- Extended Stay Americas brings new mid-priced option to Florida's Space Coast
- Hotel JAL City Fukuoka Tenjin set to open in early 2021 to support 'Tenjin Big Bang'
- Midscale and upper midscale brands deliver Choice Hotels a boost as four in five room nights are currently booked for leisure purposes
- Data metrics - latest performance insights from STR
- News briefs - bitesize updates of latest industry news and developments
Extended Stay Americas brings new mid-priced option to Florida's Space Coast
Extended Stay America, the mid-priced extended-stay hotel brand, has confirmed the opening of the Extended Stay America - Titusville - Space Center - in Titusville, Florida, where the local market is experiencing a strong economic expansion fuelled by the aerospace industry. The four-storey 124-room property features guestrooms with fully equipped kitchens with full-size refrigerators, stovetop, cookware, utensils, and dishes as well as pillowtop beds, recliners, spacious workspace, and television streaming capabilities. It is located in an area referred to as the "Space Coast," minutes from the Kennedy Space Center, famous for its military and aerospace operations, as well as a major tourist destination. Companies such as SpaceX, Blue Origin, and OneWeb Satellites, among others, have major operations located within minutes of the property.
Hotel JAL City Fukuoka Tenjin set to open in early 2021 to support 'Tenjin Big Bang'
Okura Nikko Hotel Management has confirmed its new Hotel JAL City Fukuoka Tenjin will open in 2021 with construction set to be concluded by Jan-2021. Based on Hotel JAL City's brand concept of "smart simplicity", the new hotel will offer a smart and simple stay experience, encompassing 280 guest rooms ranging from 25 square meters in size as well as all-day dining facilities. The hotel will be located adjacent to the dynamic Tenjin area, which is being revitalised as part of Fukuoka City's urban redevelopment project "Tenjin Big Bang", and will offer easy access from Fukuoka airport as well as from the city's Hakata shinkansen station. The Tenjin Big Bang project will create new commercial facilities and employment, enhancing Fukuoka's attractiveness as a hub for the Asia region. The city aims to complete the reconstruction of offices and commercial facilities there by 2024, creating a comfortable and vibrant urban quarter.
Midscale and upper midscale brands deliver Choice Hotels a boost as four in five room nights are currently booked for leisure purposes
Choice Hotels International says that its select service midscale and upper midscale brands saw material year-over-year revenue per available room (RevPAR) and average daily rate (ADR) index gains versus local competitors through the second quarter of 2020. The company expects this trend to continue as leisure travel bounces back faster than business travel amidst the pandemic environment, with leisure travel now comprising over 80% of room nights across its hotel portfolio. It says its Sleep Inn brand outperformed the midscale segment across key metrics with 6% higher RevPAR, 2.5 percentage points higher occupancy and a higher ADR. Meanwhile, its Comfort hotels outperformed its competition for the fifth consecutive quarter, with 2Q 2020 RevPAR index gains of nearly 16 percentage points versus local competitors, supported by the completion of a USD2.5 billion systemwide 'Move to Modern' Renovation programme. Other key highlights during the period included the continued growth of its Quality Inn midscale brand to almost 1,700 domestic properties, while a doubling of open Clarion Pointe properties and growth of franchise awards beyond 50 for the brand extension of Clarion.
Data metrics - latest performance insights from STR
- Hotels in Africa showed improved but low performance in Jul-2020 but still saw lowest absolute occupancy and RevPAR levels for any July on record in the region. In comparison with Jul-2019, occupancy was down -72.9% to 16.9%, ADR fell -10.8% to USD93.98 and RevPAR declined -75.8% to USD15.91.
- The Asia Pacific hotel industry reported continued improved performance from previous months but at overall low levels during Jul-2020. Although performance was up month-on-month each metric was the lowest for any July on record in the region. In comparison with Jul-2019, occupancy was down -36.5% to 46.3%, ADR declined -30.6% to USD64.35 and RevPAR fell -55.9% to USD29.78.
- The Central and South America hotel industry reported slight improvement month-on-month in Jul-2020 but its low overall performance meant absolute occupancy and RevPAR levels were the lowest for any July in the region. In comparison with Jul-2019, occupancy was down -68.6% to 19.0%, ADR declined -33.8% to USD53.40 and RevPAR fell -79.2% to USD10.13.
