same week in 2019, China hotel RevPAR was up 66.6%. Helping the year over year and 2019 comparison results was the timing of Chinese New Year – January 22, 2023 versus February 1, 2021 and February 5, 2019.

OAG data suggests Southeast Asia was still missing 35% of flight seat capacity during the last week of January 2023 compared to the same week in 2019. Six months ago that was 50% but it shows the time it takes to get air infrastructure back in place.

Dusit Hotels and Resorts will add 14 hotels and resorts to their portfolio this year across China, Greece, India, Japan, Kenya, Nepal and Thailand. Dusit, based in Thailand, has more than 60 properties in their pipeline, expected to open within the next three to four years.

Atharva Hotel Superfluities India Private Limited, marketed as Atharva Hotels & Resorts, has embarked on an ambitious plan to put into operation more than 5,000 hotel rooms under their management. Their first step in that direction was the announced of their first hotel in association with IHG Hotels & Resorts under their Voco Hotels banner in Gurugram, India. 

Skift Note: China's tourism engine is revving up. But international air capacity throughout Asia Pacific will take time to ramp back up.