Daily Lodging Report

Eric Danziger, the departing CEO at Trump Hotels and one of the few non-family members to hold the top job at the company, is the latest drag on the hotel brand that has shed properties over the last several years.

Wyndham plans to throttle its recovery forward with a wave of international openings this year. The uncertain factor is if investors want this, given the company's resilience during the pandemic stemmed from domestic travel demand.

Marriott, Hilton, Choice Hotels, and Wyndham all swung to profitability last year, per earnings reports this week. Even if Hyatt didn't, the other reports mostly amounted to a strong sign of recovery well under way for hotel companies with a significant presence in the U.S.

Countries beyond China in the Asia Pacific region are moving ahead with reopening plans in the coming months. The test is how long can China's "zero-Covid" policy last when the rest of the world is accepting it just has to live with coronavirus.

Just as China was beginning to show signs of strong momentum for hotels heading into the Lunar New Year, another report came out showing Omicron is too much of a headwind for hotels to overcome.

Asia Pacific hotel markets are still struggling more than the U.S. and parts of Europe, but signs are pointing to a flickering of life in coming months with border reopenings and potentially even some massive holiday travel in China.

Analysts signaled they like what's happening with Hyatt's push into more leisure-oriented properties following a nearly $2.7 billion acquisition.

Omicron cases are still surging around the world, but major brands like Marriott and Radisson and brands-on-the-rise like CitizenM are all signaling moves to accommodate travel demand and operations for the other side of this latest variant.

The rapid, explosive surge of Omicron cases around the world is weighing heavy on Asia-Pacific countries that were only just beginning to reopen their international borders. The latest variant once again puts those border reopening on ice — not ideal when the Winter Olympics is only weeks away.

The world may be on edge with a surge of new cases stemming from the Omicron variant, but governments are generally staying the course in keeping borders open. Hotel companies are maintaining growth mode with new deals and a potential blockbuster sale.