- Reflecting reopening around the continent, the hotel industry in Europe reported improved but low performance in Jul-2020. The absolute occupancy and RevPAR levels were up from Jun-2019, but remained the lowest for any July on record in Europe. In comparison with Jul-2019, occupancy fell -66.4% to 26.5%, ADR dropped -20.9% to EUR96.43 and RevPAR declined -73.4% to EUR25.51.
- Hotels in the Middle East showed improved but low performance in Jul-2020 but still saw lowest absolute occupancy and RevPAR levels for any July on record in the region. In comparison with Jul-2019, occupancy was down -41.8% to 35.3%, ADR slipped -9.6% to USD106.93 and RevPAR fell -47.4% to USD37.70.
News briefs
- Dollar Flight Club has launched 'The Hotel Project', a membership based hotel booking platform that claims to offer up to USD200 per stay in member-only discounts, free room upgrades, and complimentary perks for travellers. The platform has partnered directly with many top-tier hotel partners including Omni Resorts, IHG, Selina, and Provenance Hotels and promises room discounts up to 30%, free room upgrades, free premium WIFI add-ons, free bike rentals, free airport shuttles, restaurant discounts and free bar drinks.
- The Four Seasons Hotel Chicago will complete a hotel-wide transformation including a reconceptualised lobby and social lounge; a new restaurant and bar in partnership with James Beard Award-winning Chef Jonathon Sawyer; newly designed specialty suites and apartments; and enhanced event spaces. The 347-room property is located just steps from the Magnificent Mile and Michigan Avenue shopping district.
- Set to open in early 2021 in Atlanta's posh Buckhead neighbourhood with a distinctive "residential feel" Kimpton has confirmed the property will be called Kimpton Sylvan Hotel. The property, an adaptive reuse of a 1950s-era residential property, will include 216 guest rooms and suites, a living room lobby, a private pool and over 4,000 square feet of meetings and events space.
- The boutique Mar Monte Hotel, previously operating under the Hyatt Centric brand, is now part of The Unbound Collection by Hyatt brand, offering reimagined guest rooms, two new food and beverage concepts, and programming that reflects the distinct rhythm of the California coast. The 200-room hotel, serves as a gateway to the American Riviera and is situated across the street from East Beach, just minutes from downtown Santa Barbara and the famed Funk Zone.
- Accor and international hospitality group sbe have confirmed the arrival of the first Mondrian hotel in Asia Pacific with the Mondrian Seoul Itaewon, which is being developed in partnership with Yojin Construction & Engineering. The 296-room property, located in the internationally diverse district of Itaewon, marks the fifth property in the Mondrian portfolio. With new hotels slated for Bordeaux and Cannes next year, the Mondrian brand expects to grow its lifestyle hotel portfolio to approximately 15 properties by 2022, including soon-to-be announced Mondrian properties in Australia, the Dominican Republic, Germany, Puerto Rico, Singapore, and Vietnam.
- Omni Hotels & Resorts is looking to potentially sell five of its properties as part of an effort to "deliver a consistent product and guest experience across its portfolio," which extends to more than 50 properties. They comprise: Omni Dallas Hotel at Park West, Omni Jacksonville Hotel, Omni Austin Hotel at Southpark, Omni San Antonio Hotel at the Colonnade and Omni Houston Hotel at Westside.
- A new US report shows the country's hotel industry is facing a historic wave of foreclosures as the Covid-19 pandemic continues to devastate small business hotel owners. Nearly 4,000 hotel industry leaders have sent an urgent letter to Congress urging immediate action to help hotels avoid foreclosure and the loss of tens of thousands of jobs. The report compiled by data, analytics, and technology solutions provide Trepp shows that the percentage of loans that is 30 or more days delinquent is 23.4% as of last month-the highest percentage on record. By comparison, the percentage of hotel loans that were 30 or more days delinquent at the end of 2019 was just 1.3%.
- Guest experience platform Wishbox has released an entirely new feature designed to increase hotel profitability. The room upgrade feature allows hotels to add room upgrade offers as part of their contactless check-in, based on live availability. Hotels can choose between presenting guests with set pricing for an upgrade or allowing guests to place a bid for a room upgrade, leaving it up to the hotel to choose whether they wish to approve the upgrade or not.